A current TV ad sponsored by the makers of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) uses, it seems, intimidation to prevent people from avoiding foods containing their product. If the person in the commercial cannot articulate what is wrong with it, they are just not as smart as the person serving the HFCS food and need to immediately give it to their child or eat it themselves. Don't be intimidated, know what is wrong with HFCS.

HFSC does not breakdown within the digestive system the same way other foods do. In a process called “metabolic shunting” the HFCS molecule arrives at the liver almost completely intact which alters the way metabolic-regulating hormones function. It also forces the liver to kick more fat out into the bloodstream. This excess fat in the bloodstream can overload the fat cells which spill over into the blood and strike at the pancreas's insulin producing beta cells. This causes insulin levels to drop and, consequently, blood sugar to spike. Beta cells, constantly bombarded by fat spilled over into the blood become “insulin resistant” - the first step on one route to diabetes.

HFCS is artificially sweet. Experts agree that stimulating the taste buds with strong artificial flavors ruins them for the natural, healthy sweetness in foods like fruits, vegetables and some whole grains.

According to a graph published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1999 the average BMI (Body Mass Index) and the consumption of HFCS have increased at along the same incline since the product's introduction in 1971. In other words, the more HFCS you consume, the higher your BMI and, unless you are a bodybuilder with added weight in muscle mass, the higher your BMI, the fatter you are and the more at risk you are for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and some forms of cancer among other diseases.

HFCS is a sneaky substance, you'll find it not just in sweets but also in chips, breads, crackers and even some dairy products – foods that should be tasty enough without the added sweetness. Try to keep all processed foods to a minimum to protect yourself from this unhealthy, even dangerous, substance by reading food labels on everything.

For more info:   Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World. by Greg Crister

“Sugar Coated: We're Drowning in High Fructose Corn Syrup. Do the Risks go beyond our waistline?” by Kin Severson for SF Gateway http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL