Easy Tips To Reduce Your Consumption
What Is HFCS?
What is it?In order to cut back on manufacturing costs, food companies introduced High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) into the food market in the 1970s. Sweetening manufactured foods this way is profitable, because it is less expensive and much sweeter than sugar, yet easy to transport because of its liquid state. Today HFCS is found in a variety of foods from soda pop to ketchup, fruit drinks to salad dressings, cereals, breads, flavored yogurt, and many, many more products (seriously, check your TV dinner - there's probably HFCS in there too). The consumption of HFCS in the United States rose 1000% between 1970 and 1990, a higher increase than any other food, food group, or food substance.
OK, so why is HFCS bad?
When we eat most carbohydrate foods, the blood sugar level increases and insulin is secreted to transport the sugar into the body's cells. Besides helping to transport blood sugar, insulin also triggers the release of a hormone called leptin. Leptin helps control hunger by signaling the brain that the body is full and therefore to stop eating.
The interesting fact about HFCS is that it is metabolized in a totally different way than other carbohydrates. It does not stimulate or require insulin for transportation to the cells. Since there is no need for insulin release, there is also no secretion of leptin. Therefore the feeling of satiety is altered-you continue to eat and possibly overeat. In other words, this study proposes that because fructose doesn't trip our sense of satiety as sugar would, we are, perhaps, eating more sugars to compensate, and upping overall caloric intake in the process
Where does it come from?
HFCS starts as corn syrup, a liquid sweetener extracted from corn then chemically altered by enzymatic processes to yield a different balance of monosaccharides (simple sugars). Depending on which HFCS formulation can be "custom designed" to the food manufacturers specifications.
Those Commercials!
Don't you just love the new "HFCS is Safe and Natural" commercials? Note that they say "safe in MODERATION". Well, there's the problem - with HFCS in nearly EVERYTHING we eat nowadays, there is no such thing as moderation with a typical American diet.
*I'm also pleased to see that the new Pizza Hut ads for "The Natural" pizza has a disclaimer that the sauce contains no HFCS! Yay Pizza Hut - nice to see some companies are starting to listen.
Here's More if You're Curious
Category: File - :High fructose corn syrup tanker.jpg|right|thumb|High-fructose corn syrup railroad tanker
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) ? called isoglucoseOxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Oxford University Press, 2006 (page 311) in the UK and glucose/fructoseAgriculture and Agri-Food Canada: The Canadian Soft Drink Industry "Glucose/fructose is a generic term for high fructose corn syrup or HFCS" Accessed November 5, 2009 in Canada ? comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert its glucose into fructose and has then been mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to produce a desired sweetness. In the United States, HFCS is typically used as a sugar substitute and is ubiquitous in processed foods and beverages, including soft drinks, yogurt, industrial bread, cookies, salad dressing, and tomato soup.New York Times "A Sweetener With a Bad Rap", 2 June 2006
The most widely used varieties of high-fructose corn syrup are: HFCS 55 (mostly used in soft drinks), approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose; and HFCS 42 (used in many foods and baked goods), approximately 42% fructose and 58% glucose.University of Maryland press release UM. Study - Not Enough Evidence to Indict High Fructose Corn Syrup in Obesity Accessed 2007-11-15 HFCS-90, approximately 90% fructose and 10% glucose, is used in small quantities for specialty applications, but primarily is used to blend with HFCS 42 to make HFCS 55.Article in Food Product Design by John S. White, Ph.D.John S. White, Ph.D., December 2, 2008, HFCS: How Sweet It Is, Food Product Design Accessed 2009-09-06
The process by which HFCS is produced was first developed by Richard Off. Marshalle and
Earl P. Kooi in 1957. The industrial production process was refined by Dr. Y. Takasaki at Agency of Industrial Science and Technology of Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan in 1965?1970. HFCS was rapidly introduced to many processed foods and soft drinks in the U.S. from about 1975 to 1985.
Per relative sweetness, HFCS 55 is comparable to table sugar (sucrose), a disaccharide of fructose and glucose.High Fructose Corn Syrup is Not Sweeter Than Sugar? That makes it useful to food manufacturers as a substitute for sucrose in soft drinks and processed foods. HFCS 90 is sweeter than sucrose; HFCS 42 is less sweet than sucrose.
Read Those Labels!
High Fructose Corn Syrup may masquerade on ingredient labels as HFCS, HFCS Solids, Fructose Syrup, or Fructose Solids.
Practical Tips
Even reducing your consumption by a little bit will have a positive effect on your health!
I'm a huge promoter of healthy, whole, organic, allergen-free eating. I'm also a realist - I've got 4 young children and a limited budget, so I've come up with a list of relatively painless "small" changes you can make in your daily habits which will greatly reduce the amount of HFCS you consume.
