corn syrup

Question
QUESTION: Hi.  Can you tell me what the difference is between corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup?  Also, is high-fructose corn syrup really that bad?  I've heard conflicting information about it.  Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Danielle,

Good question!
Corn syrup itself does not contain fructose at all. The food manufacturers realized if they added fructose to it, it would be a good medium to add to sweeten foods and beverages. It has a texture different from sugar crystals that lends itself well to a lot of products.

In my professional opinion, it's not that high-fructose corn syrup is any worse than sugar in any way--it has the same number of calories gram for gram--but it's the fact that so many things nowadays are unnecessarily sweetened. Why do they need to add sweetener to fruit juices? canned fruits? bread?

In moderation, there isn't anything wrong with this method of sweetening certain products. It's the fact that some people consume sugars (of any kind) in excess amounts and frequency that eventually leads to obesity and many chronic diseases.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I also have a question about making sandwiches without using processed meat.  Are there any good substitutes for pre-packaged lunchmeat?

Answer
Hi Danielle,

Processed meats can be high in fat and are almost always high in sodium. Usually you can find meats like roast beef or turkey that are less processed, in the deli section and they will slice it to suit you.
You can also make a simple salad from tuna, chicken (you can pull the meat from a roasted chicken and mix with a little mayo or whatever seasonings you like), or hard boiled egg and make a sandwich from that pretty quickly.

Hope this helps!
Laurie

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