High Fructose Corn Syrup Commercials
September 15th, 2008 · Filed Under: Abs Nutrition
I just watched two television commercials that said high fructose corn syrup is ok to eat.
Are you kidding me?
Is this what we’ve come to?
Are we now just waving the white flag and giving up?
Are we saying that obesity is fine and dandy?
Are we saying that the rise in Type II Diabetes doesn’t mean anything to us?
Are you OK with your kids getting sick and fat and diseased?
Do you want to continue to put this type of garbage in your body?
Look, High Fructose Corn Syrup is 20% cheaper than sugar.
It’s a 4.5 BILLION dollar industry.
It came to the market in the late 70’s, obesity levels at that time were stable.
Now 50% of our sweeteners are HFCS derived.
Per person consumption is at a 73.5 lbs PER YEAR.
That’s a lot of sweetener!!
Obesity rates in teens have TRIPLED
You do the math.
These kinds of commercials need to be banned from the airways as soon as possible.
If you haven’t seen the commercials I’m talking about, you can view them below.
And I would love for you to leave your comments.
Have an amazing day.
Scott
September 15th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I’ve been saying the same thing about these commercials. Totally sickening! How does anyone buy into that crap? I agree these need to be taken off the air.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Thanks for posting this Scott!
Educated, Inform, and provide some real answers!
-jh
September 15th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Hmmm. Okay, so I guess it’s not even fine in moderation?
September 15th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
DK - Per person consumption is at a 73.5 lbs PER YEAR.
I don’t think that’s moderation. Do you?
Scott
September 15th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I don’t agree with all of your views and opinions, but this one I side with you on 100%. The best thing to do at this point and time is to send a mass email to the source, commenting on their deceitful colorization of HFCS. If you need the website or email address just let me know - I send them an email every day. Stop buying ANY products with HFCS. If you are gonna do it - do it right!
September 15th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Scott,
I also wrote about this on my blog as soon as I saw this commercial! Unbelievable that they are allowing this to be aired on TV w/the obesity rate the way that it is! Totally irresponsible. No surprise that it was sponsored by the Corn Refiner’s Association. I would love to see commercials where fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are promoted as part of a healthy lifestyle. Until then, I’m keeping the TV off!
Angie Jones
http://www.thestressmovie.com
http://fitbusinesswoman.wordpress.com/
September 15th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
The problem with HFS is their is no way to take it in moderation! Look at the labels..it is in just about everything! That is a fact.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I don’t watch much of the idiot box, so I haven’t seen these. It would be VERY interesting to see how “moderation” is defined. Regardless, don’t eat (or drink) stuff with that garbage in it…
September 15th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I think the key to these commercials is that they say “fine in moderation”. Most people that are overweight have lost sight of how to determine moderation. Drinking a soda every now and then…like maybe one a month is not going to do much damage. Consuming large quantities daily is a different matter. It’s each person’s personal resposibility to eat healthy and be sure their children do the same…so I would hope some silly commercial wouldn’t convince someone that now sugary drinks and snacks are great for everyday.
September 15th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I completely agree with you all on this. I saw these and was quite amused. Stats like these are just numbers people twist to convince themselves of truth. Nevermind that HFCS is second on the ingredients list of just about everything it is in. These commercials are crap. People need to be educated on what real food is. Next thing you know the flour industry is going to come out with a commercial about how the whole grain revolution is unnecessary and unsubstantiated.
September 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Scott, I totally agree –these commercials are sickening! I’ve been avoiding HFCS for about a year now because my daughter has some weight issues and her pediatrician told me to avoid it. I read every label when I go to the grocery store and I do a lot of organic items to avoid it. It’s not an easy task, it’s in everything from ketchup to salad dressing and bread for heaven sakes! I was even starting to notice that some food manufacturers starting listing “No HFCS” on their label if they changed their recipe. These commercials seem like a step backward.
September 15th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Sad to say, the people who most need to know that these commercials are a load of crap, more than likely aren’t visiting your blog or subscribing to your newsletter!
Keep up the good work.
September 15th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I’ve been saying the same thing!
