Featured Article THB Undercover
Just Say No to Sweet Poison
As bad as too much sugar is for you, its cousin from the wrong side of the tracks is even worse. I’m speaking of course about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the sugary goo that’s been added to soft drinks, salad dressings, cakes, cookies, and cereals for over 30 years. The darling of food manufacturers everywhere, HFCS made its debut as the ideal solution for extending the shelf-life and reducing the costs of producing commercially sweetened foods.
While it might have been a magic bullet for manufacturers and retailers, for the general public, it’s been a bullet of a very different kind. According to an excellent 2-part article by Jonny Bowden, HFCS has a veritable laundry list of associated health risks including raising triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, reducing insulin sensitivity, and causing dangerous intra-abdominal fat (the kind that’s a precursor to heart disease).
If that’s not enough to make you think twice about your food choices, there is now another frightening twist to the HFCS story — mercury contamination!
Mercury is the heavy metal that can damage the heart, kidneys, nervous system, and immune system. In pregnant women, mercury can cross the placenta and affect the neurological development of the fetus. (Is it any wonder we’re seeing so many cases of autism and ADHD?)
The latest news regarding the dangers of HFCS came to light in late January when several news outlets published the results of two eye-opening studies. 1 In the first study, it was reported that in 2005, an FDA scientist tested 20 commercial products containing HFCS and found that 9 of them were positive for mercury. If that wasn’t bad enough, the FDA, asleep on the job as usual, did not release these dangerous findings to the public until recently…
In the second study, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a non-profit watchdog group analyzed 55 commercial products containing HFCS purchased in the fall of 2008. That group found that nearly 1 in 3 of the foods and beverages it tested contained mercury.
At this point you might be wondering what a toxic heavy metal has to do with high-fructose corn syrup. Was it an accident or shoddy manufacturing practices that caused mercury to be found in these foods? The answer is no. In creating the corn syrup, a mercury reagent is typically used with a caustic soda to separate corn starch from the kernel. In the process, the mercury cells can contaminate the caustic soda, which is then transferred to the corn syrup.2
A spokesperson for the Corn Refiners Association claims that the industry has not used mercury reagents in the manufacturing of HFCS for several years and the study is therefore outdated. But can that really be true if the products tested in the second study were purchased off the shelf by IATP in 2008?1
And even so, that feeble excuse cannot reverse the damage done to countless Americans who unknowingly ingested mercury-contaminated food for 30 or more years, clogged their arteries, and possibly affected the neurological development of their unborn children.
What’s the takeaway advice here? It’s obvious. Get high-fructose corn syrup out of your diet. The health dangers are just too alarming to ignore. Don’t wait for the FDA or food manufacturers to do the right thing. If their track record is any indication, the wait will be a long one.
References
- Washingtonpost.com, January 28, 2009.
- http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013866786
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Tags: heavy metals, high fructose corn syrup, mercury, sweeteners
The headline of your article is to general and little misleading, for this really serious health theme. “Sweet Poison” is often used as a sweet metaphore when chocolate lovers fight to say no to their cravings.
The issue is too serious to present it misleading.
I appriciate your article and thank you for getting the message out.
Wolfgang
This is a good “advertising letter”, but like many, does not give enough info to sort out whether it is a rehash of old information, or actually has new stuff if one subscribes. I have ordered others in the past, only to discover that the actual information is not new, commonly available, and not specific to my problem (Type 2). Hard to say if this would actually be good stuff or not!
Wow! This is huge! Especially since the CFA has been running those ads about HFCS that discount people’s concern about it. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the warning. We need this kind of wake-up-call.
We consume too much and too often of this HFCS. We wonder why we get heart, diabetic, and cancer. Take heed people!
Not surprising that HFCS has mercury. If we want to keep eating sweet stuff, we need to find a sweetner that is not poison to our bodies… HFCS, aspartame etc obviously do not fit that bill. Others, Maple syrup- you need to be aware whether chemicals were used to speed sap flow, and Agave is a slow grower. Honey is becoming harder to find because the honey bees are dying from attacks and viruses.
As a populace, humans need to start being aware of what is happening to the creatures that are here to support us.. plant and animal alike. Einstein said that when the honey bee is gone, humankind has about for years left on the planet.
