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Satan manifests itself in food with high fructose corn syrup
In my opinion | Denouncing trans
by Lindsay Funston | Pulse Editor
There is a secret ingredient lurking in almost everything you eat. Unless you are a self-proclaimed nutrition guru, you most likely consume a food or beverage with high fructose corn syrup everyday.
High fructose corn syrup sweetens products from soda - nutritionally dubbed "liquid satan" - to whole-wheat bread. The syrup, even saturating what seem like non-threatening items including ketchup, is one of the main contributors to the nation's struggle with obesity. And surprisingly, one of the least talked about.
Sugar is not a diet sabotage in its raw form. It comes from a sugar cane plant and, when digested moderately in this mode, is not that bad for your body. But American food manufacturers are clever and cost-efficient. They have toyed with ways to strip sugar from its natural state and refine the sweetener to become a syrup-like substance. Subsequently, sugar-loaded foods have poor nutritional value and a lot of fat.
High fructose dominated the sweetener market in the 1980s, immediately replacing traditional forms for its affordability and effectiveness.
It masks the chemical flavor in Coca-Cola, enhances the addicting taste in cookies and even hides in yogurt, a food marketed as a healthy snack.
Not only does this sweetener pack on pounds, but it also affects your mood. Ever wonder why after you chug a Big Gulp you experience a sugar high followed by a massive headache, energy drop and lash-outs to friends?
This is the dangerous magic of the corn syrup at work. It hooks your taste buds, leaving you to crave more, even when it makes you feel like crap.
Consumers must also be cautioned about the long-term effects. Studies have directly linked the artificial syrup to diabetes (a surging health crisis in our country), caloric overload and unhealthy eating habits. Fructose, a simple sugar, fails to activate the brain's trigger to alert you that your stomach is satiated.
It doesn't end there.
More recently, high fructose corn syrup has shown a relationship with colon cancer in women. What wonderful news.
If you truly want to avoid the sweetener, don't rely on food labels stating they are 100 percent natural. 7UP tried to do this years ago despite high fructose topping its list of ingredients.
Read the nutrition labels on the foods you eat and show food manufacturers that they can no longer sugar-coat foods as "healthy" if you prefer to rid the devilish syrup from your diet.
lfunston@dailyemerald.com
High fructose corn syrup sweetens products from soda - nutritionally dubbed "liquid satan" - to whole-wheat bread. The syrup, even saturating what seem like non-threatening items including ketchup, is one of the main contributors to the nation's struggle with obesity. And surprisingly, one of the least talked about.
Sugar is not a diet sabotage in its raw form. It comes from a sugar cane plant and, when digested moderately in this mode, is not that bad for your body. But American food manufacturers are clever and cost-efficient. They have toyed with ways to strip sugar from its natural state and refine the sweetener to become a syrup-like substance. Subsequently, sugar-loaded foods have poor nutritional value and a lot of fat.
High fructose dominated the sweetener market in the 1980s, immediately replacing traditional forms for its affordability and effectiveness.
It masks the chemical flavor in Coca-Cola, enhances the addicting taste in cookies and even hides in yogurt, a food marketed as a healthy snack.
Not only does this sweetener pack on pounds, but it also affects your mood. Ever wonder why after you chug a Big Gulp you experience a sugar high followed by a massive headache, energy drop and lash-outs to friends?
This is the dangerous magic of the corn syrup at work. It hooks your taste buds, leaving you to crave more, even when it makes you feel like crap.
Consumers must also be cautioned about the long-term effects. Studies have directly linked the artificial syrup to diabetes (a surging health crisis in our country), caloric overload and unhealthy eating habits. Fructose, a simple sugar, fails to activate the brain's trigger to alert you that your stomach is satiated.
It doesn't end there.
More recently, high fructose corn syrup has shown a relationship with colon cancer in women. What wonderful news.
If you truly want to avoid the sweetener, don't rely on food labels stating they are 100 percent natural. 7UP tried to do this years ago despite high fructose topping its list of ingredients.
Read the nutrition labels on the foods you eat and show food manufacturers that they can no longer sugar-coat foods as "healthy" if you prefer to rid the devilish syrup from your diet.
lfunston@dailyemerald.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 45
Rumple Stilstkin
posted 10/27/07 @ 10:56 AM PST
Sugar is deadly poison. Read the book Sugar Blues by Willam Dufty (1975).
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Blues
Sugar Blues is a book by William Dufty that was released in 1975 to somewhat surprising commercial success. (Continued…)
Xaiver
posted 10/27/07 @ 12:21 PM PST
I hate to sound discouraging because I do appreciate it when people voice their opinions.
However, this column is bad, for a number of reasons.
First, HFCS is not a secret ingredient. (Continued…)
einstein
posted 10/27/07 @ 12:51 PM PST
Give me sugar over corn syrup anyday.
IAmSoOverMe
posted 10/27/07 @ 1:50 PM PST
This article is correct. High Fructose Corn Syrup is the worse crap you can possibly put into your body next to drinking bleach or gasoline. The upper elites that own corporations put this crap into your food because it is cheap, and it will also cause you to become addicted, which in turn puts more money into their pockets. (Continued…)
trudy koch
posted 10/27/07 @ 2:01 PM PST
BEES !
Feeding BEES high fructose cornsyrup is killing them. TK
Saying No to Soda
posted 10/27/07 @ 2:18 PM PST
Sodas are not in and of themselves bad for you, it's only when you drink several dozen ounces a day on a regular basis that the HFCS and Aspartame become a serious problem. (Continued…)
skinnier me
posted 10/27/07 @ 2:32 PM PST
Last month I read an article stating that high fructose corn syrup triggers production of a certain liver enzyme, which in turn, causes the body to store fat. (Continued…)
Kamomil
posted 10/27/07 @ 3:11 PM PST
The author is saying that it's almost impossible to avoid HFCS and shows contempt for those who think they can, calling them "self-proclaimed nutrition guru". (Continued…)
Read Labels
posted 10/27/07 @ 4:08 PM PST
It isn't just HFCS; it's also soy, MSG, canola oil, aspartame etc. etc. There are enough bad things in the food supply that I actually don't feel I have time or space to list it all. (Continued…)
More than that
posted 10/27/07 @ 4:57 PM PST
I agree with the article. HFCS is one of the worst ingredients in your food. More than just obesity and mood swing, I have read that it is also linked to diabetes in a study by the American Chemical Society. (Continued…)
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