14 Comments
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Jessica's avatar

Yes!!! Down with corn syrup. Up with monk fruit (which I just wrote about).

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Dana Leigh Lyons's avatar

Yes! This message is so needed. Food doesn’t need to be lab-made or complicated.

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Mary Ann Rollano RN's avatar

It’s not food if it’s lab-made.

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Ben Jones MD PhD's avatar

Thanks for an excellent account of the harms that come from HFCS. The reliance on HFCS is a uniquely US phenomenon. Though it's seeping over the borders into Mexico and Canada, no one uses it like the US. It's all down to rampant capitalism - I'm a fan of capitalism, but it has to be balanced against the greater picture. Corn subsidies support farmers, but there are other ways to achieve these aims, though they may not buy as many votes. Tariffs and quotas on cane and beet sugar imports stifle competition - expect more such self harm now. Here in Europe, and elsewhere, we use regular sugar. It's not great, and we need to consume much less, but it's not as bad as HFCS. It's just one of the many reasons we look at the US and scratch our heads!

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Mary Ann Rollano RN's avatar

Exactly! It’s cheap but at what cost?

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Andrea rooney's avatar

I drink a large Fanta orange drink (HFC) and I’m ravenous. I drink an A&W root beer (sugar) not great, but not hungry afterward.

Lose the high fructose corn syrup and you go a long way to getting rid of the obesity problem.

Wonder how BIG CORN SYRUP would react.

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Mary Ann Rollano RN's avatar

Not too well.

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Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

There’s one more factor to take into account. Sugar, and specifically HFCS, give some of us uncontrollable cravings. When I was binge eating, I could drink a Pepsi and then demolish 3000 calories of a pile of other foods. Even one cookie would sometimes set me off in a binge, and I’m not alone in this. People in general take in more food if the first thing through the gate is sugar. All kinds of sugar, but especially HFCS, can be a trigger for food disordered people.

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Mary Ann Rollano RN's avatar

That makes sense because fructose triggers a much stronger feeling of hunger.

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Sacred Healing Remedy's avatar

Wow… really informative. Unfortunately in a capitalist economy those who make the most money aren’t too keen on caring what their product does to the average person. My supposition is they know full well how harmful their products are. And the most harmful stuff is of course the cheapest to purchase. It’s a shame globally we’ve decided on money over people which is a gross error. I sincerely hope we will force the change back to truly nutritious food. ❤️

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Mary Ann Rollano RN's avatar

Thank you. Yes they are well aware.

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Antoinette's avatar

Real tea does not even need to be sweet but if you're going to spend money on something to make your tea sweet, at least spend it on something that won't hurt your health....I mean, it just makes sense.

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Mary Ann Rollano RN's avatar

This is true. I use a little sugar or honey at home, depending on the tea. Some teas I don’t use any. But in manufacturing bottled tea, something has to counter the tartness of the low pH — which is required for safe bottling without using preservatives. Tea is not naturally acidic enough by itself.

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Antoinette's avatar

Good point. I hope humans in the expert food manufacturing field are capable of finding a solution that is not tantamount to administering poison ...well, either way, my choice will be to avoid certain ingredients especially in products that I buy....that is the least I can and will do.

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