December 18, 2006
High Fructose Corn Syrup - The Ingredient Within The Ingredient
High Fructose Corn Syrup is the “bad word” in an ingredients list. I read food labels but most of the time, I focused on the calorie count and fat content per serving.
It was only until recently that I was introduced to The Murky World of High Fructose Corn Syrup by the nutritionist from my pre-natal nutrition class.
Soft drinks and processed foods are full of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). HFCS is not only fattening, it is an inexpensive and ultra-concentrated sugar that has no resemblance to real food made by nature. It is a highly processed form of sugar and almost certainly made from genetically modified corn and then processed with genetically modified enzymes.
HFCS is found in the most unlikely foods like ketchup, coolwhip, yogurt, salad dressing and barbecue sauce. Horror of horrors! I have the latter three in my refrigerator! The irony is that even LOW-FAT yogurt and salad dressing contain HFCS!
A July 2006 New York Times article on high fructose corn syrup (”A Sweetener With a Bad Rap“), noted:
“The Food and Drug Administration never established rules on what, exactly, ‘natural’ means, allowing companies to pitch products as natural even if they contain high-fructose corn syrup. Cadbury Schweppes recently began promoting 7-Up, which is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, as “100 percent natural.” Capri Sun fruit-flavored drinks from Kraft are also promoted as all-natural, although they, too, are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. Cadbury and Kraft both say they believe that high-fructose corn syrup is natural because it is made from corn.”
So, boys and girls, moms and dads, do read food labels when grocery shopping and be aware that seemingly “natural” products may not be so natural after all.
As for me, I will be taking limited quantities of my yogurt, salad dressing and barbecue sauce just so as to be on the safe side, where the murky world of high fructose corn syrup is concerned.
Bite This!
More recipes:
Fish With Leeks And Fermented Soy Beans
Tofu And Fishballs In Black Bean Sauce
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December 18th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
If you are interested in nutrition in general, see if you could pick up this book (”What to Eat” by Maria Nestle) in the library or something. There are many murky worlds out there:( Quite an interesting read. There are simply too much processed food over in the U.S! You know those yogurt that says low fat or low calorie…they took out sugars but added in things like Splenda (artificial sweetener) which I’m not sure if it’s good or bad in the end.
I’m also guilty of ketchup and pasta sauces. For the latter, I tend to read labels more carefully now and pick those with the least number of ingredients.
December 18th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Uh oh… what’s left to eat?
December 18th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Should be alright if it’s taken in moderation. What did the nutritionist suggests?
Oh, above should be “pick those with the least number of unknown ingredients”.
December 18th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
It’s so confusing. It seems like there’s a report every week about something that is bad for you.
December 20th, 2006 at 11:34 am
If your looking for a new why like i was, try the book, “YOU ON A DIET”. I read about a natural fat replacement ingredient called Z Trim on page 90 of the book “You on a Diet” by Oprah’s doctor, Mehmet Oz. I ordered off of the Z Trim web site and have been cooking with it for a few weeks now. It works and its easy. It lowers calories by replacing portions of the oils, butter, and other fats. It also adds fiber to foods, because it basically is corn fiber made into a gel that works like fat in most cooking. They say it is undetectable, and that’s true. My cooking tastes like it always did. I’ve lost some weight, slowly. It’s a sensible approach and its natural. I eat what I want; it tastes as good as it always did, and I’m finally “right-sizing” my body. A total win-win.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
[…] This is the first time I used extra virgin olive oil and lime juice to make a vinaigrette sauce. It’s so healthy isn’t it? No high fructose corn syrup or any other dressing with evil ingredients camouflaged in innocent labels like “fat free dressing”. […]
February 3rd, 2007 at 6:59 pm
[…] http://www.atkins.com/research-library/research-items/anresearchitem.2005-10-05.7696397267 This article discusses the affect high fructose corn syrup has on obesity. This has some good facts and timelines that will help me. http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/cornsyrup.html http://www.progressiveu.org/160824-high-fructose-corn-syrup-and-the-image-of-fat-americans-around-the-world This article really looks at some of the pros and cons of this product. I need more articles that defend this product to bring another perspective to my research http://www.simcooks.com/196/high-fructose-corn-syrup/ […]