Pancake syrup: corn syrup or sugar, the body treats them alike

People worry that the high fructose corn syrup in pancake syrup is worse than ordinary sugar. A meta-analysis of 25 controlled trials with 1,744 volunteers found that swapping high fructose corn syrup or fructose for sucrose at equal calories had no effect on the markers measured. The one exception was a small rise in apolipoprotein B with corn syrup, of uncertain clinical meaning, and some of those trials carried a high or unclear risk of bias. Two 10 week double-blind trials agree. In 138 adults drinking milk sweetened with either sugar at 40 to 150 g a day, glucose, insulin and hunger hormones did not differ between groups, with milk standing in for syrup. In 65 adults with overweight on a diet held at stable calories, neither sweetener at 10 or 20 percent of energy changed body weight or blood pressure, a design that cannot show what happens when people eat more than they need. So the real issue is quantity. One tablespoon, 20 g in the USDA survey data, carries about 53 calories and 8.4 g sugars, and a 60 g single serving container about 159 calories and 25.2 g sugars.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• USDA data show light pancake syrup at 165 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g) against 265 calories for regular, so a tablespoon of light (15 g) carries about 25 calories versus 53 calories. — FNDDS food codes 91301510 Pancake syrup, light and 91300100 Pancake syrup (n = 2 records) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: light 165 calories, sugars 32.8 g, carbohydrate 44.55 g vs regular 265 calories, 42 g, 69.6 g; per tablespoon about 25 vs 53 calories

What a real portion looks like

• USDA survey data put one tablespoon of pancake syrup at 20 g, about 53 calories with 8.4 g sugars, and a quarter cup at about 212 calories. — FNDDS food code 91300100 Pancake syrup, WWEIA Jams, syrups, toppings (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Per 1 tbsp (20 g): 53 calories, carbohydrate 13.9 g, total sugars 8.4 g, sodium 12 mg; per single serving container (60 g): 159 calories, sugars 25.2 g

What your body absorbs

• A network meta-analysis of 53 RCTs found fructose lowered 2-hour blood glucose by 87 mg/dL (4.81 mmol/L) versus glucose in people with diabetes, while data comparing low-calorie sweeteners with sucrose or HFCS were inconclusive. — 53 randomized controlled trials, 1,126 obese, diabetic and healthy participants (n = 1126) Evidence A source
  2-h glucose -87 mg/dL (95% CI 59 to 114; metric: -4.81 mmol/L, 3.29 to 6.34) fructose vs glucose in diabetes; hypocaloric sweeteners vs sucrose or HFCS inconclusive

What it does to your health

• A meta-analysis of 25 controlled trials in 1,744 people found no effects when HFCS or fructose replaced sucrose at equal calories, except a small apolipoprotein B rise with HFCS. — 25 isoenergetic controlled dietary intervention trials, 1,744 volunteers (n = 1744) Evidence A source
  No effects of substituting fructose or HFCS for sucrose, except a small apolipoprotein B rise with HFCS, of uncertain clinical significance
• In a 10-week double-blind RCT in 138 adults drinking milk sweetened with HFCS or sucrose at 40 to 150 g sugar a day, the two sweeteners had the same effects on hunger hormones and glucose. — 138 adult men and women, free-living, 10 weeks (n = 138) Evidence B source
  No group differences in glucose, insulin, leptin, ghrelin, triglyceride, uric acid (P > .05)
• In a 10-week double-blind RCT in 65 overweight or obese adults on a weight-stable diet, HFCS or sucrose at 10-20% of calories did not change body weight or blood pressure. — 65 overweight and obese adults, eucaloric diet, 10 weeks (n = 65) Evidence B source
  No change in body weight or systolic or diastolic blood pressure in any group; all groups responded similarly (interaction p > 0.05)
• In an 8-week double-blind crossover RCT in 42 overweight adults, replacing 5% of calories from added sugars with maple syrup instead of sucrose syrup lowered systolic pressure by about 2.7 mm Hg. — 42 overweight adults with mild cardiometabolic alterations, 8 weeks per arm (n = 42) Evidence B source
  Systolic BP -2.72 vs +0.87 mm Hg (P = 0.03); android fat -7.83 vs +67.61 g (P = 0.02); OGTT glucose AUC lower (P < 0.047); lipids unchanged

