In today's fast-paced world, information is readily available at the click of a mouse. But the downside to the wonderful world of the Internet, iPhones and the like can be that...information is readily available at the click of a mouse. In these modern times of sharing information, anyone can contribute to the online discussion. Sometimes that discussion is grounded in facts; other times fiction.

To that end, one food and beverage ingredient that often ends up demonized in the world of blogs, tweets and the like is high fructose corn syrup. You probably know it better as HFCS - it's that common liquid sweetener made from corn. Unfortunately, some like to spread the rumor that the obesity challenge in America directly parallels the introduction of HFCS into our food supply. The abundance of misinformation on HFCS on the Internet even made its way into the New York Times back in 2006. Yet, in that article, longtime industry critic Dr. Walter Willett stated that "There's no substantial evidence to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity." In fact, that article started what is now a frequent argument by some of the very scientists that proposed that HFCS was an "ingredient of concern" - sugars are sugars.

So when you're trying to learn more about an ingredient in our food supply, don't just take in the sensationalistic soundbites of a select few. Look to credible organizations that have read up on the science - they know that these characterizations of HFCS are invalid and share the science on why. When it comes to HFCS, there are many such organizations spreading the facts in the virtual world. In fact, in 2008, the American Medical Association concluded that HFCS "does not appear to contribute more to obesity than other caloric sweeteners." That same year, the American Dietetic Association agreed that "no persuasive evidence supports the claim that high fructose corn syrup is a unique contributor to obesity." And when it comes to weight management, for some, Weight Watchers is like the holy grail. In an online article earlier this year, Weight Watchers looked at the body of available science and found that "when it comes to added sugar, where the sugar comes from - HFCS, sucrose, honey, fruit juice concentrate - does not make a difference when it comes to weight."

So remember, question what you read and do your research; the facts are out there waiting to be found.