Q. Is high-fructose corn syrup bad for you?

By Joyce Hendley, September/October 2007

Is high-fructose corn syrup bad for you?





Did you know?



the complex structure of HFCS is what makes it worse than regular table sugar. The fact that it's man made and chemically altered affects the way the body metabolizes it. The problem with HFCS is that you find it in basically everything these days... especially food directed towards children. When you see the second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup (on products such as fruit juices), can you honestly say you would give this to your child on a regular basis? I know I wouldn't. Research shows that HFCS favors the body 's metabolic fat-making pathways, setting the stage for accumulation of excess body fat.


10/22/2010 - 1:25am

I heard they said it makes yous go insane. That's why, right?


10/16/2010 - 10:52pm

At 22 I suddenly began getting hives, which worsened to swelling (first my lips, then my tongue, and then my throat would begin to swell shut). This all progressed within a month. The doctors tested me and said i had no food allergies, and all they could give me was an EPI pen. It was only after a strict elimination diet that I began to realize that corn was the culprit. Eliminating all corn from my diet was literally impossible. I soon found out that almost everything I ate was somehow derived from corn. Potato chips, sugar-free ice cream, vinegar, pizza, sour cream, bread, shredded cheese, crackers, and alcohol were some of the foods I learned "the hard way" usually had corn in them. In addition, food packages, IV solutions, waxes on fresh fruits, and pills are often made with corn. For me, the more broken down the corn is, the worse my reaction. Ex: Corn starch=hives; Dextrose from corn=anaphylaxis. I still get hives many days and swelling every few weeks due to "accidents" in what I eat.

I fully believe that the extreme manipulation of corn into products like high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, modified food starch, and dextrose is a big problem for our society. With corn in almost everything, it is quickly becoming a common allergy, just as wheat did in its days of over-use. However, corn is in even more products than wheat, and in hundreds of different forms. Most companies I talk to don't even seem to know if their products are made with any corn derivatives. Read some of your food labels... do you know what half those ingredients are? I still don't know many of them! How can we monitor what we eat, and try to eat sugars and fats in moderation, when companies are finding new ways to disguise forms of sugar, and "low fat" and "sugar-free" foods are full of processed garbage. Even so-called "health food" contains outrageous ingredients like"organic-maltodextrin".

I am obviously biased because of my allergy, but I say, leave corn alone as corn, and leave sugar beets and sugar cane to making sugar!


10/15/2010 - 10:54pm

Weight loss is very simple. Calories consumed > Calories used = weight gain
Calories consumed < Calories used = weight loss

The formula is relatively simple. Americans consume way to many calories, and lead a sedentary lifestyle. In the 70's you had three channels and kids played outside. Now most children watch hours of T.V. and play hours of video games. Same for adults.


09/22/2010 - 10:17pm

Just don't eat it! Some many things have high-fructose corn syrup today, that's the reason for obesity. Rice Crispies used to not have it but now it does because high-frutose corn syrup is cheaper than sugar. Imagine the obesity population in 20 years or so, it will be out of this world!


09/04/2010 - 10:59am

I believe if you were to eat small amounts of it, it's not that harmful but most americans take in more than you should. So they have figured out that, that may be whats causing americas, Cancer, & Obesity so the really only important and wise thing to do is just not eat it.


08/25/2010 - 5:11pm

i say eat you only live once and how do we really know what is and is not healthy now days people is getting poisoned from a bag of lettuce come on now just pray more and it will be ok god is good!!!


08/20/2010 - 5:01pm

The real problem with most of these comments is that they do not document what they are saying. Some of the common sense statements of course do not need documentation, such as, eat less sugar no matter what type. There is however some real evidence that fructose can be bad for you. It has to do with cancer.

Please see:

Here are just a few excerpts from this Reuters article.





08/18/2010 - 11:06am

HFCS is not the same as natural sugars however, the American food industry wants you to believe so. HFCS has actually been scientifically proven to excel cancer cell multiplication.


08/10/2010 - 5:51pm

raw honey= good for you!!! better than all of the above! check it out and see for your self! royal jelly great to.


07/17/2010 - 12:07pm

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