High Fructose Corn Syrup - Gluten Free But . . . .

[home-based-mom]

In this forum and elsewhere many have mentioned that High Fructose Corn Syrup may not be good for you and may even be at least one cause of American obesity because it blocks or delays the signal to your brain that you have had enough to eat and you can stop now. High Fructose Corn Syrup was mentioned as something else to avoid on the soy thread but rather than hijack that thread I thought it would be better to start a new one.

Anyway I have seen TWO commercials implying that High Fructose Corn Syrup is perfectly safe and not to worry about it because, well, it is just corn! The concerns were even mentioned on the Modern Marvels segment on corn. One of the things they said was that High Fructose Corn Syrup is in "everything" and there is no economical replacement for it.

Nevertheless, me thinks the corn industry may be running a bit scared because otherwise they wouldn't spend megabucks to run TV commercials trying to convince America that High Fructose Corn Syrup is nothing to worry about.

Comments?

[Laurad-]

Those sound like really weird commercials. What channel were they on? I'd be interested in seeing them.

[home-based-mom]

Those sound like really weird commercials. What channel were they on? I'd be interested in seeing them.

You would ask that! I'll pay attention next time I see one and let you know.

[Jestgar]

I've seen them too. One of the cable channels.

[celiac-mommy]

I saw it on the DISNEY channel last night!!!!! There was a couple in the park and the gal brought out a popsicle and the guy couldn't believe that she would dare offer him something with HFCS in it, she asked what the reasoning was, he couldn't give her an answer, only wondered if she brought 2 popsicles after she explained how it was made from corn and perfectly safe when eaten in moderation. I was yelling at the TV. And yes, my kids were in bed and I was watching the Incredibles by myself......

[Mango04]

And yes, my kids were in bed and I was watching the Incredibles by myself......

:lol:

and about the commercials though.

[blueeyedmanda]

Wow- I have never seen these commercials....I am going to have to pay close attention next time....

SHame on you Disney!!!!

[elonwy]

I think this is horrible. It just propagates what I call "plastic food". Especially pandering to kids. Ew. jerks.

That being said, I work in advertising (I'm a tech, I don't actually help make the commercials, but yeah I'm a sellout, but hey, its a job) and Disney has nothing to do with the commercials they air. I mean, yeah they pay attn to who buys their air time, but that's about it. Nobody vets the commercials before they air for anything other than glitches. The corn board or whoever the heck is making and sponsoring the ads should be the focus of wrath, not the channels. Just sayin.

[Mango04]

The Omnivore's Dilemma is a fantastic and fascinating read about the corn industry (who knew something about corn could be so interesting, right? LOL). If anyone's interested in learning more about the background of all this, it would be a good place to start.

[HAK1031]

The eater's manifesto is also good...it's by the same author. ick.

[home-based-mom]

OK. I still haven't sat down in front of the TV again. (The Remote Control Master is watching college football.)

But here is a link to the web site referred to in the commercials. On that page are links where you can actually watch both commercials as well as view magazine and TV ads. There are also links to what I'm sure is more Pollyanna propaganda.

What surprised me the most is I found that link by typing "high fructose corn syrup tv commercials" (no quotes) into Google. I expected to find nothing except maybe this thread. I got 31,600 choices instead! Apparently others are not too happy about the commercials, either!

Open Original Shared Link

EDIT: This thread doesn't show up until page 2 (!) of the Google search! What's with that?

[jerseyangel]

I saw one of these commercials recently too and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Seems like a giant step backward to me.

[darlindeb25]

My mom always says, milk is for baby calves, and corn is for fattening hogs. I truly believe that high fructose corn syrup is bad for everyone and it does cause you to gain weight. I got an email yesterday about how bad margarine is for everyone, and how it is one step from being plastic. I checked it out at snopes.com, and it's all true. I wish our govt would stop pushing food at us that is so terrible for us to have.

[TrillumHunter]

So sad and strange! I saw the commercial where the mom is pouring RED drink out of a jug. "It's okay in moderation." Moderation my you-know-what! Read some labels and that stuff is in EVERYTHING.

I wonder how much HFCS the "average" consumer eats in a year?

Answering my own ? Sources say anywhere between 40-100 lbs a year is consumed. Yikes!

[healthiernow]

Amen to Trillum's post. It is in EVERYTHING! Check mayonaise. And the one that makes me laugh, check Snapple that claims to be "all natural" and "made from the best stuff on Earth."

Just shows that the corn industry has money to spend on commercials. Don't get me started on how our government subsidizes huge agrobusiness in corn, thereby skirting NAFTA Which then leads to ruining the Mexican economy and diet. And people complain about undocumented Mexican citizens coming here to try to make money.

