Aitch Eff See Ess

There is a huge controversy about High Fructose Corn Syrup, or H.F.C.S. What it is, what it does, and is it a cheap sweetener, or poison. I've done a lot of research on the subject, and the best I can come up with is: all of the above.

H.F.C.S. is a derivative of corn. A leftover, if you will, processed with enzymes, of the procesesses that render corn into myriad different products that are finding their way into our food supply these days.

Because corn is subsidized by our government, (another post coming on that) H.F.C.S. and other corn products like, for example, ethanol, are cheap and abundant. We grow more corn in the US than any other crop. H.F.C.S. finds its way into a myriad of food products that would surprise most consumers. I recently bought a box of saltines only to find that H.F.C.S. was prominent among its list of ingredients.

Saltines, really?

Anyway, to my point; H.F.C.S. has some very negative effects on our health that have been documented in great detail elsewhere, but even more important is the fact that sugars are being added to our diet without our knowledge across the board by manufacturers seeking, to put it simply, make their products taste better.

So what's wrong with that? Shouldn't a manufacturer of a food product want to make it as tasty as possible?

Well of course. But this amounts to cheating. Just think; would you have a problem with Coca Cola if they were still putting cocaine in their sodas to hook your kids on them? But that's different, you say; cocaine's an addictive drug! I submit that the added sugars in most prepared foods are the same. Especially for kids. We're not talking about candy and pop here. We're talking about things like my saltines, breads, sauces, canned tomatoes, cereal, shoot look for yourself.

At best there are no health benefits, in fact, they are greatly contributing to the obesity epidemic in the US. In addition, HFCS has been liked to liver and kidney disease. It's not a coincidence that the beginnings of the type two diabetes increase and the introduction of HFCS into the market occur over the identical time period.

Read the labels, guys! You are gonna be shocked at how many products contain HFCS, or just sugar, for that matter.