Safety, limits and interactions

• The US Daily Value for added sugars is 50 g for adults and children 4 and older and 25 g for children 1 to 3, so a 2.1 oz (60 g) serving of pancake syrup approaches half of the adult value. — 21 CFR 101.9(c)(9) Daily Reference Values Evidence E source
  DRV added sugars: 50 g (adults, children 4+, pregnant and lactating), 25 g (children 1-3); 60 g syrup serving = 25.2 g total sugars

What people believe that the data does not support

• US labeling rules count sugars from syrups as added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label. — US packaged foods, 21 CFR 101.9 paragraph (iii) Added Sugars Evidence E source
  Syrup sugars declared as Added Sugars

Who this works differently for

• In a crossover RCT in 55 adults, 50 g a day of honey, sucrose or HFCS for 2 weeks had similar effects, but all raised triglycerides and raised CRP in people with impaired glucose tolerance. — 28 glucose-tolerant and 27 glucose-intolerant adults, 2 weeks per sweetener (n = 55) Evidence B source
  No difference by sweetener in glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR; triglycerides rose with all three; hsCRP rose in the impaired glucose tolerance group

What is still unknown

• A systematic review of 27 studies found the evidence too weak to say whether HFCS or sucrose causes fatty liver, with links appearing to be driven by excess calories. — 6 observational and 21 intervention studies in children and adults (n = 27 studies) Evidence C source
  Insufficient evidence for HFCS or sucrose and NAFLD; hypercaloric fructose raised liver fat in healthy men (low evidence)

The bottom line

Light syrup has 165 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g) against 265 for regular, and its tablespoon in the USDA data is also lighter, 15 g against 20 g, so the saving per spoon is partly a smaller spoon. Nobody in our sources measured whether switching to light syrup changes weight. Maple syrup has one trial behind it. In 42 adults with overweight and mild cardiometabolic changes, maple syrup used for 5 percent of calories for 8 weeks lowered systolic blood pressure by 2.72 mm Hg. On an artificially flavored sucrose syrup it rose 0.87, small effects from a single trial. Whether corn syrup or sucrose causes fatty liver is still open: a review of 27 studies found too little evidence to decide, and the apparent links looked driven by eating too many calories overall. US labeling rules count sugars from syrups as added sugars. The Daily Value for added sugars is 50 g for adults and children from age 4, so one 60 g container comes to about half of it. That is counted from total sugars, because the survey data does not split out the added share, and the Daily Value is a labeling guide rather than a safety limit. Who should be careful: for children aged 1 to 3 the Daily Value is 25 g, which that same container already reaches. In a crossover trial in 55 adults taking 50 g a day of honey, sucrose or corn syrup for 2 weeks each, all three raised triglycerides, and in the 27 with impaired glucose tolerance they also raised glucose and inflammation markers. For people with diabetes, a network meta-analysis of 53 small trials found pure fructose lowered 2 hour glucose by 87 mg/dL (4.81 mmol/L) compared with glucose, which does not describe corn syrup, a mix of both. We have no card on medicines or pregnancy.

