Aug 03 2009
High fructose corn syrup…more and more reasons to avoid it
Most of the American population is familiar with the ingredient, “high fructose corn syrup.” It is in the majority of our food products (baked goods, condiments, drinks, dairy products, potato chips, cereal, etc). It was chosen as the sugar substitute because it is cheaper to use for storage and food processing. But many don’t know that it goes by many of aliases than we can imagine. “In Canada, it is called glucose-fructose and isoglucose is what it is called in Europe.” It is also sometimes hidden in the term “natural flavors.”
In January 2009, the Washington Post published an article with the headline “Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury.” The Corn Refiners Association heard about this and within days they launched an aggressive advertising campaign to counter the criticisms. In their advertising campaigns, they claimed that HFCS was natural and has less calories than sugar. Scientists have found that drinks containing HFCS had high levels of reactive compounds (such as methylglyoxal) that have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage which can cause diabetic complications or diabetes. It has also been the #1 contributor to obesity. Dr. George Bray says “that between 1970 (when HFCS was introduced) and 2000 (when average yearly consumption of the ultra-sweet liquid sugar hit 73.5 pounds per person in this country), the prevalence of obesity more than doubled, from 15 percent to almost one-third of the adult population.”
It is good to know groups like the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) keeps an eye out for the American people. They has been committed to the people by filing lawsuits against companies that use high fructose corn syrup in their “all natural” products. CSPI sued Cadburry Schweppes (7UP) and Kraft (Capri-Sun) for calling their drinks “all natural.” Since then, both companies change their labeling to “100% natural flavors” (7UP) and “no artifical colors or preservatives” (Capri-Sun). I find it deceptive how 7UP changes the label from 100% natural to 100% natural flavors when high fructose corn syrup is in fact a flavor. Any sweetener is a flavor. Do Cadburry Schweppes think that the American people are idiots? Well, so far, no one has laid the “hot iron” on them.
We should not wait for CSPI to file another lawsuit. It is up to us to change things in Washington. The government is a group of “public servants”. There are only a few in Washington that are actually doing their job. The rest of them are taking bribes (payoffs & future jobs) from lobbyists. The FDA and the Corn Refiners Association do not have the Americans best interest. The FDA has yet to define the term “natural”. Any American knows that natural means anything existing in or formed by nature. The FDA will not interfere and will let the debate continue because they are tied up with the food and drug companies through bribery.
