What a weird coincidence, I'm currently (finally) reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and just finished the section on industrial corn and its impact on the global food chain (it's devastating, as you might imagine). One of my goals this year is to make sure as much of my food as possible is produced outside the "corn chain," not easy since highly processed corn derivitives make it into nearly every packaged food, even "healthy" foods.

I stopped eating foods with HFCS when I was 19 or 20 — so glad I did. It's so unhealthy.

Interesting. I somewhat identify with this. I really don't like sugar either. I'm trying to phase it out of my diet. I've switched to unsweetened soy milk. I've reduced the sugar in my coffee by half. Sugar in my coffee was the only added sugar in my diet.

I stopped eating HFCS years ago after a coworker told me it causes overeating. It is in almost all bread you'll find in regular grocery store chains, even the whole wheat/whole grain variety. Avoiding it is one of the reasons I do the majority of my food shopping at Whole Foods (even though I spend more), most products there don't have it. I have recently replaced sugar with agave nectar for my coffee, and honey when that isn't available.

I do NOT eat HFCS. I think it's the cause of the obesity epidemic in all honesty. After I saw this video, I've totally begun to stay away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y0vHBTJcdk

HFCS is in everything snacky! You really have to read labels in order to find foods that are free of it.

I avoid HFCS at ALL costs. Those commercials put out by the Corn Refiners Assn (i think thats who it is) make me want to scream!

Wow. It's in virtually everything that comes in a box. I started eating whole unprocessed foods about 4 months ago and I have definitely noticed the difference in my waistline and my moods. When eating overly processed packaged foods, I was cranky/moody within an hour or 2 after eating. Has anyone else noticed this?

i've always tried to stay away from foods with HFCS and it's good to know that although there are so many commercials out there that say it's fine for you - that there's more to it than that. thanks for posting this !

I avoid it at all costs, but it does make for longer grocery shopping and more pricey snacky type foods... I still think Coke and Pepsi are evil for having it in their drinks when every other country has sodas made with raw cane sugar or sugar...

i remember years ago being shocked to see it listed on the label for BREAD! you also canNOT find a yogurt at a regular grocery store without it (except for plain yogurt), even if it's organic. so all those yogurts that i'd love to try to help my digestive system, i can't eat those! it really is amazing how this subsidizing of the corn industry has lead to hfcs infiltrating almost everything we eat. i'm surprised it's not in skim milk.

katie225, look for Rachel's yogurts,they're naturally sweetened.

http://www.rachelsdairy.com/

I avoid HFCS for the most part, but I don't freak if I eat something with HFCS in it...sugar is sugar. But the problem arises from the fact that food manufacturers add it to EVERYTHING and that increases the number of calories in the food. Just try to avoid most processed foods and regular sodas and you avoid a lot of HFCS.

Everyone needs to be informed and not buy into this propaganda being spewed about by the corn refiners!! Everyone needs to read the Omnivore's Dilemma or watch the documentary KING CORN!! please.

I already starting avoiding more things with HFCS especially because of those dumb commercials. I should probably avoid refined sugar more too actually, even though I already kind of do with some things I eat.

I don't actually see this high fructose corn syrup on the labels of most of what I eat.. I don't avoid it on purpose, it's just not there (maybe I buy the right things by accident lol).

I think pinpointing it as the sole cause of obesity is miscalculated, but that video FitnFab posted is interesting! I hadn't heard of its affect on Leptin before.. I'm going to look that up.

LaurenG - Coke and Pepsi only use HFCS in the sodas they market in the US, due to the government subsidies that make HFCS cheaper than sugar. Everywhere else in the world they use sugar as a sweetener.

those smart marketers... they emphasize on.. CORN although it's not necessarily healthy if you're using natural ingredients..

Spectra I'm with you. I try to stay away but if I come across something that has it I don't freak out, since I eat it so rarely.

Spectra I'm with you. I try to stay away but if I come across something that has it I don't freak out, since I eat it so rarely.

I am so glad this was posted. I recently read that The Corn Industry (and reportedly, several large companies that use high-fructose corn syrup in their products) came together and hired a crisis PR firm to try and change the negative image attached to HFCS. Those cheesey commercials are a result of that and they are so annoying!

After watching a few documentaries a few years ago (I recommend The Future of Food) I cut it out of my diet. It wasn't that hard once you get going as there are plenty of products that don't use it. I promise, without changing anything else, I noticed a difference in my body (including small weight loss and more energy) and in my overall health. It could be a coincidence, but I don't think it is.