September 15th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Since the 80s virtually all sodas and most of the fruit drinks sold in our supermarkets have been sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup - after water, corn sweetener is their principal ingredient.The cleverest thing to do with a bushel of corn is to refine it into thirty-three pounds of high fructose corn syrup. As a result HFCS has now become the leading source of sweetness in our diet. The consumption of HFCS often replaces sugar, but that didn’t happen. The consumption of refined sugar actually went up by 5 lbs.. W hat this means is we are eating and drinking all that HFCS on top of the sugar we were already consuming. Corn Sweetener is to the Republic of Fat… What corn whiskey was to the alcoholic republic. (Facts taken from The Omnivore’s Dilemma) Book!
I believe that High Fructose Corn Syrup will go by way of Trans Fats and be outlawed Soon!!
Talk to your “Nutritional Therapist” now NTA.
September 15th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
First the drug industry tried to brainwash the public into thinking that drugs were OK. Now, the Corn Refiners Assoc. is trying to make us believe processed HFCS is good, NOT!!!! I wrote an article on my blog that talks about the dangers of sugar consumption and unfortunately HFCS is just as bad. The article url is:
http://essential-nutrition-plus.com/health/is-sugar-bad/
One thing is true in these commercials, people eating HFCS are in for a big surprise, but it is not sweet!!!
September 15th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
HCFS are the new tobacco industry, those commercials are sickening!
September 15th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I have not seen these commercials. It would be interesting to see if they are targeting a specific geographic area. I have been drilling my kids about avoiding HFCS,MSG,Aspartame. My 9 yr. old son told his friend he can’t drink diet soda because it’s bad for you! (They DO listen) Thank you for your simple approach to diet and exercise!
September 15th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I saw these commercials last week. I was so distraught because of the fact that the person who supposedly knew HFCS was bad could not come up with an answer, while the poison peddlers made it sound like it was a great thing because it was natural (made from corn) with the same calories as sugar. It just blows my mind. It goes to show that we need to be educated on the facts so when someone puts up one of these “arguements” we have the facts to back us up. I am constantly having to do this with my mother.
I agree with Angie. Someone should put out a commercial touting fruits and possibly stevia as healthy choices. Glad you posted these Scott.
September 15th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I cannot believe this. In fact, when I started watching, I thought it was a joke. I immediately sent an email to the source, another one to an editor for a health magazine I respect, and I will make a comment on my blog shortly.
I vowed to the company behind this initiative that I would do whatever it took to make sure people did not buy into this logic. Moderation, are they kidding? I even mentioned that my husband, who was diagnosed diabetic a year ago, only took one ingredient of his diet and has been able to kick medication for good. Yes, you guessed the ingredient was High Corn Fructose Syrup.
We have to stand up to these kinds of initiatives. I commend you on your efforts and I hope that all your readers will stand up and at least email the company with their dissaproval.
September 15th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Scott, I just saw these ads online the other day and was shocked. I take this as a good sign though. People are using their dollars to purchase better products for their family. Big Ag must not be liking the hit hence this new campaign. It would be nice if all these companies would get a conscience. All I can say is keep on supporting your local farmers, eating healthy, and checking the labels.
Note: the one commercial says using corn syrup in moderation is a healthy choice…but most process foods list HFCS as their number 1,2,3 ingredient. How can that be healthy for you?
September 15th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Hi Scott
One thing I have learned is that when this type of marketing comes from the supplier or industry group of the ingredients it is always going to be biased. You will never hear the alcohol industry trashing individual alcohol brands.
So always take info from the same industry with a grain of salt.
Jayson Hunter RD
Author of the Carb Rotation Diet
September 15th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
DAMN!!!
It’s bad enough that these commercials are promoting the consumption of HFCS, but to make health conscious individuals look like uneducated idiots pisses me off!
Most people are unaware of exactly why HFCS is one of the worse things that you could put in your body and the pricks are capitalizing on it.
I would love for them to shoot a commercial with one of us making that statemement and then listing off all the reasons not to consume it. But then again, it wouldn’t be a commercial, it would become a documentary.
The thing that really ticks me off is that the commercial starts off great… “Wow, you don’t care what the kids eat huh?” So true… and if she could back it up man it would make for a great commercial.
“I thought you loved me” Once again, another great way to start the commercial, and if she did love him she would have brought an apple and some almonds to share with him.
I agree with so many of the comments above. People have no clue what moderation means anymore.
If you love yourself and value your health, you would eliminate the word moderation from your vocabulary.
Sure I have pizza and a chocolate bar once a week. Sure my wife has some chocolate a couple times per week. But we are more focused on fueling our body with quality food to boost our energy, make us more productive, and increase our focus and attention so we can be the best parents that we can.
I get more enjoyment out of eating healthy food than I ever do eating junk. Tell me to live a little and eat crap… I don’t think so. I’ll live a lot and eat healthy food thank you very much!
I love the tone of your post here Scott, and I love the way everyone is rallying behind you on this.
We need to make a difference. It’s time to take a stand.
Scott Tousignant
http://www.UnstoppableFatLoss.com/blog
September 15th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Hi Scott,
Man, this makes me sick. They fail to mention that HFCS permeates every thing available in the grocery store. There is no way in hell a person can poison themselves in moderation with this stuff. Disgusting….
September 15th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Hi and thanks for the alert.
These ads remind me of the “educational” ads that target specific conditions run by drug companies.
They seem innocuous enough on the TV, just visit the website for more “information”. What’s the problem?
Of course you go to their site and the solution to the problem is a doctors scrip for …
their drugs.
When I was a kid exercise in school was compulsory. So was education about good food vs bad food.
Too many folks are still credulous that anything on TV must be right and if it wasn’t the “guvmint” would ban it right?
All you can hope is the executives who promote these poisons eat plenty of their own crap and will die long, painful and ugly deaths as a result.
Live long. Live well.
Rick
September 15th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
This bothers me as well! Consume this product, but do so in moderation as we do not know what might happen to you. This reminds me of the medical industry. Take this pill that stops frequent urination, but you may have uncontrollable oily gas. What a joke! You won’t hear anyone say now these are organic apples, please eat them, but do so in moderation.
September 15th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I guess you can advertise anything and make it sound good with enough money!
They should be banned
September 15th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Thanks for posting these - I had heard about them from a friend, but it’s pretty horrifying to actually see it. And that “it’s made from corn” comment! Yeah, genetically modified corn! That makes it natural?
September 15th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Scott,
I knew which commercials you were talking about even before I clicked on the link. I am appalled as well. Of course you could make their case for almost anything in moderation. What does a child know about moderation? Sugar, salt, etc. it’s all about conditioning your body to crave it. That’s a very sneaky commercial and the lady was serving cheap juice to the kids. The adults having a popsicle wasn’t quite as bad in my opinion.They have the ability to read the label.
September 15th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Hi,
The videos are not available.
Thank you
Nina
September 15th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
These commercials make me sick as well. I actually just wrote a recent newsletter about this topic last week:
http://truthaboutabs.blogspot.com/2008/09/these-scumbags-promote-hfcs-as-healthy.html
If you think about it… it wouldn’t be legal for cigarette companies to use commercials to attempt to give the impression that cigarettes are healthy, so why is it legal for the Corn Refiners Association to try to give the impression that HFCS is “healthy”, when it is a FACT that it only degrades health.
September 15th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I don’t disagree with anything written here, but I have to say that if I was put on the spot like those in the commercial, even knowing a lot of the “facts” about HFCS, I’d probably be speechless for a bit. So, is anyone up to the challenge of giving a 2 or 3 sentence summary of exactly what one should say if we (when!) run into a well-meaning friend/relative who pooh-pooh’s the harm of HFCS? It would be great if those us who are passionate about this could have our 30 second “elevator speech” ready and not have to fumble for a reply or, maybe worse, end up dumping an encyclopedia of facts on them - my character flaw(since it overwhelms them and they stop paying any attention then).
