Image by Jeremy Smith from Pixabay
I’m guessing most of us didn’t know another ingredient name change took place quietly in the greedy food industry!
I admit I didn’t know this! (I’ll get to the change in a minute)
Dr. Mark Hyman states high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a killer. Since we humans started consuming it:
- diabetes has increased nearly 8-fold
- obesity rates have more than tripled
Even used in moderation HFCS heavily contributes to:
- Fatty liver disease
- Obesity
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- dementia
- Atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries)
- Leaky gut syndrome and dysbiosis
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cancer (cancer cells love fructose)
- tooth decay
Dr. Mark Hyman says there are 2 real reasons HFCS will kill us:
- HFCS is almost always an indicator of poor quality, disease-creating “food-like substances” and is mercury-contaminated
- Americans consume about fifty to sixty pounds of HFCS per capita (per person) per year
The food industry has seen a decrease in demand for foods containing High Fructose Corn Syrup and is scrambling to stay rich. They know that consumers are looking at labels and consciously trying to steer away from anything containing HFCS. (Well, duh!) So, manufacturers came up with a sneaky way to fool customers so they can still make money.
Dr. Hyman outlines how the corn industry spends millions on misinformation campaigns to convince consumers and health care professionals of the safety of their product.
In 2010, the corn industry has tried to mislead us through legislation. Surprisingly, in 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stepped up and turned down their request to rename HFCS to the more natural sounding term “corn sugar.”
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them.” ~Harry Truman
Greed wins out! They got their new deceptive name:
Nonetheless, they succeeded in changing the name of a form of HFCS (called HFCS-90) to FRUCTOSE or FRUCTOSE SYRUP.
Since fructose makes up the sugar content in fresh fruits, fructose sounds much healthier than HFCS, however, when we consume fructose in fruits, we consume it along with fiber, enzymes, minerals and vitamins.
They are NOT taking the cheap, harmful problem out of their products, they’re just changing the name on packaging to conceal it.
And, the deception goes even deeper! The information in Dr. Renee Dufault’s HFCS mercury study went to the FDA back in 2005. The FDA reportedly sat on it and did nothing, so Dr. Dufault went public with it after she retired in late 2008.
According to Natural News:
“The toxic ingredient now called fructose, or fructose syrup, contains even higher concentrations of harmful HFCS, making it more of a health risk than regular HFCS.
Regular HFCS (HFCS-42 or HFCS-55) contains either 42 or 55 percent fructose, while HFCS-90 (FRUCTOSE or FRUCTOSE SYRUP) contains 90 percent.
HFCS-90 is sometimes used in natural and ‘light’ foods where very little is needed to provide sweetness.”
Due to budget reasons and long product review times, the FDA decided in 1997 that food companies could review their own products and determine if they were safe or not. This self-regulatory system legally enables food companies to put profits above safety.
The best way to protect your family is to inform yourself about hidden toxins in your food, avoid processed foods and read food labels thoroughly.
Other Alternative Names for High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Isoglucose
- Natural corn syrup
- Maize syrup
- Tapioca syrup
- Fructose syrup
- Fructose isolate
- Fructose
- High maltose corn syrup
- Glucose syrup
- Fruit fructose
- Crystalline fructose
- and of course, HFCS
High Fructose Corn Syrup by any other name is Sneaky!!
Don’t be thrown off by large “Natural”, “100% Natural” ,“Fat-Free” and “Sugar-Free” labels.
Those labels are there for marketing purposes, competing for your attention. Now that the marketing worked and the box/bottle/container has your attention – pick it up, turn it over and read the ingredients.
Are you finding it harder to shop these days or easier because you know more?
Hannah B
Is there a way to discern between HFCS “fructose” labeling and honest to goodness fructose in labeling? Or is all labeled “fructose” HFCS?
Jacqueline
Hannah, I don’t think we can know unless the company adds the wod “fructose”: and It will be stated as such. But if they add any fruit that contains natural fructose (no matter how much), they don’t need to label for that, just the fruit. My deduction, then, is that if anythng says “fructose or fructose syrup, it is HFCS-based.
Hope that helps!
Jacque
Lisa Clower
Thanks for that distinction, Jacque. It makes it easier to just say “I don’t need it”.