A Possible Connection Between High Frustose Corn Syrup and Mercury

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has already been deemed a possible suspect in the obesity epidemic. Now, two studies published last month report that mercury has been found in many tested samples of commercial HFCS and in brand name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second-highest labeled ingredient.

HFCS has replaced sugar as a sweetener in many common food items like BBQ sauce, jam, cereals, yogurt, ketchup, and other condiments. Many popular sodas also contain HFCS. HFCS has been widely used because it extends the shelf life of processed foods and has replaced table sugar because it is cheaper.

Given that mercury is toxic at all levels and the fact that so many of the products we consume contain HFCS, I have included a few commonly consumed culprits and their HFCS-free alternatives below:

	Contains HFCS	HFCS-Free
Bread	Weight Watchers 100% whole wheat bread	Ezekiel 4:9
Yogurt	Yoplait	Fage
Cereal	Kellog's Corn Flakes	Barbara's puffins
Nutrition Bars	Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars	Lara or Cliff Nectar bars
Ketchup	Heinz	Annie's Natural Organic Ketchup
Salad Dressing	Wishbone Salad Spritzer Classic Caesar	Most Newman's Own
Crackers	Wheat Thins	FiberRich
Soup	Campbells tomato soup	Amy's light in Sodium
Oatmeal	Quaker Oatmeal to Go	McCann's Irish Oatmeal

Although this is an interesting study, there still needs to be more research conducted to truly understand its health consequences. Truth is, HFCS, like other sugars, when consumed in excess have many negative health consequences. Just like other forms of sugar/sweeteners, it provides no nutrients. If you are concerned about the amount of HFCS in your diet: Eat more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins and limit your intake of junk food!:

SOURCE: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, news release, Jan. 26, 2009