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How unhealthy is high-fructose corn syrup?

There are so many toxic ingredients in foods these days, but few are as unhealthy as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The name seems unassuming, but don’t be fooled. Just because you can pronounce every part of HFCS, doesn’t mean it’s safe to eat or healthy for you. So how unhealthy is HFCS? Well, let’s take a good look at this extraordinarily common ingredient.

Why is high-fructose corn syrup in everything?

High-fructose corn syrup can be found in canned fruits, coffee creamers, packaged desserts, flavored yogurts, baked goods, condiments, especially sauces like ketchup or tomato sauce, jams and jellies, candies, and of course soft drinks. There are many other products you may find it in as well.

Unfortunately, these days some type of sugar, including HFCS, is in just about every processed food out there. Manufacturers usually add HFCS to their products to enhance the taste, and while they won’t actually say this out loud, they also do it to increase the addictiveness of the food. Sugar, including HFCS, is one of the MOST addictive substances known to humankind.

It’s “in everything” because our bodies love the taste which leads us to buy more of the product. It’s also very cheap to make compared to other sweeteners and comes from the abundance of corn grown in the United States.

Should I cut out high-fructose corn syrup?

high-fructose corn syrup

The short answer is yes. Avoid HFCS whenever possible. This goes for your children as well. A 2015 study found that high-fructose corn syrup increases your appetite and plays a role in promoting obesity, even more than regular sugar. One way it does this is because the fructose goes straight to your liver causing it to start to produce fat, which then gets stored around your body. Especially in your mid-section AKA belly fat.

Sugar, especially fructose plays a huge role in fat production, much more than fat. It also triggers triglycerides and cholesterol production, and not the good kind of cholesterol.

What can high-fructose corn syrup cause?

High-fructose corn syrup contributes to common metabolic diseases, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, heart disease, high triglycerides, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, leaky gut, and there is even concern about its impact on brain function.

⁠It’s believed that upward of 70% of the US population has some form of metabolic disease even if they haven’t formally been diagnosed, or “look healthy”.

Is high-fructose corn syrup actually worse than sugar?

Yes. While sugar is not great for us either, high-fructose corn syrup is worse because it goes straight to the liver.

Sugar is Sucrose, which is composed of glucose and fructose subunits. One study, of many, found that fructose is far more damaging to our health than glucose is. Meaning that high fructose is worse than Sucrose.

What are the other names for high-fructose corn syrup?

With the ever-growing cry for healthier foods in our stores, manufacturers have started to change the labeling on boxes to hide high-fructose corn syrup from us. You may now see high-fructose corn syrup listed in the ingredients as the truly deceitful name “Natural Sweetener”. This is purposefully designed to trick customers into making ill-informed decisions when buying packaged foods.

You may also see names like HFCS, glucose-fructose, isoglucose, and glucose-fructose syrup. It’s best to avoid all of these.

How do you avoid high-fructose corn syrup?

So now we know this is some bad stuff, but how can we avoid it if it’s in “everything”? What do you do?

  • Avoid highly processed foods as much as possible. Opt for Whole, Real, Foods.
  • Read ingredient labels when eating processed foods, and opt for ones that don’t have HFCS or high percentages of sugar. ⁠
  • Tell others! Share what you learn with other moms so they can make changes in their homes too.
  • Ask manufacturers to do better.
  • Ask lawmakers to impose stricter standards.
  • Encourage researchers to do more research on food ingredients and safety in humans.
  • Be the change you want to see!

What about our kids?

Think of all the things our children eat that are loaded with sugar, and the potential negative impacts they are having on the health of our children at such an early age. Are we setting them up for health failure from birth?

I don’t know about you, but I want my daughter to have the best possible foundation for health starting from childhood. We shouldn’t have to worry if the food we feed our babies is toxic or not, but unfortunately, we do. We as moms are going to have to make the changes, call for better standards and regulations, and demanded more for future generations. You can join us in the conscious living movement by sharing this article, following us on social media, and sharing what you’ve learned with others. Together we can make change!

References:

1 – Effects of high-fructose diets on central appetite signaling and cognitive function

2 – Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a
role in the epidemic of obesity

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