Scientists say sugar is as toxic as alcohol – and there should be a drinking age for soda

[mike_c]

39. honey is an interesting case....

It really isn't that much more "natural" than HFCS when you think about it, although I know that's the general prejudice. But honey is a manufactured sweetener just like HFCS-- it's manufactured by bees, but it's still manufactured, and in much the same way as HFCS. It is NOT nectar any longer-- the raw material is arguably a real "natural sweetener."

Honey is made by blending regurgitated flower nectar with enzymes in salivary glands, along with some other components produced by bees, and evaporating the mixture while its chemical conversions take place. The enzymes convert the sugars in nectar to monosaccharide fructose and glucose, just as glucose in corn syrup is enzymatically converted to fructose in HFCS. Typical honey is approx. 40% fructose, 30% glucose, 20% water, and the remainder is other monosaccharides in small amounts, like maltose, etc. The most commonly used HFCS, HFCS 55, is 55% fructose and 42% glucose, but that is only the sugar content, i.e. it ignores the water, which is about 24% (I know, it's confusing, but that's because the numbers for honey and HFCS are derived differently, due to USDA regulations). The upshot is that honey contains nearly identical quantities of both fructose and glucose as HFCS contains, so if that mix is bad for you in HFCS it's likely not good for you in honey.