The consumption of high fructose corn syrup has gone up 4,000% in the last 40 years.
High fructose corn syrup has become a staple in our diet. It's in almost every pre-packaged food you eat.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich (WZZM) - It's blamed for everything from diabetes to America's obesity epidemic. High fructose corn syrup has become a staple in our diet. It's in almost every pre-packaged food you eat.
The consumption of high fructose corn syrup has gone up 4,000% in the last 40 years. It was first manufactured in 1957 but it didn't become a staple in the American diet until 1977, when high sugar tariffs forced U. S. producers to find a cheaper sweetener - corn syrup.
After that, it made its way into almost every food we eat and its effects on the American diet are beginning to come into question.
"I am seeing quite a few children coming in from the age of two years for obesity," said Jill Davis, a registered dietician for Metro Health Hospital in Grand Rapids. "I would say my biggest concern with high fructose corn syrup is just the increased consumption of products containing high fructose corn syrup."
According to the Center for Disease Control, obesity rates in the U. S. have climbed to nearly 60% and those rates coincide with the timing of the introduction of high fructose corn syrup. However, studies are mixed as to whether or not it's to blame.
But trying to cut high fructose corn syrup out of your diet isn't easy. We headed to the grocery store in search of every day products that didn't use it.
First stop, the yogurt aisle. What we found is that the use of corn syrup varied not so much by brand, but by flavor. Some light yogurts only used it in their vanilla flavor.
"So they're using it in the vanilla instead. Probably because vanilla is not as sweet as some of the other fruits, so in order to get the sweetness out of the vanilla, they're using the high fructose corn syrup," says Davis.
She notes that it's even in low calorie juice drinks with only 15 calories a serving. "Even the light, probably most of it is coming from the high fructose corn syrup starch that they're using."
And better check your high fiber bread. "A 100% whole wheat product doesn't necessarily mean they're not using it," says Davis.
Looking for a hearty soup? Check that label. We found it as the third ingredient, even in the ones labeled healthy.
And Davis says you can even find high fructose corn syrup in crackers. "They use them in baked goods a lot for the coloring and for the brown crust on it."
Label reading is the only way you'll know for sure if the product you're buying has high fructose corn syrup. It's what Mike McCain's has to do. He has type 2 diabetes and, "I do try to stay away from it, because it drives the blood sugar up."
He sticks to a few basic products, but if he wants to try a new menu, he knows it will take him extra time to read the labels. He'd like to see more products without the corn syrup. "There's type two diabetics everywhere."
So eliminating high fructose corn syrup from your diet won't completely eliminate the growing obesity epidemic in America. You'll also need to cut down on the number of calories you take in and make 30 minutes of exercise a part of your everyday life.
There is much more to the high fructose corn syrup controversy including studies that say it isn't any worse for you than sugar.
However in March of 2010, Princeton University researchers proved differently. In a study conducted on mice, they gained considerable more weight on a diet of high fructose corn syrup than a diet of sugar.
There are also studies that say the are unhealthy levels of mercury in some high fructose corn syrups.
You can click on the links within this story to read the studies and decide for yourself if the problem is high fructose corn syrup or the prevalence of it in the American diet that's causing our country's obesity epidemic.
By Valerie Lego