Soy Lecithin, High Oleic Sunflower oil, Ascorbic acid, Di-alpha – Tocopheroyl Acetate and Invert sugars are just some of the strange unfamiliar ingredients, in the very familiar granola bar. Foods today are packed full with confusing ingredients that the average person has never heard of. Some of these mystery ingredients can be very harmful to those who ingest them. Companies try to make clear what is in their products by using nutrition labels, but wouldn’t it be great if they explained the effects of all these chemicals on the body. In this essay I will shine light on just some of the mysterious ingredients in everyday food starting with Soy Lecithin. Soy Lecithin is a combination of Phospholipids and oil. It is derived primarily from …show more content…
Trans fats provided a longer shelf life for food, but people didn’t want their health to deteriorate just so companies could keep their product on shelves for a couple extra months. That’s when High Oleic Sunflower oil was created by using hybridizing techniques such as radiation and mutagenesis to make the oil more heat stable. High Oleic oil is known to be harmful to people with pre-existing conditions like heart disease and diabetes. It can also be dangerous to people with allergies in the Sunflower family like Marigolds and …show more content…
Invert sugar is also known as artificial honey as it is a component of honey and maple syrup. It is a form of high fructose corn syrup and doctors advise people to eat small amounts of it because of the health risks involved in eating too much. Some of the health risks are diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. There have been many people trying to get High fructose corn syrups banned from food because of its unhealthy nature. Michelle Obama has made a big impact in limiting the use of High fructose corn syrup by influencing companies such as chick-fil-a and Pepsi to stop using
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is an inexpensive syrup created by changing about half of the particles comprising corn starch into fructose. Due to the cheapness of HFCS it has replaced natural sugars in most of the food consumed in America. Resulting in HFCS being found in just about all processed foods made today. Consuming any kind of sweetener has shown to greatly increase the chances of obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and metabolic syndrome (Zeratsky, 2015). Since the invention of HFCS American obesity rates went from fifteen percent of the population to around one third of the population suggesting a strong
High-fructose corn syrup is a commonly used artificial sweetener in foods. High-fructose corn syrup is a hydrolyzed version of ordinary corn syrup, which is produced via a steeping process. It is so widely used because it is both economically favorable and it helps to preserve food for extended periods of time. However, the drawbacks of high-fructose corn syrup include issues like potential obesity, diabetes, loss of liver function, malnutrition, and cancer. The fact that the producers of high-fructose corn syrup can deceive people that HFCS is harmless makes matters worse.
Studies show that high fructose corn syrup fat. The article “sweet confusion” Say’s that high fructose corn syrup started out as a scientific achievement. After high fructose corn syrup was made most factories started using it instead of sugar cane because it was a lot cheaper. Which is bad because now the factories are mainly only using high fructose corn syrup, which is also really bad for you and they have yet to find that out. This done by “After factories started using high fructose corn syrup obesity rates grew rapidly.” (Beil, Laura, 2013) So then people began to wonder if the unnatural sweetener was the effect of why the rates were growing.“Beil then exams science designed to look for any health effects specific to fructose.” (Beil,
Makes sense for businesses for being cheaper it has thus replaced other forms of sugar in a disturbingly large number of manufactured foods. Even worse is that most high fructose corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn.
Warning that America's health was at risk because of all of these new substances in food could reverse many health gains achieved in recent decades, the startling news report prompted scientists into new research pertaining to the causes of obesity. The process through which high fructose corn syrup is made is quite complex. “Specialized enzymes turn the majority of the glucose molecules that are found in corn into fructose, which makes the substance substantially sweeter” (Guggenheim 148). This ninety percent fructose syrup mixture is then combined with regular corn syrup, which is one hundred percent glucose molecules, to get the right percentage and balance of fructose and glucose. The final product is a translucent and clear liquid with high viscosity that is roughly as sweet as sugar. “The name high fructose corn syrup is misleading because it is high in fructose only in relation to regular corn syrup, but not to sugar” (“High Fructose Corn Syrup Facts”). The version of high fructose corn syrup used in carbonated beverages and other sweetened drinks consists of fifty-five percent fructose and forty-five percent glucose, very similar to plain white sugar, which is fifty percent fructose and fifty percent glucose. The form of high fructose corn syrup used in other products like baked goods, fruit preservatives, cookies, yogurts, and other food products are forty-two percent fructose and fifty-eight percent glucose, is actually lower in fructose than white
This activity is to teach participants how to understand what their food label means. This activity will be a part of the “Are you smarter than a Food Label”. Participants who take part in learning about how they can better understand their food label and will be given a goodie bag which consist of a granola bar, bottle water, Crystal Light and pencil, while supplies last. Copies of “The Nutrition Fact Label” will be available on the table. This activity will be used to draw participants into taking part of the “Are you Smarter than a Food Label”
Abstract: The use of high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in various food and drink products has drastically affected the American people in the last three decades. Dominating 55% of the sweetener market because of its industrial benefits, HFCS’s increased use has caused dramatic effects in its consumers, including upsetting normal hormonal functions, destroying vital organs, nerves, and throwing off the body’s mineral balance. As the use of HFCS increased, the rates of obesity, diabetes, and related health problems have escalated, resulting in a nationwide epidemic.
