High fructose corn syrup, it's in everything!

L

lesliew

Cathlete
My mom just informed me that my favorite whole grain wheat bread lists high fructose corn syrup as it's third ingredient! I never thought to check for it because I was more concerned that the bread have lots of fiber, which it does, but it also has that crap in it. She switched to Arnold whole grain bread, as it uses honey as a sweetener, and it's not in the top of the list in ingredients. It also has less calories a slice.

Just thought I'd give you a heads up. Just because it doesn't taste sweet, it doesn't mean it's free of the things you don't need!
 
Leslie... how well I know HFCS is in everything! It is one of my goals this year to erradicate it from my diet after reading the book YOU on a Diet. Talk about having to chunk bottles of salad dressing!!
 
I agree that HFCS is in a lot of processed foods at the regular grocery store. Even things that might sound more healthy (green tea, 'natural' crackers, etc.) have it in.
 
I find this highly irritatingx( . I searched and searched for an affordable bread that did not contain this ingredient and finally found one. What is the point of putting this in so many products?

We are eating a LOT less processed food than we used to because I'm worried about the long term health affects of eating HFCS, trans fats, and a whole bunch of stuff I can't pronounce, not to mention I don't even know what it is.

Maggie:)
 
I'm with everyone here! I was buying whole wheat bread from a reputable company when I thought to look at the ingredients. It took me a bit of time to find a brands with no HFCS. It's disgusting and I think HFCS is as bad for as us trans fat. Our cells cannot metobilize it - our liver has to. Studies done by the USDA where they fed HFCS to rats shows that the livers of these rats look like the livers of alcoholics and drug users. This stuff scares me, especially with my family history of Liver Cancer. It's not natural (it's actually complicated to make - requiring a genetically modified enzyme to keep it stable at higher temperatures) and there are other, much better solutions for sweetners out there.
 
Christine--I did not know that HFCS was that bad. Ewwww. I was simply irritated because it seemed like extra sugar we did not need, but it sounds much worse than that.

Maggie
 
Christine and everyone -

What brands did you find that didn't have HFCS in it? Thanks for the help!

Nancy
 
I found that you're pretty safe if you go with the organic brands. I know Safeway, the store near us, makes an organic brand of whole wheat bread that is sweetened with natural cane sugar (why they have to sweeten it at all, I don't know, probably taste). I found ONE kind of Sara Lee whole wheat bread without it, but most of that brand has it too.

And yes - it is disgusting and SO bad for you. You really have to be careful - even things that are considered healthier - like bottled green teas - can have it in there. Just read labels and avoid anything that has it listed.
 
Nancy--I can't remember what it was called. It's a local brand (I'm in Oregon), but it's organic and only $1.50/loaf. Costco sells a kirkland brand bread that is about $2.00/loaf (in 2 loaf packages) that doesn't have any either and has lots of healthy stuff and fiber in it.

Maggie
 
Get this-I was making what I thought was a "clean" soup over the weekend using vegetable broth as the base. The vegetable broth was the Kroger store brand (DH bought it) and it had HFCS AND MSG!!!!!!!!
x( x( x( I was shocked to see these ingredients on a can on vegetable broth of all things. It really is worth the trip to Whole Foods!
 
Another book that talks about HFCS is The Abs Diet. I'm reading You on a Diet now, but read The Abs Diet a couple years ago, and that book actually goes into more detail about why HFCS is so bad for your body than I've found You on a Diet does (but I'm only halfway through it, so it might be covered later).

One of the main reasons HFCS is so bad for you is because it tricks the body into thinking it's not full. That's why you can drink a ton of soda and still feel hungry, because the HFCS doesn't trigger the body chemistry that says, "STOP!"

This doesn't mean that artificial sweeteners are any better. They come with a whole host of problems all their own.

Basically, if it's manmade (and HFCS and artificial sweeteners are manmade), don't eat it. Manmade things weren't meant for the body to ingest.
 
I SO wish this junk was getting as much attention as trans fats.
I actually rather a ban be placed on it that the fats.

Both should be eliminated, but HFCS first, imho.

I do a quiet mental freakout when I'm shopping and see 'health' foods listing this junk in the ingredients!
 
HFCS has been added to food b/c it's cheaper to use than sugar and companies are always trying to keep prices low to attract customers. I'm an american in the uk and I have an easier time keeping my weight under control here (I think) b/c few products have HFCS in them. Interestingly, coke/pepsi/carbonated beverages always have sugar in them rather than hfcs in Europe. I prefer this - not that having sugar in pop/soda is such a great thing, but I think it's better than hfcs. If only the US followed this example? I would pay a bit more (and do b/c food here is so much more expensive) to keep this filler out of my food!

Annie
 
Good point Annie. I too live in Europe(Germany actually), and the sodas are only sweetened with sugar. I have noticed however that many of their processed foods have HFCS in them now, which is kinda sad. I think that HFCS is a cheap, easy way to sweeten food (much like what Trans fats do for preserving) and as long as Americans value cheap food over quality food, this trend will not go away.

Carolyn
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top