High Fructose Corn Syrup - How do you feel about it?

[hepmommy]

High Fructose Corn Syrup.

It's in everything.  Well, almost.  Have you made any sort of effort to read labels and check ingredient lists?  Personally, I know that it would be very difficult to eliminate it from our diet completely, but I have started checking the labels on the foods that the kids eat much more closely.  I quit buying the juice pouches that have it in them and try to find ones with more natural ingredients.  I switched up their lunch snacks to more natural ones.  Instead of the PF Goldfish, etc. for snack time, I started getting the Annie's Bunny Snacks.  Same thing essentially, but without the HFCS and they're mostly organic.  : ) 

Is this a concern for you and your family?  What do you do?  If it's not a big deal to you, tell us why.

[natesmom1228]

This is not a concern for me. My sons diet is very balanced and right now he is living on a diet of apple juice, water, and jello. So I am sure he is getting more then his fairshare of it. He had surgery yesterday and can only have soft foods.

His diet consists of lean meats, fresh and raw veggies, and 100% juice products. This is not a real big concern of mine. His weight and height are completely appropriate for his age.

[Barabell]

It's a concern of mine, but it's not my top concern right now.  Right now, I'm shopping based on price instead of HFCS.  I'm hoping when my DH gets employed again, I can shopped based more towards organic and less HFCS--like I was before.  I'm still trying to make smart decisions, but I'm going to buy things like the cheapest gold fish right now instead of Annie's. I do have to say that Annie's gold fish do taste great though!

[tinaandavasmom]

None at all has the same calories as sugar I watched a special about it on the news. It simply is just corn sugar. Has the same calories and is no worse for you than any other sweetner. You just have to do what you should do with anything use it in moderation.

[lwalker270]

I have concerns about HFCS.  It's in so many items that I wouldn't have even considered, including bread.  I did start reading labels and buying items without it.  In general, I'm making more things from scratch rather than using processed convenience foods.  

[steelcrazy]

Like every other sweetener, I try to limit the use of it but you can't avoid  sweeteners completely because they are in everything.

[supermeof3]

We monitor HFCS a lot in our house.  I hardly ever buy anything w/ it in there.   My husband was trying to lose weight and also our daughter was having trouble behaving w/ too much sugar and hfcs in her diet.  Once we limited the sugar and cut the hfcs, my husband dropped weight and our daughter calmed down....a lot!  I am a firm believer in how our diet affects us.  I honestly feel that if a lot of parents monitored their childrens diets, there would be a lot less medicated children out there.

[Kylie819]

No offense but that's really not the place to research a topic, especially one involving your family's health.

As for the OP's question, I try to limit HFCS as much as possible. 

Quoting tinaandavasmom:

None at all has the same calories as sugar I watched a special about it on the news. It simply is just corn sugar. Has the same calories and is no worse for you than any other sweetner. You just have to do what you should do with anything use it in moderation.

[briarraindancer]

I monitor HFCS rabidly. We've virtually eliminated artificial colors and sweeteners from my daughter's diet, and it's greatly improved her attention span. I personally hate the stuff.

Also, I know how it's made. From Wikipedia:

Formerly, corn syrup was produced by combining corn starch with dilute hydrochloric acid, and then heating the mixture under pressure. Currently, corn syrup is mainly produced by first adding the enzyme α-amylase to a mixture of corn starch and water. α-amylase is secreted by various species of the bacterium Bacillus; the enzyme is isolated from the liquid in which the bacteria are grown. The enzyme breaks the starch into oligosaccharides, which are then broken into glucose molecules by adding the enzyme glucoamylase, known also as "γ-amylase". Glucoamylase is secreted by various species of the fungus Aspergillus; the enzyme is isolated from the liquid in which the fungus is grown. The glucose can then be transformed into fructose by passing the glucose through a column that is loaded with the enzyme D-xylose isomerase, an enzyme that is isolated from the growth medium of any of several bacteria.

It's NOT the same as sugar. Not even close.

[balagan_imma]

I avoid it the best that I can. I read a lot of labels and will buy whichever product does not contain it.

Fortunately, I do the majority of my staple shopping at Whole Foods (DH is an employee, so we get a discount) and they will not carry anything that contains High Fructose Corn Syrup.

[LeeLeeCandleGrl]

I check the labels and I do not buy anything with HFCS in it. We use maple syrup only, 100% fruit juice only, etc. I think it does help our family that I am a chef and my SIL (we house share) eats only organic. So, for the kids we are very careful. It takes some getting used to for the older kids who are used to eating a certain way but they do adapt. My dd is 6 and she complains a little but she eats because she is hungry. Our children rarely eat processed foods as well. We arent crazy over it...like we arent fanatics about it but we are careful.