Pop Quiz!

Can you name the one common ingredient found in each of these foods:

Oscar Mayer Bologna

Oscar Mayer Ball Park Franks

Jimmy Dean Sausage

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

Miracle Whip

Cheez Whiz

Nabisco’s Wheatsworth, Stoneground Wheat Crackers

Wheat Thins

Keebler’s Club Crackers

Nabisco’s Original Premium Saltines

Ritz Crackers

I’ll give you one hint: it contains no nutritional value other than calories.

Yup, you guessed it: high fructose corn syrup.

It’s everywhere! This insidious ingredient lurks in places that most of us never even think about looking. The above list is only a partial sample of the first two aisles in my local supermarket. No wonder sugar consumption has increased nearly 30% since 1983. (Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest) No food is safe from the clutches of corn syrup!

I live very close to a decent chain-supermarket. We have a fair selection of produce, a good selection of “natural foods” (by the way, why don’t they ever have a sign in a supermarket for “unnatural foods”?) and a nice-enough quantity of local products. And yet, in the entire row of sandwich bread, only one brand, yes, ONE brand, does not contain any corn syrup (Rudi’s Organic Bakery). Can someone please tell me why do sandwich breads need corn syrup?

High-fructose corn sweeteners are cheaper to produce than sugars from cane and beets, which is why they are more widely used. There is a theory that the body processes the fructose in high fructose corn syrup slightly differently than it does cane or beet sugar, which some believe alters the hormones that regulate our metabolic rate, and apparently this also forces the liver to produce more fat into the bloodstream. Basically what this means is that our bodies are “tricked” into eating more and at the same time, we store more fat.

Proof? Ever have a soda and not feel full, despite the fact that a regular can of Coke or Pepsi contains no less than 13 teaspoons of sugar!

Bottom line: read your labels! America is getting fat because corn syrup is E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E! So, consumer: BEWARE!