Is High Fructose Corn Syrup Evil?

I've been hearing on again/off again how High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFC) is bad for you, toxic for you, the same as any other sweetener, blah blah blah.  How do you know the truth?
Not so, say Princeton.  Check out this article:  "A Sweet Problem."

In results published online Feb. 26 [2010] by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the researchers from the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute reported on two experiments investigating the link between the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity. [SeeGirlRun:  This is a third-party study by reputable scientists, hopefully without $$ riding on the experiments.]

The first study showed that male rats given water sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, in conjunction with the standard diet. The concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup solution was half as concentrated as most sodas. [Emphasis mine]

• Rat drinking HFC and water ended up fatter than rat drinking sugar water.

The second experiment -- the first long-term study of the effects of high-fructose corn syrup consumption on obesity in lab animals -- monitored weight gain, body fat and triglyceride levels in rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup over a period of six months. Compared to animals eating only rat chow, rats on a diet rich in high-fructose corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly. Male rats in particular ballooned in size: Animals with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained 48 percent more weight than those eating a normal diet." [Emphasis mine]

• Six-month study
• Rats eating HFC had higher triglycerides
• Rats eating HFC were fatter
• Rats eating HFC had more gut fat (which causes heart attacks)
• Male rats got particularly fat
• Rats eating HFC gained 48% more weight that non-HFC eating rats.

I've seen HFC in Ketchup. In apple sauce. It's everywhere. It's in all flavors of pop except diet of course and then you end up with the other fake sweetener evils.  Coca Cola has a Coke product made with sugar and it's sold only during passover (yellow lid is the give-away.)  I also understand that Mexican Coke products are made with sugar as well.

So in response to the question in Jess' well-written post about this same topic in her blog Run Girl Run, yes, I think we need to lay off the HFC.  We probably need to lay off sugar in general and processed foods in particular.

I recently made homemade Ketchup using a modified version of a recipe I found on the internet:
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth. When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and slimmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove pan from heat and cover until cool. Chill and store in a covered container.

My son didn't like it.  My neighbor like it better than Heinz. It was thicker and sweeter than the bottled version so I probably could have gotten away with 1/4 cup of sugar and then added a bit of water for consistency.  (The HFC is what gives bottled ketchup the smooth glossy look.) I also saw a recipe that called for 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1/4 cup of white balsamic vinegar. I may have to give that a go.

Either way, I need to find alternatives to produces without HFC.