A pause in my rant, here's something to read:

Open Original Shared Link

[healthiernow]

And then, as far as I can tell, the FDA reversed their decision within 3 months? Gotta wonder what kind of payoff or convincing could happen in three months.

Said best below:

"Recently, the Corn Refiners Association announced that they are launching a $30 million advertising campaign that is aimed at convincing consumers that HFCS is a natural compound, fundamentally the same as honey. Of course, unlike honey, HFCS is the product of a complex, chemical-intensive refining process that takes place in an industrial setting, but why quibble? Strangely, the FDA has agreed with them. Unfortunately, rather than convince me that HFCS is all-natural, the FDA's stance has made me seriously question the integrity of the federal government when it comes to food purity." (Open Original Shared Link)

[Mango04]

And then, as far as I can tell, the FDA reversed their decision within 3 months? Gotta wonder what kind of payoff or convincing could happen in three months.

Said best below:

"Recently, the Corn Refiners Association announced that they are launching a $30 million advertising campaign that is aimed at convincing consumers that HFCS is a natural compound, fundamentally the same as honey. Of course, unlike honey, HFCS is the product of a complex, chemical-intensive refining process that takes place in an industrial setting, but why quibble? Strangely, the FDA has agreed with them. Unfortunately, rather than convince me that HFCS is all-natural, the FDA's stance has made me seriously question the integrity of the federal government when it comes to food purity." (Open Original Shared Link)

Wow that's insane.

I recall reading in Pollan's book (and don't quote me here as I don't have the source handy) that #2 Iowa corn (the corn that HFCS comes from) isn't even edible in it's "natural" state. It's grown in mass quantities simply for the purpose of being turned into additives. Yuck.

[darlindeb25]

So sad and strange! I saw the commercial where the mom is pouring RED drink out of a jug. "It's okay in moderation." Moderation my you-know-what! Read some labels and that stuff is in EVERYTHING.

I've seen this commercial, and didn't even realize it was about HFCS. As I was listening to it, I kept thinking, "This is the dumbest ad I have ever seen"! I hear the woman say, "Nothing's wrong with this, it's just corn"! Now I will have to listen to the stupid ad one more time, I didn't realize it was about HFCS.

As for the FDA, I have lost all faith in them, one of the reasons why I do not always trust the new food laws, simply because they do not back up the laws.

We have a grocery store here that does not handle dairy products properly. They leave milk sitting on dolly's in the middle of the isles, along with yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream...all sitting for hours on the flour. For some time I was getting spoiled milk and I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. I blamed the refrigerator, until I tested it. Then I realized the only bad milk was from one store. While I was standing in line to return milk, I realized I was standing with others who were returning dairy products. So, I reported them to the FDA. I received an email from the FDA stating they had gone to the store and checked out all of the refrigeration units and they were all working properly. Then they gave me the temperature readings from the milk area...weird thing was, the internal temp of the milk was higher than the units temp, which means, the milk was sitting out. So I responded to that little piece of info. The local FDA man called me, he told me that even he will not shop in this store, said he knows how they handle the product, even told me to stop returning anything to them because they were refusing to refund. It seems the suppliers would no longer refund them back, because the supplier knew it was a store issue and not a problem of theirs (the same supplier delivered to several stores in the area, and the only complint was with this one store). That was 3 yrs ago, and this store is still getting away with it. Two of my friends just bought spoiled milk there.

So, inconclusion, I feel the FDA is not really there for us. To me, this is a huge problem that they are just turning a cold shoulder to. If I go into this store, it's because it is 1 mile from home and I need something I do not want to drive further for, never dairy. Friday I stoped there, and the entire fruit and veggie dept was covered in flies and fruit flies, which is another violation fo the law.

It's hard to believe in a system that doesn't work.

[home-based-mom]

Wow that's insane.

I recall reading in Pollan's book (and don't quote me here as I don't have the source handy) that #2 Iowa corn (the corn that HFCS comes from) isn't even edible in it's "natural" state. It's grown in mass quantities simply for the purpose of being turned into additives. Yuck.

According to the Modern Marvels thing on corn, the kernels of what we buy to eat fresh, canned, and frozen, have a rounded shape. The kernels of corn for everything else corn is made into (and yes that is most of the corn) have an indented shape kind of like a tooth molar. Just different varieties.

[home-based-mom]

We have a grocery store here that does not handle dairy products properly. They leave milk sitting on dolly's in the middle of the isles, along with yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream...all sitting for hours on the flour. For some time I was getting spoiled milk and I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. I blamed the refrigerator, until I tested it. Then I realized the only bad milk was from one store. While I was standing in line to return milk, I realized I was standing with others who were returning dairy products. So, I reported them to the FDA. I received an email from the FDA stating they had gone to the store and checked out all of the refrigeration units and they were all working properly. Then they gave me the temperature readings from the milk area...weird thing was, the internal temp of the milk was higher than the units temp, which means, the milk was sitting out. So I responded to that little piece of info. The local FDA man called me, he told me that even he will not shop in this store, said he knows how they handle the product, even told me to stop returning anything to them because they were refusing to refund. It seems the suppliers would no longer refund them back, because the supplier knew it was a store issue and not a problem of theirs (the same supplier delivered to several stores in the area, and the only complint was with this one store). That was 3 yrs ago, and this store is still getting away with it. Two of my friends just bought spoiled milk there.

