About two years ago, I changed the way I eat. Drastically. And when I say drastically I mean in the sense that instead of tucking into a 12 inch cheesesteak and a large fry, I now tuck into curried lentils with a big salad. Because of this change I feel better, I enjoy my food, and I'm healthier. One of the big things that came about from this change was reading the labels. On everything. I hold up old ladies in the commissary reading the labels. I'm looking for one main ingredient to avoid....High Fructose Corn Syrup. When I first started avoiding HFSC's, it was to avoid those excess calories and help change my diet from one of mostly processed foods to one of mostly whole and healthy foods. Now it's so my brain doesn't lose any more precious brain cells. There was just recently a story in the news about HFSC's containing mercury. Yes mercury. Now, generally I don't give in to hype. There are many fish that contain higher levels of mercury than what was found. When the Corn Industry began a counter marketing blitz advising that HFSC's were as natural as sugar a couple of months ago, (*cough* bullshit) I knew I had made the right decision. I'm not advocating people believing anything blindly, but Corn Syrup and High Fructose Corn Syrup are two totally different things, and the latter is in EVERYTHING! There are still items in my fridge right now that have it. Mayonnaise, certain salad dressings, and the goldfish crackers my kids love. But those are things that are consumed in very small amounts (even the goldfish) and I'm still looking for alternatives that I can get at the commissary.
Mercury should NOT be in ketchup or yogurt. Should not. Period. End of story. The Corn people can put out all the propaganda they want, but this Mom ain't buying it! Even if the chemicals they use to process HFSC's no longer (supposedly) contain mercury, it's still a preservative that should not be in food. There needs to be more awareness about how we eat in this country. There needs to be an awakening that good, healthy whole foods aren't just for the hippies or the yuppies. It does not need to break the bank to eat healthy if you plan properly. My sincere hope is that more and more people wake up and pay attention to WHY this nation is getting fatter and fatter. And it's NOT just MickeyD's fault.
