by When something is so bad that just the mention of the name of that thing makes people shiver with disgust, what is the best thing for the people associated with that thing to do? Change the name of that thing to make it sound like something completely different, of course? Let’s say you run a billion dollar company that most people associated with killing millions of people through tobacco products. I am referring to Philip Morris, of course. What do you do if you run this bad name company? Change it to Altria, of course.
What is the solution to the problem of people associating high fructose corn syrup with obesity and adult onset diabetes? Change the name to Corn Sugar, of course. What is Corn Sugar? The exact same thing as High Fructose Corn Syrup, only under a different name. By calling the substance Corn Sugar, the Corn Industry is attempting to guide us to thinking that High Fructose Corn Syrup is a beautifully natural sweetener, like sugar, and that (as their television ads would have us believe) our bodies can’t even tell the difference between HFCS and sugar. Funny, I’m pretty sure my body knows the difference between a substance that contains mercury and one that does not.
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.
Revolting, to say the least. You would think with problems like these, the Corn Industry would be spending their money trying to make things right. You would be mistaken if you have this thought.
Rather, the Industry is too busy spending their money trying to convince you that their mercury-tainted chemicals are natural and good for you.
In 2008, the Corn Refiners Association spent at least $13 million and as much as $20 million in a massive public relations campaign about the natural goodness of high fructose corn syrup, including television ads aimed mainly at moms. That’s nine times more than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allocated that year for its entire 5-a-Day fruits and vegetables program. Is it any wonder then that the total daily fruit consumption of a typical American is equivalent to one third of a medium-sized banana?
If something seems too good to be true, it most likely is. Read the labels of the food you are consuming, or better yet, eat mostly foods that do not require the processing to make labels longer than the classic novel War and Peace. It is clear that we must be vigilant in avoiding this toxic chemical called High Fructose Corn Syrup, no matter what innocent mask gets put on it — the poison beneath will still kill.
This is a very powerful and important article, Gordon. We, as a nation, take in way too much sugar and it is killing us. We don’t need any additional sugar in our diets. Our bodies need sugar to power our muscles, but we can make plenty of sugar on our own through the intake of clean, natural, carbohydrates.
I can’t believe how many endless scoops of sugar I willingly — willfully, really — ate in candies and coffee and hot chocolates and desserts over my lifetime; and there’s no way escaping from the reality that every single bite was killing me in granular, but measurable, degrees.
I am so glad we are being constantly proactive about the Sugar Lie in America — and we need to keep pounding that drum — while also providing healthy alternatives like raw blue agave nectar and such.
That’s right, David! The only thing we can do is fight back against the bulge and overcome the weighty enemy! Let us not forget the vintage article “Sloth! Apathy! Myopia!”
http://goinside.com/04/6/myopia.html
So true!