# Okay.,.gimme the facts on High Fructose Corn Syrup **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488 "2008-09-20T22:18:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488/21 "2008-09-21T20:09:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The corn lobby and the politicians who pander to it annoy me so much I won’t even use corn or canola oils. While peanut oil is worse for me, I’ll take the fat hit in order not to support corn growers. What about olive oil? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488/22 "2008-09-21T20:17:26Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > What about olive oil? I practically drink the stuff as it is (I make grilled cheese sandwiches with it instead of butter, and put it on my toast). But for occasional high-temp frying, peanut oil works about the best. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488/23 "2008-09-21T20:51:45Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I practically drink the stuff as it is (I make grilled cheese sandwiches with it instead of butter, and put it on my toast). But for occasional high-temp frying, peanut oil works about the best. Understandable, since olive oil smokes at high temperatures. I’ve never used peanut oil. I broil my meats and rarely fry, and when I need oil I’ll use a tablespoon or so of bacon grease. I’ll have to buy a small bottle of peanut oil to see if I like it. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488/24 "2008-09-21T22:11:21Z")
> [@JimmyFlair](#): > > No canola oils? While I can understand your reasons for not buying corn oil, isn’t canola an entirely different plant? Wouldn’t buying it help you “stick it to the man” of the corn lobby? I agree with this…not only is canola oil healthier for you, it’s mostly imported from Canada, so your money goes to the Ottawa lobbyists instead of Washington. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488/25 "2008-09-21T23:46:14Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > This book talks about HFCS and how it got into so many foods: Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World (2004): [Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World - Greg Critser - Google Books](http://books.google.com/books?id=0pvei-5tJoEC&client=firefox-a) I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a good basic understanding of ‘how’ we as Americans got to where we are today. Very interesting read! As I recall they had a very good chapter on how HFCS became so deeply entrenched in our diet. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488/26 "2008-09-22T00:34:06Z")
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#): > > I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a good basic understanding of ‘how’ we as Americans got to where we are today. Very interesting read! As I recall they had a very good chapter on how HFCS became so deeply entrenched in our diet. I’ll also recommend [Younger Next Year](http://www.amazon.com/Younger-Next-Year-Strong-Sexy%252014Until/dp/076114773X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222043344&sr=8-1) again. It not only guides you into long lasting health, but explains how you got to where you are (creationists probably won’t like that part), why your body does what it does, and how what you put into it affects your health. It’s a revelatory read. And now there is the “pink” version for women. **Equipoise** : I like peanut oil because it’s taste-neutral. A gallon of the stuff lasts me forever, as we don’t fry much. It’s mostly sauteeing with olive oil for us. Canola is healthier, but I prefer peanut since we use so little. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488/27 "2008-09-22T05:03:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The corn lobby and the politicians who pander to it annoy me so much I won’t even use corn or canola oils. While peanut oil is worse for me, I’ll take the fat hit in order not to support corn growers. You made me cry, as a sort-of-a-corn-grower. ☹ I grew up on a Centennial Farm (100 years in one family) in central Illinois. My brother runs it now. Two-thirds of it is corn lately. Farming has never been an easy way to make a living. I just read an article about grain farming expenses, and they are up something like 158% per acre compared with 10 years ago. The chief cause is the rise in cost of anhydrous ammonia, which is made from methane (natural gas). I think we all know where that is heading. So have a little sympathy for the corn growers, please. Having said that, I will add my voice to those cursing the rise of HFCS in our diets. The use of HFCS as a cheap sweetener will stop when we stop buying it, and the corn growers will not be affected all that much (given the rise in the use of corn for gasahol). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-gimme-the-facts-on-high-fructose-corn-syrup/464488.md?page=1)