The High Fructose Corn Syrup Ad – They’re Kidding, Right?

I’ve written about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) before on my blog. To refresh your memory, last April I wrote about this HFCS:

Simply put, it’s heavy-duty sugar. More technically, it’s corn syrup that undergoes processing to increase its fructose content, them is blended with pure corn syrup (100% glucose). The process was developed in the late 1950s and later improved upon by Japanese researchers in the 1970s. HFCS made its way into prepackaged foods and drinks in the US starting in the late 1970s, and exploded into our prepackaged foods shortly thereafter.

I also indicated that the even the FDA concluded last April that HFCS isn’t considered an natural ingredient, despite the fact that it is made from corn. It’s the process which creates the syrup that makes it unnatural.

When I saw a commercial on television the other day touting HFCS, I was shocked. (The commercial is embedded below.) What bothered me about it is that the idiot guy says “you know what they say about it” and then can’t verbalize what they say, and the woman trying to feed him a Popsicle with HFCS in it, replies that is it made from corn, had the same calories as sugar, and is fine in moderation.

It’s the moderation thing that gets me. After all, how can one easily moderate their intake of HFCS when almost everything that they eat these days that is processed in any way has HFCS in it? Even funnier is the HFCS web site is called Sweet Surprise which is their vehicle to try to educate people on HFCS. Your "sweet surprise" will likely be a lot more weight on your body that you ever wanted, plus all the disease that may go along with all those added pounds.

But someone out there read my mind, and came up with a video response to the HFCS advertisement and also placed it on YouTube, and I also have that video below. I think it is a perfect rebuttal.

My suggestions regarding HFCS are the same now as they were a year ago. Avoid it as much as you can. Stop drinking soft drinks containing it, and drink water more instead. Read labels of all the products you buy, and if HFCS is at the top or high in the list of ingredients, pass on it. Eat foods like fruits and vegetables in their natural state as much as possible – cooking things veggies is fine of course, just watch commercially prepared fruits and veggies that are part of things like drinks, pies, canned fruits, etc. Even condiments like barbecue sauces can contain a huge load of HFCS. It’s in many mass-produced breads, too (some are now made without HFCS, you can find them if you look). HFCS is everywhere, so if you really want to “moderate” your intake, you will have to be diligent in reading labels.

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating – you are what you eat!


High Fructose Corn Syrup Ad


High Fructose Corn Syrup – The Response



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High Fructose Corn Syrup – We Can Live Without It

You see it on the labels of a lot of the prepackaged food and drink – it’s high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). What is it? Simply put, it’s heavy-duty sugar. More technically, it’s corn syrup that undergoes processing to increase its fructose content, them is blended with pure corn syrup (100% glucose). The process was developed in the late 1950s and later improved upon by Japanese researchers in the 1970s. HFCS made its way into prepackaged foods and drinks in the US starting in the late 1970s, and exploded into our prepackaged foods shortly thereafter.

While HFCS seems like a good substitute for good old sugar, it is increasingly becoming a target for the reason for the explosion in cases of obesity in the United States. In April of this year, the FDA actually concluded that HFCS cannot be considered a natural ingredient. This may seem strange considering its production starts with a natural vegetable like corn, but it’s the process that makes it unnatural. In fact, its use is banned in Europe.

I do my best to avoid HFCS, but sometimes it’s very hard to do so. I don’t drink any soft drinks like Coke, Pepsi, or sports drinks because they are loaded with the stuff. On the rare occasion where I have, for example, working in the yard in the summer heat and I perspire a lot, I will drink a small amount of Pedialyte to prevent dehydration because it only contains a small amount of glucose and fructose (there is no HFCS on the ingredients list). But if you look at a lot of prepackaged foods like cookies, cereals, crackers, snacks, sauces, breads – just about anything – HFCS is in there.

While I am not blaming the entire causes of obesity on HFCS, there does seem to be a coincidence that the massive increase in the numbers of obese Americans seems to relate to the same increase in the use of HFCS in our foods.

How does one avoid HFCS? It can be done. First, if you drink soft drinks, stop, or severely restrict your intake. My recommendation is to even avoid the low/zero/once calorie drinks. Even if the latter says it doesn’t have HFCS, there are probably a lot of non- natural additives that could be doing who knows what to your body long term. Second, read the ingredient labels of everything you buy that are prepackaged. If it has HFCS in it, especially as one of the top 3 ingredients, don’t buy it and keep looking until you find something that doesn’t contain it or contains very little. Third, buy only fresh fruit and veggies; be especially cautious of canned fruits because their syrups usually contain HFCS. There are probably many more things you can do to avoid HFCS that I haven’t; listed here – the best thing you can do is simply be aware of what is in the food you eat.

Contact your senate and congress representatives and tell them you want this product out of your food, or its use minimized. I hate the idea of over-regulation, but maybe HFCS is too great a risk to our health. It at least deserves more scrutiny. But most importantly, take responsibility for what you are eating and avoid foods that provide you little health benefits, or maybe even a health risk.

After all, you ARE what you eat.



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Do we really need government food police?

It seems that every day there is a news story about how a certain food or ingredient can be bad for us – or good for us. It’s always nice to have more information about what I’m putting into my body.

I draw the line, though, when communities begin to regulate what people can or can’t eat, or how restaurants prepare food. I fully agree with anti-smoking laws that communities make; after all, second hand smoke can be annoying to people and possibly cause illness after long exposure. I get that. But food doesn’t do that. If I eat a donut, for example, who am I hurting but myself? If I eat an order of salty french fries, does the person sitting in the table next to me gain weight? The answer, of course, is no.

I try very hard to eat healthy foods, but admit that every now and then I crave things that may not be the healthiest for me. For example, if I want to go to a restaurant and eat an order of fries that were fried using hydrogenated oils, that should be my choice. I rarely drink soft drinks, but if I did want a Coke, Pepsi, root beer, etc. made with high fructose corn syrup, that should be my choice. (I don’t drink beverages like that because of the HFCS and sugar in general.)

Communities that try to regulate what people eat is what I call government run amok. It’s taking away the freedom for people to choose.

I’m all for all food producers giving as much information about the fat, calories, and additives put in foods. I’m also for food producers trying to get out of our foods those things that ARE harmful to us. Most people would rather avoid foods that are hazardous to their health. But, in those cases where people want to throw caution to the wind, they should know what their risks are. I believe that most people are smart enough to make their own choice when they are properly informed. Their choice may not be the wisest choice, but at least it’s their own.

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