By Janessa Mondestin
HFCS have managed to infiltrate households, affecting Americans at an alarming rate. The acronym stands not for the latest viral or bacterial infection plaguing countries abroad that are now hitting home. Actually, HFCS, otherwise known as High Fructose Corn Syrup, is a genetically modified sugar substitute made of pure corn syrup and chemically augmented fructose that has been plaguing our kitchen cupboards and meals for at least three decades. It is often disguised on nutritional labels as glucose, fructose, or corn syrup. It is commonly found in processed foods and beverages. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, High Fructose Corn Syrup consumption has increased more than 1000 percent from 1970 to 1990. “HFCS now represents more than 40 percent of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States”
Since the United States subsidizes its homegrown corn productions, while increasing taxes on foreign sugar import, US food manufacturers have found the conversion of corn into artificial sweeteners as a highly cost-efficient substitute to table sugar. Major manufacturers like Coco-Cola and Pepsi-Cola’s justified decision to minimize costs are wreaking havoc on American pockets. Based on research done on soda consumption conducted by the Nutritional Policy at Center for Science in the Public Interest, a 20-ounce bottle of soda contains 17 teaspoons of sugar.
From a nutritional perspective, HCFS may be the core factor to the obesity epidemic, outside of hereditary dispositions, among Americans today, particularly African Americans. HCFS are pack-aged in processed foods like coffee creamers, baked goods, sodas, fruit juices, dairy, breads, and even in condiments like salad dressing and barbecue sauce. The nutritional value of HCFS can be devastating, causing calories to surge in carbohydrate and sugar intake; often times doubling, if not tripling, the serving size of sugar than that of natural fruits and vegetables. Without other important nutrients, like fiber, to neutralize the spike insulin, or rid excesses out of the body, the in-crease servings of sugar that is not expended, as energy naturally will be stored as fat. In addition to fat storage, fructose will elevate the blood pressure leading to a common and preventable condition of hypertension. Lastly, high levels of fructose intake can wreak havoc on your liver and preventing it from its sole purpose of detoxifying the body and metabolizing fats. As you can see, the liver and its overall function to the body are just shy on the importance scale to the heart, brain and lungs. Without a properly functioning liver, the toxicity levels will increase, causing other prevalent and preventable conditions like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
So what can we do instead of HCFS? Try water. Your body is made of mostly water and this or-ganic compound is so pertinent to human metabolic processes such as weight loss, fat removal, purification/detoxification, increased circulation, and hydration. If you must sweeten your beverages, try stevia. Stevia, sometimes known as sweetleaf, is a natural herb that grows in tropical weather whose extracts mimics table sugar in taste.
Sources:
- http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/4/537?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=high+fructose+corn+syrup&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081209221742.htm
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/americas-deadliest-sweete_b_630549.html?ref=twitter= http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/02/HighFructose-Corn-Syrup-Alters-Human-Metabolism.aspx
- http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/jcem;89/6/2963
- http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/liquid_candy_final_w_new_supplement.pdf
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