September 16th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Oddly enough I saw the popsicle commercial for the first time on tv last night then received your email about this today. When I saw this commercial I was astounded and somewhat horrified that once again consumers are being presented with misleading information regarding nutrition. I truly believe that a major contributing factor to the obesity epidemic in this country is that far too many people are not educated in basic nutrition 101…..I am not saying this to put anyone down– I too at one time didn’t give a darn about nutrition– to me it was a boring subject…..A few years back I was having a difficult time with my weight(a newly prescribed medication was causing my weight to skyrocket)…After extensive bloodwork and changing my medication I reluctantly decided to consult a registered dietician, not expecting to get much out of it…..boy was I wrong! Today I am at a healthy weight, I have alot more energy, my moods are on an even keel, and I feel great….I owe it all to taking the time to become informed on the basics, then putting them into practice. It’s sad that the food industry takes advantage of people’s lack of knowlege in order to make a buck!! We can fight back simply by GETTING THE FACTS THEN PUTTING THEM INTO PRACTICE!!!!
September 16th, 2008 at 8:47 am
I read every post here, hoping for some content, but they were about like the dumb anti-HFCS people in the commercials. I am amazed at the stubborness by most to believe that something about HFCS is poisonous to the body.
It is sad that it takes commercials like these to wake people up. I’m a biologist and so I liked Tony’s post (#32). He is right on. The rest of you have some kind of religious bigotry against HFCS. The problem is overconsumption of calories with little nutrient content. In other words, eating more calories than than you need without getting the nutrients your body needs. I laughed when I read posts advocating fruits, as if the sugars in them were somehow healthy. HFCS is basically fructose and glucose. There is nothing dangerous about these sugars. Fructose is a common sugar in Fruit. The reason fruit is more healthy is the nutrient content combined with lower amounts of sugar for the volume being ingested.
So yes, by all means, eating fruits and vegetables is more healthy, because of the nutrients and energy consumption needed for digestion, but there is nothing poisonous or dangerous about HFCS. Get over it, and pay a little more attention to these commercials rather than having a bigoted negative reaction to them.
September 16th, 2008 at 10:33 am
The comments from the science side are much appreciated and I will accept it as truth until I am told differently.
The rub against HFCS is this. It is much cheaper to use in a product than sugar. Therefor products are sold at a lower price per calorie. Also I believe the addiction claim is valid. The tobacco industry was spanked for adjusting their products to increase sales, what about the food industry?
Yes, Americans consume too much food (calories).
Basically, our wallets dictate our total consumption, hence a lower cost increases our caloric intake.
One of our local ‘kwik-stops’ sells 3 apples for $1.19. Or 3 choc chip cookies for $1.09. If those cookies had to be made with a more expensive product would a better choice be made?
No I don’t believe government should regulate this at all, our buying habits are having the necessary affect. Scott and others like him are providing a much needed forum to ‘get the word out’. It has worked wonders for me and I never stop talking about it. Help educate people to make the correct choices. Thanks again Scott
September 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am
A follow up to my above post
3 medium apples 240 calories 10 grams of fiber.
3 choc. chip cookies 890 calories 33 grams of fat, no fiber.
Not too hard a decision for the ‘educated’ consumer.
September 16th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Regarding Jim’s post #36… I notice that HFCS was not mentioned at all in deciding the better choice for eating.
That is really the point. I think people blame HFCS for why an apple is better for them than a popsicle, when really there are other reasons.
September 16th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
HFCS is plain bad for you! In a comment by Dr. Whelen a biochemist at Univ. of Miami School of Medicine regarding HFCS “the liver goes bananas and stops everything else to metabolize the excess fructose. The fructose propels the liver into a fat-promoting mode by activating the formation of enzymes that lead to elevated levels of “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides.” And from my personal understanding HFCS differ from natural fructose found in whole fruit because in natural fruit the body receives the enzymes, vitamins and minerals that help with the breakdown and utilization of the consumed fructose. So in other words “You can put lipstick on a pig (HFCS), but it’s still a pig”
I would rather have a GOD made sugar than a man made sugar any day!
