[LindseyLouWho]

The past two nights I've seen a new commercial on TV where two moms are discussing the drink one is about to pour for her kids, containing high fructose corn syrup. Has anyone else seen this? I was just wondering what people's opinions on it were, as I know many of you are very against HFCS and some of you are neutral and don't really consider it to be the evil others claim.

Here's the link to the website that's given in the commercial.

[yoyonomoreinvegas]

I just saw one yesterday and posted about it under a different category this morning. The one I saw was a guy blundering and unable to answer a question posed about "what they are saying" about HFC and an intelligent sounding woman saying it's "made from corn and has the same calories as sugar"

Corn industry must be worried about losing some the bazillions of dollars they are making on the stuff due to people trying to educate themselves and eat healthier, huh?

I'm not going to try and claim that HFC is single handedly responsible for the rise in obesity and diabetes. I'm sure it doesn't effect some people at all. But I know that, for me, eliminating as much as possible from my diet made a huge difference and I'm not all that unique so I imagine others would have issues with it as well. I think I'm more annoyed by the "propaganda" feeling I got from the whole thing. Tacit implication being that you are something of a dumb@** if you think there is anything unhealthy about it. For me, corn in general is too starchy so I'm keeping all corn products to a minimum. I guess it bothers me that there might be others out there who would benefit from avoiding HFCs that are going to think that because they "saw on TV that it was OK" will go on consuming it.

[Purplefirefly]

I haven't seen the commercial, but I think the problem with HFCS is that it is a form of sugar, and a lot of people do well to cut it out. That has been my understanding of it anyway, that it is a form of sugar and anyone watching sugar has to watch for that...it's like a way to slip it in there without listing sugar and a lot of people don't realize it is a form of it. I really don't know much else about it, but I also find that I feel so much better if I cut it out. I can cut out sugar and eat HFCS products and feel just as if I ate sugar.

And yes, of course they are worried about losing money as more people start to eat healthier. It's GOOD we are starting to eat healthier, maybe they can find something more healthful to turn their corn into, if the market demands it they will have to eventually. I think the commercial is a good thing in that way...it shows some heat is on them and they're trying to do some damage control. It's not going to work though, smart people aren't going to see a commercial like that and think "oh I'm so dumb, gotta go buy me some HFCS now." We're not buying it for a reason, and a commercial calling healthy-minded people (and those trying to get there) dumb isn't going to work...because we aren't dumb!

[junebug41]

I really think they are capitalizing on people thinking HFCS is bad, but having no clue why (we love our bandwagons). They are just playing into the fact that people aren't entirely knowledgeable on the subject. All they tell you in the commerial is that HFCS has the same calories and is made from corn. But they also aren't telling you WHY HFCS's get a bad rap or what may be GOOD about them.

I hate that commercial, too.

[RealCdn]

I must admit that I don't specifically exclude items with HFCS. I suspect there's some in my ketchup and I often joke that they'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hand. I've tried eggs with salsa, and they're okay, but they're just not ketchup. As well, we make homemade beef/turkey burgers and again I just want my ketchup on it.

My bigger issue is the addition of sugar (no matter what kind) to diet products. I'm not a frozen dinner fan (make my own bulk/freeze stuff), however, I don't think there's a frozen dinner that doesn't have some kind of sugar in it. It may not be labeled with sugar but there's usually some form of it somewhere. Same with lower-cal snacks. They'll be marginally lower in calories (twice the price though) and have pretty much the same ingredients than they're higher cal counterparts. Oh and low fat is almost certainly beefed up with higher sugar.

Sigh... any wonder I'm moving more towards things I make myself. I've discovered I can make a pretty reasonable high protein chocolate zucchini cake. It's not replacing cakes/brownies though, it's more of a homemade protein bar. I don't usually take 3 pieces at once, but comparing them to the last ones I looked at:

Costco's (weider) protein bar: 240 cals, 20g protein, 30g carbs, 2g fiber, 5g fat

3 pcs (1/8 of 9x13" pan) of mine: 235 cals, 21g protein, 29g carbs, 9g fiber, 2g fat

Okay, some of it is cost-driven as the bars are $40 for 15 of them. However, HFCS was the first ingredient.

