high fructose corn syrup - gotta give it up

i've already heard many bad things about high fructose corn syrup, and yet in the past couple years i've slipped again and have been ignoring it to some extent. pick and choose your battles as they say. yes, i've had my fair share of cokes and candies and other seemingly delicious products over the past few years. and have even dropped my guard enough to allow my daughter to consume some of these sinful items as well, on occasion. not anymore. this battle has begun again. and it is difficult, because it is in everything. read your ingredient labels.

why is it bad? for one, in layman's terms, and from my own research and common sense, the pesticides used on non-organic corn are some of the absolute worst. research atrazine, to begin with. unless you are committed to eating organic (at least your produce), you are consuming alot of pesticides. why is that bad? from an article titled The Dangers of Pesticides to Humans on purezing.com: "Pesticides effects on humans are damage to the nervous system, reproductive system and other organs, developmental and behavioral abnormalities, disruption of hormone function as well as immune dysfunction." read the full article. especially if you have children.

i believe that high fructose corn syrup is directly related for a panoply of health problems that have inundated our society during my lifetime, including obesity and autism. the incidence of autism has sky-rocketed in the past 20 to 30 years, this just happens to coincide with the period when HFCS started being put into everything. do your own research, there is plenty of information out there. a really great video on youtube by dr. vincent bellanzi addresses HFCS and the dangers of processed 'foods' in general.

well, now, some researchers are coming out with a study announcing that toxic levels of mercury have been found in high fructose corn syrup, which has found its way pervasively into our 'food chain' over the past 30-35 years or so. it is the 2nd or 3rd ingredient in so much of what the average person consumes, including sodas, candies, salad dressings, barbeque sauce, jam, yogurt, gatorade, nutra-grain cereal bars, and the list goes on... read an article on it by reuters uk that goes into more detail. or you can watch or listen to a segment on this, (and the recent story that came out about salmonella-contaminated peanuts that were shipped out by a georgia plant) on democracy now!. there is some really great specific information in this segment about how this mercury got into the HFCS and the FDA's role in this.

there are tons of chemicals in the foods most people typically eat. in my opinion, the FDA and the AMA have been conducting a mass experiment on the american people over the past 50 to 60 years. what we call 'organic' farming today used to be the norm. but that's the subject for another post.

the bottom line is, we all indulge from time to time, but there are so many delicious, truly healthful things you can eat. overall, a good rule of thumb is this: the ingredient list should be short. if you can eat whole, organic grains, fruits, and vegetables, locally grown when possible, and foods with the least amount of processing and preservatives possible, your body, heart, & mind will thank you.