What is HFCS ? (a "MUST" read South Beachers)

[chubzee]

I was on another forum this morning and got a rude awakening when I found out my coffee creamers main ingredient was "CORN SYRUP"!'I thought I would pass on this info....High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener made from corn and can be found in numerous foods and beverages on grocery store shelves in the United States. High fructose corn syrup is composed of either 42 percent or 55 percent fructose, with the remaining sugars being primarily glucose and higher sugars. In terms of composition, high fructose corn syrup is nearly identical to table sugar (sucrose), which is composed of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. Glucose is one of the simplest forms of sugar that serves as a building block for most carbohydrates. Fructose is a simple sugar commonly found in fruits and honey.High fructose corn syrup is used in foods and beverages because of the many benefits it offers. In addition to providing sweetness at a level equivalent to sugar, (1) high fructose corn syrup makes foods such as bread and breakfast cereal "brown" better when baked, gives chewy breakfast bars their soft texture and also protects freshness. High fructose corn syrup keeps products fresh by maintaining consistent moisture. (2) For more details, see Why is HFCS used?. High Fructose Corn Syrup Quick FactsResearch confirms that high fructose corn syrup is safe and no different from other common sweeteners like table sugar and honey. All three sweeteners contain nearly the same one-to-one ratio of two sugars- fructose and glucose. High fructose corn syrup has the same number of calories as table sugar and is equal in sweetness. It contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients and is a natural sweetener. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted high fructose corn syrup "Generally Recognized as Safe" status for use in food, and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996 after thorough review. High fructose corn syrup offers numerous benefits. It keeps food fresh, enhances fruit and spice flavors, retains moisture in bran cereals, helps keep breakfast and energy bars moist, enables baked goods to brown better and keeps ingredients evenly dispersed in condiments.

[RedRox]

Yep. It's really no better or worse than any other sugar. I've never really understood the whole demonization of HFCS thing. But as with any other sugar, you are much better off without it than with it. But for example, a bread with a small amount of HFCS or a small amount of molasses or honey is really all about the same. It's not so much the ingredient itself that is the problem, just the large consumption of it in so many things sweetened with it. There is a big difference in research between correlation and causality.

This is an article from 2006, but it lays out the case for and against fairly well I think. A sweetener with a bad rap