Organic Food 101: Take the true/false quiz on HFCS and GMOs

May 13, 3:24 PMOrganic Food ExaminerNatalie Rotunda

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True or false: High-fructose corn syrup is made from glucose and fructose, two simple table sugars.
Answer: It’s true, though the process to produce HFCS is much more complicated. The two simple sugars actually start their HFCS life as cornstarch.

True or false: HFCS is metabolized in the body the same way common sugar is metabolized.
Answer: Absolutely false! It doesn’t metabolize the same as common sugar, according to. Dr. Meira Field, head of a team of USDA investigators who tested glucose and fructose on rats. “The medical profession thinks fructose is better for diabetics than sugar,” says Dr. Field, “but every cell in the body can metabolize glucose. However, all fructose must be metabolized by the liver. The livers of the rats [tested with separate high amounts of glucose, then fructose] on the high fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic.”

True or False: Americans consume more HFCS than sugar.
Answer: Oh so true. In the late 1990s, sugar declined, HFCS climbed. We now consume more HFCS than sugar. Find it in nearly every food and drink. Why? Follow the money. HFCS is a multi-billion dollar industry mostly controlled by four manufacturers (ADM, Cargill, Staley Manufacturing and CPC International). Costs to produce HFCS are low while profits are high. Shoppers, beware; read labels.

True or False: HFCS contains GMOs and a fungus.
Answer: True and true. Cornstarch is first broken down into glucose and fructose by adding three different enzymes, alpha-amylase, glucoamylase and glucose-isomerase. Linda Joyce Forristal does a nice job of providing a more in-depth look into the process in her article, “The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup.” She notes that a food tech expert claims that both alpha-amylase and glucose-isomerase are genetically modified to make them stable through the high-temps they undergo in processing. It’s more than probable that the cornstarch comes from GMO corn, so GMO exposure is a double whammy.

Also know that the enzyme glucoamylase is produced by a fungus called Aspergillus. For folks who are sensitive to fungi, it's yet another reason to nix all HFCS from their diet.

While the debate rages on about HFCS’ merits, why not get off the merry-go-round and quit the anti-good health foods? Stick to the basics---meats, veggies, fruits, beverages---from certified organic growers and producers who stake their livelihoods on connecting us to naturally-occurring organic good food?