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I felt very important when I discovered a comment on my previous High Fructose Corn Syrup post from none other than a representative of the Corn Refiners Association!
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been the subject of a lot of attention and misinformation in the past few years.
[see comments broken out below]
Thanks for your consideration.
Mark on behalf of the Corn Refiner’s [sic] Association
One thing I found interesting about the comment right off the bat is that it is apparently a generic response to people posting negatively about HFCS, and addresses many of the common concerns – some of which I had not even mentioned in my post.
Let’s start at the beginning and look at his remarks.
Both HFCS and sugar contain the same simple sugars (glucose and fructose), they both have the same number of calories, and your body metabolizes them the same way.
According to WebMD, glucose and fructose are NOT metabolized the same way by your body.Â
They say it’s not a big deal, since (despite the name) HFCS is about 55% fuctose to 45% glucose – not a huge departure from the roughly 50/50 ratio found in table sugar and other sweeteners. I don’t know how significant that differene really is…
I did mention the fructose issue in post, as something raised in my cursory literature review, but this is not a big issue for us since we are not a diabetic household.
The American Medical Association in June 2008 helped put to rest misunderstandings about this sweetener and obesity, stating that “high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.â€
This is not an issue I raised, nor one that ever occurred to me. Doesn’t that just say “eating junk food maks you fat?” Duh.
There has been significant confusion about just how much high fructose corn syrup is contained in everyday foods. It is true that this highly versatile ingredient performs numerous functions besides sweetening that make it useful in many food preparations. But it does so in most cases using very small amounts. How small? You would need to eat 87 bowls of cereal in a single day to reach the recommended daily allowance of added sugars from high fructose corn syrup. For bread, they would need to eat 39 slices.
I find this statement misleading.
Sure, there’s not too much sugar-or-HFCS in a slice of bread. But there’s a whole ton more in a can of soda pop, or fruit chew candy, or cookies. And I’m imagining that how much there is in “a bowl of cereal” varies pretty widely.
HFCS is also so universal that it’s hard to even track the total cumulative amount.Â
- It’s in your cereal, your jam, your yogurt, your granola, and your juice.Â
- It’s in your weight-loss shake and your health-food protein bar.Â
- It’s in your bread, your peanut butter, your cold-cuts, your soda, your cookies.Â
- It’s in your chicken nugget coating, your ketchup…Â Ack!
And furthermore, the very premise is a dodge. The point it is trying to make is that you don’t get more HFCS every day than the amount of SUGAR that’s “allowable.” An while they may be metabolically smilar, there are still other issues which may cause us to choose agains HFCS.
NBC Nightly News recently did a report about the misperceptions on HFCS http://bit.ly/m1YHT
This is a complete fluff job, with nothing new to add to the conversation. I guess some people will believe it if they hear it on the network news.
The clip also leans heavily on the above point that HFCS is not any greater a cause of obesity than sugar, which is not one of the biggest issues I’ve heard discussed.
3rd party testing also shows that there is no quantifiable levels of mercury found in HFCS http://duketox.mc.duke.edu/HFCS%20test%20results4.doc
He cites a study that says NO, The Washington Post cites a study that says YES. I’m not going to take sides, since I don’t have the inclination to go through and try to evaluate the research methodology of either one.
Again, though, this is a very peripheral issue in terms of people’s concern with HFCS.
So, there you have it. That was the length and breadth of his “rebuttal.”Â
A lot about not causing obesity, and nothing at all about the issues of biggest concern to our family:
- Made from corn which is typically genetically modified.
- Two of the enzymes used to create it (yeah, it’s a big chemical process), are genetically modified.
There is a study showing health risks from a Monsanto corn, and the NY Times reported the European Union’s proposed ban on two varieties fron DuPont (other good links here to more information, mercury studies, etc.)
- Increasing concern about corn farming in general – economically, environmentally, etc.
This is from a comment left on a study comparing the carbon footprint of ethanol (corn-based fuel) and gasoline at New Scientist:
Industrial-style corn farming is arguably one of the most ecologically damaging activities carried out in the U.S., causing devastating pollution of the two largest river systems in the country and creating a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico the size of New Jersey (http://www.smm.org/deadzone/ , etc.). Corn requires more water and fertilizer than any other crop, and the most toxic insecticides and pesticides.
Similarly, corn farming is described as “a nightmare” by Ken Green of AEI (a DC think-tank), also in an article on Ethanol.
- It is simply so processed(see above), when many of us are trying to eat more naturally
Perhaps least-scientific but most-cited: It’s a weird, toxic thing that makes kids act crazy. In our house this includes:
- Wolf gets his ulcer-like stomach pains after drinking YooHoo, which is very high in HFCS.Â
- Jewel used to get stomachaches on a semi-regular basis right after eating… and we noticed a connection to the amount of HFCS consumed.
- Jewel becomes a totally zoned-out zombie if she eats a high HFCS “treat†after dinner or at any other vulnerable time
- Nick is far more ADD-like after eating high HFCS foods
- I get a migraine much more often from a high HFCS food than from an otherwise-identical item sweetened with honey, sugar, etc.
MOVING ON…Â
What I actually wanted to talk about was, as I titled the post, how our life has been since we banished HFCS.
Between HFCS and the Pepsi boycott, Wolf and I are both without our favorite soft drinks. I’m missing my Mountain Dew, and he prefers Caffeine-Free Pepsi.
I’m not much of a soda drinker anyway, but with certain foods – like pizza – it just seems like the right choice. You know how certain foods call for red or white wine??Â
We’re also trying to switch over to less expensive, more natural options, like iced tea. Thanks to our Klean Kanteens, we can travel with anything and everything.
And the best new thing we’ve found?Â
For those times when you just really want a soda, there’s Winn-Dixie (store brand) “Natural”. Well, certain flavors.
The Black Cherry, Root Beer, and Grape are really, truly yummy. The Cola we’re not crazy about, but it might do in a pinch if you really crave cola. Orange and Cream is, um, not recommended.Â
If only they had a Mountain Dew flavor…
There are other small-bottler and “natural” sodas available that are HFCS-free (typically sweetened with cane sugar) – but most of them are marketed as “Premuim,” with a price tag to match.
The Winn-Dixie Natural costs more than their regular line sodas, but at $2 – $2.50 for a six-pack, it’s quite a reasonable alternative to the big brand name sodas.
Some thing we haven’t bothered to replace commercially. We’ve found simple recipes for everything from ketchup to tartar sauce, at places like RecipeZaar and Debt Proof Living. We bake our own bread.
Less ulcer pains. Fewer migraines. Not as many stomach aches.
It’s hard to imagine there’s not something to this.
A once-and-future full-time RV family shares their adventures - homeschooling, home business, life in an RV, Christian living, interesting travel and dining experiences, you name it...
