DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I would appreciate it if you’d share your knowledge on high-fructose corn syrup. I suffer with diarrhea after consuming only a small amount of it. Does this affect a significant number of other people the same way? Is it possible that this problem would happen with other sweeteners? I tolerate cane sugar in moderate amounts. I hear the medical community is not pleased with high-fructose corn syrup. Is this true? — M.F.

ANSWER: High-fructose corn syrup is a subject that makes some people go ballistic. I understand why you have to avoid it. I don’t know if other sweeteners would have the same effect on you. Perhaps with HFCS, it’s a matter of the amount put in some products that causes you to react the way you do. I haven’t seen diarrhea mentioned as a common side effect of HFCS.

HFCS comes from cornstarch. In the 1960s, manufacturers found a way to boost the fructose and glucose concentrations of cornstarch to produce a product that was easy to blend with other ingredients and much cheaper than regular sugar. Fructose is fruit sugar, found in fruits and honey. Glucose is a sugar found in many places. It’s the sugar used for intravenous feedings. Sugar from sugar cane and sugar beets — ordinary table sugar — is sucrose, and it’s composed of fructose and glucose in roughly the same proportions as they’re found in HFCS. So why all the fuss?

Some blame HFCS as a cause of the obesity epidemic. Others say that fructose in HFCS is processed differently in the body than is fructose from table sugar and is more apt to promote fatness. Rat studies done by Princeton University appear to support that claim. Not all experts agree with the validity of the Princeton study, however.

Sugar intake — all sugars — should be minimized. Products with high sugar concentrations have few other nutrients, so hunger is being satisfied by foods that don’t provide balanced nutrition. I don’t mean that sugars should be banned, just moderated. I don’t condemn HFCS. I do believe that all such products ought to be taken with some restraint.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: According to my bloodwork results, I have a kidney problem. My doctor is sending me to a nephrologist. What is the difference between a nephrologist and a urologist? What will the doctor be looking for? They tell me my test numbers are too high. What numbers? I am 79 and feel fine. Should I have some symptoms if I have a problem? — D.M.

ANSWER: A nephrologist is an internal medicine doctor who specializes in the treatment of kidney diseases that don’t require surgery. Like all other internal medicine doctors, nephrologists use medicines, diet and physical therapy as their ways of curing illnesses. They also are the doctors who perform kidney dialysis. Urologists are surgeons who use surgical techniques to cure illness. They take care of removing kidney tumors and kidney stones, and of transplanting kidneys. They also remove or pare down enlarged prostate glands.

Two common blood tests that are used to judge how well the kidneys are functioning are creatinine and BUN — blood urea nitrogen. If those numbers rise, the kidneys are not filtering blood the way they should. Many times, lab tests indicate trouble well before symptoms appear. That gives the doctor a chance to nip in the bud problems that are developing. The doctor will look for reasons why your numbers are high.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: When I had my cholesterol checked, other tests were done, including a white blood cell count. My count was 3,500. The normal range is 3,800 to 10,800. Is this much of a concern? — B.H.

ANSWER: It isn’t a concern. If your count were dangerously low, you’d be suffering from infections. Troubles don’t usually arise until the count falls below 1,500.

The “normal ranges” vary with the source used to define them. I looked up three different and respected sources and got three completely different ranges: 3,540 to 9,000; 4,500 to 11,000; 5,000 to 10,000.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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