Eliminating high-fructose corn syrup

Tue, Sep 26, 2006
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One of the toughest parts of my new diet is eliminating high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Sugar is fairly easy to spot and eliminate, but high-fructose corn syrup shows up in the strangest places — even in some supposedly “healthy” foods. Here is my (growing) list of foods that, surprisingly, contain high-fructose corn syrup:

Ritz crackers,Â Wheat Thins,Â andÂ saltines. Strangely enough, several varieties of crackers contain high-fructose corn syrup. Also, watch out for it in breads, including some “healthy” wheat breads. Alternative foods: Find crackers/breads in a store near you that advertise “all-natural.” I found a line of Annie’s brand crackers that advertises itself as “totally natural” and does not contain HFCS. Other smaller brands typically do not contain HFCS.
Yoplait yogurt. Another bizarre place for HFCS to show upÂ — not quite as unexpected as crackers, but strange for a product that bills itself as health food. Look for yogurts advertising “natural” or “organic.” I found Clover organic strawberry yogurt, which is about the same price as Yoplait. It’s definitely not as sweet, but it still tastes good and it does not contain sugar (except for the natural sugar found in the fruit) or HFCS.
Heinz ketchup. This one really stymied me. There are natural ketchups out there, but they do taste different and my body has adapted over the years to thinking Heinz=ketchup. For now, I’ve decided to stop eating ketchup — or to eat it in very small quantities when I do eat it. As I try out different ketchups, I’ll blog my results.

So why give up HFCS and sugar? Well, for me, it’s eliminated the crazy blood sugar highs and lows I had as a result of my hypoglycemia (as described in my previous blog entry.) Also, it’s forced me to really think about what I eat instead of just stuffing food into my mouth. As a result of my new diet, I have lost 3 pounds in the past month. Since I wasn’t overweight to begin with, 3 pounds was a significant change — people noticed and commented. I’m curious to know where a long-term application of this diet will put me in terms of weight.

I also feel I should point out that I do allow myself 1 dessert a week –Â typically on a weekend. It’s important to not feel completely deprived on a diet like this. I don’t want to develop a bitterness or a resentment toward howÂ I eat. The 1 dessert a week allows me to reward myself when I want to, while keeping in mind that my overall strategy should be toward less sugar.

Here is a more complete list of foods containing high-fructose corn syrup. If you would like to remain healthy, I suggest you avoid these foods — particularly those where there is an easy substitute.

Josh aka FK says:

9/26/2006 at 1:30 pm

It gets easier. You will be able to see something and know what kind of sugar it has in it (of course, there’s always ‘good sugars’ like natural fructose). Granted, I’ve been living with a type-1 diabetic for over 10 years now, but it didn’t take me long to see what she could have and what she couldn’t.
I’m surprised high sugars are causing your hypoglycemia. Usually, a hypoglycemic only gets lows, but not highs. Experiencing both hypo and hyperglycemia is diabetes…

Josh aka FK says:

9/26/2006 at 1:41 pm

Wait… did you self diagnose? Or talk to a Dr about it? You should probably get a glucose tolerance test to truely diagnose it.

Granted, a healthy diet won’t be detrimental, but its probably best you get a real diagnosis instead of self diagnosing…

kshgoddess says:

9/27/2006 at 7:45 am

agreed with fk, but dropping hfcs is a HARD thing to do. It’s in EVERYTHING. I started with cutting out sodas (but have like half of one occasionally as a ‘treat’). I can’t finish a whole one anymore, it’s too sickly sweet.

I’m glad you’re looking out for your health; as geeks, we tend to look out for everything but our own bodies. 😀

JG says:

9/27/2006 at 11:50 am

The best crackers I have found are at Trader Joes — They are called Multigrain Crackers and they come in a white box with a green stripe reading “good source of fiber.” They are also only $1.59, which is less than half the best price I’ve seen for Wheat Thins. The Organic Safeway crackers taste good too, but they’re $5.00 per box. I usually go for the unflavored yoghurt (if I don’t make it myself) called something like Mountain Way or Mountain Valley — I can get a gallon of it for 3-4 dollars at Costco, then add my own vanilla, a touch of honey, some fresh strawberries (or homemade strawberry preserves) — the unflavored also doubles as a great sour cream or other sauce mix. I can’t even touch flavored yoghurt now. I’ve not found a decent ketchup yet; instead of dessert, I have ketchup and Marie Calendar’s Creamy Ranch with my french fries and chicken wings — it is exceptionally unhealthy, full of grease, but oh so tasty, and makes a good once-every-few-months treat.

Rory says:

9/27/2006 at 2:17 pm

A diet of fresh fruits and veggies with some protein is good. JUST BE SURE IT IS ALL FRESH STUFF – NO PROCESSED ITEMS AT ALL.

eat that – you’ll be fine.

kristina says:

10/9/2006 at 1:54 pm

I feel you. I gave it up a year ago and lost a crapton of weight and can do things like sleep well and focus on what I’m doing.

