Research

Hormonal

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) consumption promotes obesity, type 2 diabetes, and fatty liver more potently than glucose or sucrose alone due to the synergistic activation of the transcription factor ChREBP by equal parts glucose and fructose.

Prioritize whole food sources of carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains) over processed foods containing high-fructose corn syrup. The specific ratio of glucose to fructose in HFCS appears to uniquely drive metabolic dysfunction via ChREBP activation, leading to fatty liver and insulin resistance more than other carbohydrate sources.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
products with equal amounts of glucose and fructose have the worst effects on caloric intake, body weight gain, and glucose intolerance... Glucose and fructose coordinately supply the metabolites necessary for ChREBP activation and de novo lipogenesis.
Katsumi Iizuka · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2021

Why this rating

The paper is a review citing multiple animal models and human observational/meta-analyses, but lacks a single definitive RCT establishing causality in humans for HFCS specifically vs sucrose.

Source

The Roles of Carbohydrate Response Element Binding Protein in the Relationship between Carbohydrate Intake and Diseases

Katsumi Iizuka · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2021

DOI 10.3390/ijms222112058

narrative_reviewCited 22×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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