Compared with other foods

Sources

1. psyr-r3-02 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Pancake syrup, light (FNDDS 91301510, FDC 2710280): 1 tablespoon = 15 g; 1 cup = 240 g; per 100 g: Energy 165 kcal; Total Sugars 32.8 g; Carbohydrate 44.55 g. Pancake syrup (FNDDS 91300100, FDC 2710273): per 100 g: Energy 265 kcal; Total Sugars 42 g; Carbohydrate 69.6 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food codes 91301510 (FDC 2710280) and 91300100 (FDC 2710273) · checked 2026-10-02
2. psyr-r3-01 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Pancake syrup (FNDDS 91300100, FDC 2710273, WWEIA Jams, syrups, toppings): 1 tablespoon = 20 g; 1 cup = 320 g; 1 single serving container = 60 g; per 100 g: Energy 265 kcal; Carbohydrate 69.6 g; Total Sugars 42 g; Sodium 61 mg; per 1 tablespoon: 53.0 kcal, sugars 8.4 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 91300100 (FDC 2710273) · checked 2026-10-02
3. psyr-r3-03 · Network meta-analysis of RCTs
   we identified 53 eligible randomized controlled trials with 1,126 participants. In diabetic participants, fructose reduced 2-hour blood glucose concentrations by 4.81 mmol/L (95% CI 3.29, 6.34) compared to glucose. Two-hour blood glucose concentration data comparing hypocaloric sweeteners to sucrose or high fructose corn syrup were inconclusive.
   BMC Med, 2011 · checked 2026-10-02
4. psyr-r3-04 · Meta-analysis of intervention trials
   Twenty-five studies involving 1744 volunteers were identified. ... Similarly, no effects were found when fructose or HFCS was substituted for sucrose, except for a small increase, of uncertain clinical significance, of apolipoprotein B when HFCS was substituted for sucrose.
   Nutr Rev, 2021 · checked 2026-10-02
5. psyr-r3-05 · Randomized controlled trial
   This was a randomized, prospective, double-blind, parallel group study in which 138 adult men and women consumed 10 weeks of low-fat milk sweetened with either HFCS or sucrose at levels of the 25th, 50th, and 90th percentile population consumption of fructose (the equivalent of 40, 90, or 150 g of sugar per day in a 2000-kcal diet). ... There were no group differences at baseline or posttesting for all outcomes (interaction, P > .05).
   Nutr Res, 2013 · checked 2026-10-02
6. psyr-r3-06 · Randomized controlled trial
   Sixty five overweight and obese individuals were placed on a eucaloric (weight stable) diet for 10-weeks, which incorporated sucrose- or HFCS-sweetened, low-fat milk at 10% or 20% of calories in a randomized, double-blinded study. All groups responded similarly (interaction p > 0.05). There was no change in body weight in any of the groups over the 10-week study, or in systolic or diastolic blood pressure.
   Nutrients, 2014 · checked 2026-10-02
7. psyr-r3-08 · Randomized crossover trial
   In a randomized, double-blind, controlled crossover trial with 42 overweight adults with mild cardiometabolic alterations, participants were instructed to substitute 5% of their total caloric intake from added sugars with either maple syrup or an artificially flavored sucrose syrup for 8 wk. ... Substituting refined sugar with maple syrup also significantly decreased android fat mass (-7.83 ± 175.05 g compared with 67.61 ± 206.71 g; P = 0.02) and systolic blood pressure (-2.72 ± 8.73 mm Hg compared with 0.87 ± 8.99 mm Hg; P = 0.03).
   J Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-10-02
8. psyr-r3-11 · 21 CFR 101.9(c)(9), dataset
   Added Sugars [DRV, Grams (g)] 21 CFR 101.9(c)(9): Adults and children ≥4 years 50; Infants through 12 months N/A; Children 1 through 3 years 25; Pregnant women and lactating women 50
   21 CFR 101.9(c)(9), Daily Reference Values, Added Sugars · checked 2026-10-02
9. psyr-r3-10 · Federal regulation
   Added sugars are either added during the processing of foods, or are packaged as such, and include sugars (free, mono and disaccharides), sugars from syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices that are in excess of what would be expected from the same volume of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice of the same type
   21 CFR 101.9, Nutrition labeling of food, paragraph (iii) Added Sugars · checked 2026-10-02
10. psyr-r3-07 · Randomized crossover trial
    Daily intake of 50 g carbohydrate from honey, sucrose, or HFCS55 for 14 d resulted in similar effects on measures of glycemia, lipid metabolism, and inflammation. All 3 increased TG concentrations in both GT and IGT individuals and elevated glycemic and inflammatory responses in the latter.
    J Nutr, 2015 · checked 2026-10-02
11. psyr-r3-09 · Systematic review
    There was insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion for effects of HFCS or sucrose on NAFLD. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of indirect comparisons across study findings, the apparent association between indexes of liver health (ie, liver fat, hepatic de novo lipogenesis, alanine aminotransferase, AST, and γ-glutamyl transpeptase) and fructose or sucrose intake appear to be confounded by excessive energy intake.
    Am J Clin Nutr, 2014 · checked 2026-10-02