Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Carbon stable isotope abundance of 13C serves as a valid short-term biomarker for distinguishing intake of cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) derived from C4 plants, though it does not capture sugars from C3 plants like beet sugar or maple syrup.
When assessing added sugar intake, 13C biomarkers can accurately detect cane sugar and HFCS consumption in the short term, but will miss beet sugar and maple syrup. Use this knowledge to interpret biomarker results accurately.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Carbon stable isotope abundance of 13C is a novel biomarker for cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Cane sugar and HFCS are derived from C4 plants... making their intake measureable through 13C isotope measures
Why this rating
Multiple studies cited show high correlations (R2=0.90) for random plasma 13C with recent intake.
Source
Dietary biomarkers: advances, limitations and future directions
Valisa E. Hedrick et al. · Nutrition Journal · 2012
DOI 10.1186/1475-2891-11-109
narrative_reviewCited 261×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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