High fructose corn syrup is one of the main causes of the rise in obesity rates in america. In Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma he writes “National health and nutrition examination survey results from 1976 to 2006 show an alarming increase in the percentage of obese children ages 6-19” pg.92, This is especially important because along with obesity means risks of diabetes, heart disease, shorter life span, and many other unpleasant things. Michael Pollan also writes “every year approximately 500 million bushels of corn are turned into hfcs. One bushel of corn yields 33 pounds of hfcs, that's more than 16 billion pounds of hfcs a year” pg.93. Which is a lot of high fructose corn syrup that is being manufactured and
Obesity and its subsequent ailments are regarded as the leading cause(s) of death in the United States and many other parts of the world. As such, much deserved attention and controversy has been brought worldwide. Many people place blame for this relatively recent epidemic on the shoulders of high-fructose corn syrup, an artificial sweetener whose use has increased for many years alongside the rates of childhood and adult obesity. While they are not entirely incorrect in assuming a widespread increase in added sugars would result in more calories per product, more calories consumed, and therefore more calories stored in bodily tissue, high-fructose corn syrup alone is not solely to blame for this phenomenon.
One reason is that it can prevent obesity. In “should the government regulate what we eat and drink” Bert Glass explains how “advocates that support the ban on trans fat are quick to point out the negative health effects of consuming food prepared with the banned item. He also states that, “trans fats can raise our level of “bad” cholesterol while also lowering our “good” cholesterol levels, both of which contribute to heart disease. In the text Bert gives an example of what trans fat can do and how it can affect our body. He also talks about how trans fat can contribute to heart disease which is a disease nobody wants to get.
Health concerns have been raised about high fructose corn syrup, which allege contribution to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Critics of the extensive use of HFCS in food sweetening argue that the highly processed substance is more harmful to humans than regular sugar, contributing to weight gain by affecting normal appetite functions and that in some foods HFCS may be a source of mercury a known neurotoxin. Yeah, a NEUROTOXIN!
The state of the American Health in the U.S has become an increasing concern of many Americans. An article entitled “11 Facts about American Eating Habits,” addresses the state of food in the U.S by stating, “Healthiness of the food we eat decreases by 1.7 percent for every hour that passes in the day.” Experts and scientists in the U.S has raised questions about regarding the different ways food is now being produced. While individuals are usually not aware of the ingredients that food contains, many people continue to have unhealthy eating habits. In the past few decades, food production has included numerous artificial ingredients that are said to be the cause of various health problems. Various artificial ingredients that are commonly
There are many trans fats in the foods that seem healthy that is why people should watch what they eat and take care of their bodies as much as they can. One might not know this, but trans fats are formed when oils that are liquid at room temperature are mixed with hydrogen and become solid fats. People will not be able to notice when they are consuming these trans fats because they have a taste and texture that many consumers find desirable. Trans fats can raise our level of “bad” cholesterol while also lowering our “good” cholesterol levels which can contribute to heart disease. These can also lead to a numerous amount of health problems requiring medical
nowadays, people do not know what they are eating. The majority of most Americans would not be able to pronounce the names of the ingredients listed on the package of the last snack food they consumed. Consumers “ignore certain critical questions about the quality and the cost of what they are sold: How fresh is it? How clean or pure is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? … When the food has been manufactured or “processed” or “precooked,” how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value?” (Berry, 24) It is of utmost importance that we understand what the food that lines the grocery store shelves is actually
Sugar is, and has always been, unavoidable; conversely, sugar has not always been toxic. Naturally abundant and technically enhanced, this substance has followed in the footsteps of tobacco and alcohol, becoming just as unhealthy and ultimately lethal. And, without the implementation of government