Cooking Kids

I don’t know how many of you have seen the newer high fructose corn syrup commercials. You know those commercials that tout the good qualities of high fructose corn syrup? I guess it was only a matter of time before the Corn Refiners Assoc. started fighting back. There’s a lot of money to be lost if people start demanding that their foods be sweetened with natural sugar, rather than a combination of genetically modified enzymes.

We are not for HFCS in this house. That doesn’t mean we don’t buy products with HFCS, but it does mean I make a conscious effort when shopping to avoid the stuff. If I do buy it, I try to buy products where HFCS is listed from the 5th ingredient on. I look for products sweetened with honey, sugar, brown sugar or cane juice. I don’t care what those commercials say; I’ll never believe that a genetically modified sweetener is just as good for my family as plain old table sugar.

The line in the commercials that really gets me is when they have the person, who is enjoying his or her high fructose corn syrup treat, say that high fructose corn syrup is just fine in moderation. I always laugh at that part because of the word moderation. Considering how many products contain HFCS, I know that families who aren’t conscious of the ingredient are definitely not ingesting it in moderation. It’s in most juice boxes, punches, peanut butters, jellies, candies, breads, sodas and boxed dessert snacks. For a family not conscious of its HFCS consumption, a child’s lunchbox could be nothing but a HFCS goldmine.

So what’s so wrong with high fructose corn syrup? Experts say the jury is still out and there is conflicting evidence of the detriments of HFCS. However, my proof is in the pudding. I used to be an avid Coke drinker. I’m talking at least 6 a day. They never made me full. That’s why I could drink them all day long and continue getting a little bigger each year. When I stopped drinking sodas last year, I switched to sweet tea I make at home. I noticed a huge difference in how I felt. While the sodas did not fill me up, a large glass of sweet tea made with real sugar did. While the sugar isn’t any better in the long run, it does show that ingesting items with real sugar gives your body something to process, hence making it feel full. HFCS lets you just eat and eat or drink and drink to excess because your body isn’t processing it the same way.

If you’re confused about high fructose corn syrup, do a little research and see what’s best for your family. Don’t just believe these new commercials, put out by the people who stand to lose the most $$$$$$ if people stop buying products with HFCS.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS