Popular corn product not linked to obesity

Maybe it’s not as bad for us as we’ve been led to believe.

The “it” I’m talking about here is high fructose corn syrup, popularly blamed as one of the big causes of North America’s obesity problems. That link was made in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition a few years ago and has been widely reported in the media.

Now that same journal has published five papers that found no specific link between obesity and human consumption of high fructose corn syrup.

It’s a widely used ingredient in many popular food products, like baked goods, yogurts, sauces, beverages and even granola and energy bars, and often for reasons that have little to do with sweetening. For example, it enhances the fruit flavours of baked goods and controls moisture levels in yogurts to prevent separation.

These findings are good news for corn growers. There are many things behind our ongoing obesity challenges, so it’s hardly fair to blame farmers.

My own thought is that with so many things, moderation is key. A steady diet of high sugar drinks and processed and/or fast food isn’t healthy for anyone.

Then again, I’m the first to admit that sticking to a proper diet and  getting plenty of exercise is far from easy. That’s a opic for another post… but if anyone has any good ideas on that one, I’d love to hear from you!