Sweeet, sweet change

For more than a few years now, I've been doing my darndest to keep my High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) intake to a minimum.

For anyone who's ever read a handful of ingredients labels at the supermarket, it's clear this is something that isn't all that easy without either a) making everything from scratch or b) buying really expensive things. HFCS is in everything from ketchup to frozen dinners and cereal to toothpaste... and has been since the early 80s (at least).

Cheaper and easier to transport than sugar--with a slightly higher sweetness value--HFCS has been the darling of the food industry for most of my life. I (and others) also think it's been one of the contributing factors to the ever-growing obesity problem in the U.S.

No, there are not a lot of scientific studies to support that point of view. At least not yet. The FDA classifies HFCS as "natural" and most doctors won't point a finger at HFCS any more (or less) than they will at sugar. But I can tall you that almost as soon as I started watching out of HFCS I started feeling better. Without major diet changes or increased exercise, a few pounds dropped away (I'm officially down more than 20 in the half-decade since I've really started watching the HFCS intake).

I can't vouch for the strength of the correlation, but it most certainly feels like there is one.

More importantly, it looks like my search for non-HFCS laden food is about to get easier. According to an article in the New York Times, HFCS is out and sugar is back in.

"Sugar was the old devil, and high-fructose corn syrup is the new devil," said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst at Mintel International, a market-research company.

This makes me very happy.

Without question, moderation is the key to real healthy living. Stuffing one's face with sugar, HFCS or any of the artificial sweeteners can really foul up numerous functions--not the least of which is that of your liver. Sugars and things that emulate them, no matter what type they are, are there to be special treats and counterpoints to the other flavors in the food we eat.

Too much of a good thing is still too much and we all need to be reminded of that at times.

I'm just happy I'm not going to have to go quite as out of my way to find ketchup that doesn't have HFCS as ingredient #2.