Are you health conscious? Good.. You are in the right track. Do you believe that eating 'whole wheat bread' is a healthier option? You are still in the right track. Now, do you believe that you are going to shed those extra pounds just by believing the word 'whole wheat'? Then there's where you slipped. The same happens when you think that all packaged fruit juices are also good for health.
Yeah. There is something You Need to Know. While choosing any of your food, pay close attention in the list of ingredients listed. You might be able to see an ingredient named "High Fructose Corn Syrup" shortly HFCS. This HFCS may not only be in bread or juices, but could be in any food item you can't even imagine of. Some of them are:
and what not. I stumbled upon a site containing the list of food items in which HFCS could be possibly added. You can google for lots of websites stating the list of food items containing HFCS and the risk of consuming HFCS.
- Cereals
- Bread
- Juices
- Soda
- Cookies
- Icecream
- Chocolate milk
- Yogurt
- Peanut butter
- Ketchup
- Nuggets
- Soups
- Cough syrups
- Groundnut chikki(candies)
and what not. I stumbled upon a site containing the list of food items in which HFCS could be possibly added. You can google for lots of websites stating the list of food items containing HFCS and the risk of consuming HFCS.
'High-fructose corn syrup(HFCS)' is a common sweetener in packaged food like sodas and fruit-flavored drinks. As use of high-fructose corn syrup has increased and so have the levels of obesity and related health problems like diabetes, metabolic syndrome, damage to immune system, plaque building up leading to narrowing of blood vessels.
Though there are a few controversies, stating that HFCS are no different than ordinary cane sugar, question arises when our human body reacts differently to both the sugars. While glucose is processed into energy or stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles, fructose is metabolized into fat. Moreover, as there are tons of commercial interests to this product, there is no surprise corporations will come defending this food additive and to convince people.
Sugar, as such is already proven to be the major cause for problems like obesity and diabetes. This High Fructose Corn Syrup has way more complications than normal sugar. HFCS are even linked with the presence of mercury in some parts of the world. In spite of all these facts, do you wonder why this is added to the food. It is very cheap to produce HFCS and therefore is used abundantly. Its all for commercial gain.
We, unknowingly start feeding ourselves and our kids to such food additives and pave our way towards obesity and other disorders. Soda consumption is one of the biggest sources for calories in US and this HFCS plays a major role in it. Real fresh fruits are better than those packaged fruit juices loaded with HFCS. Drinking pure water is far better than consuming soda.
Nowadays, there are lots of sites explaining us about the side effects of consuming food containing HFCS. Because of this huge awareness,nowadays there are many products coming up with the label 'No High Fructose'.
Now you know that you are in the safe zone.. naah.. There is something You Need to Know More..Just the labeling of 'No High Fructose' is not enough. Corporations have now got a new way to deceive the consumers. A famous brand of cereal have now an updated version of the same cereal sold in most conventional grocery and discount stores for many years. The front of the box clearly states that the product contains “no high fructose corn syrup” (HFCS), but turn it over to read the ingredient list and there it is – the new isolated fructose.
It is also said that Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has explained..
“A third product, HFCS-90, is sometimes used in natural and ‘light’ foods, where very little is needed to provide sweetness. Syrups with 90% fructose will not state high fructose corn syrup on the label [anymore], they will state ‘fructose’ or ‘fructose syrup’".
That is a sneaky name change to make the people believe. Its high time we cared about what we consume.
So, here's what you need to do. Let the fight go on whether HFCS is the same as sugar or not. But let us be in the safer side. The next time you go shopping to get your groceries, please do spend a minute to check the ingredients in the label. Be wary of HFCS and try to avoid it and lets help ourselves from getting any worse.
If you find this article useful, and if you think your near and dear needs to know about this, please care to share.
Sources:
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/136119893@N07
This is a very useful article. All the best..
ReplyDeleteall the best for disseminating information which will be useful to the public at large
ReplyDeleteThanks for your wishes :)
DeleteWorld over , people have become more health conscious and are searching net for contents of food items, information about drugs doctors prescribe. Recently , one of my close friend, who incidentally, is a medical practitioner was lamenting that now it is more difficult to treat patients , because, they come well prepared, know what their disease is, what are the medications available etc. He said that, many a times, he feel embarassed , when the patients discuss about the new drugs available, side effects etc, because as the doctors are too busy, they are not updating regularly
ReplyDeleteYes, our lifestyle is so much polluted now that we keep on doing harm to ourselves without any knowledge about it. Most of us are too busy to even think about it. We need to dig in and find out about things to get to know about their effects in our lives. Unless otherwise one searches about each and everything taking part either directly or indirectly in his life, he will not be able to know what he needs to know. This blog lends a tiny helping hand in getting to 'Know What to Know'.
Delete