High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is a corn-based sweetener that was invented in the 1960s and has been increasingly used in sodas, sauces, fruit-flavored drinks, and many other food products since the late 1970s as the price of natural sugar jumped.
However, this common ingredient has been getting a lot of negative press recently.
As more and more Americans are consuming high-fructose corn syrup, many scientists believe that it is causing a glut of health problems, including increasing rates of obesity and even diabetes. Some researchers have even found mercury in foods with high fructose corn syrup, a toxin that is thought to enter HFCS foods from the mechanism that separates sugar from corn.
Whether or not any or all of these claims are true, there’s been enough anti-HFCS noise in the media to leave me running for natural sweeteners. In fact, when it comes to shopping for healthy foods, I know life would probably be much easier in Europe, where use of high fructose corn syrup is greatly regulated.
Thankfully, a little poking around at the grocery store has proven to me that, while many sweet foods in pantries and refrigerators throughout out great land may have high fructose corn syrup, there are some food manufacturers that are sticking to good ol’ white cane sugar to sweeten their products.
Read more: Easy Tips for Avoiding High Fructose Corn Syrup in Your Food