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There's been a quiet revolution going on in America since 1970: The overthrow of sugar and honey by corn syrups. And little wonder. Corn syrup, particularly high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is cheap to produce, sweet to the tongue, and easy to store safely. According to the USDA, the average American consumed 1/2 pound of high fructose corn syrup in 1970. By the mid-1990s, that figure has jumped to 55.3 pounds of HFCS per person. And just because you stay away from soda and sweets doesn't count you out as a corn syrup consumer: HFCS finds its way into everything from bread to pasta sauces to bacon to beer. And, despite the FDA's assurances to the contrary, a growing number of researchers are beginning to think HFCS is a constant dietary companion we'd be better off without.
The trouble may lie with the particular form fructose assumes in corn syrup. While naturally occurring sugars, as well as the sucrose we spoon into our coffee, contain fructose bound to other sugars, high-fructose corn syrup contains a good deal of "free" or unbound fructose. And it may be this free fructose that interferes with the heart's use of key minerals, like magnesium, copper and chromium.

The most striking evidence comes from recent animal studies. When rats fed a low-copper, high fructose diet were compared with rats fed a low-copper diet high in complex carbohydrates, the difference in longevity was enormous. "Rats normally live for a good two years," explains Meira Fields, Ph.D., research chemist at the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland. "But the rats in my study fed a high-fructose, low copper diets are dying after 5 weeks." One of the few human studies of low-copper, high-fructose diets was abruptly stopped when 4 of the 24 subjects developed heart-related abnormalities, according to Fields. High fructose diets have also been implicated in the development of adult-onset diabetes. Fructose, especially when combined with other sugars, reduces stores of chromium, a mineral essential for maintaining balanced insulin levels, according to Richard Anderson, Ph.D., lead scientist at the Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland.

And low chromium levels can cause everything from high cholesterol levels to hyperglycemia to the kind of impaired glucose tolerance that can lead to adult-onset diabetes. But reversing the chromium deficiency can quickly bring about positive change. "In addition to bringing down high blood sugar, chromium can also bring up low blood sugar. Bringing a man's chromium levels into the safe range can have a profound effect on his feeling of well-being," says Anderson.

Since you need both high fructose and low mineral levels to suffer ill effects, you've got two avenues of positive action. Here's some ways to keep minerals high and fructose levels low:


Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. While canned produce and jams and jellies frequently contain high-fructose corn syrup, fresh produce packs in minerals without processed sugars, providing a double benefit. Look to potatoes for extra copper, spinach and other leafy greens for a wallop of magnesium, and broccoli for chromium.

Limit sodas and processed fruit juices. A man who takes in 2,000 calories and drinks three and a half cans of soda would be getting 15 percent of his calories as fructose, according to Anderson. And not a smidgen of copper, magnesium or chromium.

Consider supplements. "It's nearly impossible to get all of your chromium from food," explains Anderson. He recommends getting between 50 and 200 mcg. of chromium a day via a balanced nutrient supplement like Centrum Silver. That should take care of your copper and magnesium requirements, too.

Keep sweets discrete. If you do indulge in a donut or cookie, try to eat it in combination with non-sweetened food or drinks like milk or nuts. "Combinations of sugars, like fructose plus sucrose, really increase your chromium losses," explains Anderson.