DANGER ALERT!!! This package may look healthier but in fact, it is more obesity inducing and micronutrient depleting than ever before!

In the U.S. today more high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is consumed than sugar. Yes, you read that right. Americans are consuming more high fructose corn syrup than actual sugar.

We recently learned that big corporations are getting rid of HFCS, and swapping in a new replacement. Here's some information about HFCS, it's replacement, and why you should be concerned:

The popularity of HFCS rose in the 1970s when, due to manufacturing advances, it became cheaper to produce than sugar. This ingredient is commonly found in fruit juices, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup, mayonnaise, candies, pastries, soft drinks, and sports drinks, and it's made by refining cornstarch.

One of many concerns regarding HFCS is that, unlike sugar, it does not trigger the secretion of leptin, a hormone that tells your brain when you are full. Because of this, eating HFCS can lead to increased caloric intake and obesity. HFCS consumption can also lead to an increased risk of heart disease because it elevates triglyceride levels. As an ingredient goes, it is difficult to find one with worse press.

It fills food with an intensely sweet flavor, but no nutritional value.

The CDC reports that Americans consume an average of 60 pounds of this sweetener per person every year. In the beginning of 2009, researchers from Environmental Health, a peer reviewed environmental health journal, discovered high amounts of mercury (an element that causes damage to the brain, lungs, and kidneys), in nearly 50 percent of commercial HFCS samples. A second study, conducted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a non-profit watchdog group, found that of the fifty five brand-name foods containing HFCS tested, one-third also contained mercury. “Mercury is toxic in all its forms,” states the study’s author, David Wallinga, M.D.

It acts as an EMD – robbing you of your essential micronutients.

It acts as an EMD, or Everyday Micronutrient Depleter, because in order to use the fructose in high fructose corn syrup, your body must contribute a number of minerals such as chromium, magnesium, zinc, and copper. The more HFCS you consume, the more your body be-comes depleted of these essential minerals.

Recent studies on HFCS in soft drinks shed light on the seriousness of this EMD. While federal law mandates that HFCS not exceed 55 percent fructose (the ingredient depleting our micronutrients), a recent study in the journal Obesity tested the HFCS levels of twenty-three sweetened beverages and found levels exceeding 55 percent. The researchers found that many soft drinks contain HFCS with fructose levels as high as 65 percent. Remember, the greater the amount of fructose, the greater risk for micronutrient depletion.

You're probably wondering now, what is this new HFCS replacement?

Once again, many corporations are claiming to “do good” by advertising that their products contain no high fructose corn syrup. However, they're now replacing HFCS with an even bigger deplete.  That's right!  HFCS-90 is the name of this new villain, which you will simply see as ‘fructose' on labels and it is 90 percent fructose syrup. According to Natural Society, “The term ‘fructose’ is now being used to denote a product that was previously known as HFCS-90, meaning it is 90 percent pure fructose. Compare this to what is termed ‘regular’ HFCS, which contains either 42 or 55 percent fructose, and you will know why General Mills is so eager to keep you in the dark.”

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To read more about this BIG problem in the above mentioned article, click here.

We are here to keep you safe… share this article to let others know that these new misleading marketing claims are dangerous and deceptive.  Make sure to share this article so that others don't make this micronutrient depleting, obesity inducing mistake!!!!

How can you be sure to avoid HFCS and it's new replacement?

Be sure to continue to check your ingredient labels! Don't always believe the misleading marketing on the front of a package. To find out our favorite brands, pick up a copy of Rich Food Poor Food, the ultimate grocery store guide!