Sheryl W. Turgeon, MPH, CHHC

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Coaching
women to achieve their
goals of
balanced living
and experience
the joys that
renewed vitality
and health can
bring to any age.

"Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash."  ~Harriet Rubin

When is a Food Not a Food?


In today's world corn is king. It is used in many products: Fuels to heat our homes and drive our cars; packaging materials; linens; trash bags; feed for our livestock and even food for ourselves. There is arguably nothing better in the summer than sitting down with family for some delicious corn on the cob. But when you get past the kernel and into the processing world, you lose the nourishment and cross over to the darker side of corn.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is in nearly all processed foods. Actually, more sweetener from corn is now used in processed foods than either sugar cane or beets. In the DVD King Corn, two MIT graduates have their DNA analyzed from hair samples after taking a road trip that consisted of eating at every fast food place along the way. Like the majority of Americans eating processed food, the two young men found that they were basically made up of corn! They went on to Iowa to grow an acre of corn and follow it through its journey to a convenience store in New York City, learning about its connection with the deadly disease of diabetes in the process. I highly recommend this documentary—it’s very eye-opening.

To make HFCS, the complex process of refinement utilizes three different enzymes to break down cornstarch; two of which are genetically modified. As it is becoming HFCS, an industrially produced bacterium creates an enzyme called alpha-amylase to start breaking down the sugars. Next, they use an enzyme called glucoamylase that is produced by the fungus aspergillus in a fermentation vat. A third enzyme, glucose-isomerase, converts glucose to about 42 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. Two more steps take this mixture to 90 percent fructose and then back-blend it with the original mixture to produce a 55 percent fructose sweetener known as HFCS.

You might be wondering what alternatives you have. Today, several organic food stores and some supermarkets offer a varied selection of natural sweeteners. Xylitol, which is beneficial to teeth and gums, is now on grocery store shelves.  Agave Nectar, which comes from a cactus is low glycemic and safer for diabetics. Stevia is made from the Stevia leaf and, like Agave, is a low-glycemic product. Other options include Brown Rice or Maple Syrup and Honey, which are not as low on the glycemic index, but do contain some nutrients. The raw sugar, tubinado sugar and other "natural" sugars have the same affect on your body as table sugar, stripping you of nutrients and causing inflammation, along with other troublesome health ramifications. You may want to try a few of these products and then decide what tastes best to you. In any case, they are all healthier than ingesting artificial sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup. 

For more information on the dangers of sugar, see my Events Page for an upcoming Sugar Blues Talk.

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