Blue in a corn field

Over the weekend I was reading through some various “mom blogs” when I found one on High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  The title of the post asked if other mom bloggers were crossing a line when they reviewed HFCS and didn’t tell everyone how terrible it is. This piqued my interest because I had recently stumbled upon a dietitian’s blog that also talked about HFCS, only she had a very different point of view. These posts made me start to think about my views on HFCS and I began to wonder what the truth really is.

The mom bloggers very passionately talked about the harmfulness of HFCS. They sited studies that linked HFCS to an increase in diabetes and obesity as well as telling stories of their children outrageously acting out after eating foods that contain HFCS. It’s pretty compelling to read and if I hadn’t recently read the post on Prevention RD’s blog, it would have been easy to believe them.

As I’ve already said, Prevention RD posted a very different opinion on HFCS. She mentioned the same studies as the mom bloggers, but also stated that more recent studies show that HFCS is no better or worse than table sugar. In fact, she said that the human body breaks table sugar and HFCS down in the same way and they have a similar effect on the human body. Prevention RD stated that instead of just cutting HFCS out of our diet, we should consume all types of sugar in moderation.

That seemed to make more sense to me, as I am not, generally, a person to take an extreme stance on any issue.

But still, hearing all the other moms so passionately and convincingly talking about the concerns and health risks surrounding HFCS has made me question my thoughts on it. As Blue gets older (and more teeth come in) we will begin to introduce more and different kinds of foods, and I just want to make sure that I am making the most informed decision about the kinds of foods Blue is eating. I don’t want to knowingly feed him foods that could harm him, but is HFCS really one of those foods? Or is it just as healthy or unhealthy as table sugar and simply something to be consumed in moderation?

What are your thoughts?

Guest blog by MRS

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