Today I'm printing most of the newsletter I
get from Dr. Al Sears, one of the things I read
religulously. You can sign on to this fine
newsletter at: alsearsmd.com
Dear Reader,
They're at it again...attcking your health. But
they are very clever at it.
The story starts with two mothers at a backyard
picnic. The first mom pours an artificuial drink
into plastic cups for their kids playing outside.
The second mom expresses concern about
giving their children anything sweetened with
high fructose corn syrup. (HFCS)
"I guess you don't care what your kids eat,"
the concerned mother says, "That contains
high frucose corn syrup. You know what they
say about it..."
The other mother replies with a condescending
smirk, "What? That it's made from corn, contains
no artificial ingredients, and like sugar, it's fine
in moderation?"
The worried mom looks embarrased and changes
the subject.
This is one of the new commercials from the
manufacturers of HFCS. Their new campaign
tries to wipe out any concern you may have
about their dangerous product. The basic
message is...you heard wrong. HFCS is natural
and wholesome. Don't listen to the naysayers...
this stuff is good for you.
These folks are worried. Their artificial
sweetener makes Big Buckaluckas. It's already
in thousands of different products. But people
are catching on...HFCS is bad news, and it's
anything but natural.
HFCS is a food processors dream sweetener,
it's cheap to produce, easy to transport and store,
and blends readily into nearly every kind of food
or beverage, from ketchup to beer. It's everywhere.
Check the ingredient labels in your kitchen, and I'll
bet you find it in a majority of foods.
What's more, it's a cash cow for the taxpayer-
subsidized US corn grower's market.
But the "worried" mom's fears were more than
justified. There are clinical studies proving HFCS's
toxic effects.
One animal study found that a diet high in HFCS
resulted in elevated levels of triglycerides and
LDL cholesterol, (which can cause hardening of the
arteries and heart attack), lower levels of superoxide
dismutase...your bodies number one antioxidant
powerhouse, and deficiencies of iron, calcium,
magnesium and zinc.
This means that HFCS can wreak havoc on your
immune system, diminish bone and muscle strength,
make you impotent, and increase certain kinds of
cancer, including prostate and colon cancer.
Nature's source for fructose is fruit, (that's why
it's called fructose). It's not as easy for your body
to processas glucose, the sugar that comes from
starches. Only the liver can metabolize it.
But because it's contained in the fiber of the fruit,
fructose normally absorbs into your bloodstream
relatively slowly, giving your liver time to digest it.
In fact, fructose breakdown is 40 per cent slower
than glucose breakdown, in part because every
cell in your body can convert glucose into energy
on it's own, without help from the liver.
HFCS literally floods into your bloodstream,
overwhelming your liver's processing capacity.
This can lead to liver damage not unlike the
kind that affects alcoholics. Animals given a
diet high in HFCS suffer severe cirrhosis of the
liver...scarring, dead tissue, and poor liver
function. Their livers look a lot like those of
hardcore alcoholics.
As if that weren't bad enough, HFCS also robs
your body of critical nutrients, enzymes, and
antioxidants. We've known about this for years.
Because it keeps your liver from functioning
properly, HFCS causes a number of serious
mineral deficincies that can have a cascading
effect on your health.
This commercial's just another example of
agribusiness trying to make profits at the
expense of your health. The word's getting
out about the true dangers of this product,
so they're getting nervous...and trying to fool
the public.
Anything sweetened with cane sugar is better
than HFCS, (Check the label). You might also
consider adding STEVIA to your favorite sweet
foods and drinks, since it's a natural sweetener
that's completely safe and easily metabolized.
But if you're looking for better thirst quencher,
drink water. It's not as exciting as a pre-packaged,
sickly sweet fruit juice, but your body needs it! A
lot of people are dehydrated and don't even know it.
By the way, HFCS is not a "natural" product.
Several of the enzymes needed to make HFCS
are genetically modified. You would never find this
kind of sugar in a natural setting.
To Your Good Health
Al Sears, MD
JW: It's been a long time since I have written
about HFCS, and trans fats, two things that
make people fat, and are in almost every
packaged food product. No wonder that people
who don't eat any processed food lose weight.
