Healthy Food?

In my search for trying to be a healthier person...which I am good at sometimes, and not so good at other times, I have tried to find foods that are healthy. I stopped buying "sugar" cereals at the store and try to find a healthier alternative for my kids. As I like to tell people, Fruit Loops (or any equivalent) are BANNED from my house, because my kids turn into psycho maniacs when they eat them.

Well, what I discovered really irritated me. Even so called "healthy" cereals, put out by the big cereal companies, have a little hidden culprit, making that cereal NOT healthy in my book. That hidden culprit is called High Fructose Corn Syrup. Apparently consumers are catching on a little bit though, because I have noticed that some cereals that used to have HFCS in them, don't anymore. Of Course, this could also be because the price of corn sugar is going up in price.

I know, you're probably thinking, "What's so bad about High Fructose Corn Syrup? Sugar's sugar right?" WRONG. HFCS has been linked to obesity/diebetes in children as well as adults. The main nutshell reason why it is so bad is when it is taken into your body, your body doesn't have to digest it, it immediately stores it. Usually when you eat something your body has to break it down in order to use it, in the process burning some calories in order to do so. HFCS is already broken down, so it doesn't have to do any work.

So, yeah, cereals would be something that I would expect to find HFCS in right? Something I would keep a lookout for? What irritates me even more are the foods that you wouldn't even think to look on. Spaghettios anyone? I love spaghettios, but they have HFCS in them! Many spaghetti sauces have HFCS in them. My favorite, Ragu, has HFCS in it! So, I had to search for an alternative...the brand I really like is Bertolli's. You can even read all the ingredients on the label. Classico is another brand with NO HFCS in it, as well as Barillos.

It really irks me that they put HFCS in tomato products because they take something that is initially pretty healthy for you, and turn it into something that you THINK is healthy (or at least somewhat healthy) and isn't.

So, next time you think you are buying something that is good for you...make sure and check the label. You may be surprised at what you find!