In my quest for knowledge about health and well-being I bumped into High Fructose Corn Syrup the other day – not literally – that would have been a bit sticky!!

Here are some notes I made having trolled the font of all knowledge (t’internet). I look at all available opinions and research – there is always something that will say the complete opposite. On balance this seems to be a product well worth avoiding – read on………………………..

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) aka Corn Syrup

Is a highly processed sweetener significantly cheaper than sugar. It is made from corn stalks. Chemically different from any natural product but does contain fructose and glucose in an unbonded form. Because of this they don’t have to be digested and broken down in to something the body can use. Instead fructose goes straight to the liver and triggers the production of fats like cholesterol and you end up with a fatty liver. The glucose causes a huge spike in insulin our bodies major fat storage hormone,

Result – increased metabolic disturbance that drive increases in appetite, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer – this list goes on! It gets worse. Free fructose from HFCS requires more energy to be absorbed by the gut and soaks up important molecules from our bodies energy source, which are needed to maintain the integrity of our intestinal lining. This can trigger an immune reaction and body wide inflammation. High doses of free fructose literally perforate the lining allowing all the real gut nasties to enter your blood stream causing obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, dementia and accelerated ageing. Natural fructose found in fruit doen’t function in this way.

What foods can HFCS be found in – generally “budget” highly processed food ranges. I won’t mention any brands but some of the huge names are there:

Healthy cranberry and orange flavoured drinks, breakfast cereals including that well known special cereal (ok), yoghurts, jam, peanut butter, salad dressing, bread, sweets, nutrition bars, fizzy drinks, cough syrups, crackers and ice cream to name but a few.

It’s stealth addictive, leaves you hungry for even more food and makes fatty deposits (hello cellulite) difficult to shed. 

I’m about to hit the food cupboard and have a clear out.

Take care