Regardless if your fitness and wellness goals include losing weight, gaining lean muscle or simply leading a more healthy lifestyle, high-fructose corn syrup should not be part of your diet. According to the Department of Psychology at Princeton University and Science Daily, high-fructose corn syrup significantly contributes to obesity and is associated with diabetes. If you want to avoid this unnecessary and unhealthy substance, you should know which foods and beverages do not contain high-fructose corn syrup, which can serve as adequate replacements.
Diet Soda
The primary source of high-fructose corn syrup in most Americans' diets is regular soda. Most popular regular sodas in the U.S. are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. Diet sodas, however, do not contain high-fructose corn syrup. Most diet sodas are sweetened with aspartame (NutraSweet), with sucralose (Splenda) and stevia sweetening the rest. The Harvard School of Public Health recommends that you avoid regular soda entirely and only drink diet soda in moderation.
100 Percent Fruit Juice
If you drink fruit juice, make sure you look at the label to make sure your beverage is 100 percent fruit juice. Beverages that are 100 percent fruit juice do not contain high-fructose corn syrup. Fruit "drinks" such as "fruit punch," generally contain a very small amount of fruit juice and very high amounts of added sugars, usually in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. Do not confuse these drinks for healthy pure fruit juice; fruit drinks resemble regular soda more than 100 perfect fruit juice.
Oatmeal and Other Whole Grains
Unfortunately, many Americans begin their day with a bowl of high-fructose corn syrup in the form of a high-sugar breakfast cereal. Oatmeal, however, is a more healthy alternative that does not have high fructose corn syrup. Many whole grain foods such as whole wheat pasta are healthful carbohydrate sources that do not contain high-fructose corn syrup. You need to be vigilant when buying bread, however. Many commercially sold breads contain high-fructose corn syrup, even if they appear to be healthy because they are enriched with vitamins and minerals and might have high amounts of fiber. A look at the ingredients list will reveal if high-fructose corn syrup is in your bread. Brown University says there are plenty of breads that do not have high-fructose corn syrup.
Organic Foods
If you are trying to completely avoid high-fructose corn syrup, eating only organic foods is a surefire way to accomplish this. Organic foods and beverages do not have high-fructose corn syrup or any other added sweeteners, according to "The Trail," the student newspaper of the University of Puget Sound. Organic foods and drinks do not contain any artificial sweeteners either. Organic foods such as vegetables, lean protein, eggs, nonfat dairy and whole fruit are all healthy choices that do not have high-fructose corn syrup.
References
- Princeton University: A Sweet Problem -- Princeton Researchers Find That High-Fructose Corn Syrup Prompts Considerably More Weight Gain
- Science Daily: Soda Warning? High-Fructose Corn Syrup Linked To Diabetes, New Study Suggests
- Harvard School of Public Health: Sugary Drinks or Diet Drinks -- What's the Best Choice?
- Brown University: Food as Medicine -- Drinks
- "The Puget Sound Trail": Food Reform Should Be a Priority
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