What's the Difference Between Corn Syrup and Sugar?

It's a crock of butt sugar.

Tasty.

All I hear.

" Let us change the name so we can trick the ignorant into buying our poison"

@Rhazes That's exactly what my initial thought was. Americans are often viewed as ignorant when it comes to topics such as this and therefore labels are often "dumbed down" for the masses. It's really just a lack of research.

Most of society is looking for what's easy and convenient and often take what is being presented at face value rather than doing a little bit of research before they try. Same thing goes with shopping, shop around instead of just accepting the impression you're getting a "great deal".

rhazes so agree with you. we americans will believe anything corporate america tells us. we have our heads buried.

I hear stevia's better than sugar. It's sweet like sugar but it's good for your digestive system and it's suitable for people who are diabetic or trying to watch their blood sugar.

Peoples should just check things out, then decide whether to use that product or not. It is not good thing, if there is a need of chancing the name of product. The right way of doing things, is to find these things out.

What we are missing is(or not being told) is the genetically modified nature of HFCS, while cane sugar is still non-genetically modified.

If you feel up to a good conspiracy, just research the health effects of GMO's and the cover up of anyone researching them.

i try to buy non gmo foods but it is hard.

the issue is that this is a heavily subsidized industry. Corn subsidies are not just for ethanol. Without the subsidy HFCS would be more expensive than cane sugar or sugar beets. If hemp were legal it would provide a different cash crop for US farmers so they could get out of the corn cycle.

Sebby don't worry half of those "farms" are owned by politicians. They will do what ever it takes to make sure their "farm' still gets them subsidies.

The question is, how much does one have to consume of each to be considered "excessive"? For example, does it take more of one than the other to have the same sweetening effect? Does one pack a larger punch than the other...ie. concentrated? In absorbing each does one sit in the stomach longer than the other?

corn syrup and hfcs is in everything we eat.

Cookin mama you are so right. HFCS is added to sooo many processed foods today that it would be tough if you eat alot of processed foods to not get too much. I looked at the label for a bottle of bar-b-que sauce that I used to buy before I was enlightened and the first ingredient listed was HFCS. That means that was the main ingredient.

yep that is why i make my own and from organic ketchup as the major labels all have hfcs in it. it is in our soups, breads, cereals snacks granola bars, you name it's in there. the less we buy of that crap they make the more they will want to change it as they dont want to see profits float away.

thats rite.. its pretty much the same thing. dont eat too much of any thing is the bottom line

it is not the same thing . when i quit eating stuff with corn syrup felt better lost weight. then i tried it again and it gave me horrible ravings for junk food and fatty food and super sweet food and i put weight back on.

corn syrup is basically sugar with a bit more fructose.. theres no huge diff. I think its normal to crave more sweet foods when you eat sweet foods. its the way our bodies are wired. we're programed to survive in a world of plenty

My solution is to not eat either one of them....

that would be a good suggestion if it wasn't all most impossible :)

Actually Solidarity it is not all that hard to do. Speaking only for myself I am not one of those "on the go people" who grab an instant or microwave meal because they are too busy networking on 7 different cell phones and Blackberries 24/7. I generally avoid all processed foods not because I am a health food nut but because I like the taste of real food that I cook myself.

even if you make your own pasta sauce if you make it like I do because the store stuff tastes like crap there's a spoon full of sugar in it. sugar isnt bad. its only bad if you eat too much of it. and every time you eat fruit you eat fructose. so its pretty unavoidable even if you eat healthy.

I was speaking of added sweeteners but that's OK:)

@cookin mama When you eat sugar your body things its about to get a bunch of nutrients so it's starts burning calories in anticipation of those incoming nutrients/calories but sugary foods contain [empty] calories. Your body starts to crave what it didn't get, and if you continue to eat sugary foods it's just an ugly cycle. Your body will put on weight, you'll feel tired from sugar highs/crashes, etc.

P.S. - Love the sn. ;) Great game!

jiub

P.S. - Love the sn. ;) Great game! I must not have had coffee yet I do not get it?

those new ads they have out make sick and angry with all of the lies.

Absolutely!!! The poster in 2.1 said it perfectly.... corn syrup is geneticly modified, and sugar isn't.

