There is a commercial ad on TV about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) vs. natural sweetners like honey, corn syrup, agave nectar, etc. One shows two women at a picnic, on a sunny day, kids running around happy and cheerful (because they are all on a SUGAR HIGH - lol). One woman is telling the other about there being no difference between HFCS and natural sweetners and stating how your body cannot tell the difference and that "sugar is sugar". I watched this commercial and honestly I'm amazed at how big businesses will do anything to make money and keep on making money. Let me tell you, there is a difference and yes, your body can tell what that difference is.
High fructose corn syrup comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert its glucose into fructose to produce a desired sweetness. There are quite a few steps into making HFCS and they start with cornstarch. The cornstarch is broken down by adding an enzyme, alpha-amylase, which is derived from bacteria. Once that is broken down, a second enzyme, glucoamylase (enzyme derived from a fungus), is added. This continued fermentation converts into pure glucose. Then they take another enzyme, glucose-isomase, and pour the pure glucose mixture over the glucose-isomase, which converts the concoction into a combination of fructose and glucose, which is then refined to end up as high fructose corn syrup.
You would think that this is costly to produce, however, HFCS is cheaper than sugar and can be inexpensively shipped and stored. HFCS is used in everything from bread to pasta sauces to beer. It's even used in some 'health products' like protein/energy bars or 'natural' sodas. It's a win-win for the corn farmer and manufacturers and food processors because it retains moisture, prevents microbiological growth and blends easily with sweetners, acids and flavorings. It boils down to more money for big business but we ultimately lose in the end, with our health. However, big businesses are beginning to feel the 'pinch' from consumers because we are becoming wiser and more saavy with our health choices so they want to change the name to just CORN SYRUP to give us a feeling of 'well how bad can it be if it's made from corn?' Believe me, it's still not a good thing.
There is a lot of debate on whether HFCS is unhealthy and basically if you really look at the process I noted above, there isn't anything NATURAL about HFCS. Yes sugar is sugar however our bodies are highly intelligent 'machines'. Eating fruit which contains sugars can raise your blood sugar level however, this sugar is natural and more easily processed by our bodies than HFCS. When HFCS is consumed in high quantities, unused amounts are stored as fat cells. Also, the enzymes used to produce HFCS are not necessarily natural...at least we aren't sure they are. Eating a piece of fruit, that comes from the earth, is about as natural as you can get. There aren't any chemicals in fruit to contribute to altering your genetic make up or even to contribute to weight gain, which HFCS is linked to doing. The consumption of HFCS has been known and proven to contribute to the obesity and a host of other health-related issues like fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and many other issues.
So yes our bodies CAN tell the difference. Think about it: has anyone gained a ton of weight by eating fruit and drinking beverages that are naturally sweetened? No. It's when we introduce food and beverages that include HFCS, that our bodies begin to put weight on and experience a host of health-related issues.
Choose natural sweetners like honey, agave nectar, stevia for your food and beverages. Even fruit juices contain a ton of sugars so be careful when consuming. For all my soda drinkers, try to ween yourself off by introducing more water into your diet. Oh and if you're thinking of switching to diet sodas/juices because they are sweetened with artificial sweetners well they aren't necessarily a better choice. Artificial sweetners have chemically altered ingredients as well and in the long run can also contribute to increasing many health-related issues. So do your best to first cut down and eventually cut out from your diet. And read labels! Anything that lists HFCS or corn syrup as a sweetner, put it back on the shelf-smile.
Being healthy or healthier takes work and there is a lot of confusion with what's good and what's not good. But I keep it simple by remembering anything NATURAL and from the earth is always GOOD for you.
Be well and eat healthy!
