What You Should Know About High Fructose Corn Syrup

One of the main ingredients in almost everything you find on grocery store shelves can lead to everything from diabetes to stomach ulcers, gallstones, fatigue, skin conditions and more (src).

This particular item is in almost every soda, baked goods and even in canned products – can you guess what it is?

It’s high fructose corn syrup.

What’s so scary about this particular item (HFCS) is that it’s anything BUT natural or healthy. 

So why is it found in almost every item on shelves?

One reason: cost. HFCS is incredibly cheap to manufacture. Thus, companies find it desirable as a sweetener fit for human consumption. ut just because it’s deemed fit for consumption doesn’t necessary mean it’s good FOR consumption…

Back in 2008, the average American consumed as much as 76 grams of HFCS each day (src)… and according to the American Heart Association, the average teen piles in 34 teaspoons of sugar a day (src), while an adult takes in an average of 22 teaspoons a day – that’s more than TWICE the daily amount that we should be eating.

How is HFCS Made?

It’s manufactured mostly from genetically modified corn, and is processed by converting glucose into fructose.  

As part of the chemical process… the glucose and fructose (bound together naturally) become separated. This allows the fructose to go straight to your liver … where it turns on a production of fat in your liver. That production is called lipogenesis. (src)

Lipogenesis lends way to fatty liver ~ which then leads to diabetes, and then to heart attack, stroke, cancer, dementia and more.

What does HFCS Contain?

Not only does HFCS contain pure fructose … it is chemically produced – therefore contains toxins pursued to produce the syrup. One of those toxins is chloralkali – chloralkali contains mercury (src).

And although it’s ok to consume this item in small amounts, the fact is that most Americans consume much MORE than small amounts – when teenagers consume an average of 34 teaspoons a day, then those small amounts aren’t really so small.. are they?

How to Avoid HFCS

The best way to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup is to avoid buying foods with that ingredient on the label. … which, in all honesty, is a large percentage of what you find in the grocery store.

If you take a look in your pantry, I can guarantee that you will find HFCS on almost everything on the shelf – it’s really very crazy, but it’s true. We purged our pantry a few years ago and I could not believe how many items had HFCS. 

At first I was just throwing and throwing, then after a while I thought to myself “… gosh, this is ridiculous. This stuff is in EVERYTHING.”  And it was. Quite an eye opener.

Try not to buy items with that ingredient. … opt for real foods with natural sugar (not added sugar). Natural sugars are found in fresh fruit, dairy, milk and cheese (we are huge advocates of Raw Milk and not processed milk).. avoid buying packaged products, dressings and even canned items and opt to make them yourself.