Maple Syrup- The New Anti-Cancer Food

I never gave much thought before having kids to maple syrup.  Once I started paying more attention to ingredients in food, I found out that most “maple syrup” from the grocery store isn’t really maple syrup at all, and contains artificial ingredients.  I used to use Mrs. Butterworth syrup.  It contains: High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, cellulose gum, molasses, potassium sorbate (preservative), sodium hexametaphosphate, citric acid, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors.

I have grown increasingly concerned about the effects of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in my family’s diet.  It is in almost everything.  Manufacturers like to say HFCS is a “natural sugar,” but the body processes HFCS totally different than sugar.   A new study from Princeton on HFCS released a few days ago, found “Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.  In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

My kids like waffles and pancakes and I make them from scratch as a special treat, once a week.  As a mother and a cook, it didn’t seem right to take the time to make these and then pour a mix of artificial and potentially harmful ingredients over them.  A few years ago, I decided I was going to make the switch from the fake syrup to real, 100%-from the tree, maple syrup.  It cost a few more dollars, but I loved knowing we weren’t eating yet another thing with HFCS, and it tasted so much better too.  If you have never tried real maple syrup, do so when you can.  I have noticed I can use about half as much of it, compared to the commercial brands, because it is so rich and flavorful. 

The fact there is no HFCS in real maple syrup was reason enough for me to switch.  Now it turns out that researchers from the University of Rhode Island have discovered 13 new compounds in maple syrup they say are anti-oxidant rich, and contain anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic properties.  The summary of the study is a short read, and is very interesting.   

The lead researcher, Dr. Navindra Seeram, is quoted as saying, “At this point, we are saying, if you choose to put syrup on your pancakes, it may be healthier to use real maple syrup.”  He also points out that real maple syrup costs more than syrups that use maple flavoring or have little or no maple syrup.  He adds, “But you pay for what you get and you get what you pay for, meaning there are consequences for what you eat.”

Sometimes making drastic changes to our lifestyle and diet are hard, and can be overwhelming.  It may be impossible to eliminate every thing that has HFCS in it, but when you can make a change to buy something, like pure maple syrup, it is a step in the right direction.  Not only are you not eating a mixture of processed ingredients, and as this study shows, pure maple syrup may also end up helping your health- not harming it.