Cutting out High-Fructose Corn Syrup--has anyone?

Kaitou

I've heard of a lot of the risks of consuming too much HFCS (I guess everyone probably has) and I thought about cutting it out of my life. This was brought on by looking at a tomato soup can label and realizing they'd even added it to that.

It's added to the bread in our house, our ketchup, our jelly.

So I was thinking about cutting it out of my life entirely. Has anyone done so, and did it seem to make a difference? I know a lot of people say that it messes up your leptin (I think?) which helps regulate when you feel hungry. If it is making us feel hungrier more often, cutting it could be a weight-loss boon.

So, has anyone noticed any effects from dropping it?

FatFreeFrolicking

I didn't try to cut it out… It just happened naturally based on my eating habits. No noticeable effects.

sm1zzle

I've cut down my consumption of it but have a goal to try and not consume any. It's so hard because it's in EVERYTHING lol

Meerataila

http://uctv.tv/shows/Sugar-The-Bitter-Truth-16717

If you're worried about how it affects your weight, satiety, and health, then you should cut down on all added sugar, not just HFCS. Fruit gets a pass from Dr. Lustig (famous for the above video). But fruit juice is a no according to him.

Many people think he's an alarmist, but he's a pediatric endocrinologist with credentials in diabetes research reviews (he and another author tied up causation between increased consumption of sugar in populations with increased rates of diabetes in those populations). I'll listen to him before some random internet poster who will come tell you sugar is fine in all forms and quantities. Your opinion may vary. Do your own reading and lecture watching, make up your own mind.

Kaitou

I didn't try to cut it out… It just happened naturally based on my eating habits. No noticeable effects.

What kind of eating habits do you have where you don't ever encounter it? It's in BBQ sauce, cereal, honey mustard, salad dressing, peanut butter, syrup, pasta sauce, granola bars, crackers, applesauce, yogurt...etc. It's even in medicines like cough syrup.

I guess raw-foods or all-organic would do the trick.

wizzybeth

I have cut it out almost 99%. The difference I've noticed is that my mild but irritating digestive issues have almost all gone away. I have to buy organic food to avoid it ....

wizzybeth

Organics or make your own stuff from scratch....to eliminate it...

Meerataila

Organics or make your own stuff from scratch....to eliminate it...

This. Learning to cook from scratch in my opinion is never going to be a wasted skill even if you decide for some reason to start drowning your food in sugars.

AdventureFreak

I cut it out. My groceries got more expensive when I did. Nothing else to note.

sistrsprkl

I didn't try to cut it out… It just happened naturally based on my eating habits. No noticeable effects.

What kind of eating habits do you have where you don't ever encounter it? It's in BBQ sauce, cereal, honey mustard, salad dressing, peanut butter, syrup, pasta sauce, granola bars, crackers, applesauce, yogurt...etc. It's even in medicines like cough syrup.

I guess raw-foods or all-organic would do the trick.

It's not that hard to eliminate it almost completely. I do most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and hfcs isn't in any of their products. There are plenty of products at all grocery stores that don't have it. I don't eat all raw or all organic, I just try to avoid a ton of processed foods and that includes hfcs.

LAT1963

I've pretty much eliminated it just by my food choices. It crops up in a lot of unexpected places like ketchup and BBQ sauce. Trader Joe's is pretty good about using only non HFCS products, except for candy. But it is also a good incentive to make your own sauces and salad dressings from scratch.

There are a variety of reasons to reduce soda consumption. Carbonated water is thought by some to throw off your fat metabolism, and some of the acids in soda are thought to contribute to osteoporosis. But if you must have soda you can find brands with all manner of sweeteners known to man.

The less processed the foods you buy, the less risk you'll accidentally buy something with HFCS in it. Read labels.

I have not noticed any subjective difference, though I've been avoiding it for years. However, unlike many of my peers of my age and weight, I do not have high cholesterol or triglycerides, nor diabetes, nor glucose intolerance, nor high blood pressure. HFCS has been implicated in all of these health problems that tend to have few or no symptoms in their early stages.

So I'm not sure cutting HFCS out of your diet would make you *feel* any different, but it might make your *lab values* improve.

FatFreeFrolicking

I didn't try to cut it out… It just happened naturally based on my eating habits. No noticeable effects.

What kind of eating habits do you have where you don't ever encounter it? It's in BBQ sauce, cereal, honey mustard, salad dressing, peanut butter, syrup, pasta sauce, granola bars, crackers, applesauce, yogurt...etc. It's even in medicines like cough syrup.

I guess raw-foods or all-organic would do the trick.

Don't eat BBQ sauce.
Or cereal. Or honey mustard.
I buy organic PB so no HFCS.
I don't consume syrup.
Or pasta sauce (make my own).
Don't eat granola bars, or applesauce, or yogurt.
And I don't consume cough syrup either.



