Corn, sweet corn

In honor of one of my profile interests, I'd like to post a couple of links about the corn industry's propaganda which I recently had the misfortune of seeing on tv. I think my blood pressure has lowered a little, but if I have to see them again I'll be going to a doctor promptly.


First here's a link from the Cleaner Plate Club, a blog I just stumbled across, but find to be informative and well-written. The comments from others are wonderful and mind-opening. This link also has videos of the original ads.
Here's another blog called Modern Dragons that contains footnotes with references to peer-reviewed scientific journal articles which demonstrate the deleterious health effects of HFCS.
And here's one from The Nutrition Reporter.
And one from the Mayo Clinic.

And as a side-note on hypocrisy- no, my own pantry is not completely devoid of products containing HFCS. But being aware of all the things its in and what that means for your body and for your environment is important. We all make choices about what we are comfortable with and I may be a little sensitive to additives and chemicals and nutrition b/c of the role they play in cancer and auto-immune diseases and mysterious incurable migraines, all of which we have experienced in our family and none of which modern medicine has much in the way of cures for. Either way, it never hurts to have a discussion about it.

Most of all I'd like to agree with most people, it's common sense- of course too much sugar of any kind is bad. Even if you view high fructose corn syrup as just more sugar, than surely we can agree on that. Then the problem becomes- HFCS is in so many products! As stated by other bloggers, how can we consume HFCS in moderation when it appears on the labels of almost every food in a normal grocery store?!
If you view it as less of a sugar and more of a food additive, then we should address how these ads by the corn industry can seek to label HFCS as "natural". They can get away with this claim because the FDA has little to no standard for "natural", and labeling it that does not make it so. High fructose corn syrup cannot be made without the aid of many industrialized chemical reactions. Please read the following for a definition of what the Corn Refiners Association considers natural :

"HFCS is produced by processing corn starch to yield glucose, and then processing the glucose to produce a high percentage of fructose. Three different enzymes are needed to break down cornstarch, which is composed of chains of glucose molecules of almost infinite length, into the simple sugars glucose and fructose.
First, cornstarch is treated with alpha-amylase to produce shorter chains of sugars called polysaccharides. Alpha-amylase is industrially produced by a bacterium, usually Bacillus sp. It is purified and then shipped to HFCS manufacturers.
Next, an enzyme called glucoamylase breaks the sugar chains down even further to yield the simple sugar glucose. Unlike alpha-amylase, glucoamylase is produced by Aspergillus, a fungus, in a fermentation vat.
The third enzyme, glucose-isomerase, converts glucose to a mixture of about 42 percent fructose and 50-52 percent glucose with some other sugars mixed in. While alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are added directly to the slurry, pricey glucose-isomerase is packed into columns and the sugar mixture is then passed over it. Inexpensive alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are used only once, glucose-isomerase is reused until it loses most of its activity.
There are two more steps involved. First is a liquid chromatography step that takes the mixture to 90 percent fructose. Finally, this is back-blended with the original mixture to yield a final concentration of about 55 percent fructose-what the industry calls high fructose corn syrup. The purpose for this blend is that HFCS has the same "sweetness" as an equal amount of sucrose from cane or beet sugar. HFCS is cheaper than sugar. It is also very easy to transport which translates into lower costs and higher profits for food producers.


Four companies control 85 percent of the $2.6 billion business-Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Staley Manufacturing Co. and CPC International."

As a food additive HFCS allows over-processed foods to sit on the shelves for months, in some cases years. Do we really want to be eating those foods? I make no apologies for not trusting these four corporations and their propaganda. This ubiquitous product contributes to our society's health problems. Personal choices and responsibility play a huge role, but propaganda does not help us to make informed decisions.

Let's address the root of the problem- ditch the over-processed food altogether.