Generic brands usually don’t have it. Supermarket frosted flakes versus Kellogs, for example. Stoneybrook yogurt is good, so is Francisco Rinaldi pasta sauce. All comparable in price. My one big expenditure is in organic bread because every brand I pick up has it.

Careful of hummuses. Sabra and Tribe don’t have it, but Athenos is loaded.

I can’t remember the last time I had ketchup for the exact same reason.

Elena says:

11/9/2006 at 1:54 pm

Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup has no hfcs or even Corn Syrup

Zebe says:

11/10/2006 at 9:48 pm

I certainly believe that HFCS is one of the leading causes in the obesity epidemic. I also suspect that it may be causing the tremendous increase in diabetes. Avoid HFCS for your health and well-being. Contact companies that include it in their products and complain.
Good luck in your new diet. I guess you’ve tried St. John’s Wort and vitamin B complex for fighting depression?
I know one thing that really helps–hypnosis!

Meladee Schmutz says:

12/14/2006 at 5:14 pm

I need a complete list of high fructose foods and beverages, do you know where I can obtain this list? Thank you.

SlashChick says:

12/14/2006 at 7:08 pm

Hi Meladee,

Welcome to my blog!

Take a look at this list. It’s the most comprehensive one I’ve seen.

Thank you,
-Erica

Eric says:

1/18/2007 at 10:36 am

Heinz makes an organic ketchup that is good and has no junk in it. Probably it is what they used to sell a few decades ago as normal. Trader Joe’s also has organic ketchup (much cheaper) but it isn’t 100% the same as Heinz. It is good enough for me, but my wife dislikes it.

Lynne Thomas says:

4/13/2007 at 6:14 pm

Please let me know how to order sugar-free High Mountain Syrup. I had some and it was delicious.

Thank you.

jim walker says:

4/16/2007 at 1:54 am

HFCS keeps me awake at night. Sometimes I ingest it without realizing it since it’s in so many foods you wouldn’t expect. This morning I’m awake at 2am having gone to bed at 11pm and slept for awhile. We barbecued steak and used a soy marinade from Kikoman. I wasn’t sure what was happening to me, thought it might be the coffee I had during the day, but once I read the ingredients on the marinade I realized it was my old nemesis hfcs. I’m half Latino, my mom (Latino) developed late onset diabetes and I will go that same way if I’m not careful. You really need to read labels on everything. Albertson’s puts it in their dinner rolls and spaghetti sauce–2 other items that kept me awake at night. It’s bad stuff. I read that Jones sodas just dropped it and uses sugar now. Too late, I gave up sodas, but will use some (gingerale) as mixes occasionally.

Betty says:

6/6/2007 at 6:19 am

My site lists prepared foods that do NOT contain HFCS. A much shorter list. My email address is on the site and I welcome suggestions of foods that I can add.
http://no-hfcs.tripod.com

Brittany says:

8/31/2007 at 12:53 pm

Ditto on the yoplait! My whole life I ate yoplait because…it’s THE yogurt, right? I am finally being smarter about what I put into my body so I went to the store and checked out their less sugar yogurt which is chock full of just as much bad things, they just replaced sugar with artificial sweetener.

I had to go to the store for the THIRD time before it occured to me to check out another brand and right there in my normal non-health-food grocery store is a yogurt that is JUST yogurt and fruit. No added sugar, no HFCS.

As an alternative to soda, try Izze, it can be bought at starbucks or health food stores. It’s just carbonated water and fruit juice, no added sugar or hfcs. I’m experimenting today to try to make my own.

It is amazing how much we put in our body without questioning it. I’m trying to eat a more natural diet without crazy preservatives and sweeteners.

PS: I checked my athenos hummus and it doesn’t have HFCS, at least not the ‘roasted garlic’ flavor?

Christine says:

10/12/2007 at 3:20 pm

I asked BestLife about Yoplait and HFCS:
Bob Greene carefully chose Yoplait based on the nutrient value and the availability of this yogurt for all of the Best Life readers.

Here’s the scoop on High Fructose Corn Syrup, and Bob Greene carefully considered all of these points before deciding to include Yoplait among the Best Life foods.

The Charges

It’s true that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has gotten a lot of flack these past few years, blamed for the obesity crisis and other ills. But, if you look at the scientific evidence, it’s pure fructose that may be dangerous, not HFCS. And many people, even some nutrition experts, have failed to tease out the difference.

The Science

A little background: HFCS is made from corn that’s treated with enzymes that eventually produce syrup made up mainly of two sugars: glucose and fructose. Most HFCS used in soft drinks and other foods is composed of about 55% fructose and 45% glucose.

