I've been learning more about sweeteners, and I was surprised to learn how many common ingredients you see on labels are derived from cornstarch. According to the Sugar Association, sweeteners created through cornstarch hydrolysis include:
- Dextrose
- Corn syrup
- Corn syrup solids
- Maltodextrin, Dextrin
- High fructose corn syrup
- Crystalline fructose
Cornstarch, by itself, is typically used as a thickener in foods. It can also be found in baby powder and makeup. In my bid to shed these 25 pounds, I have done my darnedest to stay clear of foods with cornstarch in it like sweet & sour pork/chicken, creamy style soups, and gravies. I find that when I eat foods with cornstarch in it, I gain weight very easily and the extra lbs stick around stubbornly unless I stop eating it.
What I found surprising on this list was Crystalline fructose. For some reason, I thought it was derived from fruit, and who knows where I got that thought from. Crystalline fructose is one of the main ingredients in my favorite drink of late Vitamin Water. When I was weaning from the Diet Coke, I replaced the diet soda with the fruity Vitamin Water, and was drinking about 2 bottles of the stuff a day thinking that it was better for me than the Diet Coke, but now I wonder.
So, this week I did an experiment and stopped drinking Vitamin Water drinks, and stopped consuming any foods or drinks that had any of those cornstarch derived sweeteners in them. In 3 days, I dropped 1.2 pounds doing nothing different except laying off the cornstarch based stuff. Now, my curiosity is really piqued and I am going to continue to lay off the cornstarch based sweeteners and see if that will have any affect on shedding these last 6 pounds that have been stubbornly not wanting to leave my body. It will be interesting to see no doubt.