[KLK]

I question how good-for-you corn is AT ALL, let alone in its most processed state as HFC. I try to stay away from it as much as possible, but it's slipped into basically everything that exists these days, so it's sometimes hard.

I also don't think it single-handedly caused the obesity epidemic either, but I do think it's contributing in ruining people's health, as it just seems like something our bodies won't know how to process correctly. We've dealt with sugar, fats, protein, carbs, etc. for our entire existance on this planet and have adapted to process these kinds of food, but how can we expect our bodies to "deal with" something like HFC?

I dunno... I don't care how harmless the FDA says it is, it still seems like poison to me.

[JulieJ08]

Originally Posted by junebug41

All they tell you in the commerial is that HFCS has the same calories and is made from corn. But they also aren't telling you WHY HFCS's get a bad rap or what may be GOOD about them.

Yeah, as if the big complaint about HFCS is that it is higher in calories than sugar.

It's a strawman argument that makes them look stupid to anyone who knows better. But I've learned not to underestimate what people will believe and from what sources, as have their PR people. Not because I think people are stupid, but because everything in our society is so skewed by big industry's influence.

[KO]

It's too bad the Ad council couldnt do an add saying why it's actually not good for you? However the corn Lobby wouldn't let that happen!
Real CDN could we have your choc Zuch recipe?

[RealCdn]

Originally Posted by KO

Real CDN could we have your choc Zuch recipe?

Sure, no problem:

http://realcdn-recipes.blogspot.com/...-pp-added.html

For those looking for simply a lower calorie cake-like item (ie. without the protein powder):

http://realcdn-recipes.blogspot.com/...hini-cake.html

The second one was given to three of the neighbours for a taste/feedback report and everyone agreed that they wouldn't have known it was lower cal (cut from 181 to 108 cals). I went with the protein powder/soy flour one though as it has more protein and fiber (although I used fiber sure to boost it).

[Tai]

I saw this commercial last night for the first time. I have tried so hard to cut out HFCS from my daily eating because it seems to trigger off cravings for more sugary things.

Anne, please do share your recipe! You are doing so well and I enjoy reading your blog.

[Tai]

Thank you Anne!

[yoyonomoreinvegas]

Originally Posted by Purplefirefly

Iit's like a way to slip it in there without listing sugar and a lot of people don't realize it is a form of it.

Exactly. That's another thing; these commercials seem to be trying to make it sound like it's not a sweetener just another ( did that one woman really say vitamin enriched?) ingredient.

Originally Posted by RealCdn

My bigger issue is the addition of sugar (no matter what kind) to diet products.

Yep, that's why it's soooo important that we read the nutritional information on the back of the package (in the really tiny print) instead of the "claims" on the front of the label in the huge print. Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn't necessarily as savvy as 3FC members which is why they get away with it.

Originally Posted by KLK

I try to stay away from it as much as possible, but it's slipped into basically everything that exists these days, so it's sometimes hard.

I dunno... I don't care how harmless the FDA says it is, it still seems like poison to me.

Well, I'm not sure how much faith I have in the FDA anyway. I mean, think about it, they'll approve something as a food additive for everybody to consume after a very brief testing period, but drugs for things like cancer and AIDS treatments have to go through extensive testing - for years and years while the people they might be able to help are dying anyway.

[zenor77]

Funny how they forget to mention the genetic engineering involved and the fact that GE foods have not been proven safe. Now I realize they have not been proven unsafe, but why consume something for years not knowing is it's safe or not? I do not trust the FDA or the USDA. They do not protect the American public, they protect big business.

[RealCdn]

Originally Posted by Tai

Anne, please do share your recipe! You are doing so well and I enjoy reading your blog.

Thanks. For me it really has been about changing my lifestyle. It's taken a while but I recognize that I have a problem sorting out the hunger signals. I realise now that previous attempts to diet would send me into binges. And when not dieting I never binged. For me it seems that higher protein and higher calories is the key. Too bad it took 30 years to figure it out.

[Glory87]

Ha yeah, I had a similar experience. To lose weight, I actually had to EAT - what a concept! I also like ketchup and dislike HFCS, I usually buy organic. Trader Joe's has a fairly inexpensive organic ketchup and I also like Annie's (but it's a little more spendy).