Heather Hodges

Have you heard? Surely you’ve heard by now? High Fructose Corn Syrup is a nasty, evil, mean ingredient in about 70% of processed foods in America. We are all getting fat and unhealthy on the stuff. In my meager efforts to get fit for the looming swim suit season I picked up a health magazine and read an article that claims, “eating even small amounts of high-fructose corn syrup can impair the body’s appetite supressing hormones, making weight loss nearly impossible.” – First – May 2008

Of course this got my attention and I had to keep researching. I learned that HFCS raises blood pressure, ages the liver, makes the skin sag, upsets the pancreas which cause high blood sugar, insulin, resistance and diabetes. It also scrambles your thinking. Some research even suggests a link to Alzheimer’s. The research does show that people who consume large amounts of HFCS are five times more likely to score below average on memory tests…………ummm, what was I talking about?

Oh, yes, HFCS. High Fructose Corn Syrup is found in almost every soda, energy drinks, Capri Sun, Kool-Aid, Sunny-D, Snapple, Hawaiian Punch, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice. I just went through my cupboards and it’s in almost everything from my Slim Fast bar, breakfast cereal, peanut butter, granola bars, Campbell Soup, mac-n-cheese, animal crackers, Hungry Jack syrup, Yoplait yogurt, Home Pride Wheat bread, Heinz ketchup, Smuckers raspberry jelly, even A1 Steak Sauce.

In the late 1960s food manufacturers started swapping good old-fashioned sugar for the man-made and cheaper sweetener – high fructose corn syrup. It seems like more than mere coincidence that America’s obesity trends began to climb at this same time. According to the USDA the annual consumption of HFCS has jumped from 1/2 pound per person in 1970 to 62.4 pounds per person today. No wonder it seems harder and harder to lose weight.

Well, today’s the day – no more HFCS for me, I’m on the wagon. This is going to be no small feat since I’m hopelessly addicted to Dr. Pepper. I do have one consolation though – Dublin Dr. Pepper. The bottling plant in Dublin, Texas still makes Dr. Pepper with the original recipe of Imperial Cane Sugar and not corn syrup. Jason’ Deli here in Tulsa sells Dublin Dr. Pepper, so you will probably see me at JD’s several times a week now. Otherwise, I’ll have to make a road trip to Dublin for the “good stuff.”

For more reading on the dangers of HFCS check out these sites. Children of the Corn , Double Dangers of HFCS, A Killer on the Cob and Foods without HFCS .