I was listening to the radio the other day and this author was on discussing his new book. It was all about how corn is in just about everything that we eat. It was very interesting and I need to read it so I can further understand the problems associated with corn overload. I do know that he mentioned how corn syrup has now just about replaced sugar in everything. The problems I recall had to do with allergies and nutritional problems. Also the pesticides that are used in corn production. I then thought, isn't the way to fatten cattle to feed them corn? Not that I think corn is evil but I was totally unaware how it's in so many foods!

His solution was to only eat foods that our grandparents ate. So as hard as that is to do, I'm giving it a shot. I often wonder why in just one generation all the allergies and obesity levels have risen so drastically. This timeframe coincides with the surge in corn additives in all our food. Just putting this out there... I'll get the name of the book and post it.

Take care, Orion
who loves corn on the cob!

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I'll get the name of the book and post it.

It's The Omnivore's Dilemma by Berkeley professor Michael Pollan. He was interviewed on Fresh Air a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5336252

It was a great interview and I'm looking forward to reading the book. His research added even more justification to our family's decision to avoid foods containing high fructose corn syrup whenever possible.

TurtleMcQ

Thanks so much for the book title. It was definitely that author.
I also found a link that briefly covers the different points about our corn culture.


http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/toomuchcorn071902.cfm

I've been reading the labels and it's shocking. Even the whole grain bread's got it in there. I'm finding alternatives but I would've never known except for the radio interview (On Point on NPR). Thanks for the Fresh Air link. Terry Gross rocks!!!!

Take care, Orion

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It was all about how corn is in just about everything that we eat.

Try feeding a dog who is allergic to corn! Corn is not only in a lot of things that humans eat, but almost all dog food and dog treats have corn in them. We've had to work hard to find "holistic" food for our "baby." My husband does most of the cooking and he makes sure we have nothing with corn in it so we can give the dog a few table scraps. This dog is so spoiled. The main ingredients we look for are corn oil, corn syrup, corn starch, and corn meal. You'll be surprised when you start checking!
Beachcomber

I just caught the edge of this thread:

"avoid foods containing high fructose corn syrup whenever possible. "

I've been trying to do that. I don't read every lable however and just trust what I know. I have seen HFC replace the sugar in soda, orange juice and many other products, but darn--I bought a jar of grape jelly for the returning oriels yesterday and guess what--should have read the lable. I heard that you can get real sugar in your soda in Mexico.

Did you know the second ingriedent in salt from McDonalds is... Glucose. Sugar is everywhere.

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I heard that you can get real sugar in your soda in Mexico.

Actually, in most other countries of the world. And apparently, this affects the taste; the corn syrup supposedly doesn't taste as good as the regular sugar.

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR, SO THE FOLLOWING SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS MEDICAL ADVICE.

The problem with high fructose corn syrup isn't just because it is made from corn. It's also the fact that it isn't metabolized the same way that sugar is. All of the body's cells metabolize glucose; fructose is metabolized only by the liver. High fructose corn syrup has also been shown to be worse than glucose in creating insulin resistance. (Insulin resistance means that your body becomes resistant to using its own insulin; this is a major factor in Type II diabetes.) It's been linked to malabsorption of vitamins and has been shown to interfere with the body's white blood cells in fighting illness.

This doesn't mean you should stop eating fruit; fruit has fiber in it, and much lower levels of fructose than high-fructose corn syrup and is therefore much safer. HFCS is actually doctored to contain MORE fructose than occurs naturally. Plus, naturally occurring fructose is usually bound to another sugar, and most of the problems with high fructose corn syrup is that it is a "free" version of fructose.

Since I was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago (sadly, it runs in the family so I expected it to happen eventually), I have become an avid reader of food labels. A few years before I was diagnosed, I started becoming really aware of things with carbohydrates in them, though, because I couldn't stand that everything was sweet. That had me checking in unlikely places for sugar. Now, I check EVERYTHING.

