Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Public Service Announcement

It's been a while since I got on my soap box about society here in America.  Today that ends, if just for a moment.  Several years ago we banned High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) from our diet after I read the book "The Omnivore's Dilema" and learned the real nature of our "food" here in the States.  I was such a vocal bitch that all my friends and family heard about it and eventually hopped on the band wagon if only half-heartedly; well, most of them anyway.  Apparently I wasn't the only one.  Now, enough people in general have started reading labels that the food industry is having to change their tactics.  I heard the other day that they are going to relabel HFCS as "corn sugar".  Doesn't that sound so much more appealing and so much less harmful?  Yeah, I think that's the point.  What enrages me the most of late are the commercials where people are talking about how "they've done studies and, cane sugar or corn sugar, you're body doesn't know the difference".  Every time the variations of this commercial come on I literally yell "BULLSHIT" at the television at the top of my lungs.  Yes, I know they can't hear me but it sure makes me feel better.

Here's the truth in a nutshell for those of you who haven't read all the studies.  Yes, your body DOES know the difference and here's where it gets freaky.  Your stomach is not able to handle the digestion of HFCS, your liver has to do it.  And your liver can only process so much of it.  The excess the liver can't handle gets converted directly into triglycerides in your blood stream.  You know, that part of "bad" cholesterol that clogs your arteries and gives you heart disease?  Yeah, that.  Told you it was bad!  And even worse is the fact that HFCS is in everything - and I do mean everything - so you eat a ton of it without even knowing if you aren't paying attention..  Your yogurt that you think is healthy?  Check the label and chances are you'll find HFCS!  Your bread - yes, even the wheat variety.  Your milk can even have it in it!  So people please, start reading the ingredient lists on your labels and take control of your own health because trust me, the food industry isn't going to do it for you.  They are the ones feeding you propaganda on the television after all!  You can find practically everything - even soda - with real old fashioned natural cane sugar if you're willing to read every label before buying something.  Trust me, your arteries will thank you for your vigilance!

This past weekend I came across something even more frightening.  An article in the magazine put out by our gym was talking about how in one study they had taken cancer cells and fed them different forms of sugar to see how the cancer responded.  Apparently it was already well known that cancer cells thrive on all kinds of sugar but what they found is that high fructose corn syrup not only fed them but increased how fast they metabolized and split to multiply and MAKE. MORE. CANCER. 

HOLY SHIT!  I might just go to a diet of 100% whole and natural after reading that article!  If only it wasn't so expensive to eat "real" food in this country...

3 comments:

Therese (CRA) said...

@Terra

The commercial that you mention in your post and the efforts that we are making are due to the misperceptions that surround high fructose corn syrup. We understand that there are concerns out there, which is why we began our public awareness campaign in the summer of 2008

As noted by David S. Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, “High fructose corn syrup is one of the most misunderstood products in the food supply.”

You are correct; we have petitioned the FDA to allow for the alternate name of corn sugar on food and beverage ingredient labels. You, amongst others want to know what is in their foods, to better understand food ingredient labels, and to clearly recognize added sugars in the diet. This is completely understandable, and this is why we filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to call this ingredient what it is: corn sugar.

For example, independent research indicated that despite the fact that high fructose corn syrup and table sugar contain approximately the same amount of fructose, nearly 58 percent of respondents believed high fructose corn syrup has more fructose than other table sugar. Contrary to this belief, high fructose corn syrup is not high in fructose when compared with other commonly used nutritive sweeteners, including table sugar, honey and fruit juice concentrates. Like table sugar, it is roughly half glucose and half fructose and is metabolized by the body in the same way as regular table sugar. In fact, the high fructose corn syrup that is used in many foods, such as baked goods, is lower in fructose than table sugar.

Continued...

Therese, Corn Refiners.

leiamarie82 said...

Thanks for following my blog. You should check out Jonathan Safran Foer's "Eating Animals." The HFCS is just the tip of the iceberg. (While you're at it, check out his two novels, too, because they are the best written by anyone in our generation.)

Terra L said...

I guess I struck a cord when the corn refiners are trying to refute here on my humble blog! Although to be well-rounded means looking at all sides, right?