5 Reasons To Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar in just about every item of processed food you buy in America today. Why is this? Because it is easier on the pocket of the producer. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) takes longer to produce, is more complicated, yet is much cheaper to produce than sugar.

While all this seems well and good for a number of reasons, HFCS is something to be avoided like the plague. I have 5 reasons to believe it is very very dangerous for the human body – just 5 things to think about out of many hundreds before you pour HFCS down your throat disguised by food.

1) Very high in fructose

The very name suggests this. While sugar is made up of 50% each of glucose and fructose, HFCS is made up of 55% fructose and 45% glucose. This extra 5% may not seem like much, but it is in actuality! Fructose is naturally present in fruit which is a good thing. Natural fructose is absolutely fine for the body. However, fructose is metabolized differently to other carbohydrates. It does not require insulin to help it break down, and as a result no leptin is produced. Leptin signals the brain that the body is full and to stop eating. But when a lot of fructose is consumed, the brain does not know that the body is full so it is easy to overeat.

2) Produced from genetically modified corn

HFCS is almost certainly produced from genetically modified corn. It has been said that 80% of foods are genetically modified somewhat. This is probably true because of the amount of foods that contain HFCS. Corn on its own is fine, but genetically modified corn starch is a whole ‘nother story!

3) Produced with genetically modified enzymes

As if genetically modified corn starch wasn’t bad enough – the starch is turned into syrup using genetically modified enzymes. Two of these enzymes, alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are relatively cheap and are added directly to the corn starch. However, the third enzyme, glucose-isomerase, is very expensive. It is packed into columns and the syrup is passed over it. The glucose-isomerase is re-used many times until it loses its potency. How about that? Stuffed full of genetically modified enzymes – and one of them is second, third, fourth even fifth hand. Perhaps even more. Yuk!

4) It is not in baby formula

This is just an interesting piece of information… HFCS is in just about every processed food product on the shelves – even in food intended for children. However, it is not in baby formula. I wonder why. I wonder if the manufacturers and scientists behind HFCS are not telling us something….

5) Destroys the liver

Because of the high fructose content, your liver gets destroyed. A recent study carried out on rats discovered a few shocking things. Dr Meira Field led the research.

Sucrose is composed of glucose and fructose. When sugar is given to rats in high amounts, the rats develop multiple health problems, especially when the rats were deficient in certain nutrients, such as copper. The researchers wanted to know whether it was the fructose or the glucose moiety that was causing the problems. So they repeated their studies with two groups of rats, one given high amounts of glucose and one given high amounts of fructose. The glucose group was unaffected but the fructose group had disastrous results. The male rats did not reach adulthood. They had anemia, high cholesterol and heart hypertrophy–that means that their hearts enlarged until they exploded. They also had delayed testicular development. Dr. Field explains that fructose in combination with copper deficiency in the growing animal interferes with collagen production. (Copper deficiency, by the way, is widespread in America.) In a nutshell, the little bodies of the rats just fell apart. The females were not so affected, but they were unable to produce live young.

So, now you have some data, you can make a (slightly) informed choice. Will you go the ignorant consumer route and continue buying products with HFCS in it and satisfy the manufacturers, or will you satisfy your body and cut it out of your diet?

Tagged as: dangerous, food-of-the-week, fructose, HFCS