My hubby is big on healthy stuff, and corn syrup is up there with MSG, ... totally bad for you.

erich good for you and hubby.

Corn is one of the most common food alergerns more people hae problems with corn than any other food. Add the fact that almost all corn and corn products are GMO that were basically untested for safety in humans before saturating the food supply with it.

Check the stats on diabetes for the past 10 years and ask yourself if this over saturation of putting HFCS in so many foods has something to do with it. Also know that independent labs have started testing the effects of GMO corn on lab animals and their findings are alarming with major organ failure and second generation sterility and shortened life span so if these findings do not bother you then go ahead and eat the stuff. If it does bother you then use the power of your dollar and purchase something safer. Don't believe the commercials saying HFCS is just like sugar it is not but they are starting to grow GMO sugar beets too so watch out. If you eat a balanced diet you wont need sugar. Your body makes it's own DNA brand of sugar from breaking down complex carbohydrates it is very dangerous to eat refined sugars. It is a grave mistake to believe other wise.

Lisa another one who does not buy into the lies of those ads.

I like using molasses. Sweet and flavorful too. I'll dig up my recipe and e-mail it to you.

thanks i like it but do not want to make with corn syrup.

molasses is not corn syrup. It is made from real sugar.

rich sorry i meant i like pecan pie but do not want to make with corn syrup. i like molasses.

There are many "foods" that break down to similar enzymes, etc., but eating a Twinkie is not the same thing as eating an apple, both of which contain sugar.

And you think that's attributed solely to the difference in types of sugar, not the laundry list of other things that goes into a Twinkie, which will alter the body's ability to process? I'm not saying there is no difference whatsoever, but I don't believe it is nearly the drastic difference recent reports try to make it seem. The studies seem to leave out the point that most products that contain HFCS also contain several other chemical additives and artificial products that, in my opinion, are far more likely to be the true culprits.

Old Coke...New Coke..."nuff said...:)

Old Coke/New Coke doesn't enter into it. "Old Coke" had switched to a 50/50 mix of sugar and HFCS by 1980 (New Coke released in '85) and to 100% HFCS by 6 months prior to the release of "New" Coke. Coke drinkers were drinking 100% HFCS sweetened soda before the infamous switch ever ocurred, and continued to drink HFCS sweetened soda after they went back to the old formula. The drastic taste difference in the 2 was caused by a complete reformulation, not a switch in sweeteners (although the taste difference is noticeable, as evidenced with Pepsi's recent "Throwback" line)

I knew I would be misunderstood, and I apologize. I didn't mean the branding, I meant old time Coke with sugar vs new time Coke with corn. Have a Coke overseas in one of the numerous locations that still use sugar..mm mmm good. :) Actually I don't drink much soda anymore, but the sugar Coke definitely had a different taste profile. As an aside, I prefer my drinks in glass containers. When the taste profile changes to reflect the container I can only assume I'm ingesting some of the container.

socrates i know what you mean.. i have not had cheap candy bars in 2 years because they have hfcs and or corn syrup in them. And yuck cant believe i used to eat that crap.

I'm too young to remember when the big name soda producers used sugar as a standard. By the time I was old enough to be drinking soda, Pepsi and Coke had both already made the switch. There is a taste difference, I agree, but a difference in taste does not automatically translate to drastic differences in nutritional value or health dangers. Both sugar (if not in its raw form) and HFCS undergo chemical additives and artifical processing before they're added. I truly do not believe one is all that worse than the other.

As I mentioned earlier, I rarely attempt to defend a position without a full set of facts at my disposal and thus I cannot state definitively that my theory is correct. That being said, I remain convinced that caution regarding HFCS is in order.

Yeah, mine is pretty much just personal opinion based on limited knowledge, as well.

sugar is made from sugar cane or sugar beets. sugar does grow on cane it is a liquid squeezed out then turned into various sugar products.

Yes, granulated sugar is made from cane and sugar beets, but in order to get it to the form we are most accustomed to (the nice, pretty white stuff), it, too, is chemically treated and processed.

i use raw sugar.

But many, including most commercial food and beverage producers, do not.