Regarding the mercury in the HFCS, tuna and other fish, vaccines etc. It is not the dose from any ONE of these items, but the accumulation of doses combined with other toxins we are exposed to. Until the truth about sources and impact of commercial toxins is revealed, the courts will continue to say that there is no provable cause. Unfortunately it is apparent that TRUTH is not one of the missions of some of the guardian agencies and has been shown time and again to be missing from corporate mentality. So we have to learn it ourselves and share the information as well as alternative choices.
To reduce the potential for cellular damage, regular cleansing may be done to encourage the elimination of many of these toxins. We also can repent from the Standard American Diet. AND we can start learning to enjoy more subtle flavors than sugar/HFCS and salt/MSG.
What has not been mentioned on any of the health related sites that are questioning HFCS is “Why are manufacturers using it?”
Of course some mention that HFCS is cheaper than cane sugar. But why is that the case? It’s because the government has placed tariffs on imported sugar that raise the price within the US to about twice what it is on the world market. So in other words - it’s politics. HFCS has been foisted on us by government intervention in the market place, when they are supposed to be the ones protecting us.
THANK YOU FOR THIS IMPORTANT ARTICLE ON THE TRUTH OF THE TERRIBLE HFCS! IS IT ANY WONDER WHEN YOU TAKE ABOUT 80% OF GROCERY ITEMS — AND LOOK AT THE INGREDIENTS, THERE IS HFCS???
IS IT NOT COMMON SENSE TO SEE THAT 1 OUT OF 13 AMERICANS NOW HAVE DIABETES?? THERE IS AN EPIDEMIC OF SUFFERING AND HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO DIETARY INTAKE OF HFCS OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS AND INCREASING OBESITY, INCLUDING SERIOUS HEART PROBLEMS. WAKE UP PEOPLE - STOP BEING SEDUCED BY THE THE APPEALING TELEVISION ADS STATING THAT HFCS IS LIKE ‘SUGAR’ AND PERFECTLY SAFE FOR YOUR FAMILY!! AND ADD MERCURY TO THIS HORROR?? CHECK OUT http://www.SweetSurprise.com AND GAG . . .
There is an allergic response associated with various foods, additives, and environmental issues that trigger autism, but the great news is…. there is a cure for autism!!!! I have seen it first hand numerous times. Certain agencies might be offended by my saying this and even persecute me, but there is a cure. I personally have eliminated high fructose from my body 1 year ago.
THIS IS A GOOD INFORMATION IN GENERAL FOR THOSE WHO TAKE THESE TYPES OF FOOD.BUT IT IS BETTER TO BE SPECIFIC WHO SHOULD NOT TAKE THESE FOODS AT ALL. DEBNATH,INDIA.
While it is clear that HFCS is definitely a problem, is just FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP any better? Is FCS a direct by-product of sugar? Because it is in an altered state from sugar, is it that much better than HFCS?
Thanks for this article. My daughter teaches gymnastics to austistic children as a means to help them learn to focus, and to use some of their energy in a positive way. She is in her first semester of college studying nutrition, with a plan to be a nutrition counselor for children. Collecting information like this helps the families of “her” children, as she passes this on to them too.
There are a few sweetners I’ve tried but they have a little bit of an aftertaste. Personally I use Somersweet from Suzanne, it doesn’t have the aftertaste, it’s delicious. It’s worth trying if you haven’t yet. Just go to
suzannesomers.com and check it out. It’s worth every penny.
HFCS - how sweet it is to scare you ? It makes you wonder what you’re doing in the grocery store. And what about the ingredients in nutritional supplements ? Any HFCS in that one-a-day capsule ? Good to know.
Thank for the information.
I am so glad to know there are people in the world who will not think I am crazy.
I have had trouble with palpitations from anything with frutose sugar in it since 1987. Pure cane sugar does not bother my heart.
When I go to the store I have to read all the labels, and this is so time consuming.
When I tell people what frutose sugar does to me they look at me like I am from another planet.
There is also frutose in honey.
My husband has bees and gets honey straight from the hive and I can not eat it for the palpitations.
I have been hoping they would discontinue using it in food and drinks. Some manufacturers are now using dextrose and I am okay with that. Thanks for the article and letting me have my say about frutose.
It’s a disgrace to this country when I here about these
things companies do for profit. And our government that we
pay taxes to does absolutely nothing about it!
This is just another example of the travesty put on by our elected officals. Their ear remains close to the ground, like the snakes they are, listening for the next corporate citizen to come along requesting their assistance in making profits at the expence of our children, let alone the electorate. Aspartame anyone? Wake up America!