HFCS has the same sweetness as sugar, and, it may surprise you, a very similar make-up. White sugar is made of sucrose. What is sucrose? A molecule that contains a fructose and a glucose molecule stuck together.

So, your body breaks down regular sugar into 50% fructose and 50% glucose. That’s very similar to the composition of most HFCS: 55% fructose and 45% glucose. (There is HFCS that has a higher percentage of fructose, but it isn’t in widespread use).

And that’s not different enough from plain sugar to make a difference to your body, according to nutrition researchers who are in the trenches, researching this issue.

What may be harmful is ingesting large quantities of pure fructose. Research shows that pure fructose can cause liver damage and other problems. And, without a doubt, it’s harmful to eat too much sugar of any type. That’s because all regular sugar, HFCS, honey, maple syrup and all the other sweeteners provide is calories; no nutrition attached.

Sugar and Obesity

Consuming too much of any sugar can start piling on the pounds. The evidence is strongest when it comes to soft drinks. Those who drink the most soft drinks are heavier than those who drink little to no soft drinks; this is true for children and adults.

Here’s where so many people have gotten confused about HFCS: they figure that since soft drinks are sweetened with HFCS and because soft drinks are making people overweight, it must be the HFCS. But even the consumer watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is famously tough on the food industry, has come out and said it’s not the HFCS, it’s the over-consumption of soft drinks that’s linked to obesity. If those soft drinks were made from regular sugar, they’d still be making people overweight! Those of you who’ve started Phase Two know that Bob Greene doesn’t allow soft drinks in this phase. He’s hoping to wean you off them, because he knows they are a major weight gain culprit.

Sweets on The Best Life Diet

So, why do we allow any sweetener on The Best Life Diet? Because, we recognize that sweets are one of life’s great pleasures, and that in moderation, there’s absolutely no evidence that they hurt you. In fact, having a little piece of chocolate, or some jam, or a little ice cream actually helps you stick to a weight loss plan. It prevents you from feeling deprived and chucking the plan altogether! Again and again research shows that people just won’t stick with overly-restrictive plans (remember those unappealing ultra-low-fat plans in the ’80s and early ’90s?) Why allow HFCS? Because, the evidence to date does not show that it is any more harmful than sugar.

Yanking all sugar from the diet doesn’t jive with Bob’s philosophy of gradual change. In Phase One, you’re making the first habit changes, such as eating a healthy breakfast and drinking more water. In Phase 2, you make more specific dietary changes, including cutting out soda, which helps reduce sugar intake. Phase Three is where you can really cut way back on sugar, sodium, saturated fat and other unhealthy components of the diet. By then, you’ll be ready.

When you look at the menu plans, you’ll see that there aren’t a lot of sweets. Most breakfasts, lunches and dinners are low in sugar. The calcium-rich snack contains naturally-occurring sugar in dairy, or the little bit of sugar added to soymilk, but not much added sugar.

On The Best Life program, Yoplaitâ€”especially regular Yoplait (as opposed to Yoplait Light) — is used mainly as a sweet treat instead of a staple meal item. (Nearly all the yogurt in the breakfasts and snacks is plain yogurt.) And what a great treat it is! It gets much higher nutrition marks than a candy bar or a soft drink or most other sweets. A 6-oz. container contributes 20% of the calcium requirement for those of you age 50 or less; 17% of the requirement for those age 51-plus. And it’s available all over the country. As for the HFCS in Wishbone Salad Spritzers, well, look at the label. You get just 1 g of sugar and 10 calories for 10 sprays. (Personally, just 3 sprays are enough for my salad!).

I hope this explanation was helpful. It’s nice to know that members of The Best Life program are so engaged and interested in nutrition.

Janis Jibrin (Bestlife.com Lead Nutritionist)

Jackie Hiendlmayr says:

10/24/2007 at 12:22 pm

Erica, I can give you an easy recipe for ketchup. HFCS is a serious health problem for some people but it can be avoided. Would also enjoy sharing an email exchange I had with Yoplait about HFCS.

Cathy says:

3/20/2008 at 7:33 am

Christine, HFCS is dangerous as it causes your body to act like a diabetics. It causes insulin resistance & blocks the release of leptin, the hormone that tells you that you’re full. So not only are you eating something that’s bad for you, you’re eating more of it. Plus with the insulin resistance, the sugars aren’t carried off to the cells and therefore are not converted to energy. Instead, sugar levels are increased in the blood. Numerous research shows that it does this, it even shortens the life of lab mice and was found to be carcinogenic back in the ’70s. Why would we eat something produced from corn when our bodies aren’t currently designed for digesting corn? Of course the food industry is going to tell you otherwise, they make a lot of money off HFCS and it costs a lot to switch back from natural sugars.