Deb, most local TV news stations have investigative reporters who would just drool over the opportunity to expose something like this. Have you thought of contacting them?

[darlindeb25]

Deb, most local TV news stations have investigative reporters who would just drool over the opportunity to expose something like this. Have you thought of contacting them?

To be honest, that had not occured to me, I may check into it. Thank you!!!

[purple]

I've seen this commercial, and didn't even realize it was about HFCS. As I was listening to it, I kept thinking, "This is the dumbest ad I have ever seen"! I hear the woman say, "Nothing's wrong with this, it's just corn"! Now I will have to listen to the stupid ad one more time, I didn't realize it was about HFCS.

As for the FDA, I have lost all faith in them, one of the reasons why I do not always trust the new food laws, simply because they do not back up the laws.

We have a grocery store here that does not handle dairy products properly. They leave milk sitting on dolly's in the middle of the isles, along with yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream...all sitting for hours on the flour. For some time I was getting spoiled milk and I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. I blamed the refrigerator, until I tested it. Then I realized the only bad milk was from one store. While I was standing in line to return milk, I realized I was standing with others who were returning dairy products. So, I reported them to the FDA. I received an email from the FDA stating they had gone to the store and checked out all of the refrigeration units and they were all working properly. Then they gave me the temperature readings from the milk area...weird thing was, the internal temp of the milk was higher than the units temp, which means, the milk was sitting out. So I responded to that little piece of info. The local FDA man called me, he told me that even he will not shop in this store, said he knows how they handle the product, even told me to stop returning anything to them because they were refusing to refund. It seems the suppliers would no longer refund them back, because the supplier knew it was a store issue and not a problem of theirs (the same supplier delivered to several stores in the area, and the only complint was with this one store). That was 3 yrs ago, and this store is still getting away with it. Two of my friends just bought spoiled milk there.

So, inconclusion, I feel the FDA is not really there for us. To me, this is a huge problem that they are just turning a cold shoulder to. If I go into this store, it's because it is 1 mile from home and I need something I do not want to drive further for, never dairy. Friday I stoped there, and the entire fruit and veggie dept was covered in flies and fruit flies, which is another violation fo the law.

It's hard to believe in a system that doesn't work.

You can buy extra milk and freeze it in containers if you have a big freezer. We live an hour from the nearest big store. Our milk in our tiny town costs over a dollar more per gallon(1/2 gal here is the same price as a whole gallon at Walmart). So I learned to freeze milk. Write the freezing day with the expiration day on freezer tape so you know how many days you have when you thaw it out, freeze some the day you get it so its freshest. Freeze non dairy milks too. I used to work in a store and it bugged me when the boys took a long time to put the milk away so I asked the truck driver how long it can sit out and he said no more than 45 minutes.

[Green12]

I just saw this commercial tonight! The woman in the park trying to give her bf (husband?) a popcicle.....it's fine in moderation, sponsored by the corn refinery industry

[Laurad-]

I finally saw it last night and I only have one word for it: CREEPY! It reminded me of these propaganda commercials from the 1950s that my professor once showed us in a college class. I'm hoping that today's television viewers are too media savvy to fall for these.

[mymagicalchild]

I just googled the subject because I remember a PBS program about the largest manufacturer of HFCS. PBS tried to gain access to the plant where it is manufactured and they were told it was a "top security installation": meaning NO ACCESS. It was either Cargill or ADM. Their claim of top security was, if memory serves, because HFCS is a necessary product for all Americans and they cannot risk tainting.

(Might not have been PBS. Might have been an investigative reporter. I HATE not being able to give proper credit to diligent detectives!)

There are apparently 4 companies involved in this 2.6 billion $$ business. I'm thinking the syrup MIGHT be a byproduct of the ethanol industry. Maybe not.

There was a recently released study that indicated a clear connection between HFCS (as opposed to sugar) and increased belly fat. There is a connection between the addition of this stuff to almost everything on the shelves of supermarkets and the explosion of excess belly fat. Very bad for a number or organs.

My husband says there was a full-page ad in our local newspaper yesterday saying, essentially, the stuff is wonderful for you.

We found a great root beer made with sugar at Trader Joe's. Maybe a lot of folks are searching for products that use sugar instead of HFCS and it is hitting their 2.6 billion $$ bottomline; hence, the ads!