So sweet it kills me

Yes, and no. Kinda and sorta. Bad and good. Detriment and wonder. More and less. That’s what I say to High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Yes, you know what I’m talking about… all thoose sweet tasting products found up and down the aisles of every supermarket. More than you think, more foods we eat are loaded with HFCS… we American’s loooove our sweets ya know, and I don’t just mean sweets as in candy and chocolate, I mean like they put this stuff in Ketchup, Dairy Products, Medicines, Breads, Cereal, you name it. That list goes on and on, check iit out here. I’ll bet you’re surprised at how much of what we eat regularly has HFCS in it!

Someone once told me to “shop the perimeter” of the grocery store. The idea behind this thought process is that most of the”healthier” and unprocessed foods remain on the outer edges of the store. If you think about it, that’s usually where the produce, meat, baked goods, and other more natural type foods are. Most of the stuff we don’t really need is up or down one of the skinny regemented aisles in the middle of the store! It’s not a plan to live by exclusively, as we all know that not everything on the perimeter is great for us, but as a general rule I like it. It’s easier to stay away from all the processed snacks and goodies that are awaiting our purchase there in the center, haha!

So, anyway… I just thought that the whole issue of High Fructose Corn Syrup was interesting. In the early to mid last century when soda was first developed, most consumed about 8oz per serving. Compare that to the 20oz versions and larger that we generally consume nowadays. Interesting indeed!

How prevelant is the use of HFCS in our diet today? Well, I’m no scientist or researcher, but from what I’ve heard and read, it’s use and (sometimes) abuse is growing each year. It’s everywhere, from our food and medicines (grape flavored ‘Tussin) to even animal feeds. Yep, it’s everywhere… and for the most part it really doesn’t serve any health or physiological adavantages. The one advantage that HFCS does have is that it’s super sweet and cheap to produce, so corporations can make a killing off the use and perpetuation of it. Our farmers are subsidized to grow or not grow corn, and then the big companies like Cargill buy the processed corn syrup and put it into many commercial and consumer products. It’s a cycle.

Check out these articles, they are good all-purpose reads for the HFCS situation:

The Children of the Corn Subsidies– a phenomenal article with mp3 discussion about the whole topic. *This is a great read/ listen!

Sweet But Not So Innocent– Washington Post article

Sugar Coated– SFGate article

Here’s a book I’m going to read soon. It seems like it’d be a good read, but as of now I have little time and have trouble staying awake to read. If ya get to it before me, let me know how it is!

Enjoy…

Peace …