Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup

by Patrick Hayes⁽¹⁾
Kelatox Products

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a sweetener made from corn that was first introduced into the food supply in the 1970's. At that time we had had a glut of corn and subsidies which made it inexpensive plus there was also a legitimate desire to provide large quantities of food for low prices, to help feed the masses and not repeat the shortages of the Great Depression. High

Fructose Corn Syrup is now ubiquitous in our food supply, it is in over 40% of all products sold in the U.S. While the addition of HFCS has helped revolutionize food manufacture and distribution it has brought its own set of problems with it including Obesity, Diabetes and recently discovered Mercury in many samples!

In a study of High Fructose Corn Syrup it was found that almost half contained detectable levels of Mercury. Plus in 55 popular brand-name food and beverages nearly 1/3 contained Mercury. The study conducted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy which was conducted in January, 2009 found Mercury in products such as Quaker Oatmeal to Go Bars, Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars, Hunt's Tomato Ketchup and Nesquick Chocolate Milk. Since only 55 products were tested this is just a small snap shot of what is a HUGE problem. Mercury, a powerful Neuro-Toxin, is one of the most toxic substances known to Man. It is toxic in all of its forms. Some of the detrimental effects of Mercury toxicity are kidney disease, neurological problems, loss of motor skills, developmental language problems, Multiple Sclerosis and Autism. Autism is another health problem that is at almost epidemic levels. It is a syndrome characterized by impairments in social relatedness, language and communication, abnormal movements and sensory dysfunction. In the 1980's Autism affected about 1 in 1000 children but by 2007 it had climbed to 1 in every 150 children. This is an amazing increase. While not all of this can be blamed on Mercury it definetly seems to correlate to the use Thimerosol(Mercury based preservative that is still in use today) in childhood vaccinations and the introduction of HFCS into the food supply.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is made by milling corn to produce corn starch, then processing that starch to yield corn syrup, which is almost entirely glucose, and then adding enzymes that change most of the glucose into fructose. The resulting syrup (after enzyme conversion) contains approximately 90% fructose and is named HFCS 90. To make the other common forms of HFCS (HFCS 55 and HFCS 42) the HFCS 90 is mixed with 100% glucose corn syrup in the appropriate ratios to form the desired HFCS. As a sweetener HFCS is far less expensive than sugar and about as sweet. Plus it helps extend the shelf life of any food that it is added to and helps prevent freezer burn. This is important because many foods are transported very long distances and may not sell for weeks or months but still need to remain "fresh" and edible. Adding HFCS to any food helps make this possible. For processed food manufacturers HFCS is a

godsend. It is cheap, abundant and helps keep food edible for long periods of time. But there are also many problems with HFCS that I feel far outweigh its benefits.

Sugar is a sweetener that is comprised of 50% Sucrose and 50% Fructose, comes mainly from sugar cane and sugar beets and up until the 1970's it was the main sweetener used in our foods and in our diets. In 1980 the average person consumed 39 pounds of Fructose and 84 pounds of Sucrose. But by 1994 the average person consumed 66 pounds of Sucrose and 83 pounds of Fructose, and that number is still increasing today. In the past, fructose was considered beneficial to diabetics because it is absorbed only 40 percent as quickly as glucose and causes only a modest rise in blood sugar. However, research on other hormonal factors suggests that fructose actually promotes disease more readily than glucose. Glucose is metabolized in every cell in the body but all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of test animals fed large amounts of fructose develop fatty deposits and cirrhosis, similar to problems that develop in the livers of alcoholics. Fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. Pure fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and robs the body of its micronutrient treasures in order to assimilate itself for physiological use. While naturally occurring sugars, as well as sucrose, contain fructose bound to other sugars, high fructose corn syrup contains a good deal of "free" or unbound fructose. Research indicates that this free fructose interferes with the heart's use of key minerals like magnesium, copper and chromium. Among other consequences, HFCS has been implicated in elevated blood cholesterol levels and the creation of blood clots. It has been found to inhibit the action of white blood cells so that they are unable to defend the body against harmful foreign invaders. Since

HFCS is very high in calories but very low in nutrition I feel it is one of the major causes in the rise of Obesity in our country today. The rate of Obesity doubled from 1980 to 2000, which closely relates to the increased use of HFCS in many foods and drinks today. In fact almost 30% of school age children are considered Obese, not just over-weight but Obese. This is ridiculous. While all of these health problems have multiple sources including poor diet, lack of exercise and an increasing sedentary lifestyle the inclusion of HFCS should be considered one of the main ones since it infects our entire food supply.

Obesity which is extremely unhealthy and problematic in itself is a major cause of another disease that has risen to near epidemic proportions, Diabetes. Diabetes inflicts almost 8% of the general population, over 21 Million People, and costs almost $175 Billion Dollars each year to fight. Diabetes is caused by a problem in the way your body makes or uses insulin. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells, where it is stored and later used for energy. When you have type 2 diabetes, the body does not respond correctly to insulin. This is called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means that fat, liver, and muscle cells do not respond normally to insulin. As a result blood sugar does not get into cells to be stored for energy. When sugar cannot enter cells, abnormally high levels of sugar build up in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia. High levels of blood sugar often trigger the pancreas to produce more and more insulin, but it not enough to keep up with the body's demand. People who are overweight are more likely to have insulin resistance, because fat interferes with the

body's ability to use insulin. If Diabetes goes untreated it can cause blindness, decrease in circulation possibly ending in amputation and even death.

Since High Fructose Corn Syrup is used in such a large percentage of food products it is almost impossible to rid it from your diet completely. I highly recommend that you read the label on each and every product that you intend to purchase and see if HFCS is a primary ingredient. If it is then you should try to find a good, natural alternative. There are more and more products that are being produced that use more natural sweeteners and contain fewer unhealthy additives. Education is key. Also switch to unprocessed foods whenever possible. In our society we have come to value convenience over substance. Cut out soda, fast food, frozen dinners, snack foods etc. You can make a huge difference to your health by this simple action. Add natural foods like fruit, vegetables, meat and nuts to your diet. The more meals you actually have to "prepare" the better off you will be.

Also with Mercury it is not enough to just reduce your contact points and stop absorbing any more. You must remove what has already been absorbed into your body. For the past 50 years EDTA has been known to be the most effective "chelator" of a wide range of toxic heavy metals including Mercury. Until now the only way to get the benefits of EDTA chelation was through an expensive and time consuming IV or with ineffective Oral EDTA products. Now there is Kelatox. Kelatox EDTA suppositories are the most effective broad based toxic heavy metal chelator on the market today. The EDTA from Kelatox will stay in your body up to 4 times longer than EDTA from an IV plus it is over 75% less expensive. And since it bypasses the stomach it will not be broken down and rendered useless.

Article submitted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 & read 144 times.

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» left by Marijo Phelps (2 years 188 days ago.)

Very interesting - something is definitely going on with the increase of Autism - Welcome to Searchwarp and thanks for this thought provoking read. Marijo
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