Controversy: The Corn Refiners Association Takes Our Lady of Weight Loss to Task by Janice Taylor, Life & Wellness Coach, Author, Columnist and 50 pound big-time-loser! (For free consultation, write Janice.)
In my Tuesday's blog post - Hungry and Cranky After School - I laid out in my usual spot-on humorous fashion useful and brilliant (if I say so myself) tips on "How to Keep Your Kid Happy and Healthy in the Face of School".
In my #2 tip Read. Whether your child accompanies you to the grocery store or not; do spend some time reading the nutrition labels and comparing products together. Pay attention to the ingredients, and of course, portion size. Steer away from 'enriched' products and foods that have 'high fructose corn syrup' in them. (Enriched means that everything good has been stripped out, and the manufacturer had to put something back into it less it has no nutritional value and HFCS is simply unhealthy, in my opinion.)
. . . I briefly mentioned High Fructose Corn Syrup and received quite the e-mail from the Corn Refiners Association, letting me know that the "HFCS has a strong history as a safe ingredient recognized by food manufacturers and the U.S. government. In 1983, the Food and Drug Administration listed HFCS as "Generally Recognized as Safe" (known as GRAS status) for use in food, and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996. (61 Fed. Reg. 43447 (August 23, 1996), 21 C.F.R. 184.1866. Direct food substances affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe; High Fructose Corn Syrup - Final Rule.): "
I'm not so thrilled with something that is Generally Recognized as Safe. I would prefer 'most definitely.' That aside as it a government regulatory issue ... I contacted Dr. Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of "What to Eat" and "Food Politics," and asked her, "What about HFCS - is it good, bad or just ugly?"
To which Dr. Nestle replied, "HFCS is basically the same as sucrose--table sugar--but we eat more of it. So it's a matter of quantity not quality, although too much sugar of any kind is not a good idea."
Indeed, too much sugar of any kind is not good for us, and it seems that High Fructose Corn Syrup is in just about everything.
Therefore, I stand by my #2 tip: READ THE LABEL, see what's in the 'food' that you are giving your children. Just know that HFCS is sugar, and we don't want too much of it in our diets, do we?
Thanks to Audrae Erickson, President, Corn Refiners Association, Washington, DC for writing me and to Dr. Marion Nestle for her quick response to my important question.
Spread the word, NOT the icing ... (or in this case, the sugar)!
Janice
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My fiance's doctor wrote a thesis (or something) on this particular issue once and received the same feedback from the CRA! I smell a conspiracy....
Commenter Jen apparently has extensive knowledge on the process involved in producing HFCS. I think I'd rather listen to her--and my fiance's doctor. It is best to buy organic. NO HFCS worries there.
Too bad organic foods are so expensive. Not always an option for low-income families. Think that'll ever change?
They used to have a phrase that goes 'damning with faint praise'.
Saying that HFCS is 'generally recognized as safe' sort of strikes me that way. It doesn't say 'healthy', it only says 'safe'. I think we were all aware that it isn't cyanide. It won't kill you immediately on consumption. But I don't think that was the point being made anyway.
But, generally, if the best thing that can be said about an additive is 'well, it won't kill you, at least not right off', I'd say we're likely better off without it.
I remember they used to say the same thing about trans fats, too -- that there was no difference between them and other fats -- and now they've certainly been overwhelmingly viewed as dangerous.
Let's return to a natural diet, one that contains all the foods our bodies recognize and are used to provide needed nutrients, including: butter instead of margarine, whole milk if you drink it instead of skim, and naturally-raised meats. Food should be a source of pleasure, and it should be real. And organic.
Lisa
http://www.Holistic-Treatment-for-Depression.com
Your Daily Foothold to Happiness
Hi,
My google alert for HFCS picked up your article. HFCS is not basically
the same as sucrose. Doesn't anybody care to do the math? HFCS 55, which sweetens every national brand of soda and sports drink, is 55% fructose and 45% glucose. While that appears to be "similar" to the 50:50 ratio found in sucrose, it is not. 55/45=1.22 or 122%. That means that everytime a teen is chugging a few cans of sugar soda their liver is receiving 22% more fructose (in excess of glucose). It is
well documented that fructose is the moiety that can lead to long term
health problems: metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes; and elevated
triglycerides and cardiovascular disease.
CYNTHIA...you hit the nail on the head with the truth of HFCS!!!!
My advice to add to that...for you mothers who say you have ADHD children....TAKE THEM OFFF HFCS FIRST....for a couple months before you decide to pop a pill in there mouth and you will witness a new birth of your baby!! ITs too bad that baby food cant be lived on for the elementary years, as soon as those days are over....diet issues erupt. Take action MOTHERS....against HFCS...it reacts to everyone different and I witness this in my OWN GRANDSON!!! Now he is a A-B student! Learning curve normal, as before he was confused and constantly in trouble until...NO MORE HFCS!!! (just a hint). try it!!
Pills are too easy for the ADHD syndrome, especially if you are unaware of the reason and school plays a hard factor in YOUR DECISION!!as a parent! Dont let the child suffer! Diet is everything! You feed yourself well....feed your children well!..GOD BLESS TOO ALL! good luck!
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