- Carbonated Drinks - Look for cane sugar sweetened. Most major brands (Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, etc) are sweetened with HFCS unless they are diet. Their are alternatives if you look for them. A&W Root Beer has a new bottled "Float" soda which not only has no HFCS, but it's naturally caffeine-free as well!
- Catsup - Look for organic catsup. It tastes no different from "regular" catsup and only costs a few pennies more.
- Salad Dressing - Nearly every brand of bottled salad dressing contains HFCS. Look for natural or organic labels or - believe it or not - the powdered Ranch mix from Hidden Valley Ranch has no HFCS. Just buy your own sour cream or buttermilk and mix it up yourself!
- Ice Cream - Another food that relies heavily on HFCS. Breyer's All Natural (but ONLY the "All Natural" variety) Ice Cream doesn't have any, though!
- Frozen Treats - Most regular popsicles are sweetened with HFCS. Buy bars made from 100% fruit juice, or make your own with frozen fruit pureed in the blender.
- Sports Drinks and "Vitamin Water" - Ugh. Don't even get me started on these. So-called Vitamin Water, Gatorade, and most other "Sports" drinks are NOTHING but water, HFCS, and artificial flavorings. Sometimes with a few vitamins added so they can sell more. Brilliant Marketing. Avoid these like the plague.
- Juice Beverages - As tempting as it may be to buy those fun sports bottles with "juice", little barrel juices, or cheap breakfast drinks for your kids - trust me - it's worth the couple of extra bucks to get the real thing - 100% Fruit Juice (even the frozen or "from concentrate" stuff is better than the fake sweetened stuff.
- Breads- The best advice I have here is just read the labels. I've seen inexpensive store brand sandwich breads with no HFCS and expensive "healthier" brands that do and vice versa. One interesting fact - did you know that most "wheat" (as in white or wheat sandwich breads) are darker not because of the wheat, but because caramel coloring is added to make it look nicer?
- Cereals - Another one where you'll just have to look around and read some labels. Oddly enough, Fruity Pebbles doesn't have any HFCS.
- Meats, Hot dogs, Bacon - Be very careful with hot dogs. I still haven't found a place to buy ones in my town that don't have HFCS in them (even Hebrew National Kosher dogs contain it). The same holds true for most regular bacons. Turkey Bacon usually doesn't, but Turkey Dogs do (go figure!). Nearly all pre-packaged lunch meats have HFCS.
- Cookies - A lot of pre-packaged, un-frosted cookies have no HFCS, but you'll need to check.
- Snacks - Regular "fruit snacks" are basically pure HFCS with some flavorings. Read the labels, it's hard to find a fruit roll up, fruit snack, or the like without it. The same goes for sports bars, power bars, nutrition bars, and similar items - most of them are loaded to the gills with HFCS.
- Pancake Syrup Most brands, like Aunt Jemima, contain not only corn syrup, but added HFCS to make them even sweeter! Your best best is to only buy 100% Pure Maple Syrup (it is more expensive, though).
Shopping List
Check your grocery store shelves for "organic" or "natural" products. Most products labeled this way will not have HFCS in them and the cost difference may not be that great. Check your store before spending more money at specialty or health food stores.
Show Your Feelings!
High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Evil Dark T-Shirt
Price: 21.99 
NAAO "Not In My Fridge" Magnet
Price: 6.00
Read More.
Food Allergies
If you are allergic to corn, you need to completely eliminate HFCS from your diet as well. There is a chance that the sugars (which are non-allergenic) have trace amounts of the corn proteins which may trigger an allergic reaction. There's HFCS In What??
Just a FEW that are on the list:
B&M Original Baked Beans
Contadina Tomato Paste
Claussen Pickles - Bread and Butter Chips
Yoplait Yogurts
Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Knott's Boysenberry preserves
Smucker's Grape Jelly
Pepperidge Farm's Puff Pastry sheets
Miracle Whip
Capri Sun Drinks
Wish-Bone Classic Caesar
Oscar Mayer Lunchables
Campbells Vegatable soup (in microwaveable bowl)
Stove Top Stuffing
Hanson's All-Natural Soda (all flavors)
Brownberry Breads
Pepperidge Farm's line of 100% whole grain breads
Sara Lee Heart Healthy Whole Grain Bread.
Thomas English Muffins
Wonderbread
Pop Tarts
Kellog's All Bran Cereal
Frosted Mini Wheats
Raison Bran
Power Bars
Life Savers
Fiber One Bars
- Homeopathic Consultations
- The website for my private holistic practice. I offer homeopathic consulatations, Bach Flower Essence blends, and other services for my online clients.
- The Accidental Hedonist
- Addicting Blog!
- Corn-Free Blog
- A great list of products which are corn-free (and therefore, HFCS free).
