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High Fructose Corn Syrup:
Just tell me what to take
High Fructose Corn Syrup is not the cause
of illness and overweight. It is our opinion that it is just another one of the unnatural
foods that continually get put on the grocery shelves that can contribute
to an unhealthy body. It is another type of sugar.. But,
McVitamins is also for those who want to eat the
"fast food" and thus this website and this article. We let
you make your own decisions..
What is it? How
much sugar does the average American consume? This question is more
difficult than it seems as until the 1970s most of the sugar we ate came
from sugar beets or sugar cane and was called sucrose. In the
70s, sugar from corn - corm syrup, fructose, dextrose, dextrine, and or
high fructose corn syrup began to gain popularity as a sweetener because
it was much less expensive to produce. Many publications have
claimed that we are eating less sugar than ten years ago, but while we are
eating less sugar, we are eating more corn sweeteners. Corn
sweeteners comes under
the subject of a processed sugar. You can find out the technical
details for processing if you want on the Internet. Basically, you take corn treat it with an acid and it makes a sugar, of
sorts.
Why do food processors use it?
High Fructose Corn Syrup {HFCS) is extremely soluble and mixes well in
many foods.. It is cheap to produce, sweet, and easy to store. Its used in
everything from bread to pasta sauces to bacon to beer. Its
even used in "health products" like protein/energy bars and "natural"
sodas. You sort of get the idea that you are eating something good for
you.
HFCS is great for the manufacturers.
It retains moisture, resists drying out, controls crystallization,
prevents microbiological growth and blends easily with sweeteners, acids,
and flavorings. Best of all for manufacturers, it makes sugar drinks taste
better and is cheaper than sugar.
From the point of view of soda makers, HFCS
is a revolutionary advance in food science.
Generally, baked products made with HFCS will be softer than those made
with sucrose. This means if these products are "steamed" they
may get gummy. Thus, if there is a fast-food hamburger place that precooks
and wraps their product, they may prefer the firmer product (sugar);
If you doubt that they use sugar at fast food restaurants, ask for their
nutritional publications. They all have them available.
You might be surprised.
So, what is it?
It's a processed food and like any processed foods it creates problems. (See processed
foods) There have been many things said about the
properties of corn syrup and below is some things that we
found.
According to a Wall Street Journal
column by Michael Waldholz (February 20, 2003), childhood weight gain in
America might be caused in good measure by "the sweetening of
America." When sugar is consumed in high quantities as "liquid
candy" (HFCS in processed drinks and foods), unused amounts are
stored as fat cells. If we were deprived of foods for long periods, these
storage units would be adaptive or would be adaptive in an evolutionary
sense. Yet, that's not the case in the 21st century! Instead of burning
this energy, sedentary kids store more and more of it, and that's why
they're getting fatter.
Some problems created
Some recent studies have reported that "Rats
normally live for a good two years," explains Meira Fields, Ph.D.,
research chemist at the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland. "But the rats
in my study fed a high-fructose, low copper diets are dying after 5
weeks." One of the few human studies of low-copper, high-fructose
diets was abruptly stopped when 4 of the 24 subjects developed
heart-related abnormalities, according to Fields. High fructose diets have
also been implicated in the development of adult-onset diabetes. Fructose,
especially when combined with other sugars, reduces stores of chromium, a
mineral essential for maintaining balanced insulin levels, according to
Richard Anderson, Ph.D., lead scientist at the Human Nutrition Research
Center in Beltsville, Maryland.
For more information about the
body's problems with dealing with sugars and becoming insulin
resistant due to the enormous amounts of sugar being taking
in read:
Diabetes - the body's inability to handle
sugar
Helpful Nutrition:
Since you need both high fructose and low
mineral levels to suffer ill effects, you've got two avenues of positive
action. Here's some ways to keep minerals high and fructose levels low
- Eat lots of fresh fruits and
vegetables. While canned produce and jams and jellies frequently
contain high-fructose corn syrup, fresh produce packs in minerals
without processed sugars, providing a double benefit. Look to potatoes
for extra copper, spinach and other leafy greens for a wallop of
magnesium, and broccoli for chromium.
- Limit sodas and processed fruit
juices. A man who takes in 2,000 calories and drinks three and a
half cans of soda would be getting 15 percent of his calories as
fructose and no copper, magnesium or chromium. Check the
labels for how much sugar is really in that product.
- Keep sweets discrete. If you do
indulge in a donut or cookie, try to eat it in combination with
non-sweetened food or drinks like milk or nuts. Combinations of
sugars, like fructose plus sucrose, really increase your chromium
losses
- Consider supplements. It's been
said that it is nearly impossible to get all of your chromium
from food, Thus, getting between 50 and 200 mcg. of
chromium a day should take take care of your copper and magnesium
requirements, too. A good source of all the vitamins and
minerals you would need to offset this is a whole food
vitamin and mineral.
Getting the vitamins that you are missing from the
food you eat is important. You can't
always get if from the food available and you aren't
always able to eat right. We suggest whole
food vitamins. These are vitamins made
from food, not chemicals made in a
factory. So for optimum health get whole
food vitamins. The body recognizes it as food
and uses it.
Discover How Whole Food Nutrition Really Is Different… Click Here.
- Acidity - balance your diet with
alkaline forming products
See article on the Acidity
of the Body
For other types of sweetners:
See Maltitol
See Aspartame
See Saccharin
See Evaporated cane
juice
Where can I get these
products?
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take privacy and security seriously, read about
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We have used our best judgment in compiling this information. The Food and Drug Administration may not have evaluated the information presented. Any reference to a specific product is for your information only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease
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