Corn Syrup = Death

Image from http://www.caymanmama.com/2009/03/10/tip-of-the-day-high-fructose-corn-syrup_200903104230.html.

Mmmm, delicious sweet nectar? Think again, this is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, the bane of all sweeteners!!!!!

In case you need another reason to limit your sugar intake, a news-breaking study has linked fructose intake to tumor growth. Some article excerpts:

"Sources of fructose in the Western diet include cane sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a corn-based sweetener that has been on the market since about 1970. HFCS accounts for more than 40 percent of the caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages, and it is the sole sweetener used in American soft drinks.

Between 1970 and 1990, the consumption of HFCS in the U.S. has increased over 1,000 percent, according to an article in the April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Food companies use HFCS—a mixture of fructose and glucose—because it’s inexpensive, easy to transport and keeps foods moist. And because it is so sweet, it’s cost effective for companies to use small quantities of HCFS in place of more expensive sweeteners or flavorings." (2)

"Pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate, U.S. researchers said Monday in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same" (1)

 The interesting point in this study was that tumor cells used fructose and glucose differently, showing that there are differences in how the sugars were metabolized. Fructose in particular was required for tumor growth, as it was used in the transketolase-driven non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway to generate nucleic acids, which are subsequently used to generate DNA and RNA.

"A federal effort should be launched to reduce refined fructose intake," primary investigaror Heaney said.  ....agree.


Post article at (1):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080204793.html

Full article at (2):

http://www.cancer.ucla.edu/Index.aspx?page=644&recordid=385&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

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ALSO:

so, I wanted a sweet image for this post and googled "high fructose corn syrup." First two thing I got? These images, and the yet another Washington Post article about the dangers of HFCS!

"A new study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found that nearly half of the samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup they tested contained mercury, which is highly toxic. They also tested 55 major brand-name processed foods and beverages where high-fructose corn syrup is the first or second main ingredient, and found that about one third contained mercury"
(taken from this blog)

for a slightly less opinionated source: http://www.thorninpaw.com/mt/archives/cat_food.html