Do your body a favor. Avoid HFCS.

I started this post as a review of the SodaStream soda maker. I started talking about why it was nice to be able to make my own soda with out using high fructose corn syrup. It is great and I will do that review, but I got sidetracked thinking and writing about HFCS and because it concerns me so much, I would like to go ahead and finish those thoughts. Here they are.

The commercials claiming that HFCS is just fine make me sad.

Even *if* it were indeed fine in moderation, as the commercials claim, the problem is that it is in nearly everything that we buy to consume, or at least it seems that way. If you haven’t, take a look some time, even in your own cabinets.

Did you know that it’s in most breads? It is so hard to find bread that doesn’t have it in it. It drives me nuts when my brand is out and I have to search through label after label to find a replacement. Sometimes, depending on the store, I can’t find a brand without it.

HFCS is in almost all sodas, ketchup, barbecue sauce, salad dressings, yogurt, cookies, artificial maple syrups, cereals, frozen treats, breakfast bars, stuffing, juice blends, etc. I could go on and on. Here is a partial list of items (read the comments for more). Also look here for a list of fast food items containing it.

Because it is in so many things that people eat on a daily basis. How can it possibly be considered used in moderation for the average person?

I have even seen articles showing studies that show levels of mercury in some HFCS samples. Check out these articles from Washington Post , U.S. News and Google it for more!

This is what gets me. HFCS is made, created in a lab, made. Something I didn’t know before writing this is that DNA cannot be detected in measurable amounts in high fructose corn syrup.

That’s a wake up call for me. I’ve avoided it and we eat healthy and eat organic when we can, but that shakes me. The thought of allowing my children to consume it unsettles me. Even more than that, the amounts that so many children in our country consume on a daily basis.

I encourage you to check out this article about HFCS. It is hugely informative and in an incredibly easy to read format.

In addition to the above a study was recently done at Princeton.  Their findings were quite interesting showing the difference between HFCS and sugar on the body (as tested on rats).   

Thanks for listening to me 🙂