One place that you wouldn't expect it--CHECK OUT THE MEAT YOU BUY, AS WELL AS TOMATO PRODUCTS (like pasta sauce). Not the basic stuff, like unprocessed meat, poultry, or fish--we're talking about the lunch meat, hot dogs, sausages, etc. Almost every brand of lunch meat and hot dogs contains some high fructose corn syrup. For hot dogs and bologna, I've found one brand that never has it: Hebrew National. There are some others out there, too, but this is the one I have able to find the most frequently. Most of the name and store brand of any deli meat, including turkey, bologna, salami, chicken--have the high fructose corn syrup.

Also--BEWARE OF THINGS LABELED AS "SUGAR FREE." Sugar free just means that there is no sucrose in it; it can contain any other carbohydrate (including dextrose, which is basically just glucose) in it even if it bears this label. There are a lot of "sugar free" candies out there that contain "sugar alcohols"--these are still carbohydrates, and there is little difference between "sugar alcohol" and "sucrose."

If you're curious, the reason that the medical community stresses eating complex carbohydrates is that even though they may contain the same grams of carbohydrates as the simple kind (like sucrose), because they are complex, they are not metabolized as quickly. This is much easier on your body, as your blood levels of sugar don't "spike" (which means insulin production doesn't, either), which means you eliminate the sugar high followed by the sugar low a couple of hours later. That's one of the reasons fiber is so important--good for your digestive tract, but it's also good for maintaining nice and steady blood sugar levels, which is good for the non-diabetic as well.

Why do companies use high-fructose corn syrup? Money. It is cheaper and easier to use in our food than table sugar.

Some good info on this subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup

http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html

Thank you so much. I feel like the food industry has pulled a fast one on us. Basically because they slipped the high fructose corn syrup in all our food without us knowing about it. Very sneaky. I managed to shop today and find non HFCS products but it was even in soup! My brother makes his own spaghetti sauce and like he said, can you imagine making sauce and then pouring in corn syrup- Not me!!!

That's interesting about the metabolism of corn syrup. I don't need to put all that stress on one organ (the liver). I'm so glad that Mr. Pollard wrote his book so it can be brought to our attention. Education is the key.

And it stinks that in order to save $$$, food manufacturer's put our health in jeopardy. I think I'll be making a lot of my food from scratch. It may be time consuming but in the end healthier and tastes better.

Take care, Orion

Here's an interesting link about how they make this stuff- Yum!

http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html

Take care, Orion

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My brother makes his own spaghetti sauce and like he said, can you imagine making sauce and then pouring in corn syrup- Not me!!!

This reminds me of this great commercial spoof that was on Saturday Night Live a number of years ago. It was when the cola companies were making "clear" versions of their products--in other words, they didn't add any coloring, so the soda looked like 7-Up or Sprite in the plastic bottles. The spoof they did was for "clear" gravy. They used corn syrup, of course, to show on the food. So they show people pouring corn syrup on beef and mashed potatoes and gravy--you get the idea.

The one part that made me cringe when I saw it (laughing, too, of course) was when Julia Sweeney dips a chicken drumstick in the corn syrup and then takes a big bite of it, with this look on her face that says it is the best thing she's ever eaten.

It was hilarious.

Got to love SNL. Remember the Bass O Matic? If I remember correctly, I think they used a real fish and Dan Akroyd drank it! EEEww! Orion

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Remember the Bass O Matic? If I remember correctly, I think they used a real fish and Dan Akroyd drank it! EEEww

I *do*. I loved that one. I actually have a Quicktime movie of that on a CD somewhere. I think that it was actually his assistant who drank it, but she didn't drink the real thing--they already had a glass poured, and it looked like it was probably tomato juice.

The idea itself, though, is still disgusting....

Thank God. That makes me sick just remembering it!

On another note, you mentioned that you were diabetic (sorry to hear). That runs in my family as well so besides not eating the high fructose corn syrup, I'm watching the carbohydrates I eat. My uncle was diabetic and I believe the nutrionist told him to have 60 grams of carbs X 3 meals and 15 carbs X 3 snacks. She also said that she's not diabetic but that's how she eats. Is this what you do as well (the carb numbers)?

Take care, Orion

I have a friend who is allergic to corn. It's kind of a strange allergy, but having seen the effects I can attest to its veracity. She participates in a weekly Bible study and potluck with me, and believe me, trying to make a corn-free meal for Laura can be very tricky!

