Prevent Disease has analyzed ingredient lists on various products and found shocking differences in the ingredients between the same food products in the U.S., Canada and U.K. The common denominator or missing ingredient is (HFCS) high-fructose corn syrup – they don’t use in Canada and the U.K. Some experts blame the subsidies funded by the U.S. congress. Of the $277 billion spent on farm subsidy programs since 1995, about $81.7 billion went to subsidize corn. And 75 percent of the all those subsidies have gone to just 3.8 percent of U.S. farmers. In contrast, the government has provided only $637 million for apples or vegetables. The Business Insider reports that: “Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled in the past 30 years, an alarming public health development that is contributing about $150 billion a year to the overall cost of U.S. health care. Almost one in five children aged six to eleven are seriously overweight, making them highly vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses.”
As its name implies, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) comes from corn, not sugarcane or sugar beets. Created in the 1960s, this additive is now found in numerous processed foods, including many sodas. The syrup has become popular for food makers because it’s cheaper than white sugar. In the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as a cost-effective sweetener in the American diet, rates of obesity in the U.S. have skyrocketed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1970, around 15 percent of the U.S. population met the definition for obesity; today, roughly one-third of the American adults are considered obese, the CDC reported. High-fructose corn syrup is found in a wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise. On average, Americans consume 60 pounds of the sweetener per person every year.
The obesity crisis in the U.S. has always been viewed as somewhat of a puzzle. How did Americans get so large if other developed nations are consuming so many of the same foods? Experts have debated physical activity and other lifestyle choices for years as possible culprits. However, if we analyze ingredient lists on processed foods between just two other countries, namely Canada and the O.K., we find stark differences.
“For numerous suspicious and disturbing reasons, the U.S. has allowed foods that are banned in many other developed countries into our food supply,” says nutritionist Mira Calton.
During a six-year expedition that took them to 100 countries on seven continents, the Caltons studied more than 150 ingredients and put together a comprehensive list of the top 13 problematic products that are forbidden by governments, outside the U.S., due to their detrimental effects on human health.
Dr. Michelle Mice, featured in many Health magazines, wrote an article, “Not All Ketchup Is Created Equal” and found the it interesting that out of the five restaurants that I went to in Montreal, Canada, the Ketchup there had with different ingredients than the five different restaurants I went to in New York and Vermont?
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List of Ingredients in Ketchup from Canada:
Tomato paste
Ripe tomatoes
Liquid sugar
White vinegar
Salt
Onion powder
Spices
List of Ingredients in Ketchup from the United States:
Tomato concentrate from ripe tomatoes
Distilled vinegar
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Syrup
Salt
Spice
Onion powder
Natural Flavoring
COKE
Canadian Ingredients
carbonated water, sucrose, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, caffeine
US Ingredients
carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, caffeine
UK Ingredients
carbonated water, sugar, colour (caramel E150d), phosphoric acid, natural flavourings (including caffeine).
GATORADE
Canadian Ingredients
Water, sugar, dextrose, citric acid, natural and artificial flavours, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, gum arabic, color, ester gum
US Ingredients
Water, sucrose, citric acid, salt, sodium citrate, natural and artificial flavor, monopotassium phosphate, Sucralose, Acesulfame potassium, Red 40, Blue 1
UK Ingredients
Water, sucrose, dextrose, citric acid, electrolytes (sodium chloride, sodium citrate, potassium phosphate, magnesium carbonate), flavourings, antioxidant (ascorbic acid), modified starch, emulsifiers (gum arabic, sucrose acetate isobutyrate), colour (beta-carotene)