Oh and the salad dressing I use doesn't contain HFCS either.

MysteriousMerlin

I try to avoid it when I can, but I'm not a freak about it.

LAT1963

If you must have syrup, buy real, actual Maple Syrup made from the sap of Maple trees.

Kaitou

I didn't try to cut it out… It just happened naturally based on my eating habits. No noticeable effects.

What kind of eating habits do you have where you don't ever encounter it? It's in BBQ sauce, cereal, honey mustard, salad dressing, peanut butter, syrup, pasta sauce, granola bars, crackers, applesauce, yogurt...etc. It's even in medicines like cough syrup.

I guess raw-foods or all-organic would do the trick.

It's not that hard to eliminate it almost completely. I do most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and hfcs isn't in any of their products. There are plenty of products at all grocery stores that don't have it. I don't eat all raw or all organic, I just try to avoid a ton of processed foods and that includes hfcs.

Do you consider stuff like bread, ketchup and tomato soup to be "processed foods"? I think they're pretty basic and natural, but the only way to get them without HFCS apparently is to buy an organic brand.

Meerataila

If you must have syrup, buy real, actual Maple Syrup made from the sap of Maple trees.

Bonus, you'll find out what 'good' actually tastes like. Downside: It's pretty expensive. But hey, it teaches moderation.

Lleldiranne

I don't like the flavor of it in drinks, so I won't buy/drink sodas or fruit "juices" that have it. The aftertaste is awful. I also use 100% pure maple syrup, again because the flavor is so much better, and the same with breads - I prefer the taste of ones that happen to not have it.

I do use some BBQ sauces and other items that have HFCS in smaller amounts, so I haven't cut it out completely. I honestly believe that, in moderation, it's fine. It's another form of sugar, and like any sugar, too much can be bad, but if there's a bit in my ketchup, I'm not going to freak out.

For me, it's as much a taste thing as anything else. I'm picky about where my calories come from -- If I don't like the way it tastes, it's not worth the calories :laugh:

Lleldiranne

If you must have syrup, buy real, actual Maple Syrup made from the sap of Maple trees.

Bonus, you'll find out what 'good' actually tastes like. Downside: It's pretty expensive. But hey, it teaches moderation.

Yeah ... I measure out 1-2 Tbs of the real 100% maple syrups (which is 1/2 to 1/4 the "serving size" on the bottle). I tastes like plenty then, and you can really enjoy the maple flavor.

Meerataila

If you must have syrup, buy real, actual Maple Syrup made from the sap of Maple trees.

Bonus, you'll find out what 'good' actually tastes like. Downside: It's pretty expensive. But hey, it teaches moderation.

Yeah ... I measure out 1-2 Tbs of the real 100% maple syrups (which is 1/2 to 1/4 the "serving size" on the bottle). I tastes like plenty then, and you can really enjoy the maple flavor.

When I hit maintenance it's a treat I plan on having now and then. I can't afford to buy it too often anyway. Unless that's all I want to eat. If I come up with that as a plan, I'll have to stay away. Or start tapping trees. Actually I'd love to do that sometime. Fresh air, exercise, free maple syrup. What's not to like?

alydar42

Yes on avoiding HFCS. I noticed my body had a poor response to HFCS in the 1970s -- long story how. Irregardless, I can't even eat a cracker without reading the box first. Basically, it knocks me out. I remeber snacking on some crackers at work once and getting a horrible case of the head-bobs and falling asleep at my keyboard (aka, QWERTY forehead) as a result. Totally embarrassing.

One of my most recent accidental exposures happened when my other half picked up a jar of spaghetti sauce that was on sale and didn't read well enough: 'Less than 2% HFCS." Less than 20 minutes after dinner, my energy drained, mild headache formed and I was asleep for 10 hours. I wake up feeling 'hung over' without any alcohol being consumed and it takes about 2 days for my energy levels to return after an 'exposure' to HFCS. Ice cream: easy choice, Ben & Jerry's. Most chain store brands use it in my experience.

Anyone else ever experience this? No, I am not diabetic. Been tested several times.

Shopping tips: You can pretty much avoid the juice isle at the store, although the V8 Fusions don't tend to use it. Beware of breads and cracker -- appearance of HFCS is mixed there these days and sometimes well into the fine print -- I had to bake my own bread for decades. Ironically. The 'low-sugar' jellies use (OMG) REAL sugar. Read soup labels, esp tomato soup -- hard to find a tomato soup without HFCS. Watch the 'sauces/sauced' prepared foods and salad dressings -- when I eat out, I stick with vinegar and oil if the restarant can't tell me the brand of dressing they use. If it's a tomato-baed sauce (BBQ, ketchup), read the label carefully -- Heinz now had a 'Natural' version without HFCS. Salad dressings, ditto. Less common in real mayonnaise. Forget 'Miracle Whip.' You do have to pick and choose a bit, but HFCS can be completely and successfully avoided with a bit of caution.

