Learn about the 15 man-made varieties of corn sugar and how they are used in processed foods
Corn sugar is the most consumed sugar in the U.S. today. The average person eats about 150 lbs of sugar annually, and about half of that, or 6 lbs a month, is high fructose corn syrup (hfcs). But hfcs is only one of 15 different kinds of corn sweeteners used by manufacturers in processed food products in our country. Should consumers be concerned? Perhaps you are wondering if eating all those prepackaged sweetened foods is bad for your health.
I began to study corn sweeteners after we discovered my son’s corn intolerance in 2007. I quickly discovered that snacks are loaded with corn sugar. And drinks? Just forget about them. As a matter of fact, I challenge anyone in America to read the ingredient listings on every snack product in their favorite vending machine. It would not surprise me if every item had some association with a corn sugar, however odd or far removed as it may seem. Heck, even the water bottles are more than likely made from a corn byproduct! I digress. I really want to focus my attention on America’s romance with sugar, corn sugar to be specific, its prevalence in our lives, and a little history about how we became so addicted to the sweet stuff that grows in abundance over our midlands, and now even clutters the landscape surrounding the rocky mountain region. …continue reading »
