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Home Made Barbecue Sauce
· 1 28-oz can tomato puree
· 1 cup apple cider vinegar
· 2 tablespoons honey
· 4 tablespoons brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon grey poupon mustard
· 1 tsp sea salt
· 1 tablespoon paprika
· 1/2 tsp garlic powder
· 2 cups water
Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower heat to a very low simmer for 2 hours (or until sauce thickens to the consistency you want it), stirring occasionally.
Study On Effects Of High Fructose Corn Syrup
An extremely odd study on the effects of high fructose corn syrup on hunger and satiety was released by the University of Washington late last week. The gist of the study was that they had 37 people drink soda pop in the morning - some drank soda pop that was sweetened with hfcs and others drank soda pop that was with sweetened with sugar.
Hours and hours after this, the subjects took part in an “all you can eat” lunch buffet and all consumed virtually the same number of calories.
I have approximately 3 problems with this study (maybe more, once I dig into it). The first is that the purported problem with hfcs is that your body does not process it when it should, in a timely manner, thus WHILE you are having a soda pop with your meal, your body does not detect the calories of HFCS, so does not send the fullness indicator when it should. If you consume hfcs much earlier in the day and THEN eat, of course it’s not going to impact how much you eat - because the hfcs in the soda pop is not a factor in your CURRENT meal.
Another problem I have is that this study did not disclose what was on the menu at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Was it totally devoid of high fructose corn syrup? Or did everything contain high fructose corn syrup? And did all subjects have the same daily calorie requirements? If one person there had a smaller daily calorie requirement and still ate the same number of calories as the person next to him who had a higher daily calorie requirement, then that person overate. And if that person overate, was hfcs in the current meal a factor? Was a menu item with hfcs consumed by that person and not by the person who did not overeat?
My last problem is partially addressed above as hfcs being prevelant in most foods and not just soda pop. The hfcs in soda pop is the hfcs 55 - which is virtually the same as sugar (though not quite, and it doesn’t come by its fructose naturally - it is upped by a genetically modified enzyme in a man-made process). BUT the hfcs that is in most of our food, especially baked goods, is hfcs 90. That means that 90 (NINETY!!!!) percent of that concoction is artifically processed/created fructose and only 10% is naturally-occurring sucrose. And this study does not address THAT at all.
Fat Cows | Fat Human Beings
According to this article, “…subsidies encourage commodity growers to plant an oversupply of low-priced corn and soy, which is processed into high-calorie high-fructose corn syrup and soybean oil and fed to feedlot animals bound for burgerville.”
Why does the health department preach moderation and then seemingly force-feed us an over-abundance of high-calorie/low nutritive food? Why is virtually EVERYTHING corn-based in one way or another? Why does nearly everything have to have high-fructose corn syrup in it? Why has soy been shoved down our throats as well (literally - but that’s a whole other subject I will take on when I start my food stuff blog)?
The article above raises a lot more questions than it answers, but they are good questions. And I plan to follow up and see what Diane Feinstein says/does about it in the future, if anything.
Potential Class Action Lawsuit Against Snapple re: HFCS
This article, in the July 6, 2007 edition of The Star Ledger in New Jersey, says that a pending lawsuit is over Snapple’s claim that their fruit drinks and teas are “all natural.” In fact, they contain high fructose corn syrup.
The article says, ” ‘The representation that something is all natural, as far as we’re concerned, requires the product be all natural,’ said East Brunswick attorney Philip Tortoreti, who filed the complaint on behalf of Morganville resident Stacy Holk. ‘And high-fructose corn syrup is not all natural.’ ”
Snapple is owned by Cadbury Scheppes, which is currently trying to sell their beverage division entirely, in order to concentrate on confectionaries.
Congratulations to Franz!
Franz has produced the first product I’ve seen which proudly announces “No High Fructose Corn Syrup.” Making it easier for those of us looking for such products!
I hope this is a coming trend (I expect it will be.) I, for one, will more readily buy products which clearly state they have no hfcs so that I don’t have to waste my time looking at the ingredients for that information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?
According to Wikipedia, “High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) refers to a group of corn syrups which have undergone enzymatic processing in order to increase their fructose content and are then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to reach their final form. The typical types of HFCS are: HFCS 90 (most commonly used in baked goods) which is approximately 90% fructose and 10% glucose; HFCS 55 (most commonly used in soft drinks) which is approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose; and HFCS 42 (most commonly used in sports drinks) which is approximately 42% fructose and 58% glucose.”
It’s the upsetting of the natural balance of sweeteners in our food and what that does (and does not do) to our physiologies that upsets me. Combined with its prevelance, it’s not just upsetting to me, but worrisome.
What are the negative health effects of high fructose corn syrup?
Nothing has been proven legally or in a court of law, and there have been no conclusive medical studies regarding its health effects. But I have read enough about why many health care professionals and members of the medical field feel we should be concerned to take warning. The biggest concerns for me are are its seemingly bizarre and extended route to metabolism by the body (encouraging fat to store before the energy from the food has had a chance to be used), its effects on fullness, satiety and increasing hunger drive, and the fact that it requires an “unnatural” enzymatic process to create. Combine this “unnatural” ingredient with the fact that it’s in virtually everything we eat, and it makes me concerned about consuming so very much of it. Explore this site further for more specifics.
How can high fructose corn syrup be bad for you, when fructose occurs naturally in fruit and other produce?
High Fructose Corn Syrup and Fructose are NOT the same thing. Let me say that again - fructose and high fructose corn syrup are NOT the same thing!
Many articles written with the goal of making it sound like there is nothing wrong with hfcs will try to slide that by you, though. They will start out using the phrase “high fructose corn syrup” and then replace it with the word “fructose” a few sentences in, trying to make you think the words are interchangable.
They’ll then go on to cite research about fructose, trying to make you think that they are really talking about high fructose corn syrup. When they are most definitely not. They’ll then wrap up the article with some rhetoric or verbiage which again includes the phrase “high fructose corn syrup,” thus driving home the illusion. I almost fell for this myself. Be wary!
