High-Fructose Corn Syrup Is Not Natural

Corn Syrup Allergies

eric — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 08:00:21 +0000

This article titled The buzz on corn syrup, appeared in a Cadillac, Michigan news site highlighting one woman’s experience of developing a food allergy of products containing corn syrup. She now drives to a natural foods market to shop for food.

Also, lots of nicely organized Q&As and points for reference from Eric Wald, of the University of Michigan MFIT community health promotions department:

Advantages of high fructose corn syrup, according to the Corn Refiners Association, are:

- Cost. HFCS is cheaper than table sugar
- Pourability. The freezing point of HFCS is lower, so juice and beverage concentrates sold in the freezer case can be poured from their cans or containers and are easier to mix with water.
- Softness and browning. HFCS gives baked goods, cakes, cookies and granola bars a soft, moist texture and helps them brown nicely.
- Flavor enhancement. Taste buds detect the sweetness of HFCS earlier than table sugar, making the natural flavors of spices, citrus and fruit flavors stand out.
- Freshness and stability. HFCS extends shelf life, inhibits spoilage and helps maintain the flavor of sweetness of canned fruits, soft drinks and other sweetened beverages, ketchup and fruit preserves.

High-fructose corn syrup statistics:

- It became a food ingredient during the 1970s after the technology for making it was developed.
- Since the 1970s the amount of HFCS in foods and beverages has soared. The average American’s daily calorie intake from HFCS was 205 calories in 2003 – up from two calories in 1970, according to the USDA.
- The relatively low cost of HFCS enables food companies to supersize food portions – especially soft drinks – for little cost, increasing profits and perceived value for customers.
- Some research suggests HFCS may cause changes in metabolism that hinder appetite control, increase blood triglyceride levels or increase risk of diabetes and colorectal cancer. However, there isn’t enough evidence to draw conclusions at this point.

Link to Article: The buzz on corn syrup

Liver Damage Caused by Refined Sugars

eric — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 15:34:16 +0000

The annual ‘Liver Meeting’ of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases which took place October in Boston reported results linking high intake of sugar (specifically fructose) to liver disease.

“The research team concluded that consumption of high fructose can have negative effects on liver through overfeeding, as well as damage the liver by inducing increased oxidative stress.”

Link to AASLD press release: Liver Damage Caused by Refined Sugars

Link to Reuters news coverage: Sugar intake may hurt liver

Not much public outrage

eric — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:26:14 +0000

In today’s NY Times Health section appeared an article When Bad Things Come From ‘Good’ Food.

While I’ve been focusing here most recently on processed foods that have taken over the supermarket with sweeteners and preservatives (high-fructose corn syrup, etc.) made of ‘number 2 field corn’ (often genetically modified) this article sounds another alarm that the citizens of this country need to step up, hear, and respond to.

The article in the Times today mentioned:

“The government estimates that over all, food-borne microbes — not just the ones on produce — make 76 million people a year sick, put 325,000 in the hospital and kill 5,000.”

The Times author also commented that there has simply not been much public outrage or disgust at the state of our food supply, even though growers in California are beginning to feel a bit of pressure. How much is enough before people are disgusted and not just happy to wash their produce and hope they don’t get food poisoning? Are you satisfied with solitions such as chemical baths and radiation?

Link to article: When Bad Things Come From ‘Good’ Food

Relationship to Food

eric — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 22:22:13 +0000

What’s your relationship to your food? Do you know where it comes from, and what processes your grower uses? Yes, most call themsleves ‘growers’ now in California, not ‘farmers’.

These are some of the ways to be more conscious about the source, quality, and safety of what you eat.

This article by one green farmer echos many who have returned to the direct sources of local farmers over the huge network of industrial producers.

Link to Article: Know your farmer, know your food

MSG and it’s variants

eric — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 02:13:29 +0000

MSG has become so disliked that food is labeled NO-MSG. But did you know that soy (thought originally by many vegetarians and vegans to be “healthy”), actually contains higher levels of glutamate than mono-sodium glutamate.

Further, food processors can call it soy protein instead of MSG.

This article rounds up a few foods from the grocery freezer to fill you in on all those salts that are in processed foods, including the ones in soy.

Link to Article: Northwest Arkansas News

Vegetables of Mass Destruction

eric — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:48:19 +0000

This well done piece of investigative journalism about the international agri-business named ADM headquartered in the Midwest, by a resident of the Midwest follows the money, using the theme of a Church Lady skit she shows “How conveeeeeenient!”

“Looking at their contributions between 1990 and 2006, they gave a total of $7,778,389, with 57% going to the Republicans, 43% going to the Democrats. However, unlike many big donors they gave much more ($1,970,060) in contributions in 2002 mid-term elections than they did in the presidential election year 2004 ($102,175). The reason? The 2002 farm bill. ADM knows what it is doing.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t afford $2mil in campaign contributions for each farm bill to turn things around. We just vote. We’re just citizens. What do we count? (Diebold, don’t answer that.)”

Link to : ePluribus Media – citizen journalism

Blueberries, not corn syrup!

eric — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 01:36:14 +0000

The Maine Technologies Institute recently awarded a $248,710 grant to Gladstone’s Under the Sun (a socially responsible company and Maine based natural snack foods manufacturer) to test an alternative to high-fructose corn syrup. Made from drying wild blueberries and cranberries, the sweetener would also reportedly increase self life.

Link to Website: Gladstone’s Under the Sun

Link to MTI Announcement: Maine Technologies Institute

5 year old for Cookie Commissioner

eric — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:42:36 +0000

This cute article hopefully lightens the atmosphere of all these other posts I’ve made to get the word out about high-fructose corn syrup.

Bella – the 5 year old who’s face appears on Bellas Cookies is running for office, and her cookie campaign is to get back our “cookie roots”. It’s a campaign plan for all children to expect excellence from their cookies!

“NO trans fats, NO hydrogenated oils, NO artificial coloring or flavoring, NO preservatives, NO high fructose corn syrup and NO refined sugar”

Link to Article: 5 Year Old Announces Candidacy

Standard American Diet (SAD)

eric — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 00:23:57 +0000

This article discusses the differences in the American diet today versus early-1900s, and how our SAD diet not only is causing new health problems for Americans, but the new diet is spreading to other cultures who are just as unable to process these new high levels of sugar in everything being sold in supermarkets around the world.

“The average American consumes an astounding two to three pounds of sugar each week. Sugar consumption has gone from only five pounds per year in 1900 to the current level of 135 pounds per person per year, and Jamaicans are closely following this trend.”

Link to Article: Sugar, a sweet poison

The Experimental American Diet

eric — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 23:58:40 +0000

Great article introducing Anna Lappe’s new book Grub.

“We’ve collectively been the guinea pigs for a totally radical experimental diet. …. It’s not hyperbole to say it’s killing people.”

“They used to call Type 2 diabetes ‘adult onset diabetes’ because kids didn’t get it. Now the Centers for Disease Control predicts that as many as one in three children being born today will become diabetic.”

Link to Article: Food and the Body Politic