Saturday, November 1, 2008

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Since seeing a high fructose corn syrup (hrcs) commercial by the Corn Refiners Association a bit ago, I've been doing a bit of research on hrcs. It seems it's not as horrible as we all thought. It's about as horrible as sugar. Which isn't great, but not the evil thing we were led to believe it is. The main problem with hrcs is it's in EVERYTHING. So basically we are just consuming way too much sugar.

Time Magazine did an article about it in September. It was interesting. I think it's funny the way some things are "bad" for us and then they're "good" for us. I remember avoiding palm and coconut oils like crazy. Only buying certain brands of fruit snacks and peanut butter and avoiding cool whip thinking those oils are the worst kind to put in your body. Now we're told they are some of the best.

It's crazy how fast science changes it's mind.

6 comments:

Preludeto40 said...

You can never believe much of what the news has to say. It changes too often. You just have to do what works for YOU. Personally, eating veggies works for me--so why don't I do it enough?

Oh yea, because I love chocolate.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I'm kinda new to the blog thing, just joined weight watchers and all that and am loving finding people out there on similar paths. I am so laughing at your post.... I had this crazy 'epiphany' a few months ago that all of the corn syrup, sugar, preservatives, and artificial ingredients were killing me. I had a long talk with a nutritionist and what I learned just scared me. I went whole foods/organic totally the next day. I totally understand - corn syrup is in EVERYTHING in many forms. It's CRAZY! Try avoiding MSG too - insane.

I will be linking to your blog. I think we all need support in this journey. I often post recipes too. I have this kind of hybrid blog of food and my journey and overall rambling.. it's a mess! LOL

I look forward to reading more :)

Ryan Wanger said...

I did some recent research on HFCS...since the "Sweet Surprise" commercials have started, the number of people googling "high fructose corn syrup" has SKYROCKETED. Check out the data here: http://www.thereluctanteater.com/2008/10/proof-sweet-surprise-high-fructose-corn.html

It's hard to say whether the substance itself is evil, but I agree with you that the main problem is it's prevalence. I've heard more than once that it's the number one source of calories in our diet. Obviously, that is a BIG problem.

Heather said...

thanks so much for your kind comment on my blog! I have seen those commercials, and I think its kind of silly that they are trying to assure people that HFCS is perfectly fine. While you are right, it could be worse, I certainly wouldnt encourage anyone to be eating foods with HFCS in it. sometimes it cannot be helped, but its something to have in moderation, just like sugar.

Preludeto40 said...

Thanks for the comment. I can use the support, so I appreciate it.

So Not Telling You said...

It's mind spinning, isn't it? I just can't keep track.

I'm trying to get back to real food as much as possible. I'm tired of buying stuff that says "Made with real ___!" Selling food with real food in it shouldn't be such a novelty!