The news that the consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) might be dropping is the one positive note in the story on the Wisconsin State Journal’s front page Sept. 15. Unfortunately, the story is one-sided and out-of-date in terms of its research analysis.

It’s not surprising that HFCS manufacturers are trying to change the name of the product that is inciting calls for bans from concerned moms to city councils to grocery chains.

Sales are dropping; money is being lost. By all means, don’t encourage farmers to grow healthier food – rename and rebrand!

The article claims there is little scientific evidence that HFCS is more likely to cause obesity, thereby conveniently ignoring research such as the study by Princeton University which showed HFCS leads to more weight gain than regular table sugar, even when calorie intake is the same.

That is significant. The same amount of calories of regular table sugar and HFCS doesn’t add up to the same weight gain. The study indicates more weight and more body fat are produced if the calories come from HFCS.

Ask any nutritionist and they’ll usually tell you, “a calorie is a calorie.” Nope. Not true.

Clearly, a calorie is not a calorie.

HFCS users report greater hunger and more depression. More importantly, satisfaction triggers aren’t tripped by HFCS, because it’s not digested in the same manner as simple sugars. Doesn’t this align with our children’s growing girth and appetite, especially since the increase in childhood obesity parallels the HFCS use? (This has been widely reported; it’s no secret.)

The claim that the human body can’t tell the difference between sugars is also untrue. Unlike simple table sugar, which is converted to glucose (and stored as glycogen) to be used by the body for energy, HFCS is metabolized in the liver, where it is treated as a FAT and converted to a potentially poisonous substance similar to formaldehyde.

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist of the University of California at San Francisco, likens the metabolism of HFCS to the digestion of any poison in the body – the liver is forced to handle it, unlike “real” food with usable nutrients.

This explains why, in the movie “Supersize Me”, the filmmaker, who ate every meal at McDonalds for 30 days, developed the liver of a 20-year alcoholic by day 17… all but 7 items on McDonalds’ menu are laced with HFCS.

It is true that we need to lessen the amount of sugar we ingest in order to lose weight; the sad truth is that HFCS may make that impossible with its addictive influence. Have you ever noticed one fast food meal usually leads to cravings for the same food later, or the next day? My weight loss clients notice this all the time. The cravings are carefully designed and heavily relied on (for profits) by fast food chains.

The really sad truth is that money is more important than our children’s health to food manufacturers. The road to obesity starts at birth in America: from the late 1960s, many baby formulas and baby foods began to contain HFCS.

In the 30+ years since HFCS’s introduction, the average weight of Americans in every age category has risen by 25 lbs.

Another consideration is that corn has been engineered for higher yield in order to fulfill the processing plants’ needs. We are only beginning to realize some of the ramifications of engineered seed: could gluten intolerance be linked to engineered wheat; corn allergies to engineered corn; and hormonal imbalances to the engineered soybean? Time and more research will tell.

Good resources for more information include the movie King Corn (http://www.kingcorn.net/) and Dr. Robert Lustig’s lectures can be found on YouTube, Sugar: the Bitter Truth.