High Fructose Corn Syrup

kayemme
kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
http://www.natural-cure-alternatives.com/high-fructose-corn-syrup.html

an excerpt:

Why is High Fructose Corn Syrup Bad?
Let me explain.

First, you'll usually find large amounts of HFCS in energy dense foods -- those that are high in calories but not much else. That's just another name for foods that are processed, junk, and high in refined carbohydrates and sugar.

And we know that when people eat energy dense food, they tend to take in more calories than people who eat higher amounts of what I call nutrient dense food.

That's because nutrient dense food gives you more bang for your nutritional buck. For example, the classic energy dense beverage, a soft drink, weighs far less than a pound of asparagus but has a lot more calories.

So if you eat a plant-based, whole-food diet of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains, you can eat a lot more and weigh a lot less! (Not to mention avoid nearly all the age-related diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and dementia.)

Of course, the obesity epidemic has many causes, including reduced levels of physical activity, increased portion sizes, eating outside the home and at fast-food restaurants, and our overall "toxic food environment." But we do know that the introduction of high fructose corn syrup into the food supply is associated with the beginning of the obesity epidemic.

Don't believe it?

Well, consider this: Even a slight difference of an extra 100 calories a day can add up to a 10-pound weight gain in just one year. And the average American drinks 440 12-ounce cans of HFCS-laced soda each year!

The second reason that HCFS is bad news for your waistline and your health?

It makes you eat MORE!

Yes, you read that right. high fructose corn syrup actually increases your appetite. Here's how.

Regular table sugar is 50 percent glucose and 50 percent fructose, while -- as its name implies -- high fructose corn syrup is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. Doesn't seem like a big difference, but it can have HUGE effects on your appetite.

When you eat fructose, it doesn't set into motion the chemical reactions and hormones that tell your brain you are full. For instance, fructose doesn't stimulate insulin secretion or the increase in leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full). While glucose is transported into the brain, affecting brain signals that control or limit appetite, fructose is not.

Replies

  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    :flowerforyou: :drinker: Good article. I won't touch anything with HFCS in it, nor have it in my house. I actually shy away from most foods that are sweetened, even if it's just normal table sugar. Sugar is highly refined and dulls the taste buds to real flavors, training us to crave everything to be sweeter than it really is or should be.
  • sallyLunn
    sallyLunn Posts: 381
    That's true. I've found that the less refined sugar I eat, the more that normal foods are sweet tasting to me.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    Nature's Own bread and buns don't have HFCS. I buy the double fiber wheat for my husband and me and the honey wheat for our kids. It's really good and they have it at Sam's!
  • dskline1
    dskline1 Posts: 123
    i feel like everything has HFCS, how do you avoid it. i mean i know, look at the label but dont some breads even have it. i just wonder what people eat instead.

    I find it hard to avoid in all aspects as well, but, do what I can to avoid it. I live in South Central Pa and have found that Arnold's name brand bread does not have HFCS. Most of our grocery stores stock it as well as Wal-Mart. I have recently found ketchup that does not have it as well. Good Luck!
  • SouthernBell86
    SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
    You're right, HFCS is added to a lot of what you find on the shelves these days, and most bread items have it as well. One reason they use HFCS is that it has a longer shelf life than regular sugar does, so bread products use it more than some other products.

    I use Ezekial Bread, which you find in the freezer section. They freeze it so it won't go bad, but I usually put half into the fridge when I get home so that it isn't frozen when I want to use it. In addition to not having HFCS in it, it has a lot of other really good things that make it really nutritious!

    At first it can seem like you have to avoid everything to not eat HFCS, but then you get used to avoiding certain brands, and then you realize that fruits and veggies and other basic ingredients don't have any additives, and are delicious anyway! Avoiding HFCS actually makes it a lot easier for me to eat low cal and follow MFP's plan.

    (If you have an occasional craving for ice cream, Haagan Dazs is one of the only brands that doesn't use HFCS...but that isn't an excuse to eat it everyday!)
  • skinnytayy
    skinnytayy Posts: 459
    I've had no problem avoiding HFCS .. It's NOT allowed in my house AT ALL. Some things I buy free of HFCS include

    - Pepperidge farms deli flats
    - Mission carb balance fajita size tortillas
    - Mission tortilla strips
    - Mission medium cheese dip
    - Dannon greek yogurt
    - Fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats
    - Fisher Natural Almonds
    - Luna bars
    - Kashi products
    - Ronzoni healthy harvest rotini noodles
    - Green giant frozen broccoli and cheese

    Mainly, I avoid processed foods. Most junk foods, frozen entrees, canned items, etc have HFCS so its best to make as much food as you possibly can at home with fresh ingredients and avoid the inner aisles of grocery stores/walmart. The outermost parts of the store are where you can find the healthiest foods :)


    Another thing is to stay away from artificial sweeteners (I'm getting a little off topic, I know). I recently (last night) discovered you can buy Stevia (natural sweetener made from stevia plants, not FDA approved so its not sold as food) as an herb in the vitamin section of walmart for $6. You get 100 packets. It's a little pricey in general but alot cheaper than internet prices.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    Here is a list of products containing HFCS - http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/06/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct (note that some manufacturers are removing it from their products, so may have changed slightly)

    Here is a list of fast foods containing it - http://www.foodfacts.info/high-fructose-corn-syrup.shtml (I dont' have to worry about it, because I don't eat fast food).

    Easiest way to avoid it is to eat whole foods, instead of processed ones.
  • absie107
    absie107 Posts: 290
    It's basically just refined sugar from corn - both are equally not cool for your body in high doses. I love how they want to call it 'corn sugar.' It's still sugar. Corn is evil! Well, not sweet corn but the kind that you can't ingest without having to refine it first is, lol.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    Just FYI, I wrote this article this afternoon about HFCS if you should care to read it. http://www.justmeans.com/Healthy-Food-HFCS-Marketing-Part-1/31217.html

    That's why I originally posted the excerpt here because I found that while I was researching the article. :)
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    We avoid it, but not entirely. Pretty much anything that you have made for you (i.e. packaged or restaurant foods) will have an abundance of both sugar and salt. The two play off each other and stimulate a number of reactions from insatiability to dulling of the senses.

    When you prepare food at home, you control the salt/sugar and it's usually considerably less. I make cakes and sweets a lot, but I've noticed that when I go out for a pastry, it's normally entirely too sweet for my tastes now because I almost always cut the sugar in half or close to half depending on the recipe and how long I intend to keep it. (note, some recipes actually require the sugar not for flavor, but for preserving, and that's a completely different thing)

    If I'm cooking with fruits, I almost never add sugar, as many fruits are naturally sweet and don't require the addition. I always only add a little salt to bring out flavors, not to make it salty, but I also noticed that saltiness makes me want to drink more, and if there's a soda nearby, it's G.O.N.E. immediately. so I keep the salt down and try to drink water with meals.
  • baker_c
    baker_c Posts: 251 Member
    I just read an article today that they are looking to change the name of hihg fructose corn syrup to corn sugar becase too mant people avoid HFCs. So look for corn sugar too if you want to avoid
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    I just read an article today that they are looking to change the name of hihg fructose corn syrup to corn sugar becase too mant people avoid HFCs. So look for corn sugar too if you want to avoid

    that's the substrate of my article for justmeans today... it's total bs that hte marketers want to just change the name and call it good.
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