corn syrup vs hfcs

[funcat]

Corn syrup compared to high fructose corn syrup (hfcs). Is one more evil than the other? I can't quite figure this one out.

I have avoided artificial dyes in my family diet for the last 4 yrs, and have recently crossed hfcs and partially hydrogenated oils off the shopping list as well. The last two are for the general health and well being of my family. If we have positive ADD effects, then !!

I've been doing a lot more baking goodies, and the kids are loving it! The few cookie brands that do not contain one or both of the above tend to be very expensive.

Still a bit puzzled about the differences in the corn syrups.

[catatonic]

Both are evil! High fructose corn syrup has simply been manipulated a bit more than "regular" corn syrup so that it contains a higher proportion of the sugar fructose in relation to the other sugars (e.g. sucrose, maltose, etc.)

The effects we've noticed from consuming corn syrup (which seem to be fairly common, in varying severity) are tantrums, crying jags, self-pity, and talk of suicide. They are not behaviors I ever see in my son when he has not consumed corn syrup.

In case you haven't delved deeply into the secret life of corn syrup, it also comes concealed by aliases...maltodextrin, maltose, dextrose, golden syrup, invert syrup, barley malt or malted barley...

Also, it may be in the following products which you would not suspect of harboring corn syrup...salt, vanilla extract, molasses, enriched flour...

And there are a number of other additives that are derived from corn syrup, many of which sound safe and healthy but which harbor hidden danger (and in which the corn syrup is present in very small amounts which will probably only affect the highly sensitive)...citric acid, ascorbic acid, glucono delta-lactone (mainly in tofu)...

I'm sure there are others I'm not aware of. My son is extremely sensitive to any corn syrup variant or derivative and can't even consume canned fruits that include citric acid. Removing corn syrup greatly limits the processed foods you can buy, since it's present in everything from bread to yogurt, canned spaghetti sauce to Wheat Thins, jelly to condensed soup, frozen french fries to cake mix. It's more than worth the effort for us, since it's the single most effective dietary modification we've made.

If you don't have a bread machine, it's probably worth investing in one. Most store-bought bread contains corn syrup. Those that don't are extremely expensive and the bread machine will more than pay for itself in about 6 months.

[funcat]

Thanks Catatonic!

I had noticed it in bread . For now, I've tried to eliminate it in as many areas as possible, with the exception of bread and ketchup. I've gone to organic yogurt, and changed most of our breakfast cereals.

My husband was all on board when I told him that I was eliminating hfcs from our diet, then I found out that he thought it was only in pop and kids "juice" boxes (we were big on capri sun) . He was completely shocked when I started telling him how many foods contain this awful ingredient.

The bread machine may have to wait until my birthday in November, in the meantime, I'll work on getting it out of the kitchen in all other foods.