Where did high fructose corn syrup come from
and why is it so common today?

Corn syrup (which is refined corn sugar) was first manufactured in 1882.

It is turned into a syrup from the enzymatic conversion of cornstarch and is mostly glucose (also known as dextrose or blood sugar).

Products with corn syrup can have a range from 20% to 98% glucose, manufacturer’s don’t specify how much.

Syrup solids are concentrated with less than 10% water and at least 88% glucose.

You will find it in manufactured foods such as:

· Karo syrup
· maple-flavored pancake syrup
· salad dressing
· drink mixes
· fruit drinks
· puddings
· ice milk
· tomato sauces

The production process of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), was developed in Japan in the 1960s and became popular with manufactured foods in the late 1970s. It is made by using other enzymes to convert glucose to fructose. It is like sucrose (table sugar) but it cost less to use. Manufacturers love it because it retains moisture, controls crystallization, blends with other sweeteners, acids and flavorings, it tastes sweeter, maintains a longer shelf life and is cheaper. It was considered a “revolutionary” food science innovation and is now used in almost everything that needs a sweetener.

Published in the industry journal Corn Annual, HFCS “broke the sweetness barrier” by offering, for the first time, a product as sweet as liquid sugar. Greg Critser who wrote “Fat Land: How American became the fattest people in the world”, says the big winners in the shift away from sugar was the soda industry. The syrup was a cheaper and easier-to-use alternative at a time of soaring sugar prices and the federally subsidized corn industry found a lucrative use for surplus corn.

Americans lost out nutritionally because they were soon presented with lots of cheap ways to satisfy their hankering for sweets. Soda servings grew to 32 ounces and then 64 ounces and new candy and snack products soared.

Products that contain HFCS:

· Soda
· Processed and junk foods
· Juices
· Salad dressings
· Ketchup
· Jams and Jellies
· Bread
· Ice Cream

HFCS has 14% fructose, much more than regular corn syrup, and this is a concern to me. The U.S. is consuming so much fructose that for the first time we have an obesity epidemic that is threatening our health. It’s possible that it has a disruptive effect on metabolism, including lowering insulin and leptin levels (hormones that are involved in appetite-control).

The body does not utilize fructose well. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that Americans over the age of 2 consume more than 300 calories daily from caloric sweeteners. It may promote weight gain because our bodies make fat from fructose more readily than from other kinds of sugar. It may disturb liver function (the liver stops everything else to metabolize the fructose) and does not tell the body when it’s full. It changes the way the body will handle the food you eat next.

HFCS appears to elevate triglycerides which are blood fats that increase the risk of heart disease.(Triglycerides are usually checked along with cholesterol when you have your yearly blood work done by your doctor).

There is an environmental impact that is also a serious concern. Journalist and agriculture industry critic Michael Pollan points out that growing all the corn needed for HFCS depletes soil nutrients which increases the need for pesticides and fertilizer.

In March 2008, the Washington Post quoted Pollan as saying that “a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico where virtually nothing will live has been starved of oxygen by the fertilizer runoff coming down the Mississippi from the corn belt.” Pollan also notes that federal corn subsidies keep prices of products containing HFCS low, and that, plus the sweetness factor, feeds the public demand for these foods.

My thoughts: When we consume too much sugar, we burn sugar, not fat. Our brain and joints do use some sugar. I like to use natural unrefined, raw, turbinado cane sugars along with Stevia, honey, rice and maple syrup. Xylitol, a naturally occuring sugar substitute, is good for your teeth and the digestive system, and people with diabetes can use it (make sure animals do not have Xylitol).

I will not use any artificial sweeteners. They are made with chemicals our bodies cannot process and they’re not good for the brain. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup can be very addictive, causes your energy and moods to go up and down, lead to diabetes, contributes to inflammation and unbalances the yeast in your digestive system. Too much sugar also can lead to disease and cancer.

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