Either the corn industry or advertisers or both think you are stupid. Remember that when you watch this ad on TV -click here for video
This ad really ticks me off. It is deliberately designed to mislead.. I guess that is nothing new in the advertising world. It's no wonder people are confused by nutrition, not to mention being overweight or obese. They read or hear things about the latest studies maybe once on the news cautioning them against a particular food, ingredient, or supplement but hear an opposite message 5 times a day (at least) on the TV. Guess which message has a better chance of getting through?
How many times does Madison Avenue have to repeat something for people to get the message? That is the $64,000(now-million- dollar) question. In the classic book 1984 , Big Brother used to repeat the same line over and over because after something like 27 times of hearing it , what ever it was became a "truth". Consumer advocates must be making some headway though, & people must be getting the message & looking for products that don't contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), otherwise the corn industry wouldn't feel the need to put these ads on at all. So pass this along to your friends so they won't fall for the corn industry's ploy. And stick to your guns if someone asks you what's wrong with it (and you forget). Just know that your gut instinct is correct & tell them to Google it.
With over 2/3's of the population overweight or obese & many of those struggling to lose weight, billions of dollars spent in weight loss programs and way more than that spent in health care costs related to obesity: Shame on the corn industry for putting this ad on TV.
HFCS is safe- like sugar
Sugar? We all know that sugar isn't good for you. What mom wouldn't prefer that her child eat an orange rather than orange candy? Sugar only sounds safe when you put it next to something unsafe to eat. Sugar: safer to eat than nails!
Some would argue that sugar is at the root of all illness or a great portion of it. Historically where ever the sugar trade moved to during the middle ages The Plague quickly followed. That was a real eye opener for me! But when you consider that just consuming 1 tsp of sugar lowers the functioning of your immune system for the next 4-6 hours, it really isn't that surprising that historically public health could track some epidemics with the addition of sugar to the human diet.
The problem today is that we get so much sugar and so much HFCS that medicine doesn't even try to tease out the relationship between our declining health and sweeteners, except in a few cases... diabetes,dental health, yeast infection (but even that often gets neglected) When was the last time your doctor told you not to consume sugar in order to help prevent the flu? I'll bet never.
But this is not sugar. This is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)& it shares all of sugar's problems & then some.
There may not be anything artificial added to HFCS(that's the definition of "natural" to the FDA) but don't kid yourself... there is nothing "natural" about HFCS! There are an awful lot of things are made from corn that you wouldn't want to eat: construction material, for instance, & glue. So saying it's natural & from corn does nothing to ally my fears that there is something funny & potentially dangerous about HFCS.
Most of the corn grown in the USA is now genetically modified so from the git go you have to wonder about it. GMO foods are being pushed on us whether we want them or not.That's a whole other problem. And whether they are good for any of us or the environment is bound to be a long fight to see the real effects. Industry has decided that they know what is best for their bottom dollar and using flawed trickle down psycho-economics means it must also be good for us. Science and health be damned!
Remember when we thought that margarine was a good substitute for butter? Well it took 40 years for scientists to understand that margarine(trans-fatty acids) were worse for you than butter. And now the food industry is shedding trans-fats faster than a snake sheds it skin, and replacing them with inter-esterified fats which may be far worse that trans-fats. Recent studies show that they lower your HDLs( the good ones) and increase blood sugar levels by 20%. You won't find them on the label if the food industry can help it for another 40 years & by then another generation will probably be suffering new illnesses related to yet another artificial food.
The take home messages:
1) Eat from perimeter of the grocery store: That's where most whole foods are.Eliminate or limit processed food.
2) Do not get your health information from the food industry & Madison avenue: Seems like a no-brainer, but like 1984 the more you hear something, the more you get used to it, and the more you start to believe it. I liken it to fashion: When a new fashion comes out you may think it is hideous or ridiculous, but the more you see it, the more you get used to it, and eventually you may even decide you like it well enough to buy something and where it. Much like the Stockholm Syndrome( identifying with those holding you hostage) isn't it?
