Is High Fructose Corn Syrup Dangerous?
Aside from its links to heart disease, obesity,
and diabetes, you may also be consuming
measurable amounts of mercury.
How bad can it be? After all it’s made from corn, corn is all natural,
it’s a vegetable, and we all know that we’re supposed to eat more vegetables…right?
Wrong! The reality is that High Fructose Corn Syrup, or HFCS, is a highly processed clear liquid derived in a round-about way from corn starch. It has been linked to the current epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and other diet related diseases. Unlike more natural sugars which trigger the pancreas to produce insulin and then send out hunger quenching signals to the brain telling you to stop eating, HFCS bypasses this natural process. You don’t feel full after consuming HFCS because there are no signals telling the brain you’re satisfied. Once ingested highly processed HFCS travels right to the liver where it is stored as fat, with its super sweet taste sparking cravings for more and more.
According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the way the body metabolizes factory made fructose plays a role in the epidemic of obesity. “The increased use of HFCS in the U.S. mirrors the rapid increase in obesity."
What is the difference in “factory made fructose” and "natural fructose?"
Since HFCS contains a high percentage of fructose, many manufacturers claim there is no difference in the way the body reacts to natural fruits and vegetables containing fructose or processed foods containing HFCS.
So if a cookie were to contain the same amount of fructose as a peach, would your body metabolize them the same? The answer is no. Eating fructose in the natural form found in fruits and vegetables, provides the body with essential co-factors (nutrients and anti-oxidants) that cause the food to be metabolized as nature intended. Factory fructose forces the liver to create more fat because it alters the way metabolic-regulating hormones, such as insulin, function. In other words, the body will react different to a peach, than it would to a spoonful of factory fructose. It’s that simple.
What type of products contain HFCS
HFCS is found in many processed foods and drinks, including yogurt, cookies, salad dressings, bottled sauces, jellies, ketchup, many low-fat foods, baked goods, and soups, just to name a few. Because HFCS is cheaper than sugar, is sweeter than corn syrup, and extends the shelf life of processed foods, manufacturers love it. But, just because it has many benefits for manufacturers certainly doesn’t mean it’s good for consumers.
How it’s made
Using complicated and chemical laden processes, manufacturers extract glucose from corn starch, and then convert the glucose into fructose. Even more alarming than the hormone altering, fat storing effects of HFCS is another less known danger associated with the processing methods used to create HFCS - mercury contamination.
The Mercury Connection
Caustic soda, also known as sodium hydroxide, is used to separate the corn syrup from the corn kernel. This caustic soda (not to be confused with household baking soda) is produced in industrial chlorine plants, some of which are using outdated methods that rely on the use of mercury cell technology in their production process. While many chlorine plants around the country have been updated and no longer use mercury, there are still four major plants using this 19th century technology. In addition, a significant amount of the HFCS that ends up in our food supply comes from non-regulated plants outside the U.S.
Currently, the FDA does not require that the processing methods used on the ingredients within a food or drink product be listed on the label. The ingredients themselves, such as HFCS, that are contained within a product, may have been created using any number of hazardous chemicals and unhealthy manufacturing methods that ultimately leave measurable residue levels in the end product.
Even though the FDA has known since 2004 that many products, that list HFCS as the first or second ingredient on the label, contain measurable amounts of dangerous mercury, so far they have done nothing to mandate changes in the industry, or warn consumers against ingesting mercury laden HFCS products.
The scientific journal “Environmental Health” recently published the results from a study that found mercury in 50% of the samples tested. Separate studies have found levels of mercury in nearly one third of the most popular brand name food and beverage products, where HFCS is the first or second ingredient on the label.
Although fish such as albacore tuna, swordfish and many others, generally get most of the bad press regarding mercury content, HFCS should now be added to that list as well.
The following is a chart showing foods with the highest (highest to lowest) detected amounts of mercury. Mercury is measured in ‘parts per trillion, or ppt. Anything below 20 ppt is considered to be “below the level of detection”. The products below contained mercury ranging from 20 ppt up to 350 ppt. Overall, detectable mercury was found in about 31% of the samples tested.
Product Name |
Total Mercury (ppt) |
Quaker Oatmeal to Go |
350 |
Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce (Heinz) |
300 |
Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup |
257 |
Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce |
200 |
Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars |
180 |
Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe |
150 |
Market Pantry Grape Jelly |
130 |
Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly |
100 |
Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry |
100 |
Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup |
87 |
Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing |
72 |
Coca-Cola Classic |
62 |
Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt |
60 |
Minute Maid Berry Punch |
40 |
Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink |
30 |
Nesquik Chocolate Milk |
30 |
Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk |
30 |
One of the most shocking things about this list is that many of these foods are primarily marketed to children – those most susceptible to mercury related injury. Mercury can cause permanent damage to a developing brain, even at extremely low levels.
Avoiding HFCS is not easy, but is critical. The best option is to avoid processed food and drinks altogether. If that is not possible in your situation, reading labels is a must. There is no law requiring food manufacturers to list the source of HFCS, so there is no guarantee whether or not the HFCS may be contaminated with mercury. If HFCS is a listed ingredient on a product, put it back on the shelf and find something that does not contain HFCS.
A solution for removing dangerous mercury from the body
If you and/or your family members have been eating foods with HFCS, remember that Vital Earth’s Fulvic Mineral Complex flushes heavy metal toxins, including mercury, from your system. Vital Earth customers with high levels of mercury toxicity have reported reducing those levels within 30 to 45 days using 2-4 ounces of fulvic per day.
Because fulvic is such a powerful detoxifier, care should be taken to detoxify slowly by starting with a smaller dosage (1/4 ounce), and working up to a full daily dose over a period of 1-2 weeks.
All of us here at Vital Earth, as well as many of our customers, are committed to taking fulvic each and every day as an ongoing solution for detoxification of processed foods and environmental toxins. Fulvic is also highly effective for maintaining healthy immune system function, boosting enzyme production for better absorption of nutrients, and is a powerful free-radical fighter.
Children
Vital Earth’s Fulvic Mineral Complex is completely safe, and highly recommended for children. The dosage is one teaspoon per 20 pounds of body weight.
More information:
If you would like to read a complete report regarding mercury levels in high fructose corn syrup visit: http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=105026
The Weston A Price Foundation: http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html
More information about fulvic: Fulvic Acid Report
To find out more about heavy metals visit: toxic supplements