Research Finds High Fructose Corn Syrup Can Trigger Addiction

WASHINGTON - New research reportedly shows that high fructose corn syrup can trigger behavior similar to the actions accompanying a drug habit.

Research by Dr. Francesco Leri, an neuroscience professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, showed that lab rats self-dosing on the sweetener behaved like other rats dosing on cocaine, according to Citizens for Health, a nonprofit consumer group involved in health activism.

"It showed that the brain activity for high fructose corn syrup mimicked the brain activity of certain addictive substances," says Jim Turner, the group's board chairman.

Leri studied the changes in lab rats caused by eating foods containing high levels of sugar, fats and taste enhancers like the syrup. His tests reportedly included allowing lab animals to press a lever to receive doses of high fructose corn syrup.
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