High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is an industry staple, used in everything from breakfast cereals to soft drinks. And its popularity continues to grow, reaching a global market value of 9.21 billion USD this year and maintaining a CAGR of 1.8%, according to Coherent Market Insights.
But new research from Washington University in St Louis, linking HFCS to tumour growth, could challenge the industry’s reliance on this hugely popular and widely used sweetener.
Which foods contain high-fructose corn syrup?
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a common sweetener, used in a wide variety of foods and beverages, including chocolates, cakes, soft drinks, ice creams, breakfast cereals and fast foods.
Could HFCS feed tumour growth?
A new study, published in Nature journal, has analysed the behaviour of fructose in the body, finding that the liver converts dietary fructose into nutrients, which feed tumour growth.
This new understanding of the effects of fructose on the body has the potential to shake-up the food and beverage industry, changing how manufacturers sweeten their products.
“The idea that you can tackle cancer with diet is intriguing,” says Gary Patti, professor of genetics and medicine at Washington University in St Louis. “When we think about tumours, we tend to focus on what dietary components they consume directly. You put something in your body, and then you imagine that the tumour takes it up. But humans are complex. What you put in your body can be consumed by healthy tissue and then converted into something else that tumours use.”
The team began their investigation by feeding tumour-bearing animals a diet rich in fructose, then measuring how quickly their tumours grew. They found that adding fructose, promoted tumour growth, without changing body weight, fasting glucose, or fasting insulin levels.
“We were surprised to see that it had a rather dramatic impact. In some cases, the growth rate of the tumours accelerated by two-fold or even higher,” says Professor Patti. “Eating a lot of fructose was clearly very bad for the progression of these tumours.”
Using metabolomics — a method of profiling small molecules as they move through cells and across different tissues in the body — the researchers concluded that one way in which high levels of fructose consumption promotes tumour growth, is by increasing the availability of circulating lipids in the blood. These lipids are building blocks for the cell membrane, and cancer cells need them to grow.
“We looked at numerous different cancers in various tissues throughout the body, and they all followed the same mechanism,” explains Professor Patti.
The researchers highlighted that although fructose is similar to glucose, in terms of chemical structure, the two types of sugar differ in how the body metabolises them. Glucose is processed throughout the whole body, while fructose is almost entirely metabolised by the small intestine and liver.
Also read → Could plant-based diet slow cancer progression?
How could this research impact the food and beverage industry?
Fructose is added as a sweetener to most processed foods and is favoured by the food industry because it’s sweeter than glucose. It’s most commonly used by food and beverage manufacturers through high-fructose corn syrup.
“Almost everything has it,” says Professor Patti. “It’s not just candy and cake, but also foods such as pasta sauce, salad dressing and ketchup.”
This would mean that, were consumers to push for the removal of fructose from all foods and beverages, the industry would be forced to undergo seismic changes.
But that’s unlikely to happen. Mainly because, while fructose is associated with processed foods, it is also found naturally in fruits, vegetables, dairy products and grains.
What’s more, it’s approved by The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and, until that changes, food and beverage manufacturers will continue to use one of their most relied upon and intrinsic ingredients.
However, this new research could lead doctors to advise patients, who are undergoing cancer treatment, to avoid foods and beverages with fructose in them.
Source: Dietary fructose enhances tumour growth indirectly via interorgan lipid transfer
Published online: 4 December 2024
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08258-3
Authors: Ronald Fowle-Grider, Joe L Rowles III, Isabel Shen, et al.
