High-Fructose Corn Syrup

[mousme]

Several of my friends have gone on household-jihad against High-Fructose Corn Syrup.

Can anyone explain to me why this is the new Antichrist? What's the deal, here?

Thanks!

:::Edited to fix a nomenclature malfunction:::

Comments

[ajpursell.livejournal.com]

It's super-condensed sugar, and according to some studies linked to obesity.

[caitlin.livejournal.com]

Umm... do you mean High Fructose Corn Syrup?

If that's the case, then, it's bad for you and linked to obesity and such.

(I've not heard of High Glucose Corn Syrup before)

C.

[caitlin.livejournal.com]

Also, according to the Wikipedia article on it, Corn syrup IS 100% glucose... and the fructose has been processed in.

C.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I had a Nomenclature Malfunction. 'Tis fixed now. :)

[curtana.livejournal.com]

I recommend this Junk Food Science article on high-fructose corn syrup for some useful debunking - they're pretty good for most sorts of food-related debunking, actually.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Good stuff! Thanks for the link. :)

[ajpursell.livejournal.com]

always check your sources

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sandy_Szwarc

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Oy vey. It's moments like these that make me hate the internet. :P

[ajpursell.livejournal.com]

It's moment like these that make me love it. ;)

When I read her article, it sounded like Thank You for Smoking.

[merccom.livejournal.com]

they say that your stomach cant actually detect it so if you drink a whole bottle of corn syrup you'll still be hungry because your body isnt able to recognize it even though you just consumed a bajillion calories.

[cpirate.livejournal.com]

I don't know about corn syrup in particular, but this is generally true of liquids. We just didn't evolve with much around in the way of liquids that contain calories, so it's not on our brain's radar screen. High-fructose corn syrup being evil or not, jazzing up your drinks with tons of calories will always be a bad idea.

[merccom.livejournal.com]

artifical sweetners are the antix also supposedly. i know what the claim is i need to look up the truth.

[dizietsma.livejournal.com]

Aspartame is linked to formaldehyde poisoning, claims are disputed of course but evidence leans to it being pretty nasty to at least a small number of people.

It's also claimed that it stimulates appetite, which is a pretty ridiculous thing for a sugar substitute to be doing if it's true.

[dizietsma.livejournal.com]

HFCS is as bad as any other refined sugar, and that includes carbs which are essentially sugar too. We're genetically programmed to be addicted to sugars because they're a naturally-rare high-density source of energy. Ever since farming came along and made them far more available, then 20th century farming came along and made them even more available and then started inventing ways to "modify" them and make the sugar dose even more concentrated and refined, at the same time as we all started living more sedentary lifestyles....well let's just say that even without HFCS the result was inevitable. HFCS just happens to be one of the bigger offenders. I'd still prefer any kind of sugar to the artificial sweetener alternatives, those things are truly evil.

[whiskeygirl8.livejournal.com]

For me it's because I keep reading things about how it contributes to weight gain. Since I have this weight problem due to my knee injury and I can't exercise, cutting out anything like that seems like a good idea. And, it's in the most insane things, things you would never expect it to be in. I don't know a lot about the specifics, though. It turns out I don't eat a lot of things with that in it, anyway. Except bread.

[luvenditti.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who thinks that while it's certainly bad for you in large quantities, to have something that contains it every now and again is not the end of the world? HFCS leads to obesity? So does chocolate! So do chips! and doughnuts, and large amounts of potatoes, and even avocado ... I mean seriously, moderation anyone?

[tcaptain.livejournal.com]

All things in moderation :)

...including moderation!

Most people these days (myself included) need to learn moderation since our culture does not encourage it...and some of us (myself included) were too stubborn to learn it from our parents (if they attempted to teach it)

*Takes out soap box and stands on it* (Sorry)

[ashforestwalker.livejournal.com]

I think the problem is that its being put in everything as well as sugar to sweeten the (food/drink) so even if you have only a few chips or half a PJ samwich + half a pop drink you get a meal and a half of empty calories.

If you think about it, what's so wrong with the (food/drink) in question if you need to sweeten it with two or three different kinds of sweeteners.

I had a fit last year when I realized after reading the ingredients that the peanut butter I was eating ( and feeding my son) started with sugar, then icing sugar, then corn syrup, finally we hit peanuts then stuff I have no idea how to say.

More and more I'm seeing this. If its called say Strawberry jam the first thing on the list should be, well strawberries.

I feel like Indiana Jones sometimes, I'm in the stores looking for food that's not drowned it sweeteners.


*gets off soap box* (sorry again)

HRH.

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

i think hfc is used because america is addicted to sugar. there are lost of commercial american foods and especially your candy that are insanely sweet. Hershey bars taste like they consist of 50% sugar.

I have heard that even foods that you wouldn't add sugar to in europe such as hamburgers have sugar added

I like atkins type food, what I used to hate was commercial atkins and recipes from americas who were constantly adding sugar substitutes to make the food taste "normal"

so HFCs is just the next cheaper round in the game of ever sweeter american food

[serenitylioness.livejournal.com]

-
I would suggest finding a way to watch the movie "King Corn".
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/

It might be available on video/DVD.

The movie explains a lot about what goes into the production of various products that are made from corn.

-

[elanya.livejournal.com]

This is an old post, but hey...

I don't like the way it is in *everything* down here in the us. Seriously - I wanted to buy *breadcrumbs* once to make some... breaded pork or something, I forget. The ingredients were breadcrumbs and HFCS. I don't think I'd feel much better if it was normal sugar added, but hey. they put it in dog (and presumably cat) food and treats as well. A friend of mine got me a package of 'training' treats for Jola when I got her, and the second ingredient was corn syrup -_-

I also don't like the taste/texture of baked goods made with it - I can tell. It makes me turn down free cookies! I think it was one of the main reason i was able to give up pop - it's all made with HFCS here, and it tastes different (gross) on account of it.

Anyway, your post had made me want to look in to it a bit more, so I found this page, which grabs together a bunch of different articles form different perpsectives.

What I take away from my reading, then is this:

-HFCS is an unnatural product that is heavily processed and relies on genetically modifies enzymes and corn
-Some scientists believe that fructose can't be properly processed by the body, and can be really bad for you, esp if you are a man. Of course some of these people say you shouldn't give fruit juice to children (buh?)
-Other scientists think the above is crap, or that the studies are unreliable, or generally lacking, and that there is no correlation to fructose and ill health and more than any other sugars consumed in excess.
-HFCS is the most common sugar consumed in the US. It is in everything and people consequently consume ridiculous quantities of it.
-It taste gross and I don't like the qualities it gives to food

So, I try to avoid it, and other overly sugared through other means foods as well.

Of course today I ate most of a bag of peanut butter cups so i could be something of a hypocrite. But hey, no HFCS :V