There is a great article here on the health risks: http://www.naturalnews.com/003002.html

And I second the recommendation for The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Oh, this stuff is naaasty. I try to stay away from HFCS altogether, but I'd like to ban it from my body completely. I'll have to be more vigilant.

I thought the point of the HFCS commercial was simply to point out that it wasn't worse for you than sugar and isn't that what Fitsugar is also saying? Anyway, I don't go out of my way to avoid corn syrup or sugar. I already have a limited diet and I don't want to curb my choices even more. Then eating is no fun.

Actually, I think that looking at HFCS versus sugar on purely a caloric/carb basis, is to simplistic and perhaps taking it too easy on HFCS.

As many have cited above, reading books like the Omnivore's Dilemma really give perspective as to how disruptive this "corn" (quotation marks because this strand of corn is nothing like the sweet corn bought in your grocery store--it's an entirely different strain) is to the natural food chain and to our digestive systems, I think the choice is quite simple.

I think the conversation needs to be elevated even further than just HFCS, but also people neeed to be made aware of the types of meats they eat as well. For the beef eaters still left out there, make the intelligent (albeit sometimes more expensive) choice and choose grass-fed beef.

I now live in Europe which makes thing INFINTELY easier. I barely have to worry about HFCS appearing in my diet.

As I chef and registered dietitian I agree with the statement “your body processes both sugar and HFCS in the same way.” Your body breaks that food into the same molecular components during digestion and your body does not recognize any difference between the two. Therefore, HFCS does not affect leptin levels.

HFCS has been the subject of much attention and misinformation in the last few years and recent studies now show that high fructose corn syrup is no different from other sweeteners. Even leading former critics of high fructose corn syrup reached a consensus that this sweetener is indistinguishable from table sugar in its metabolic effects and that it can not be linked to obesity any more or less than other caloric sweeteners (December 2008 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). This consensus echoes the most respected medical body in the world, the American Medical Association, which stated last summer that “high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners.”

Also keep in mind that when we are comparing a tablespoon of granulated sugar and a tablespoon of HFCS as in the chart in the article --they don’t weigh the same. Liquids and solids rarely weigh the same and there are only a few exceptions in the culinary world. For example one tablespoon of sugar weighs 12.5 grams and has 48.38 calories. A tablespoon of HFCS weighs 19.38 grams and has 54.55 calories but if we make them exactly the same gram amount of 12.5 grams the HFCS calories would equal 35.12 calories.

It’s the New Year and everyone tends to look at their weight and what they are eating which is a good thing. We should be more aware of what we consume on a regular basis. Ideally, we should be consuming a variety of foods every day which requires planning and eating what is in season. So as you are planning your meals this year keep in mind that many factors contribute to the development of obesity and its cause cannot be simply attributed to any one component of the food supply such as sweeteners.

you forgot to mention the healthy option. which sugar should i buy then? cause the brown one is processed too

I usually use stevia, agave syrup, or maple syrup as sweeteners. Those are still processed somewhat, but not as much as conventional sweeteners. Stevia is naturally green, so the white stevia you see in the store is more processed. For baking, apple sauce (make your own- no sugar added), extra-ripe bananas, and dates are great sugar substitutes.

I think HFCS as well as those awful chemical sweeteners like aspartame are on their way out anyway. HFCS is not going to be able to overcome all the negative PR from all these health studies coming out. I know when I first saw those commercials about it, I laughed. What propaganda! I know that when I eat something with HFCS, it just feels less filling, less satisfying than something with another type of sugar. Also, both Coke and Pepsi have poured millions into their own Stevia based products, and it will be showing up in sodas and foods of all kinds very soon. It will probably kill off aspartame and decrease sucralose's market share as well, thankfully. I've been using Stevia for years, it's great in drinks especially, I'm glad to see it coming back after it was outlawed very suspiciously, just before aspartame's introduction.

is there a difference between HFCS and 'corn syrup'?!

Almost the same? That might be if the same organ processed both materials. Sucrose is processed by the pancreas as viable energy. Fructose is processed by the liver into fat and does not register to the body that energy was absorbed so you eat more. The reason HFCS is used everywhere is because 2 large companies in the US contribute a lot of money to make sure that the tariffs on sugar make it more expensive than HFCS. Example, look into the NAFTA agreement with Mexico when they asked to be relieved of the large tariffs on sugar.