Have you seen the commercial recently from the Corn Refiners Association that assures the American public that “When it comes to corn sugar or cane sugar, your body doesn’t know the difference. Sugar is sugar.” The first time I heard that, I was outraged and offended! Personally my body revolts each and every time I consumer corn sugar, particularly high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
As one of many individuals suffering an allergy or sensitivity to HFCS, I urge you to not believe the statements being made by the Corn Refiners Association and realize that those statements are being made because the Corn Refiners Association stands to benefit financially from the public’s continued consumption of all things made with corn sugar, including HFCS.
Almost all of the corn production in the U.S. is genetically modified. Our bodies know the difference between corn sugar and the real thing. HFCS has been linked to the current trend of obesity — especially in younger people — and diabetes. Heart disease and cancer have also been linked to the increasing consumption of HFCS. Parents, please read labels and limit your children’s consumption of HFCS.
At 50 plus years of age I recently came to realize that I can no longer consume foods containing HFCS. My body absolutely DOES know the difference between corn sugar and the real thing. Google “corn syrup allergy” and you will be amazed by the information. Corn sugar is a less expensive substitute for the real thing, but it’s not worth the risk.
The sores in my mouth, on my gums and my tongue (which lasted for some 10 days initially before the source was confirmed), along with a burning, tingling rash on my extremities and my swollen face (which took weeks if not months to return to normal) led to countless trips to specialists and numerous rounds of blood tests and ultimately only by a process of elimination was HFCS determined to be the culprit. There is no allergy test for HFCS.
Reading labels is now the most integral part of my grocery shopping. Time-consuming, definitely, but the amazing fact is that there are comparable products available for nearly all of those which I used to eat and which contained HFCS. If anyone would like further information, feel free to contact me at czobel@juno.com.
Cathy Zobel