September 16th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
HFCS is produced by processing corn starch to yeld glucose, and then processing the glucose to produce a high percentage of fructose, the sugar found in fruit. So it sounds lik HFCS should be as good for you as fruit, right? WRONG! The fructose found in fruit has natural fiber that feeds the beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract. HFCS does not have the natural fiber that helps to slow down digestion and feed the beneficial bacteria. With HFCS only the harmful bacteria gets fed and gastric distress is the inevitable result in the form of indigestion, acid reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome. What fun.
Since the chemical composition is different, the body processes the fructose in HFCS differently than it does regular cane or beet sugar. The hormones that regulate the body’s metabolism are altered. Leptin and insulin are two hormones that the body produces to signal the brain to decrease appetite and control body weight. Unfortunately, while HFCS forces more fat into the bloodstream via the liver, it does not stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin or the body’s fat cells to produce leptin. At the same time, HFCS, like trans fat, does not suppress the production of ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger and appetite. The end result is that the body is tricked into still feeling hungry even while it continues to store more fat.
And does anyone know what happens when your body has a diminished production of insulin? It’s called diabetes.
David, are you a corn farmer by any chance?
September 16th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I avoid HFCS like the plague, but I don’t think these commercials should be banned. It is scary when the government tells us what we can and cannot do.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Hey Scott!
Been a while for a post from me, but I had to on this one.
I can’t believe my ears or my eyes on this one: HFCS is OK in moderation…….ROFL.
So is Pot, Alcohol, Cocaine, LSD….etc. it’s all OK in moderation. How many times have you heard this one??
There must be a board of HFCS investors who are trying to put a good spin on the crap.
This is a good one for Penn & Teller’s show….BS!
September 16th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Angie wrote:
“David, are you a corn farmer by any chance?”
LOL. No, rest assured that I don’t have any horse in this race. I exercise and eat right, but I have lived long enough to see lots of these dietary bandwagons of “don’t eat this! or don’t eat that!” It really bothers me the way HFCS is considered like a poison, because that completely defies reality. Did you notice how in your post you talked about fiber to make your case? It wasn’t enough to talk only about HFCS. Consider what happens to your argument when you have a granola bar high in fiber being sweetened with HFCS?
At my gym, somebody actually created a poster for people to read as they walked in where a package of a granola bar was displayed. The poster warned, “Don’t eat this. It is poisonous! –> High Fructose Corn Syrup!” Such displays, in my opinion, are way out of control.
If all the hype about the danger of HFCS were true, how is it that a very thin girl in my office here regulary sips on three cokes throughout the day? Many of my thinnest employees over the years have regulary ingested HFCS throughout the day. I know many people who won’t touch HFCS, and they are overweight. Something just doesn’t add up.
Have you looked at the ratio of fructose to glucose in an Apple? It is higher than that found in most HFCS by a factor of 2 to 1. The obesity problem is over eating sugar in various forms, including HFCS, and not that HFCS is some kind of poison. There certainly are some arguments for how fructose has different metabolic pathways than glucose, but I think there is way too much hype about how dangerous HFCS is. Treating it like a poison is going too far. Warning about how its use causes us to ingest too many calories is more on track.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Scott - I didn’t watch the videos you posted because I had already seen one of these ads (the popsicle one) over the weekend here in DC. I have to admit that the website given at the end of the ad actually stuck with me (www.sweetsurprise.com). I checked it out after reading your post yesterday. The Corn Refiners Association clearly has decided on an aggressive marketing campaign to combat all the negative public opinion on HFCS. I believe after seeing this ad, the average American will now decide it is OK for them not to worry about the levels of HFCS they consume. Then again I believe the average American eats McDonalds at least a couple of times a week.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
HFCS is HIGHLY ADDICTIVE and is just sugar in another form. I applaud anyone who can eat it in moderation. Sugar is POISON and can kill you! I have type 2 diabetes in my family and know first-hand the damage it can do to the body. I avoid simple sugars and HFCS at ALL COSTS! If you need corn so badly, eat it in its natural form and boil a cob on the stove or steam it in the microwave.