Eat fresh food, fruits, vegetables, and protein,
and you needn't worry about becoming a buffet molester.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
Chairman of the Board
P.S. Dow up, Dow down, it's enough to spin your head around.
thejamesrwhelanagency.com
206 407 3124
How the hell does one genetically modify an enzyme? Enzymes are large protein molecules, not living cells.
I guess "genetically modified" makes stuff sound scary.
PS I'm not a fan of HFCS either.
'How the hell does one genetically modify an enzyme? Enzymes are large protein molecules, not living cells.
I guess "genetically modified" makes stuff sound scary. '
The poster who made the comment above is 100% correct! An enzyme is, in fact, a complex protein molecule, which does NOT contain any "genes." So, "doctor" Sears, why not answer his question? How do you genetically modify something that contains no genes? While I, too, am no fan of HFCS, when you play fast and loose with the science as with the statement "genetically modified enzyme" you lose any credibility, "doctor" or not.
The common perception on trans-fats is a little off base. There are several naturally occurring trans-fats that beneficial to health. What's unhealthy are the artificial trans-fats or franken fats created by hydrogenating vegetable oil. I remember buying Crisco thinking it was healthier than the cheaper animal fats product. I wish I knew then what I know now. BTW the only butter I buy now is the real thing.
I am certainly no fan of HFCS, sugar tastes much better. Trust me on this; go to another country where they don't have high sugar tariffs and buy a Coke or a Pepsi, it will be sweetened with sugar instead of HFCS and it will taste better. Until we can wean agribusiness off of taxpayer dollars and remove the sugar tariffs we'll probably be stuck with HFCS unless you want to pay much higher prices for sugar sweetened products.
Excuse me, but corn syrup is glucose. HFCS is approximately 55% fructose and 45% glucose. Sucrose, or cane sugar, delivers 50% fructose and 50% glucose when treated with an acid, like in the stomach. Very similar, wouldn't you say?
Yo, Charles and Pete:
Worldwide, the enzyme market is a $1.3 billion industry. One of the largest enzyme manufacturers are Novo Nordisk, which manufactures GE and non-GE enzymes. You can contact Novo Nordisk (U.S.) at enzymesna@novo.dk and let them know your views on genetic engineering.
The FDA provided us with this partial list of genetically engineered enzymes:
Chymosin—used in the production of cheese
Novamyl(TM)—used in baked goods to help preserve freshness
Alpha amylase—used in the production of white sugar, maltodextrins and nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners (corn syrup)
Aspartic (proteinase enzyme from R. miehei)—used in the production of cheese
Pullulanase—used in the production of high fructose corn syrup
Thank you Dr Sears
actually I meant "Yo, Chris and Pete"
I can not believe you are actually trying to convince people there is 100% scientific proof that HFCS (high fructose corn syurp) is one "not-natural" and two is "clinically" bad for you. You are using unproven science, many of the studies you reference were done using 100% fructose not HIGH frcutose corn syrup. These are two completely differnt products with different molecular structures. Also, chemically HFCS and refined sugar are identical. The sucrose molecule and the molecules making up High Fructose Corn Syrup both contain the same amount of glucose and fructose. High fructose is manufactured by taking dextrose and through the isomerization process converting the dextrose into fructose and glucose.
Shame on you and everyone else who has a bias against something you know little about.
Oh, and just for the record - FDA still classifies HFCS as "Natural". So it is not considered a "manufactured" sweetener.
With regards to your editorial on a "Subsidized" agricultural industry namely corn, let's set the record straight on that as well - despite the fact our government offers our farmers "Loan Rates" and "Counter Cyclical payments" we are still the world's low cost producer of corn. Thus allowing you and all your friends the opportunity to spend a mere 19% of your disposible income on food. Try living in another part of the world, including your friendly socialist European Union, where you will spend up to a 1/3rd more of your disposible income on food than in the U.S.
Also, if it were not for some of these programs and the willingness of farmers to speculate on planting a crop, you would become more dependent on foreign sources of grain, and we know how well that's worked for us when it comes to crude oil.
In the future if you decide to attack a product or an industry be prepared to have people who have the real facts come back at you.
If you wish to be further educated please feel free to contact me.
For what it is worth, farmers don't get 'subsidies' unless they grow the amount or corn or beans that the government dictates *and* the price per bushel falls substantially below the cost of production. The intent is the keep the farmers from all going bankrupt and no longer producing food.