Should I start my morning with a dose of High Fructose Corn Syrup? Sort of like, “the breakfast of champions,” “two peas in a pod,” or “the icing on the cake” sounds like something good for you. Except for the melodic ring of words is the only thing that’s good, outside of that, this ingredient is not your friend.
This sweetener is made by breaking cornstarch down by way of enzymes into glucose and fructose. It is used to sweeten most beverages and processed food. One thing is sure, and that is the amount of high fructose that is ingested is on the rise, and so are many health concerns that are in direct correlation.
- Obesity is the number one link between increased consumption of high fructose corn syrup. With obesity on the rise so is diabetes, heart disease, GI problems and liver ailments.
- Hyperactivity, we all know that sugar makes kids bounce off walls, taking this one thing out of a kid’s diet can help them focus in school more.
- Liver Disease, while glucose is used for energy right away by the cells in your body, fructose had to be metabolized in the liver and turned into fat.
- Kidney Disease, sugar increases the amount of uric in the kidneys, predisposing you to kidney stones and other ailments.
- Mercury, a significant percentage of the processed foods with high fructose corn syrup has a high mercury content, which is a cardiac toxin and a neurotoxin.
- Unhealthy insulin levels, while the fructose we get from fruits has a healthy amount of fiber, it controls the amount of sugar released into the blood at regular intervals. High fructose corn syrup sends sugar pouring into the bloodstream, and then causes unhealthy fluctuations in our insulin level; these kinds of highs and lows can affect the body’s hormonal system negatively.
It is time to use restraint with the kinds of foods that you eat, while it may seem harmless at the time you must look at the overall value to the food you eat, is it adding life to you, or is it taking life away, time always tells?
