High Fructose Corn Syrup has just become the culprit for American obesity. Recently, it went through a name change to Corn Sugar on food labels because the hype of its unhealthiness has spread so rapidly. Even the Corn Refineries of America are launching ad campaigns to suggest there is nothing wrong with High Fructose Corn Syrup if an individual does not know what is wrong with it. Health nuts have cut it from their diets as many more will do once they learn its negative impact on the human body.
In 2000, the annual sugar consumption of an American adult was 152 pounds. Scientists believe this data is linked to the 200 percent increase of soda consumption in 30 years and High Fructose Corn Syrup is the primary sweetener in regular soft drinks .
The Japanese created High Fructose Corn Syrup in the 1970’s as a substitute for regular sugar. Americans wanted a cheap alternative to table sugar because of high taxes on importation. Japanese scientists recognized the human taste buds are highly sensitive to fructose so mixing 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose created a sweeter alternative. The Japanese learned to produce High Fructose Corn Syrup cheaply from cornstarch while corn grown in America was in overabundance at that time. Most companies embraced the cheap sugar alternative in the 1980’s.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is popular for food producers for several reasons. It mixes easily and once it goes into solution, it stays in solution i.e. fruit juice with High Fructose Corn Syrup does not have sugars settled on the bottom. It extends shelf life by 20 percent giving food producers a better chance to sell their product. Microbial spoilage in yogurts and breads are inhibited. The combination of glucose and fructose tastes sweeter than table sugar so people are more likely to reach for foods made with it. It helps prevent freezer burn on foods like ice cream and frozen vegetables. During baking, it helps bread turn the perfect brown and keeps it from hardening while packaged on a shelf. It keeps hot dog buns and English muffins soft. It results in soft textures like chewy cookies and protein bars. Although Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookies may be left open on a table for hours, the cookies never harden or spoil.
High Fructose Corn Syrup negatively impacts the body in many ways. It causes gas and diarrhea because the sugar transporter of the human gut best transports one glucose and one fructose through the blood stream so it cannot carry and deliver the extra fructose to the cells. Diarrhea may lead to mineral deficiencies of Iron, Magnesium, Zinc and Calcium and High Fructose Corn Syrup encourages the body to push nutrients out too quick. There is a possible link to obesity because High Fructose Corn Syrup causes metabolic syndrome or abnormal weight gain and increased stomach fat. Fructose does not enhance production of hormones that regulate satiety so humans often over eat because the extra fructose tricks the body into thinking it is not full.
No organic foods contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, but the price of organic foods steers Americans away. What people don’t know is there are healthy options without added sugars.
Rush Bowl, located on 1207 13th Street and 4593 N. Broadway strives to create wholesome, all-natural products with no artificial sweeteners and no refined sugars. Rush Bowl began on the Hill in the fall of 2004 founded by Andrew Pudalov. His intention to provide a healthy alternative to the common Hill foods began an enormous success and now Rush Bowl can be found in Whole Foods freezer section nation wide and in the states of Colorado, Arizona, Hawaii, California, Nevada and Utah.
Suzanne Nelson, Professor of IPHY 2420: Nutrition for Health and Performance preaches to her class of 280 students the negative effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup and its prominence in foods college students often purchase.
CU-Boulder junior Psychology major Lexi Ahrling described her reaction to Professor Nelson’s lectures about High Fructose Corn Syrup. “Since learning about High Fructose Corn Syrup, I read labels obsessively when I’m out grocery shopping and I have been
avoiding juices and soda as much as possible” she said.
Ahrling thinks everyone needs to learn the negative effects and the only way to protect CU-Boulder students is to ban High Fructose Corn Syrup from campus. She encourages friends and family to splurge on groceries at stores like Sprouts, Sunflower Market and Whole Foods because the more money you spend on organic food costs now will lessen medical bills in the future.