High Fructose Corn Syrup – What Nature Never Intended!High fructose corn syrup is not what nature intended it to be. It was initially developed to be used sparingly in your diet, not beyond a few basic items. Today, it is said to be one of the many major causes of health problems in this country. When the word sugar comes to mind, most of us think of the white sprinkley stuff we use in coffee or for baking. Sugar is technically sucrose, a product refined from sugar cane or sugar beets. Corn syrup can't be found in a sugar bowl, but it is plentiful in many foods and drinks you consume each and everyday.
What’s the problem with products laden with corn syrup? The problem has been building for a long time, but HFCS is taking over the market and making Americans not only Obese, but terribly unhealthy. After all, weight gain happens when you over eat refined sugars and don’t exercise enough. Health problems ensue when you become overweight. What we know as 'table sugar' used to be king in baking products especially, but was never added to the vast amounts of foods that high fructose corn syrup has been added to. Then corn syrup flooded the market. Now, after years of debate about the role of high fructose corn syrup in the obesity epidemic, some food manufacturers have decided to go back to sugar to sweeten products. Sugar and honey are viewed as being healthier than corn syrup, so food companies are playing up the sugar angle in their marketing efforts. Con Agra, Pepsi and Kraft Foods are among those switching from HFCS to sugar in some of their products. This news comes after decades of corn syrup being used (and disguised) in our food sources. That's an interesting twist from the bad rapport sugar used to get. In the past, sugar had been blamed for causing weight gain and hyperactivity in children. Now corn syrup is being blamed for numerous and various illnesses. Sugar was the old evil doer and high fructose corn syrup is the new evil doer. Either way you slice it, both are found in far too many foods. Scientists say eating too much of either substance isn't good for you. (It took a scientist to determine this?) In 2007, American adults ate approximately 44 pounds of sugar and 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup. Yikes! The real problem dates back to the 1960s, (figures, huh?) when HFCS became a popular substitute for sugar. American companies didn't have to rely on imports of sugar anymore. They could just use corn syrup instead. The government (of course) helped make corn syrup an even bigger hit with manufacturers and consumers. Corn subsidies made HFCS cheaper to buy, as tariffs and quotas doubled the market price of table sugar. Plus HFCS has a longer shelf life, which was another major advantage for most manufacturers. Those moves led to widespread use of high fructose corn syrup in a multitude of grocery items. Sodas are at the top of the list, but the range of products include salad dressings, barbecue sauces, whole grain breads, pasta sauces, hot dogs, breakfast cereals, peanut butter, jams, jellies, yogurt, and much more. Even consumers who avoid sodas may be taking in much more high fructose corn syrup than they realize. One long time problem with HFCS is that it actually interferes with optimum sugar metabolism. Another big problem is that it’s hard to avoid. Its simply found in everything we use! Reading labels isn’t often enough to avoid it. Table sugar and corn syrup are both bad, but recent research shows corn syrup is worse. The manufacturing of corn syrup makes it chemically different than table sugar. When you consume table sugar as sucrose, glucose and fructose are chemically bonded to each other and then separate in digestion. When you consume HFCS, the sugars are unbound, giving free glucose and free fructose to your body before digestion ever begins.
High Fructose Corn Syrup and Your HealthInsulin is your body's sugar manager. High fructose corn syrup is very sweet, so it naturally triggers an insulin response in your body. When you consume it regularly, your body’s insulin levels go haywire, which increases your potential for deadly strokes and heart attacks. It also contributes to Diabetes and all its health complications. Analysts performed a retrospective study of diet and Diabetes from 1909 to 1997. They found increased corn syrup consumption and less fiber intake related with an increase of type II Diabetes. What’s even more worrisome, is that it’s happening to our nation's children at an alarming rate. Kids and teens consume more corn-sweetened soft drinks than any other age group. This makes them much more likely to develop diabetes and/or prone to Obesity. The fructose in high fructose corn syrup interacts with the carbonation to form substances called carbonyls. Carbonyls are not only toxic, but have been linked to cell damage which leads to diabetes in children. According to the National Institute of Medicine, children born after 2000 have a high lifetime risk for developing type 2 Diabetes. That risk is 30% for boys and 40% for girls. Most doctors don't recognize high fructose consumption as the cause of health problems in adults. Instead they treat symptoms like high blood pressure or high cholesterol as diseases in themselves. They prescribe drugs when only the best treatment is loss of weight, exercise, and restriction of simple carbohydrates - sugar and high fructose corn syrup are at the top of that list. Experts say that any high fructose corn syrup in your diet should come from eating fresh fruits in moderation. For optimal health, put a lid on the sugar in general, and stay away from what many doctors are calling the most dangerous kind of sugar, high fructose corn syrup. Related Pages Related Products
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