The High Cost of Ketchup

Stop! Before you squeeze that ketchup bottle, consider this.

Store-bought ketchup is more than unhealthy. Consuming this product overtime may be downright dangerous. There are many harmful brands of ketchup out there, but let's pick on Heinz.

Heinz Ketchup contains these disturbing ingredients:

Tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, natural flavoring.

 

Let's look at the offenders one by one and see what harm they can cause.

Tomato concentrate

Don't be fooled into thinking you're getting the nutritious benefits of eating tomatoes. You're not. Tomato concentrate comes from cooking tomatoes, stripping them of their skin and seeds, and then cooking them again. The cooking is done over high heat for several hours, and the heat strips the tomatoes of their naturally occurring minerals and vitamins.

High Fructose Corn Syrup and Distilled Vinegar

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and distilled vinegar are made from genetically modified corn, which is laced with chemicals and pesticides. HFCS spikes blood sugar levels and can damage the liver. It has also been linked to many unhealthy outcomes, such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

And if that's not enough, mercury can be found lurking in the shadows of this toxic terror. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy released a report in 2009 that says HFCS is made with caustic soda "to separate corn starch from the corn kernel," and for quite some time mercury-grade caustic soda has been used.

Unfortunately, consumers don't know which form of caustic soda was used to make the food they're about to eat.

Sugar

Heinz Tomato Ketchup contains 23.6 grams of sugar per 100 grams (almost 8 US tablespoons). Consider how much ketchup you put on your food. It could add up to an alarming amount of sugar from this one product during one meal. The American Heart Association gives these maximums for daily consumption of sugar:

• Women 25 grams (about 2 tablespoons)
• Men 36 (about 3 tablespoons)

The American Heart Association warns that too much sugar may put you at higher risk for:  

• Cardiovascular disease
• Cognitive problems, including dementia and Alzheimer's
• Colon cancer
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease
• Obesity
• Pancreatic cancer
• Retina, muscle and nerve damage

The bottom line is that this product is devoid of nutritional value. But don't worry. You can still have a life that includes ketchup. There are healthy, organic products on the market, or you can make your own. Click here for Suzette's fermented ketchup recipes.