High Fructose Corn Syrup Critical Analysis

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Friend or Enemy?? We eat every day, rarely thinking about what’s going into our bodies. Take soda, for example, when was the last time you read the label before taking a sip? For me, it is never. One of the first ingredients listed on the can is HFCS or high fructose corn syrup. This ingredient is a secret additive to many products in today’s market. High Fructose Corn Syrup is one of the cheapest to make and hardest to get rid of in the body. Since its introduction to food products in the 70’s it has slowly been added to most foods, even ketchup.
More and more scientists are trying to find links between HFCS and several major health problems; such as diabetes and obesity. Although a major link has not been definitely determined to date, minor links have been proven such as such as the amounts that can be consumed before harm can be determined. Even though some minor associations have been made the FDA still considers HFCS to be safe for consumption. The reason for this is because HFCS is not considered an artificial ingredient. The rule considered is as long as a product has no signs of a chemical added it cannot be labeled an “artificial ingredient”.
In researching the origin of High Fructose Corn Syrup I found out that mercury was found in the product. Even with this new information, the FDA still allows this product to be used in 94% of the foods we consume every day. Why would you need to put HFCS in baby formula? In places like England and France they have practically banned HFCS and made it difficult to use in the entire country. The European Union has a deal with the Sugar Refiners to only use natural cane and beet sugars. High Fructose or Syrup as you now knows are any almost everything we eat and drink. But what you don’t know is what it is really doing inside your body.

High Fructose Corn Syrup started being mass produced in 1982. It was around that time that researchers noticed an increase in children developing type II diabetes. Obesity around the country has soared. Type 2 diabetes is related to the body’s inability to effectively use the insulin that is produced by the pancreas. This is thought to be directly related to weight. It has been proven that HFCS also cause heart problems. This is also thought to be weight related. Despite all the recent attempts to try and prove HFCS unhealthy effects, the Corn Refiners Association has come out with campaigns in High Fructose Corn Syrup’s defense.
They state the HFCS are not bad and are ok when eaten in moderation. There is no such thing as moderation when it is found in 94 % of the food. While more cons can be found than pros for HFCS; the Corn RefinersAssociation stands behind their product. In fact all the pros I found came from the CRA. The only truth I found was that it is cheaper to produce. Their website has no real information; and in fact called what many to believe to be truths myths. Although the Corn Refiners Association proved to be pointless my endless goggle search did take me too many blogs and organizations which I found to be very informative.
Even though the bloggers were only expressing their opinion, many found HFCS to be repulsive. Many of the organizations say they are 20 xs bad for your health. The most informative was HighFructoseCornSyrup. com they are a group of bloggers that I agree with. Each of their articles deal with HFCS in the media and how it is affecting us as a society. After reading all this information and making my way through my research, I began to question what I was eating. Is this slurpee chockfull of HFCS? Of course, just look at how sweet it is.
Is my burger only good because that ketchup it’s covered with is full of “sugar”, I mean high fructose corn syrup? Maybe I’m just losing it because I didn’t want to believe what I had been hearing for years was true. Is my weight gain because I eat too much or is it the Additive that is in so many of the foods I eat that caused the weight gain in the first place? Hmm! Although it has been on the market for about 35 years most thought their weight gain was cased only by a lack of exercise. With obesity at epidemic proportions many are starting to question is it something in the food too?