Sweet Surprise Campaign trying to tell us that corn syrup is the same as regular sugar!

SweetSurprise.com is a recent campaign by the Corn Refiners Association to give us some "facts" on HFCS. Despite MANY years of evidence and research that has said other wise, the corn refiners have stated the following:

Quick Facts
About High Fructose Corn Syrup

The American Medical Association (AMA) recently concluded that "high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners." Learn more.

Research confirms that high fructose corn syrup is safe and nutritionally the same as table sugar. Learn more.

High fructose corn syrup has the same number of calories as table sugar and is equal in sweetness. It contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients. Learn more.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted high fructose corn syrup "Generally Recognized as Safe" status for use in food, and reaffirmed that ruling in 1996 after thorough review. Learn more.

High fructose corn syrup offers numerous benefits. It keeps food fresh, enhances fruit and spice flavors, retains moisture in bran cereals, helps keep breakfast and energy bars moist, maintains consistent flavors in beverages and keeps ingredients evenly dispersed in condiments. Learn more.

I was a bit put off by this during a suspicious cereal commercial (seemingly) that ended up with a kid embracing the high fructose corn syrup in his breakfast. He had originally stated that he avoided it because HFCS is bad for your health, and was won over by his brother's statements saying it was the same as table sugar.

Now I am certainly no expert on sugar and sugar alternatives, but since I have begun using cane sugar and avoiding HFCS, I have become a much healthier human being. Anyone with some more knowledge care to weigh in?

Remember this...those ads on TV (of which I have seen a couple) are paid for by the soda and corn refining industry, so their claims are immediately biased in favor of the lack of evidence of harmful affects by HFCS. One of the chief arguements against HFCS is that due to the fact that it is less expensive to produce than cane sugar, it is more widely consumed, thereby contributing mainly to the ongoing obesity of Americans (specifically sited because every site I have been to contains this reasoning). Fructose is transported and blended from its liquid form, also making it more desireable than cane sugars.
HFCS contains varying amounts of natural sugars in its component makeup, depending on the desired outcome. The higher the fructose content, the cheaper the product. This also affects the "sweetness" factor, which is a completely objectable measure, since sweetness levels are very much individually taste oriented.
Over the years, several companies that have used HFCS in their products have been sued when they advertise their products as "All Natural". This is because the fructose that ends up in the consumer product is not an all natural product. By the time it is introduced into consumer products, corn syrup (origin of fructose) has undergone an enzymatic process to increase the fructose levels in the blend. It is then mixed with glucose to form HFCS.

I gathered a most of this information across several websites.

google High Fructose Corn Syrup

Be warned. The information found across the websites that come up on the search above have a very wide array of "facts" about HFCS. From one site to the next, the information changes. What is fact on one site, is myth or dismissed on another. I went through several of them before just posting clinically based on the chemical makeup and processing, which seems to be about the only thing that all of the sites agree on.

Personally, I do drink several sodas a day. I like the taste. However, when I use a sweetner at home, it is and always has been pure granulated cane sugar. The sweetness factor is noticeably different, but so is the way I feel in the short run after consuming it versus soda.

Beyond the diabetic and obesity factors, I dont think that HFCS (in strict moderation) is necesarily bad for your health. I think it is more the idea that it is cheap, widely readily available, and satisfies even the most powerful sugar rush desire. The downside from my own experience is how HFCS aids in the burst energy -> energy crash scenario. I think anyone with hypertension or ADHD should most assuredly have their sweetner intake closely monitored for that reason alone.

My favorite part of those commercials is where the corn syrup-loving mouthpiece says that "it's fine in moderation" with a big smile on their face.

The problem is that it's in damn near every product out there.

It might be "fine in moderation," but in today's supermarket and American diet, there's no such thing.

(Unless you're me, and think it's disgusting, and avoid it like the sticky plague it is)

reply to post by TheHypnoToad


Since the commercials started airing, the number of people googling "High Fructose Corn Syrup" has SKYROCKETED. Of course, this is probably not what they wanted, since most of the top results are skeptical of HFCS at best. Check out my stats & analysis: www.thereluctanteater.com...