While working on another project this week, I ran across an eye-opening statistic.
The average American consumes 70 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in one year! That's the equivalent of a grade-school child!
Most arguments I have seen about high fructose corn syrup are limited to discussions about whether it is better or worse than sugar. Did you know, though, aside from that, our consumption of HFCS is potentially harmful to our ecosystem?
Corn is primarily grown in the Midwest. There has been growing concern that fertilizer runoff from corn farms, the source of the base ingredient for HFCS, travels down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Fertilizer does to water plants what it does to corn…it promotes growth.
Algae overgrowth related to fertilizer promotes the growth of bacteria that decompose all of this algae as it dies. In the process, it consumes oxygen, which would normally be used by other sea life. Dead zones, therefore, are aquatic zones where no other seafood can live, because there is no oxygen for them to live on.
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone in 2009 is predicted to be the size of the state of New Jersey! That makes it one of the largest years on record.
You all know how much I value seafood for PCOS and hormone health. I thought I'd share this with you readers to help you understand the interconnectedness of all the seemingly independent choices we make.
The less HFCS we consume, the less corn needs to be grown. The less corn that is grown, the less polluted our rivers and waters. The less polluted our rivers and waters…the more seafood for your brains and your hormones. Plus, the less sugar and the more seafood we all consume…the healthier we are in the process!
One of the most important choices we might make, in order to insure that there are enough omega-3 fatty acids for all of our brains…is to reduce our consumption of HFCS.
If you're interested in learning more, I found a great bilingual interactive website that explains dead zones.