Pretty Poison: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
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Not such a sweet story
High fructose corn syrup is doing more than sweetening your soda. According to a study conducted at UCLA, it’s also feeding cancer cells. Apparently pancreatic cancer cells are particularly fond of fructose and their growth is substantially accelerated when they come in contact with it. The corn industry will tell you that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contains less fructose than sugar. That’s true but the killer difference is in the bonding. In sugar, the fructose is naturally bonded to glucose. In the processed corn syrup, it isn’t and the body reacts to it differently. This could very well be where some of the problem lies. It’s also important to remember that we should not be using sugar at all but choosing a better solution for our sweet tooth. Many people are happy with stevia, Splenda or a new one called HealtheSweet.
HFCS is being removed from many products – Hunts Ketchup is one and the list is growing. Read the labels and buy brands that are clear about what is in the product. The use of HFCS has increased 1000% from 1970 to 1990. Coincidentally, there is an increase in obesity, fatty liver disease, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. So why is it still being used and why is the corn industry speaking out against these reports? HFCS is dirt cheap. It’s a marketer’s dream but when you add contaminants like mercury and other noxious substances, it’s a consumer’s nightmare. Wouldn’t you think that the Corn Refiners Association would show at least a little concern before they call every study “incomplete” or “misleading”? Funny, but I seem to recall the tobacco industry doing the same thing.
© 2011 by Alexandra Lucas/SilverGenes. All rights reserved
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Thanks, Cathleena - we can't get away from it, can we? Ah... honey and maple syrup are still good :)
I don't buy corn-syrupy products as they taste bland.;)
Oreos and stuff like that don't taste as good as they used to.;)
Thanks, Mentalist acer - nothing seems to taste quite as good as it used to and I don't think it's a matter of age. There is a lot of cost cutting. Oreos are smaller I think LOL. I'm a maple syrup gal :)
I do not use these products either. Interesting hub. BTW, Got as Kindle for my birthday so bought one of your ebooks today (The Pretty Fish).
Wow! I'm jumping up and down here, alekhouse! I hope you like it :) Thank you!!
I've noticed the "No Corn Syrup" on the Hunts ketchup so I pick it up without even comparing the price. Thanks for sharing this valuable information.
MsDora, it's nice to know the food companies are responding to consumers and as we learn more about what is actually IN some of our food, the more we can let these companies know what we will and will not accept. I was horrified to see what the nitrites in bacon and other deli meats have been doing to us but it didn't take long for companies to come out with nitrite-free products after that. It's all about the bottom line and consumer response can affect it. I didn't know Hunts was now free of HFCS and will make a point to look for it! Thank you :)
I am a label reader, and I don't care how good the sale or coupon is when it comes to high fructose corn syrups, I will not buy a product that uses it. The more I read about it, the worse it sounds. Great hub, voted up.
Me too, stephaniedas. It's scary what is in some of our food and the more I learn, the more I tend to make things myself from whole ingredients. In my opinion, the epidemic of obesity is caused more by cheap ingredients and corporate greed than human overindulgence. Thanks for the visit and the vote!
I totally agree. Especially when we learn that the body can become addicted to high fructose corn syrup, and that it can trick you into eating more calories than you need.
Just when I thnk I've heard it all, an article like this one shows up. I have tons of health problems, so knowing these things is a huge help to me. Thank you so much for this one. Voted up and useful.
stephaniedas, the more I learn about what is in many food products, the more I tend to avoid all the inside aisles in the grocery store. You are quite right about eating more than we need and it isn't gluttony in most cases. It's our bodies looking for nutrition in some form! Thanks for stopping by ;)
Thank you, TIMETRAVELLER2. I'm veering toward maximum nutrition these days and it doesn't include HFCS - I do have a serious thing for popsicles though, so am looking for some truly great natural whole food recipes ;-)
God knows many more need to hear and heed this message!
Thanks, Felina. I agree. We all sort of trusted our food supply to be safe and apparently we were wrong. Now we have that awful pink sludge in the hamburger, too... it never ends. Makes me want to plant a garden with real seeds and preserve things like my grandmother did. They didn't have a weight issue back then either. Hmmm
Great information. Thanks.
Thanks, Dim. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Cathleena Beams Level 3 Commenter 7 months ago
And here I was thinking that the artificial stuff was worse for us. Thanks for sharing this information. :o)