Pretty much anything pre-made or processed - almost all "convenience foods" are out. If they don't have corn syrup, corn oil, or corn starch, they probably have "modified food starch" (with corn) or other corn by-products that don't easily identify. So we rely on "whole" foods - homemade chicken broth instead of canned (yup, it's in many brands of canned stock although some organic brands are corn-free), for example. Even baked goods are tricky - baking soda includes corn starch. We learn to make casseroles bound by something other than cream-of-mushroom soup, and read the fine-print on ingredient lists.

It's something of a challenge, to concoct something that "Laura can eat." She's very good-natured and wouldn't ever ask us to go to so much trouble, often she just brings her own food. But we hate to let her just eat a salad while the rest of us enjoy lasagna!

MoonBunny

Boy, are you right about that! I don't have an allergy to corn but sympathize with anyone who does. I've heard of others that share this allergy. I guess the thing that has shocked me is how the darn stuff got in so much of our food chain. Now that I don't want to eat the stuff, it's presented a real shopping challenge. Thank God for Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Wild Oats. I may have to pay a bit more more but I won't worry about metabolizing something that's so hard on our liver. Plus the food does taste better.

Take care, Orion

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It's The Omnivore's Dilemma by Berkeley professor Michael Pollan. He was interviewed on Fresh Air a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5336252

It was a great interview and I'm looking forward to reading the book. His research added even more justification to our family's decision to avoid foods containing high fructose corn syrup whenever possible.

TurtleMcQ

I just started reading this book last night and could not put it down! At one point he said that we are essentially corn chips with legs, we have so much corn in our diets (if you count things like the corn that gets fed to the cow that you eat). His book Botany of Desire is also one of my all time favorites.

-- Princess Lea

I can't wait to read it myself. The interview I heard was fascinating. What is "Botany of Desire" about? He's obviously a smart and talented writer. I'm glad he's opening our eyes!

Take care, Orion

<What is "Botany of Desire" about? >

In a nutshell, it was about how plants have adapted to make themselves attractive to humans so that we will cultivate them and propagate their species. There are 4 chapters: apple, tulip, marijuana and potato. Potato dealt mostly with genetic engineering and was the most fascinating.

-- Princess Lea

I went to get Omnivore's Dilemma at the library and I'm #60 on the waiting list! I think I'll get Botany's Desire first.

I haven't had any high fructose corn syrup for a couple of weeks and I do feel better. Certainly no junk food and mostly organic and whole food. I've even lost some weight. I'm also eatting 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 per snack (3 a day).Feels good!!!

Take care, Orion

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I haven't had any high fructose corn syrup for a couple of weeks and I do feel better. Certainly no junk food and mostly organic and whole food. I've even lost some weight. I'm also eatting 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal and 15 per snack (3 a day).Feels good!!!

Isn't it amazing? I was really shocked when I first tried that. Especially that I was able to feel very cool and calm most of the day--and I mean literally, physically cool, since I usually feel hot...

Wow, somehow I missed this one. Yes, that's what I do, although the nutritionist I saw told me to go for 46g for meals, 12 for snacks. (That's if my blood sugar levels are on target when I test. If I test before a meal and they're not, then it's 36g for meals, and 0 for snacks--which would mean something like going for a vegetable with few or no carbs.) But that is based on thinking of a serving of carbs as 12g. Some go for 15g, and that's not fine, too. It's mostly an estimate anyway--you figure that one apple may be slightly bigger or smaller than the next, so 3g either way isn't going to be horrible. It's when you end up with a lot more carbs that there are problems--like having a soda with a lunch with other carbs.

It's been very interesting to me to notice how many carbs the average non-diabetic eats in their day since I've been checking on my own. There are people, of course, who don't eat a lot of carbs--usually, these people aren't eating a lot of processed foods, and have diets with lots of fiber in them. I guess those who have to limit salt intake or with other diet restrictions probably have similar eye-opening experiences.

Good luck on the carb counting--here's hoping you "miss the bullet" with respect to diabetes!

Pied Piper