Corn Refiners Association and High Fructose Corn Syrup

As a mother to growing young children, I typically try to balance the boys; diets and limit their sugar intake.  When I step into a grocery store, reading food labels can be almost overwhelming.  I usually try to make choices that have the least amount of sugar, but I also don’t deny them a few sweet treats.

There has been an ever growing debate on the effects of high fructose corn syrup in our diet and it’s relation to obesity.  If you haven’t read or heard the information, you can easily get clued in at your local grocery store.  In the bread aisle alone, every other loaf, is stamped with “no high fructose corn syrup!”  Having this on a label is a subconscious mental cue that HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is something that you want to avoid.

I was able to attend a live webinar  and learn a little more about the sugars we put into our mouth.  But prior to the meeting we had to do a hunt through our pantries and pick out five items we use on a regular basis and find out how much sugar was in each one of those items.  I was surprised at what I found.  You wouldn’t think that your tomatoes has any sugar in them, but they do.  If you want to know whats in your food, a good resource is (www.sugarstacks.com)  I am amazed at just how much sugar we consume.

Attending this webinar, put on by mom central and the corn refiners association was a fun and very educational hour, looking into HFCS and how all sugars are broken down in the body.  I was surprised to find out that the key differences in table sugar vs HFCS was that sucrose is fructose and glucose and HFCS is fructose and glucose that is bound together.  Both of them are broken down the same way by a particular enzyme in the body.

When you get down to brass tax, in my opinion, it isn’t the type of sugar we consume across the board but how much we are consuming.  Your daily intake of sugar should be 25% of your caloric intake.  I know that it is very easy to over indulge in sweet and sugary foods, and I think that moderation is probably the key.  I am sure that debates will continue, but the one thing that remains the same is that all experts agree that eating a balance diet is key to nutrition.  Pay attention to food labels, plan out menus that balance your sugar intake, and get your children involved.  Knowledge is key to teaching them healthy eating habits, high fructose corn syrup or not.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of the Corn Refiners Association. I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.”