This week’s “Renew You” Challenge is about reading food labels.

The Corn Refiners Association has petitioned the FDA requesting to use the name “corn sugar” instead of high fructose corn sugar (HFCS). Really? Corn sugar does sound healthier than high fructose corn sugar, and that’s the point.

Unfortunately, changing the name of this harmful ingredient would probably result in some people seeing it as a healthier, more natural sweetener. With all the media awareness around the negative aspects of high fructose corn syrup, I’m sure there would be a big push to let people know the deception behind the term ‘corn sugar.’

Fortunately, it is likely that this name switch will not actually come to pass, and you will never see corn sugar in an ingredient list. The request probably did more damage than anything, and hopefully taught the HFCS producers a lesson about trying to pull a fast one on us.

The challenge this week is to check the ingredient labels on everything you eat and buy. Become familiar with what ingredients are in your food. If you don’t recognize an ingredient, look it up. Find out what is really in your food, and compare similar foods to find the best alternative. You’ll be amazed at what you learn.