The Skinny on High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Corn, corn, corn. I never realized how much corn we were all eating until I sifted through Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma". According to the author Japanese chemists figured out a way to transform glucose into fructose, which is much sweeter. Pollan writes "HFCS is a blend of 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose that tastes exactly as sweet as sucrose." HFCS attained mainstream status in the 1970s after the corn refining process was perfected. The sweetener replaced sugar in many of the sweetened drinks and foods found in supermarkets including soda, baked goods, frozen desserts and condiments like salad dressing and ketchup. Today it is omnipresent.

So, why is HFCS an ingredient we should avoid? Scientific evidence now supports what many doctors, dietitians, nutritionists and healthy food advocates have been saying for years. It's bad for you and your kids! Here's a link to an article discussing the findings, which I will summarize below: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/08/corn_syrup.html.

According to Professor Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, lab tests he conducted on HFCS-sweetened carbonated beverages found high levels of reactive carbonyls. These "undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with “unbound” fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage." Ho pointed out that "elevated levels of reactive carbonyls are found in the blood of diabetics and linked to complications of that disease. Reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are “bound” and chemically stable." Ho recommended reducing or eliminating HFCS from our diets.

Just one more reason to become a box turner! Just to let you know, every time someone says something negative about HFCS, the Corn Refiners Association sends them a very impressive press kit rebutting the negative press. Don't believe it.