RECAP
Last month we talked about High Fructose Corn Syrup. The Corn Refiners Association claims that HFCS is an all natural product which causes no more harm to the human body and the environment than sugar. Corn used in HFCS, however, is almost always genetically modified, grown in monocultures, and adds to environmental pollution. The manufacture of HFCS includes the use of genetically modified enzymes, fungi, and bacteria in a laboratory environment.
BUT IT’S CHEAP!
A popular argument in favor of HFCS is that it is inexpensive to make, keeping our grocery bills very low. True! It is so cheap to produce compared to other more natural sugar products, that it is used in a wide range of processed foods, some of which aren’t even obviously sweet. Why? Because sweetness makes more people buy more. The U S population is addicted to sweetness, with a high and rising rate of adult onset diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
FRUCTOSE > GLUCOSE
One of the CRA’s arguments is that HFCS has the same number of calories as real sugar, and that therefore it is no more fattening. They also state that it is metabolized in the same fashion as sugar. However, it is a fact that real sugar is composed of a 50:50 ratio glucose to fructose, while HFCS is usually composed of 55% fructose and 45% glucose, but can be turned out with a ratio of up to 80% fructose and 20% glucose. It is estimated that 25% of an average American’s caloric intake comes from sugars, with a higher ratio of fructose.
It used to be thought that fructose was beneficial for diabetics because it is absorbed only 40% as quickly as glucose, causing only modest rises in blood sugar. Glucose, however, is metabolized by every cell in the body, while fructose must be metabolized in the liver, putting a huge strain on just one organ. It is unclear whether the “unbound” chemical nature of fructose in HFCS makes it more dangerous to the body than sugar, although a recent study (funded in part by beverage companies) suggests that this is not true.
Here is a list of health problems in which fructose has been implicated. Fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and robs the body of micronutrients in order to assimilate itself. It reduces the affinity of insulin for its receptor, which means that the body needs to pump out more insulin to handle the same amount of glucose—which makes us more susceptible to type-2 diabetes. It promotes tooth decay. Fructose is converted to fatty acids by the liver at a greater rate than glucose, and when fructose is consumed in excess of glucose, this can lead to diarrhea. Fructose elevates insulin levels in women using oral contraceptives. Fructose has more damaging effects on the body in the presence of copper deficiency (and a large proportion of Americans are copper deficient), and with a Catch 22 sort of perfection, it also inhibits copper metabolism. Fructose has been seen to enlarge the heart and testes in male animals, causing death and infertility. Females resorb their offspring.
The CRA argues that the above allegations refer to fructose alone, and that an equal mix of glucose and fructose is benign. But, isn’t it true that the very name of the product we are discussing says it all? High Fructose Corn Syrup is called that because it is just that: higher in fructose than in glucose, even if only by five percent. Does this tip the ratio enough to cause any or all the above conditions, as well as inflating the American obesity epidemic?
SWEETS FOR THE SWEET
If you have reached the conclusion that HFCS is better avoided, you are probably asking, what are the alternatives? Start by reading labels for ingredients and limiting sweets.
When you do eat sweets, choose foods prepared using any of the following: cane sugar, best in the form of sucanat or rapadura, high in minerals and vitamins; molasses, even higher in minerals and vitamins; honey from bees that forage for a natural diet; maple syrup, high in vitamins and minerals; or the South American herb, Stevia, low calorie, natural, and safe for diabetics.
STOP PRESS
There are two 2009 developments in the furor over HFCS. Research has been released finding that due to the method by which caustic soda is created (to break corn kernels down into corn starch,) HFCS contains mercury. If this is the case, a normal American’s daily diet contains potentially five times the mercury limit as set by the EPA. The CRA has, of course, released a statement casting confusion over these findings. It continues to insist that its product is completely natural.
Which is odd, because the FDA released a statement in January that determined that HFCS and foods containing it may not be labeled as natural, for precisely the reasons that we have discussed.
Remember, we can do better than just survive, we can thrive.
Namaste.
