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Nothin’s Corny About This…

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Usually people who like to read health information are the sort of folks who also read ingredients on food labels. If you’re one of these people, I’ll bet you’ve also noticed an increase in the words “high-fructose corn syrup”, or HFCS, on labels for everything from ketchup, mayo, soups, salad dressings, to most canned goods and even sodas and juices. Just what is this stuff? Are there any dangers to consuming it?

When you see a green and vibrant field of sweet corn, you probably think of summertime, and old-fashioned picnics. Why would any of us think of sugar? Because the larger percentage of sweeteners used in processed food comes from corn, not sugar cane and not beets – corn. That’s right. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was developed in the 1970s as a less expensive alternative to cane and beet sugar; and it is nearly 20 times sweeter too. It’s made by treating corn with enzymes that convert some of the glucose to fructose, since fructose tastes sweeter than glucose. Use of HFCS grew rapidly, from less than three million tons in 1980 to almost 8 million tons in 1995. During the late 1990s, use of sugar actually declined as it was overshadowed by HFCS. Today Americans consume more HFCS than sugar.

Many opponents to the growing use of HFCS are becoming more vocal, in an attempt to wake up American consumers to the dangers of something so “sweet” and simple, but dangerous – lurking in our pantries and refrigerators, lurking in restaurants, school cafeterias and even hospitals! For instance, the well-respected book, You: The Owner’s Manual, by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen warns us:

“One of the biggest evil influences on our diet is the presence of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a sugar substitute that itself is a sugar found in soft drinks, and many other sweet, processed foods. The problem is that HFCS inhibits leptin secretion, so you never get the message that you’re full.”
Not getting the bodily message that you’re full could certainly be detrimental to a person trying to lose excess weight, or prevent Diabetes and high cholesterol.

Interestingly, several years ago, Florida State Republican, Juan Zapata, attempted to ban state school districts from selling or using products containing HFCS – calling it the “crack of sweeteners.”

Opponents of HFCS argue that HFCS:

• Links to the rise of obesity.
• Increases risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
• Increases LDL’s (low density lipo-proteins, the “bad” cholesterol) that could increase the risk of heart diseases.
• Inhibits copper absorption, which many Americans are already thought to be deficient in. (A copper deficiency can cause problems such as bone fragility, anemia, defective connective tissue formation, and more.)

Supporters of the use of HFCS tell us that fructose is a natural, simple sugar; while spokespeople for the corn refiners state that there is no scientific evidence to support the belief that HFCS is a contributor to diabetes or obesity. So, playing the devil’s advocate, what could be harmful about extracting the sweetest part of sweet corn? Well, let’s take a deeper look into the actual process and find out.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is made by processing corn starch to yield glucose, and then processing the glucose to produce a high percentage of fructose. It sounds simple – white cornstarch is turned into crystal clear syrup. But the process is actually quite complicated. Three different enzymes are needed to break down cornstarch, which is composed of chains of glucose molecules of almost infinite length, into the simple sugars glucose and fructose.

HFCS has the exact same sweetness and taste as an equal amount of sucrose from cane or beet sugar but it is much more complicated to make, involving vats of murky fermenting liquid, fungus and chemical mixing, all of which take place in one of 16 chemical plants located in the Corn Belt. Yet in spite of all the special enzymes required, HFCS is actually cheaper than sugar. It is also very easy to transport – it’s just piped into tanker trucks. This translates into lower costs and higher profits for food producers.

Today HFCS is a multi-billion dollar business. HFCS is found in just about every type of processed food you can consume. Start really reading those labels, and you’ll see HFCS everywhere.

But here’s the glitch. Because people often think that because HFCS contains fructose, (they connect it with fruit) that it is somehow healthier than sugar. Oh, if only it was that simple or true. Research by a team of USDA investigators has revealed the opposite. Dr. Meira Field led the research, and discovered that when sugar (composed of glucose and fructose) is given in high amounts to rats, they develop multiple health problems, especially when the rats were deficient in certain nutrients, such as copper.

Dr. Field explains that fructose in combination with copper deficiency in the growing animal interferes with collagen production.

“The medical profession thinks fructose is better for diabetics than sugar,” says Dr. Field, “but every cell in the body can metabolize glucose. However, all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of the rats on the high fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic.”

HFCS contains more fructose than sugar and this fructose is more immediately available because it is not bound up in sucrose. Since the effects of fructose are most severe in the growing organism, we need to think carefully about what kind of sweeteners we give to our children.

This information is pretty tough to swallow!!! Especially at a time when we read about such dramatic increases in high cholesterol and heart problems – could this be one very significant link? It’s time to take a peek into your kitchen pantry, with an eye for HFCS, high-fructose corn syrup. Next time you shop, look for products that DO NOT contain HFCS. Only if people close their purses and wallets to this ingredient will manufacturers get the idea that this is not something we’re going to continue to swallow!