Balance of Food

Can you imagine ordering high-fructose corn syrup in a restaurant. "Yes, I'd like to have the high-fructose corn syrup on the side." "Can I get that with extra high-fructose corn syrup?" As the regular readers know, I try to stay away from HFCS and feel like I do a pretty good job. Then I came across that statistic in Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma." Of the 69 items at McDonald's, 45 of them contain high-fructose corn syrup. "Wow" doesn't cut it. The obvious items would include soft drinks, dressings, and ketchup. But then I realized the buns for the hamburgers probably have HFCS. I can't speak to the chicken nuggets and the French fries, but who knows. So unless you are in a restaurant that bakes its own bread, you are probably eating bread with HFCS in it. I like to bring my own ketchup when possible, but I know that many times, I just eat the ketchup there on the table with the HFCS. If you are trying to stay away from HFCS, whether it's a strong preference, concerns about health and taste, or even an allergy to corn, you really want to know whether a product has HFCS. The best advice is to eat as little as possible, or move away from the United States.