A Sweet Death?

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Recommended: The pros and cons of high fructose corn syrup

A Sweet Death? For a moment, imagine you are a very health conscious person. You start the mornings off with a brewed cup of coffee, a newspaper, and your favorite cereal. As you eat, you are comforted in seeing the bold print on the packaging that reads, “Loaded with vitamins and minerals.” However, you become curious and decide to investigate the back panel of ingredients to see if it is as wholesome as it leads you to believe. The number one ingredient is enriched wheat flour. You are content as you swallow the next to last spoonful of your shredded richness. The second ingredient is honey, another that reinforces your feelings of responsible eating. Ingredients three, four, and five are foreign to you. They read soy lecithin, niacin, and high fructose corn syrup. Now the first two you have a good feeling about. Soy is a good source of protein in place of many meats and niacin must be one of those vitamins or minerals the food tycoon General Mills boasted about on the box. However, the latter of the three is what prompts you to do some research on your computer. The results yield studies and illustrations which surprise you. “From crackers to raisins, cans of soda to cans of soup, high fructose corn syrup is in virtually every list of ingredients. Even for consumers that are vigilant about steering clear of it, it’s hard not to avoid” (Mangano). As you finish your last bite of cereal it does not seem as satisfying as the first. Uncertainty is the lingering taste and you wonder what high fructose corn syrup really is, why it is in all of the foods you eat, and if it could affect your health negatively. Rasmussen 2 High fructose corn syrup is a mixture of fructose sugars and pure corn syrup. It is cheap, easy to manufactur... ... middle of paper ... ...e 2010. Gross, Alexandra. “Eating mercury: many products with high fructose corn syrup contain mercury--where's the uproar?” E May-June 2009: 19+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 18 June 2010. “High-fructose corn syrup.” World Watch 22.3 (2009): 1. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 18 June 2010. Mangano, Frank. “Not-So-Surprising Finding: Study Links HFCS to Hypertension.” NaturalNews.com. Mike Adams, 17 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 June 2010. “No evidence 'Throwback' sugared sodas healthier.” Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter Mar. 2010: 3. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 19 June 2010. Raskin, Hanna. “Latest high-fructose corn syrup study generates buzz, debate.” CNN, 25 Mar. 2010. Web. 13 June 2010. Walsh, Nancy. “Fructose in sugary soft drinks is implicated in rise in gout.” Family Practice News 38.13 (2008): 40. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 10 June 2010.

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