What’s Up With The High Fructose Corn Syrup Commercials?

I’m sure you’ve seen the new ad campaigns, where the guy says something like; “Shucks honey, I can’t eat that popcicle, it has high fructose corn syrup in it” and the gal slaps her knee and says “Baby, it’s made from corn. It’s NATURAL!” We weren’t the only ones confused by big business marketing rearing it’s manipulatory head again! Our trainer and nutritionist Kendra Coppey from Barefoot Tiger has been answering this question all Month! Here she puts the spin to rest, once and for all!

Dear Kendra, I have been meaning to email you about that new commercial running on TV regarding high fructose corn syrup being good for you. Have you seen it yet? I was curious as to your thoughts. What a disgrace that these companies rely so heavily on it that they would create a campaign to tell us that is not harmful! Kisses xo Daniela

Dear Daniela,

We are ticked off! This subject is highly debated – wiki it and you’ll notice the section on health effects is “neutrality disputed.” But it’s clear to us – it is really sad that advertisers are stooping this low to promote something that is very clearly not good for us. A lot of research has been done on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and to say that it has the same qualities as regular table sugar, while in some ways is true, is extremely misleading. In its chemical form it may look like sucrose and fructose, but the body digests it much differently. Studies have shown that the chemical breakdown of HFCS puts strain on the liver and can lead to leptin resistance, which keeps the body from feeling full. Once a person is leptin-resistant, give them a fatty diet and they’ll put on a lot of weight and also start showing signs of fatty liver disease. Not a positive result in our book.

What they conveniently leave out of these commercials is the process that is used to actually make HFCS. HFCS is liquid sugar made from corn – it’s a complicated process of splitting, boiling, slurrying and rebuilding corn into a sweet liquid, and is nowhere near a natural process. I don’t know about you but I don’t want anything that’s been in a slurry state in my bod. What’s more, corn is a subsidized crop by the US government, so HFCS it is very cheap to make. Our government is encouraging food makers to use this slurry of a liquid because it’s cheap and supports their own financial agendas…not cool. And if you needed one more reason why HFCS sucks, corn is one of the most genetically modified crops in the US, so it can usually be assumed then that HFCS is a highly genetically modified food. Blech.

If we as humans work best on a natural, clean, whole-foods diet, then how does a product that must become a ‘slurry’ before being turned into what we know as HFCS, act as a natural sweetner? It just doesn’t make sense. Sure the ‘numbers’ add up to make it look just like table sugar, but it’s kind of like saying that if petroleum oil that we put in our car has the same fat content as olive oil, it must be healthy right? Hmm…we think not.

Want to look up some information on your own? Here are a few great websites to reference:

It’s also interesting to look at the “pro-HFCS” website, which gives true information, just not ALL of it…very misleading here.

We’ve just inaugurated a new President into office, and our hope is that the food that fortifies our country will be made a higher priority and financial gain for the USDA a lesser one. We encourage you to get involved. Work with your local school to get HFCS products out of the cafeteria and vending machines, send a letter to your local congresswoman, teach your kids about healthy eating and make your voice heard with your dollars. We’re in this together and can make our voices heard one dollar at a time.

Permission to Skip the Gym

Barefoot Tiger Recommended Reading

Food Politics How the Industry Influences Nutrition and Health by Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H.

We love this book. It exposes the down-and-dirty truth of the food marketing industry, and makes us want to turn our living rooms into a self-sustaining garden. In this engrossing expose, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. Marion Nestle vividly illustrates food politics in action: watered-down government dietary advice, schools pushing soft drinks, diet supplements promoted as if they were First Amendment rights. When it comes to the mass production and consumption of food, strategic decisions are driven by economics-not science, not common sense, and certainly not health.

Kendra Coppey is the Founder of Barefoot Tiger (www.barefoottiger.com), an in-home personal training, yoga, nutrition and massage therapy company in New York, New Jersey and coming soon to Philadelphia. She is a certified yoga teacher, personal trainer and nutrition coach, and is infatuated with all things sweet…including her two rescued kitties Emma and Sabrina!