I have to make a quick diatribe here.
The new commercials about High Fructose Corn Syrup just about make me physically ill. They actually upset me to the point of wanting to throw things.
"It's just corn!"
Yes. Corn. Corn that has been processed to the point that it is unrecognizable. Corn that has been turned into a glucose/fructose nightmare that our bodies don't process normally.
And their little quip about " use in moderation?".
Just about every package of processed food contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. From soda, to jellies and jam, to pretzels.. if it needs any sort of cheap sweetener, then it's there. And that's the entire reason it's being used. It's cheap.
There's been innumerable studies that show that HFCS is one of the dominant factors in obesity in the United States (although eating processed foods and not getting off the couch to exercise is a major factor as well). The United Kingdom has banned it from their markets, and from what I've been reading it looks like all of Europe may follow suit.
Just..Ugh! I could regurgitate facts but, I don't think I need to. The linked articles have some interesting information on it. All of this is still in contention to traditional science. But the more it is researched, the more questions seem to arise.
I've been avoiding HFCS for awhile, but I think back to my childhood , teen years, and even into my 20's where I consumed processed foods on a daily basis and without a thought. And then I think about my weight struggles now.
Anyways. Grrrrr. Mini rant done. These articles were extremely interesting, and had some good information on the subject.
yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2008/11/07/high-fructose-corn-syrup-have-you-soured-on-this-sweetener/
blog.wellnesstips.ca/blog/index.php/
www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html
wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_high_fructose_corn_syrup_bad_for_you
I think I'm becoming more of a health freak than I ever meant to.
The new commercials about High Fructose Corn Syrup just about make me physically ill. They actually upset me to the point of wanting to throw things.
"It's just corn!"
Yes. Corn. Corn that has been processed to the point that it is unrecognizable. Corn that has been turned into a glucose/fructose nightmare that our bodies don't process normally.
And their little quip about " use in moderation?".
Just about every package of processed food contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. From soda, to jellies and jam, to pretzels.. if it needs any sort of cheap sweetener, then it's there. And that's the entire reason it's being used. It's cheap.
There's been innumerable studies that show that HFCS is one of the dominant factors in obesity in the United States (although eating processed foods and not getting off the couch to exercise is a major factor as well). The United Kingdom has banned it from their markets, and from what I've been reading it looks like all of Europe may follow suit.
Just..Ugh! I could regurgitate facts but, I don't think I need to. The linked articles have some interesting information on it. All of this is still in contention to traditional science. But the more it is researched, the more questions seem to arise.
I've been avoiding HFCS for awhile, but I think back to my childhood , teen years, and even into my 20's where I consumed processed foods on a daily basis and without a thought. And then I think about my weight struggles now.
Anyways. Grrrrr. Mini rant done. These articles were extremely interesting, and had some good information on the subject.
yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2008/11/07/high-fructose-corn-syrup-have-you-soured-on-this-sweetener/
blog.wellnesstips.ca/blog/index.php/
www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html
wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_high_fructose_corn_syrup_bad_for_you
I think I'm becoming more of a health freak than I ever meant to.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 04:24 pm (UTC)http://www.kingcorn.net/
It is a great show. There may be copies on YouTube. I have been a "Health Freak" for many years, but this show was enlightening even for me. Cheap Corn, like Cheap Oil is a flash in the pan, socially. It seems like a long time, but two generations really isn't.
Good luck with the dietary and health improvements. It's a hard road. We do consume caffeine and the occasional sodas, but we made most of that jump, as well as completely giving up smoking, a few years ago. Never looked back...well, almost never..
no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 05:51 pm (UTC)I used to live with a bloke in New Orleans who was a vegetarian, and he had an activist/scientist friend that used to come over, and his entire research was about genetically modified foods, and about high fructose corn syrup. It was a real eye opener listening to him talk about what goes into our food ( and yet still I ate Mcdonalds.. sigh)