I was invited to learn more about High Fructose Corn Syrup and share my findings with you. I honestly can say that I didn’t know much about it but have been hearing that I should avoid it. I had a lot of questions in regards to using it and had been “avoiding it” but really didn’t know why. I started off by heading to my stockpile to read labels and to keep a look out for different types of sugars such as:
- Agave
- Brown sugar or granulated white sugar
- Cane juice, cane syrup, and cane juice crystals
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Corn sweeteners and corn syrup
- Dextrose, Fructose, Glucose, Lactose, Maltose, or Sucrose
- Fruit juice concentrate
- High fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Invert sugar
- Malt syrup
- Molasses
- Stevia
- Syrup
I was surprised by the ingredients that I found in several of our staple foods! I urge you to make a list of at least 5 items you commonly use in meals or eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and what type of sugar you find. You can also check out http://www.sugarstacks.com to get an idea of what foods to look for.
I attended a very informative webinar about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which had experts such as the president of the Corn Refiners Association, medical and nutritional researchers, and a dietitian who addressed all of the participating bloggers questions. At the end of the webinar I was amazed with the information that I learned.
What I learned is that all of the medical and nutritional researchers including the dietitian agreed that HFCS is no better or worse for you than table sugar or any other form of sugar that we consume from the list. Because of the inclusion of the word “Fructose” which if consumed in a large quantity could be unhealthy we as consumers “think” that High Fructose Corn Syrup is also bad for our health. However what I walk away with is that we should be limiting ALL of our sugar intake.
What I learnded is that HFCS is actually 1/2 fructose and 1/2 glucose. There are many reasons that manufacturers use HFCS in products besides for a sugar. It is used to promote browning in cakes, retain moisture and delay staling in granola bars and to help with tissue damage in frozen fruits. Also it was repeated that sugars can be part of a healthy diet when used in moderation.
HFCS delivers the same sugar and are broken down in the small intestine and absorbed in the same way as sugar. Why should we pay more for products that avoid using HFCS when in reality those products are just using another form of sugar from the list above which are no better for us. What we should be doing is eliminating SUGARS from our diet completely and going towards a more whole foods approach to eating. That is my 2 cents!
One thing that I thought was particularly interesting from the webinar is that Agave Nectar has more fructose than any of the sweeteners including HFCS and is not getting the attention that HFCS is. I have friends who us agave because they think it is a “healthy” alternative.
At the end of the day I think that key is Moderation. I also think choosing natural sweeteners is the best idea.
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I am disappointed to hear the conclusion that you drew from this “webinar” that was obviously sponsored by the Corn Industry and I encourage you to investigate further. Check out the documentaries “Food Inc.” and “King Corn”, to start with. You might also find this article interesting:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6714ZH20100802
I’m not going to get into this debate too heavily, but I’m pretty sure that your conclusions have been drawn from hearing 1 side of the story.
Love your website, BTW.
~ C
My understanding is they can’t change the name to Corn Sugar. That name already exists.
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