GO AHEAD AND DRINK KOOL-AID; IT'S PROBABLY THE ONLY THING IT'S NOT IN

I've been meaning to blog about the new commercials from the corn industry, which asserts that high fructose corn syrup is natural and good for you. The claim is that the stuff is the same as sugar and that it is not unhealthy at all, (stated as they whisper that it needs to be consumed in moderation.)

I found this dandy article from Time that puts facts and figures to the assertions. One thing that I found interesting was that the stuff is almost impossible to eat in moderation because it is in absolutely everything.

Because high-fructose corn syrup extends the shelf life of foods, and farm subsidies make it cheaper than sugar, it's added to a staggering range of items, including fruity yogurts, cereals, crackers, ketchup and bread — and in most foods marketed to children. So, unless you're making a concerted effort to avoid it, it's pretty difficult to consume high-fructose corn syrup in moderation.

I'm not one to preach about moderation in food. Seems I'm not too good at that. But it does seem that whole foods are probably much better for us than those made in a laboratory. I say that as I drink the diet version of that delicious green tea from Lipton. Diet usually means there is some kind of laboratory-created artificial sweetener. Still, I'm not buying into the "hey, it's really good for you" argument from the corn industry. Seems the corn growers have it pretty good what with all the ethanol subsidies and mandates now.

It does seem strange that as rates of childhood diabetes and obesity are raising at alarming rates, we have commercials promoting people eating more syrup.