It is. You know how I know that? There’s a whole website and new TV commericals devoted to telling us so. I like the commerical because the chick tells us that it’s not unhealthy in “moderation” though of course she doesn’t say how that’s possible given it’s in…virtually everything not made from scratch yourself.
Does anyone else find a pro high fructose corn syrup campaign to be a little odd? Okay, maybe more than a little odd.
Hmmm. Sales must be down.
I noticed the commercials, and I was creeped out by them. Every time they get to the part where they say, “You know what they say about corn syrup, don’t you?” “No, what?” I say aloud to the TV, “It increases your resistance to insulin and contributes to the prevalence of type-2 diabetes?” Yeah. Corn refiners association of America. It might be safe in moderation, if it wasn’t in everygoddamnedthing everywhere. Even ketchup? Assholes.
I don’t shop there a lot because it’s generally too expensive, but Whole Foods has done wonders with helping me eliminate that crap from my diet. The store-brand staples like ketchup and the like are surprisingly inexpensive, and no damn corn syrup!
I have a friend in the States who’s allergic to all corn products. Even eating anything with corn syrup in it causes her to break out in hives. I was living in the States at the time, and when I learned about this person’s allergy I spent an illuminating shopping trip just going through my local grocery story looking at ingredients lists to see how much of the store’s wares she couldn’t eat. I recommend such a shopping trip to others.
<puts on tinfoil hat> Maybe you’re on to something. Could they be taking a pay out from makers of diabetes drugs?</tinfoil hat>
It strikes me as wildly out of touch to encourage people to consume sweeteners: given how heavy people have gotten in general they don’t need to be pushed into eating it even more.
The weirdest thing I have ever seen HFCS in is an off brand of cigarettes that my Grandma used to smoke. The brand was Rogers IIRC. Also IIRC, the HFCS didn’t help the flavor any. They were far and away the nastiest cigarettes I ever smoked, and I started on Chesterfield non-filters (Grandma’s preferred brand).
I’ve been wondering whether to fashion some tinfoil headware myself* on this issue. It seems to me that the rise in DMII correlates to the rise in the use of HFCS in just about every damn thing. However, IANA scientist or medical person, and so I wonder if I’m just paranoid, or if they really ARE out to get me.
*You just can’t buy this sort of thing off the rack, you know.
There is a phenomenal documentary titled “King Corn” that this advertising may be a response to.
The more you know about corn, the less you like it, and it has nothing to do with the corn.
I shall add it to my netflix queue.
It’s a “watch instantly” one too!
I just saw the commercials on youtube…they made me angry and even more determinted to cut this HFCS crap out of my diet.:mad:
It’s also the only place I’ve ever been that offers fructose-free deli meats. But yes, for a price.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma (or was it Fast Food Nation? Both?) offered a condensed but enlightening history of corn (maybe that should be ‘corn’ as it bears little resemblance to the stuff people eat at BBQs) and soy in America. What I found most interesting of all was the part about snack food companies and how they’ve got to make people eat as much and as often as possible without actually allowing them to feel full. Scary stuff.
PBS’ Independent Lens series featured the documentary King Corn in April; it probably will be shown again. It’s about two young college grads, concerned about the obesity epidemic, set out to grow an acre of corn and follow it from their field to the table.
From the web site:
Not me. It takes me extra-long in the grocery store, examining labels and making sure I’m not buying anything with added HFCS. Cereal! Yogurt! You can barely even shop on the perimeter any more. It makes me want to puke.
I tend to side against the, “Ohmigod. That has (ingredient X) in it! It’s teh ebiiiiiiiiiiiiilll,” crowd as a rule.
Aspartame? Love it. GMCs? Bring them on. Cloned animals? All for it. Organics? Not worth the extra cost, etc.
This campaign, however, left me literally sputtering and unable to form a sentence for a few seconds after I saw the first ad.
As a hobbyist cook and someone who has been guaranteed a 100 percent chance of developing Type 1 diabetes if something else doesn’t get me first, I’m very conscious about sweeteners. When I first got that bit of news a few years ago, I decided to cut HFCS out of my diet as much as possible.
Holy crap! Like others have said here, unless you’re a fanatical label reader, and I’ve since become one, you may THINK you’re consuming in moderation, but you’re getting WAY more than you’d ever suspect as part of a normal, “balanced” diet.
I’m all for gall, but this campaign borders on hubristic propoganda.
Those of you who are reading labels and cutting out HFCS, are you cutting out those products entirely, or are you buying replacement products that use sugar or Nutrasweet/Splenda?
I’m just curious. I’ve gone sugar-free on certain products recently, like juice and jelly, but I’ve switched to Splenda versions, rather than dropping them entirely.
Well, I buy more expensive name-brand vanilla yogurt (Stoneyfield?) sweetened with sugar, rather than the cheaper store-brand loaded with HFCS. I avoid most sweetened cereals, which pretty much means all we eat is spoon-size shredded wheat (that’s all that’s in it). I don’t buy any sweetened juices at all.
That’s not to say we don’t consume any HFCS. Coke in a restaurant? It’s got it; you’re stuck if you want Coke. But that’s a rarity; we mostly drink water.
I’m not hypervigilent or a Nazi on the issue; when I can, I try my damnedest to avoid it. It’s in some spaghetti sauces, for God’s sake! :mad:
And just for shits and giggles taste Coke made with actual sugar compared to the crap with corn syrup - no comparison
I love passover because that is when you can get sucrose based Coke!
It definately tastes better - but a lot of people have given me strange looks for claiming there is a difference in taste.
The difference is hard to describe - its a little less sweet initially, but the sweetness lasts throughout all stages of consumption. It seems like HFCS is very sweet initially, which overstimulates the sweet taste buds, and they become temporarily numb to the taste very quickly.
Choosing products sweetened with sucrose instead of high-fructose corn syrup is simply picking the lesser of evils. Americans eat too much sugar .period., regardless of source. I’ve been trying to avoid all sugared products (and salted too), which a lot of times means avoiding processed foods entirely.
And do you know why paranoid conspiracy types are still wacko despite the tin-foil hats? Because their tin-foil has been replaced by aluminum!!! No wonder the mind-control rays are screwing them up. Proper tin-foil is really hard to get!