My son came over for a Christmas holiday visit, and we exchanged presents; normal, right? Of course, it is. I offered him a cup of coffee and handed him the creamer because I know he likes creamer - again, normal. This time, however, he said no; he was pretty sure my Coffee-Mate original flavored creamer had high fructose corn syrup as its sweetener, and I told him I had no idea. I didn't know. I hadn't thought about it until that moment. It wasn't sweet, so it didn't matter much. (Oh, well, you guessed it, I was wrong.)
He pointed out that where he has a lactose intolerance, and he knew the creamer was non-dairy, he had chosen to go full-on no-HFCS as well; no high fructose corn syrup added...to anything. That's when he started telling me just how much of it I was eating on a daily basis, and probably have been eating it on a daily basis for a very long time. He was 100% correct, and I was genuinely impressed by his knowledge of the matter. He's a smart guy, but I had never heard him go on about the severity of the side effects of HFCS before -- for that matter, I hadn't heard anyone really go into too much detail about it.
I knew "too much sugar" was bad. I knew that Americans consume "too much sugar," and I also knew that fake sugars were bad. I use monk fruit for my sweeteners for that reason, but I had NO IDEA how many products I put into my body have higher doses of high fructose corn syrup. It's crazy!! Do you know how to look at a label to determine the ingredients? Well, when you read the label the first ingredient listed is the one that has the highest percentage in that product. Look where the high fructose corn syrup lives on most labels.
Tomorrow (in about 30 minutes) is the start of a new year. It will be 2025, and I'm starting a new trend in my life, not your life or anyone else's life, but in my life. I'm going to give up as much high fructose corn syrup as much as I possibly can, and where that will likely kill me when it comes to chocolate, I'll see what I can do to survive -- I think it's a good decision, and yes, one I should have (and could have) made years ago. We'll see if it has any effect on my weight or my overall health, and I'll see if I feel less inflamed or achy in my joints. I'm told that by giving it up, I will feel better -- we'll see.
No more cereal other than oatmeal; yes, I can have honey and real fruit. I'll give up the type of bread I eat now; I can buy the ones that don't have HFCS in them. I can actually do without bread far easier than I can go without chocolate -- it's going to be tough, I'm not going to lie, but it is something I can do. It is something I know I have to try. Oh, and apparently, bacon is bad for you too, but for another reason altogether! Geez! I'd say, "Wish me luck," but luck is for the Irish! I'm not going to claim that; not now, not ever.
Slainte Mhath!
Photo Credit: Pinterest.com
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