HFCS: A Food Industry Dream Come TrueLet's start by taking a look at hfcs or High Fructose Corn Syrup. To make it, you'll start with corn. Mill the corn to get cornstarch. Process the cornstarch to get corn syrup which is almost 100% glucose. Now you add enzymes that do their work.
The enzymes may be genetically modified.
I remember when this first hit the scene. My dad came home with three bottles of pure corn syrup. Dad then announced that we were to use corn syrup instead of sugar. You see, the cost of sugar in the late 70's had risen so high it was unaffordable. A problem not only experienced in households, but in the food industry. Simple products like cake and ice cream were costing too much to produce. The industry was in crisis. They needed a solution. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was that solution. It was liquid. It was cheap. And it lengthened the self life of products. Just a temporary solution till the sugar prices come down. Oh, this was great and profits were up. Then what happened? Could it be that products containing HFCS were selling better than their counterparts? Wow! So then it was put into more and more foods. Even foods that you wouldn't have thought needed sweetening. Like spaghetti sauce, for example. Where Does That Leave Us Today? Today, so many foods contain this additive that you would be hard pressed to find a pantry without high fructose corn syrup in something. Go ahead... Check your shelves and fridge. I'll wait. Back again... Good. I'll just bet that you found it in your ketchup, mustard, relish, stir fry sauce, cereal, pasta sauce, ice cream and canned fruit. This blessing to the food industry turned out to be much less of one to you and me. Claims have been made that HFCS acts in a way to turn off the "I'm full" sensor of our bodies. Resulting in over eating. Further, it acts in a way to create cravings for the product. Both these factors Result in increased sales of these foods. I have not found scientific validation of these two claims. So is there a direct relationship between obesity and high fructose corn syrup? If you look at it logically, we see we have a 30% rise in obesity since the late 70's. We also know that high fructose corn syrup began taking a very significant role as a sweetener in the late 70's. The time frame is just too synchronized for a relationship to be just discounted. You will never be able to control anything of which you know nothing about. So, when you crave foods with this additive or you find you just don't feel full do look at what it is you are eating. Here are steps listing what else you can do... Take These Steps 3. Choose 100% juice over "all natural flavors". 4. Avoid processed food whenever possible. 5. Use organic
processed food
over non-organic. 6. Try using organic maple syrup as a sweetener. I use it on my oatmeal. 7. Make organic tea, chill and serve instead of
soda pop.
My kids really liked the black cherry. Eliminating this food additive from your family's diet is a major step towards healthy eating in your home.
Return from HFCS to List Of Food Additives
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