Okay, I do fall pray to Madison Ave on the fashion front occasionally, but that isn't ordinarily going to effect my health... (there are a few exceptions though! another time another article!) I don't think I want to wait another 40 years to find out that, hey! that artificial food you are eating is bad for your health and that includes artificial sweeteners made from sugar. Food scientists can do some very quirky things with food, but that doesn't mean your body is going to like them.
3) Go with your Gut
I identify with the people in this ad with the stupid looks on their faces and are at a loss for words. How many times have you heard something, it leaves an impression, but you can't quite articulate your thoughts? Plenty if you are like me.. then invariably I will hear or read that something again and I think, "I knew it!"
I suggest that if you have some intuitive sense that something should not be consumed you should listen to that. So what if you are wrong? You can always consume it later. But if you are right and you consume it you tend to identify with it... oh it tastes good... oh it can't be that bad, I see the ad... I drink the KoolAide .. That is just what they want you to do.
4) Not All Change is Bad or Good
Look, we have evolved with natural foods and the more we have gotten way from the food in its raw form, the more health problems humans around the globe have had. Sure there have been some improvements.The Native Americans in the southwest processed corn with lime which helped release the niacin, thereby preventing them from suffering from Pellagra that others who subsist on corn get. Much of the southern United States suffered from Pellagra until the 1930s when Vit B3-niacin was discovered and added into back into the diet in cereals. But releasing nutrients by a simple process is much different than changing chemical structures within a food.
5)Do Your Homework
Changing the structure changes the effects and often comes with side effects...just like medication does. Whenever the pharmaceutical industry takes a naturally occurring herb or component of food and tries to synthesize it, they have to change the structure other wise it remains a supplement and cannot be patented. No patent, no profit. There is no pharmaceutical drug that doesn't have side effects and the same is true for artificial food. (Always, always read the insert.)
But food doesn't come with inserts so you need to read the label and check with other sources. Nutrition Action is a good place to start. Chemical Free Kids also has good resources. There are plenty of others on the Internet. I usually google whatever I am looking up and the word "controversy." That is usually an excellent way to zero in on the information, both pro & con.
Leave it to the corn industry, producers of high fructose corn syrup, to obscure the truth about their ubiquitous product, that increasingly has been understood to be a major health risk.
When asked what the problems are with corn syrup Joan Q Public is stumped for words... she knows she has heard something but advertising seeing a vacuum likes to fill it with sweet words, down home feeling, & humor to convince John Q public that HFCS is okay. Will it work? Maybe. But the fact that these ads are running suggests that the real story is penetrating the US consciousness that there is something inherently wrong with HFCS.
So ? What Is Wrong With It?
Here is the short list:
1) It raises blood sugar more than table sugar. You won't see this issue raised on the website promoted by the corn industry. Other such sites are wishy washy or misleading. This is important because it can lead to insulin resistance which is a prelude to diabetes-- Diabetes is rampant and leads to all sorts of health complications: heart disease, glaucoma, blindness, skin ulcerations, loss of limb- just to name a few. You don't want it.
2) It uses up stores of needed minerals in order to process it out of the system, Chromium and magnesium are both needed to help prevent obesity, insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes. Magnesium is used in over 300 enzymatic processes.We hardly get enough as it is. When you have a heart attack the first thing they do is hook you up to a magnesium drip. The last thing we need to be doing is using up our precious stores of Mag. to process sugar and HFCS
3) Provides empty calories to young children whose developing bodies & brains require lots of nutrition but not necessarily lots of calories. Every calorie counts. That's also true for the elderly, the underweight, the overweight and undernourished, the ill, the athlete. Did I leave anyone out?
4) Because it is a liquid it is also easy to consume too much. It is in a lot of juices. Kids especially are subject to getting too much through this route.
5)And It is everywhere, not just in juice; it is in many processed foods. Unless you are conscious about how much you consume, you will probably consume more than the recommended amount.
6) It's made from genetically modified food which presents a whole slough of other problems for individual health & potentially the health of our environment.
I don't know about you, but that list is long enough for me to want to eliminate it from my diet.
To your good health,
Barb Kaiser RN, BSN, Holistic Health Advocate