The New “Image” of High Fructose Corn Syrup

In recent years much attention has been paid to the ills of High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Over the last several decades food producers have been adding more and more of this cheap and poor quality sweetener to all types of products from bread, to dairy products, to pickles, to breakfast cereals, to soups, and the list goes on and on.  The increased national consumption of HFCS has sky rocketed and has been linked with increased risk of obesity, diabetes and other health related concerns.

The public is becoming increasingly aware of HFCS and it’s terrible effect on our bodies and our nation.  For fear of profit loss, the Corn Refiners Association has recently launched a campaign to re-brand HFCS.  Their attempts to convince the public  that HFCS is not that bad for us include renaming  High Fructose Corn Syrup as “corn sugar”, claiming that its virtually the same as regular table sugar, and claiming that it has the same health effects as sucrose.

All of these things are simply misleading.  Time and time again, studies have shown that HFCS is linked with obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, inflammation, and other health concerns.  It is chemically different then table sugar and warrants no gentle treatment from the public.  Here is a great study by Princeton researchers, which clearly demonstrates that HFCS is not the same as table sugar and recognizes its negative affects on the body.

In general processed foods are something to avoid and HFCS is no exception.  It damages our bodies, our foods systems, our agricultural model, our health, and our environment.  We should not be fooled by a new image or a new name.  Here at Bauman College we add this to the long list of reasons to base our diets on whole, natural foods. If we focus on Eating for Health – organic, sustainable, foods grown with care and served with love – we can avoid all of these unhealthy and misleading pitfalls.