Last weekend we stopped into a Mexican restaurant for lunch that had this big sign displayed next to the counter.

I was totally confused by this until another customer asked what it meant and was told Mexican Coke is Coca-Cola made with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.   Let me just say this was much better than the mental image I had of “Mexican Coke” – which really had nothing to do with beverages!  But, it also surprised me that this difference was so important to people that the restaurant would have a big sign about it.  Do people steer clear of drinking Coke, but make an exception when they learn it’s loaded with sugar instead of hfcs? I live my life consciously avoiding anything with high fructose corn syrup because if it’s on an ingredient label it’s a red flag that the product is highly processed.  But, what happens when the manufacturers switch out the hfcs for sugar?  Does it make it better, or less processed?  Not really, it’s just another ingredient label trick to be aware of. Continue reading