Our Food, High Fructose Corn Syrup, and Mercury

In an articles posted on MSN.com, Naturalnews.com, and many other news sites, report that two recent studies determined many popular food items contain mercury.

By the way Mercury is a highly toxic chemical that causes severe neurological disorders. It can also result in the loss of hair, teeth and nails as well as muscle weakness, loss of kidney function, emotional mood swings and memory impairment.

Reading these articles just gave me another reason to avoid these types of foods. They reported that the mercury is found in High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which if you haven’t heard is a significant health hazard to begin with.

For info on HFCS Check out
Weston A. Price foundation – Murky World of HFCS
CBS News – Dangers of Sweetener Products
Mercola.com – Debate About High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average person.

These studies report that in some of the processing plants used to make HFCS, a procedure creates something called caustic soda, this procedure exposes raw materials to pools of electrified mercury in large vats, which contaminates the HFCS.

In the first study, published in current issue of Environmental Health, researchers found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS.

And in the second study, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a non-profit watchdog group, found that nearly one in three of 55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was found most commonly in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.

What can you do?
Simply put, avoid any product that contains HFCS. But if you do purchase something that contains HFCS, be sure that this sweetner in not one of the first 5 ingreidients noted on the label.

My Opinion:
Your body is not meant to ingest foods that have been processed, chemically altered, genetically modified, or whatever else they are calling it.

Our genes have not changes in thousands of years, ask any geneticist.

Yet we are experiencing rapid inclines in cancer, diabetes, obesity, stroke, cardiovascular disease, stress, attention deficit disorders, pain disorders, and many other creatively named diseases.

We have to think simply.

Drink plenty of water, eat foods that come from the earth, move and stretch your body every day, turn off the TV once and awhile, build stronger and more meaningful relationships with your loved ones, and keep your spine and your nerves healthy by receiving a regular chiropractic adjustment.

If you would like to know more on how to achieve this type of lifestyle, call our office for an appointment, 610-361-9531, or attend one of our workshops.