High fructose corn syrup, is it safe?

I have heard that high fructose corn syrup (hfcs) is not healthy, so I did some research to find out why. Here is what I found.

Research

March 2010 researchers at Princeton University found that high fructose corn syrup promotes weight gain in rats, even at low levels. Every single animal gained abdominal fat, which can lead to elevated triglycerides, diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

The Princeton researchers say that hfcs is a major contributor to obesity. Source: Mar 22, 2010 News At Princeton newsletter

It's Fat Fertilizer

Regular sugar, made from sugar cane or beets, contains 2 simple sugars in equal amounts: glucose and fructose.

But high fructose corn syrup has more fructose, and the fructose molecules are free and unbound, ready to be absorbed.

The fructose is absorbed directly by the liver and turned into fat. It does not go through the pancreas for metabolism, as regular table sugar (sucrose) does.

Once on the lips, forever on the hips! is more true of fructose.

It goes straight to the liver, not the pancreas. Other sugars are metabolized with the pancreas, which helps us feel full and satisfied with the food. But with high fructose corn syrup, You never feel full. You just eat and eat! I have heard high fructose corn syrup called "fat fertilizer".

No wonder we are fat! and most "diet foods" are low fat and have hcfs in them. Since this corn syrup has been on the market, about 40 years, obesity has skyrocketed.

to lose weight, quit soda and fast food. eat real food. I think it is that simple.

It's cheap and everywhere

High fructose corn syrup is a cheap sugar used by food processors in practically all packaged foods. We eat it all the time, in the Standard American Diet. It's found in fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup, mayonnaise, salad dressings, and more.

The American Journal of clinical Nutrition 2004, says that the consumption of hfcs has risen 1000% between 1970 and 1990! More than any other "food".

Corn gets government subsidies and there is a tariff on sugar. so corn has replaced sugar as a sweetener in all foods.

Our food is so processed that food creators must add sugar to give it any taste. And the cheap stuff is what food creators use. I like food created in my garden.

How is it created? Corn is converted in corn starch then to corn syrup, then enzymes are added and it becomes high fructose corn syrup! The process uses chemicals, heat and pressure. It's a techno food creation. All this processing creates more fructose than glucose, and that is a problem.

The problems with Hfcs

• It create obesity with too much fructose
• Fructose metabolized differently than sugar; You don't feel full, it does not signal satiety
• It comes from corn, which is often genetically modified
• Corn is a common allergen
• It is often used to feed honey bees, and if the temperature rises about 113 degrees, it turns into a toxic substance for bees
• It is used often in low fat foods. Many healers now say sugar makes you fat, and hfcs is that sugar
• It's a lab creation and is highly refined
• Studies have found that foods containing hfcs also contain mercury. Manufacturers have used mercury contaminated caustic soda to create hfcs

About the mercury studies

Jan 28, 2009, a Washington Post article reported that in 2 different studies, researchers found mercury in packaged foods foods they sampled that contained hfcs. .Almost 1/2 of tested foods containing hfcs also contain mercury. It is found in popular brand name foods.

In one study, published in Environmental Health, researchers found mercury in 9 out of 20 food samples.

The second study, by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy,(IATP) a non profit watchdog group, found 1 in 3 foods contained mercury. Researchers tested foods bought at a grocery store in 2008.

To produce hfcs, mercury containing caustic acids are used.

Manufacturers have shifted away from using mercury caustic acid, and they say that 90% of manufacturers no longer use it. That means 10% do! Too much for me.

Dr. David Wallinger, the director if IATP, says, "the problem is we don't actually know where our companies are buying their hfcs from. It's a global industry."

Mercury exposure harms the brain, kidneys, lungs and immune system. Its all around bad stuff.

Yikes.

The solution

Cook with real foods. Learn to taste real food and reduce your sugar consumption in general.

Try stevia for a sweetener, it is an herb. Or use real, raw honey. Make sure it is pure, some honey is cut with corn syrup!

I like stevia lemonade. I mix a stevia packet with juice from 1/2 lemon in a glass of water. Also I make an herbal sun tea and add stevia.

Also note that the label "100% natural" has no legal meaning, anyone can use it. It is often a marketing gimmick to gain your trust. Don't trust it!

Always read labels and avoid corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.

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