Searching The Research

There is a world of information out there on HFCS and its affects. Some articles claim it is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Others propose that it is guilty of being the root cause of the alarming rise in obesity and diabetes among young people.

And there is also a rather middle of the road opinion that HFCS is just another in a long list of food additive culprits. I am no expert but I believe there is truth to be found regarding how HFCS and other ingredients are affecting our bodies. I will leave it to you to peruse the 2 videos and 5 articles I have embedded in today's blog - and you may find some even better ones you would like to research in order to formulate some kind of opinion on your own.

I sometimes have an honest-to-goodness 'unwell' feeling come over me when I consume a soft drink or fruit juice that contains HFCS. Coincidence? Allergy? Or is my body trying to tell me something? I go with the latter. I have long been in tune with my body's signals and am never sorry when I heed those signals and make changes.

Nature has an endless list of 'incredible edibles'. They are here for our use. It is my belief that if we partake of this bounty in the season therof in as natural a state as possible we will be far better off. The Mediterranean Diet is a time tested example of how this works to promote health and long life.

That Pesky Pantry

While reorganizing my pantry today I discovered that a lot of items that belong in the basement food storage area had somehow 'walked' up the stairs and were now dwelling in the overcrowded nooks and crannies of my pantry. How and when does this happen???

PANTRY BEFORE REORGANIZING

Back to the reorganizing...it was fun, didn't take an inordinately long time (taking photos made it even more of an adventure) and gave me an opportunity to check the ingredient labels (primary reason for reorganizing in the first place) on all of my food stuffs. Looking for that culprit HFCS. There were a few unpleasant surprises in the store. Perhaps you have a pantry not unlike mine.

PANTRY AFTER REORGANIZING

Case in point: Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce - brand new bottle. This product has been in production since 1835 (long before HFCS was available) and I am presuming that HFCS has recently been added as a replacement for the more expensive cane or beet sugar that was once contained in this pantry staple. There are other ways to flavor food - more delicious and healthy ones in fact - so this item will not be missed.

Graham crackers. Admittedly, this was a store brand as opposed to a name brand item. I am going to check the ingredients of the name brand ones next time I shop. Graham crackers dipped in milk is a favorite of some of my grandchildren. Even my bird dearly loves them. If the name brand ones have it too - out they go! Somewhere I have a recipe for homemade graham crackers.

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. HFCS was the first ingredient on the list actually. I have decided that once this new (and fairly large) jug is gone (I may even toss it out before then) I will be making my own chocolate syrup from cocoa powder. It's simple and quick to make so I don't know why I would have picked the syrup off the grocery shelf in the first place. Lesson learned.

This was the extent of my findings. Not too bad for an afternoon hunt. When the mice come in out of the cold this fall they will be happy to know that all of the items on the pantry shelves are healthy. They contain simple, basic ingredients. Good news.

From here on out I will judiciously check ingredient labels on each item that rides home with me from the grocery store.

THE CHOICE: Concern for human lives or $$$$$$

Dateline August 4, 2010 - this article, "Cancer Cells Use Fructose to Grow: Don't Blame Us, Says Corn Lobby" appeared in the online version of CBS News - Health section. The link was emailed to me by family members who knew I started this blog yesterday. Timing is everything. Included in the article is a link to the original report found in the August 1 issue of the journal "Cancer Research." It will give you the undigested research report should your scientific knowledge prefer.

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) issued a statement regarding this study.

My 'translation' of their statement: "We have nothing to gain and everything to lose [read as $$$$$$ - billions of them] if there is even a particle of truth in this scientific study. Therefore we will vehemently make excuses and find ways to dissuade the public from heeding the danger signals flagged in this study."

For your consideration: If you or I were producing a product that had even the slightest hint of being found dangerous for public consumption, would we not want to know the truth and then act upon that truth, whether it meant losing billions of dollars or not? It seems blatantly immoral that the CRA would set off a smoke screen in the faces of the public and the scientists - professionals who have little to gain other than a short-lived notoriety for their good works. It is unconscionable that the CRA is downplaying important health concerns regarding consumers.

Tomorrow: Checking the ingredient labels on our pantry shelves.

Preface

My hope is that this blog will be an instrument in educating about the risks involved in the consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). As I research and learn more about these risks, I will share them with the readers of this blog.

My purpose is to promote healthier eating through access to accurate information and the subsequent adoption of better eating habits. The pursuit of healthier eating habits is important to all of us and may result in a longer, healthier, happier life.

To this end I begin at the beginning - a genesis of how it came to be that HFCS replaced glucose (sugar) in so many of our food products today.