I've been delighted at being able to drink a soda (once in a while) for the first time in over 30 years with the availability of Pepsi Throwback and 'Mexican' Coke products. Companies wouldn't be doing this if there weren't others like me out there. Forget the corn sweetener lobby.

Ironically, regular corn syrup I have ZERO reaction to -- just HFCS.

Kaitou

Thanks for the tips Alydar--and for sharing about your experiences with it. I think I'll have to do some very careful label reading from now on, especially since apparently the corn lobby keeps trying to get HFCS approved for using under different names (i.e corn sugar).

I wish they would do more sodas with the "throwback" real sugar option.

Swiftlet66

I don't buy products with HFCS in it; just read the labels. Since it has been getting a lot of bad rep over the years, there's bound to be one product of the type of food you want without HFCS in it at most grocery stores. That or you can make your own foods from scratch!

FatFreeFrolicking

Thanks for the tips Alydar--and for sharing about your experiences with it. I think I'll have to do some very careful label reading from now on, especially since apparently the corn lobby keeps trying to get HFCS approved for using under different names (i.e corn sugar).

I wish they would do more sodas with the "throwback" real sugar option.

Yes, definitely pay close attention to labels! However, a little bit of HFCS won't kill you! Remember, everything in moderation.

knittnponder

I can't eat corn or any product with corn in it so HFCS is out for me. It's a pain in the butt because it is in every stinking thing! I feel better but that's because I can't do corn in general and not specifically related to just HFCS.

ahoier

I havent cut it out.....but I've definitely been limiting my consumption of it....and opting for foods that do not contain it......for example, a post stated it's in ketchup.....I've noticed this....and also noticed some "natural" varieties of ketchup that do not contain it.....yes, they are a couple bucks more.....but as they say, the price you pay to "play"? lol.....and bread.....Nature's Own I've found does not contain it (though I'm sure it contains some other ingredient, that in five years will be "bad" for us.....lol. also noticed ALDI's own L'Oven Fresh Wheat Bread, contains no HFCS.....was surprised by this too....for a generic

alydar42

In my case, it could kill me. Had to pull over while driving once and 'nap' (caught the headache and head-bobs coming on for no apparent reason) due to an exposure at a restaurant while traveling. I asked for maple syrup for waffles and they served me the cheap stuff. Hard to tell the difference when it's in a little sauce cup.

Oh, I don't know if it's still available, but Jones soda uses real sugar -- it more expensive, but good for a 'treat' on a hot summer day. Our local beer distributor carries it -- of all places. I live in "the sticks" -- what can I say? A Trader Joes opened several months ago about 35 miles from home. I'll have to check it out sometime. Thanks to whoever mentioned that!

SeattleRaven

Alydar, I love Jones Dry soda! It's an occasional treat as a mixer when I want an alcoholic drink.

Mr_Knight

So, has anyone noticed any effects from dropping it?

No health effects (and you shouldn't expect any). But it does make it easier to stay within calorie goals, at least for me.

yirara

Do you consider stuff like bread, ketchup and tomato soup to be "processed foods"? I think they're pretty basic and natural, but the only way to get them without HFCS apparently is to buy an organic brand.

Are you serious or is there something wrong with my irony detector?

Unprocessed food for me is what I'm buying from the fresh meat/fish counter, fruits and vegetables, and staples like dry rice and beans without additives. Kind of unprocessed for me is a tin of tomatoes which contains nothing but tomatoes.

From a European perspective these are the things most people seem to buy (maybe apart from the UK) for their daily diet. Bread can be a hit or miss, but generally there's not too much weird stuff in it, same with pasta. Cheese and meats for on the bread: not too bad either.

Though I must admit that during those two business trips to the US and Canada I had a seriously hard time finding fresh, little processed food in supermarkets. Seriously! Cheese that doesn't taste like cheese, sweetish bread with lots of salt (and I bought the one with least sugar), even sweet and rather unmeaty tasting meat for my bread. If ever I should be offered a great job over there I will refuse based on the food alone. I just love my food too much.

Of course not everything is great. The Nordic country I used to live in for a while had some marvelous chocolatieres, which all advertise their products with things like 'hand-made with the best natural ingredients'. When I asked one of them what kind of sugar they're using they told me it's HFCS! O.o I guess I rather stick to slightly bigger manufacturers which actually do label their products.

Kaitou

Do you consider stuff like bread, ketchup and tomato soup to be "processed foods"? I think they're pretty basic and natural, but the only way to get them without HFCS apparently is to buy an organic brand.

Are you serious or is there something wrong with my irony detector?

There's no reason to be rude about it, as you noted yourself, food choices are different in the states.

cwoyto123

Hell no.