- Odwalla Juices
- Odwalla juices are free of high fructose corn syrup and made by an ethically environmental company.
About Me
The_Homeopath
I have received training in Flower Essence Therapy, Western Herbal Medicine, Reflexology, Health Counseling, Holistic Counseling, Nutritional Counseling, Reiki and Crystal Healing, and Eastern Meditation for health issues.
Although, I always knew that HFCS was "bad", I never really thought about how much of it we consumed until both my husband and son were diagnosed as being allergic to corn. After I started "having" to read every single label on everything they ate I realized just how insidiously the use of HFCS has permeated our food industry.
News and Updates on Living Green
I'll Say It Again
Read Those Labels!!!
Sound Off!
What other tips do you have to avoid HFCS?
-
Reply
- Janice Janice Dec 29, 2009 @ 11:02 am
- I'm from the UK and have been over here for the last year (my husband is American) after a few weeks my face looked really bad....it was really spotty (I'm 53 now) I looked terrible. When I went back to UK for a few days I went to my doctor...she had no idea what was wrong with me...I have never had spots not even as a teen....then after a while we discovered that HFCS were in most foods and drinks over here... after researching HFCS.....we started to cut them out as much as possible and my face has cleared up....yukkkkkk.....HFCS appears ( in my opinion) to be nothing more than a disgusting toxin that manufacturers are happy to poison us with...just another little thought...are the manufacturers in cahoots with the medical world...HFCS = unhealthy people...do the doctors get a cut of manufacturers profits ???
-
Reply
- Helioza Helioza Dec 14, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
- Good article. It's odd to think of sugar being considered healthy by comparison, but true. The fancier soft drinks tend to use sugar instead of HFCS. So if you must have a soft drink, choose one sweetened with sugar.
-
Reply
- Beas Beas Jul 3, 2009 @ 2:34 am
- Great comprehensive info. I'm pretty much into eating healthy and avoiding processed sugars and processed foods. I have recently stopped using sugar completely and now I am growing Stevia to use as a replacement. Also honey is a delicious and healthy substitute.
-
Reply
- LotusPetalYoga LotusPetalYoga Jun 24, 2009 @ 5:10 pm
- great lens! I was going to make one on HFCS myself but now I wont. (I will add this to the one I am making on the evils of splenda though). Have you seen the film King Corn? i just showed it to my students last school year and we had a whole discussion on how EVERYTHING we eat has corn in it in some capacity. Great to keep spreading the word on how bad it is.
-
Reply
- Tammy Tammy Apr 19, 2009 @ 8:40 am
- AMEN! I am so sick of seeing HFCS in everything. Your comment on Hot Dogs was right on... I went to the store yesterday in search of HFCS -free hotdogs, but to no avail....it was very frustrating. I am in search of a website that lists prodects that DO NOT contain HFCS (this list may be easier to maintain than a list that DOES contain HFCS, considering how vast that list is!).
-
Reply
- marie marie Apr 1, 2009 @ 10:09 pm
- I notice DANNON has a new yogurt called DAN-O-NINO that says on the package NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. I buy it all the time. I also buy the all natural yogurt that they have.
I applaud DANNON for listening to the customers 1st!
-
Reply
- nohfcs here nohfcs here Mar 30, 2009 @ 6:44 pm
- I finally found relish without hfcs. It's a store brand but it's a sugar free so try any sugar free. Read those labels!
-
Reply
- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Feb 16, 2009 @ 5:49 pm
- Thank you for the HFCS information. I knew it was bad for you but I didn't know why.
-
Reply
- poddys poddys Feb 16, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
- Hurray - my Arnold's Whole Grain Bread actually says on the label that it doesn't contain HFCS. It does contain maltodextrine though.
-
Reply
- poddys poddys Feb 16, 2009 @ 5:20 pm
- Ok just when I think I have been eating healthy you go and burst my bubble :( Very good informative lens, 5***** I agree, it's so hard to find natural foods unless you pay extra and go to health food stores. Maybe you need a list of items that are HFCS free on the lens too. That might squidhelp a lot of us.
- Load More
by The_Homeopath
Explore related pages
Gluten Free Treats- Needing to eat only gluten-free, or wheat-free foods shouldn't mean going withou...
Healthy Eating and Long Lifespans- Did you know that what you eat has a direct effect on how long you will live? Th...
Cabbage Soup Diet- The Cabbage Soup Diet works. It's easy to do and it's not costing you an arm and...
Food Allergy Testing- Many common health problems are a direct result of food sensitivities or allergi...
Introduction to Homeopathy- A VERY brief introduction to the history of homeopathy and its uses around the w...
Flower Essence Remedies- Flower Essences are infusions of natural flowers diluted with water and are very...
