Rule #4- High fructose corn syrup

I waited to write this next posting until my Valentine’s day chocolate sugar coma had worn off. I didn’t go too berserk, but I definitely ate chocolate like I wasn’t going to be eating too much of it again for a while...because the time I have been dreading has come-it’s the beginning of sugar control, once and for all.

Rule #4

“Avoid products that contain high-fructose corn syrup”

“Not because high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is any worse for you than sugar, but because it is a reliable marker for food that has been highly processed. Also, HFCS is being added to hundreds of foods that have not traditionally been sweetened- breads, condiments and many snack foods- so if you avoid foods that contain it, you will cut down on your sugar intake.”

This is downright scary!

I don’t know about you, but along with dissecting frogs, I learned in 10th grade biology that excess sugar in our bodies turns to fat, and I spend way too many dessert-eating-moments in denial of this. I have a hard enough time avoiding obvious sweets. Now on top of this, so many foods that are out there are full of sugar, that aren’t supposed to be? How sneaky and wrong is THAT? There is already some awareness about this, out there, and some products are advertising that they don’t have HFCS or promote that they use real cane sugar, etc..., but MP points out not to fall for this either, because bottom line is that “sugar is sugar.”

High-fructose corn syrup is basically cheap sugar. The food industry uses it to replace sugar to keep their costs low and it is supposedly a flavor enhancer. When Lee and I were getting into this in January, and reading labels, the HFCS was the first thing we started focussing on, because we knew “the time was coming.” It is crazy, really, because it involves so many brands that we are used to, like our BBQ sauce, chocolate syrup and ketchup (you know the ones), to name a few, and even worse is that some of these things list HFCS first or second on the list (we all know that ingredients are listed from largest amount first, to smallest amount last, right?). Chocolate syrup lists HFCS, and then corn syrup as the first two ingredients (cocoa is listed 6th on the label)!! Oh great!! That was one of my lower calorie “go to” things that I have around so I can have a little chocolate fix without having to go too crazy, by drizzling it over a little frozen yogurt or ice cream. I’ll find a better alternative, I’m sure, but that one stings a bit, especially because it has been in my life since I was a little kid. At least I can feel somewhat relieved that many of the major offenders aren’t really a staple in my diet anymore, for a while now... like SODA, flavored yogurts, most snack-y foods and fast food, etc... but having HFCS sneaking around and showing up in foods that you would never suspect, as well , like English muffins, crackers, cranberry juice and supposed healthy cereals AND cough syrup....COUGH SYRUP??- what’s up with that??

Seriously, this HFCS epidemic, really has my attention, because sneaking more sugar into foods makes my sugar intake really difficult to control and balance, and my sweet tooth is bad enough without the additional sugar. I have several loved ones and friends who are diabetic or pre-diabetic, and I am sure if I, myself, don’t curb this now, I may be headed in the same direction. This is not ok. Needless to say, Lee and I are DEFinitely cutting out, or at the very least weaning off, the products that have HFCS in them. Other than staying away from really obvious “crapola”, for now, our approach, that I think is pretty doable, is to pay for slightly more expensive alternatives (that don’t have HFCS) for the things that we happen to use that are not everyday items, and to limit how often we use them ...we’ll have to see how expensive this is AND if we can live with less. As tough as it is going to be, that seems to be the best plan for right now...I will keep you posted! We’ve found some good and not overly expensive alternatives to ketchup and BBQ sauce (yes, at Trader Joe’s, but I am sure there are others out there). Other culprits (like the chocolate syrup), are still “works in progress.” I have to wean off of more than just HFCS and having this blog is helping me to have a conscious about it (nothing like a guilty conscious to keep ya honest) and rule #5 addresses sugar as well, and it really narrows the window for eating it in ANY form. I will get more into THAT struggle, then. It's not going to be pretty.

In the meantime, I want to confess about 3 HFCS “foods” that were a part of my life, until very recently, and how I have swapped them out for better:

1. Fake maple syrup! I am embarrassed to say this, but for some bizarre reason, as a kid, I preferred the fake maple syrup over the real stuff, because I never thought real maple syrup was maple-y enough, and the maple flavor was stronger in the fake stuff. Lee introduced me to more flavorful real maple syrup (Grade B), but I still kept the fake stuff on hand, and especially the “lite” kind, due to calories, ever since Weight Watchers (WW), and I use it once in a while when I want to regress. You ready for this?... the word “MAPLE” does not even appear in the ingredient list...AND HFCS is the FIRST ingredient. I yelled at that sweet lady on the front with the big smile - how dare she? Then I yelled at myself and called myself a few “names” too. Looks like it’s the expensive, real stuff only, from now on, but just not as often, for diet and budget reasons (Lee and I love pancakes or waffles on the weekends, so it looks like that’s changing to every other weekend, or so...whether we like it or not!). NOTE: I have not thrown that bottle away, but instead, I have it sitting on the counter, to be a grim reminder to pay attention and to keep me motivated.

2. I also had a very bad fat-free half-and-half problem up until a few weeks before I started blogging. I would drink it in my iced coffees (2-3 per day), every day that it is warm enough in southern California (which is most of the year!). I quit that bad habit, and I had known for a few years already that it had HFCS in it and I STILL used it (I know, I know...what??). I now use real half-and-half, and I am working on drinking one iced coffee a day. That one isn’t too easy, but I am working on it. I also gave up artificial sweetener, and use real sugar or agave now, so it helps keep me drinking less, because I SEE how much sugar I am using. Still...not easy.

3. Fat-free or low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt - HFCS to the brim!! There is now a 1/2 gallon of regular vanilla ice cream, no HFCS in the freezer, that I am terrified of. Ice cream is a MAJOR vice of mine, and I am challenging myself to eating the real deal, but waaaay less (what’s that word?...oh yeah, moderation. Ice cream + moderation= nnnooooooooooo!!!). Wish me luck with this one, and Lee too, because I have appointed him the "ice cream police." This isn’t too hard right now, with 50-65 degree weather, but once it starts hitting 100+ degrees in a few months, I may lose my mind and/or need to be restrained.

PS: If you haven’t already seen the documentary “King Corn”, I strongly recommend you see it. It is really entertaining and eye opening and will blow you away to see how corn is in almost EVERYthing, especially as HFCS (thanks, Kirk!).