Posted on 08/05/2010 7:02:02 AM PDT by toma29
Perhaps it is enough to hate high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because the federal government has encouraged its production for decades by imposing high tariffs on sugar imports and by subsidizing corn farmers. (It’s certainly enough for me.) In addition, HFCS-haters blame the sugar for making Americans ever fatter and less healthy. So with so much to hate to go around, when UCLA researchers reported earlier this week that feeding HFCS to pancreatic cancer cells boosts their proliferation in lab dishes, the media jumped on the story. The study’s chief author even suggested that a federal effort should be launched to reduce refined fructose intake modeled on earlier anti-smoking campaigns. Can it be long before health nannies like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Center for Science in the Public Interest begin crusading against the offending sweetener? Of course, this is not the first cancer panic over sweeteners, all of which proved false.
So before jumping on the ban-wagon, let’s consider a couple of points. HFCS generally contains a mixture of 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. The favored sweetener, sucrose (a.k.a. table sugar) is actually a molecule combined 50/50 of fructose and glucose. When sucrose is digested in the stomach it is dissociated into the two molecules which are then absorbed into the bloodstream.
The authors of the UCLA study ominously note that our consumption of HFCS has gone up 10-fold since 1970, and you know the conclusion you’re supposed to reach: cancer epidemic! But according to Cancer Facts & Figures 2010 issued by the American Cancer Society: "Incidence rates of pancreatic cancer have been stable in men since 1981, but have been increasing in women by 1.7% per year since 2000." In fact, the overall cancer incidence rate in the U.S. has been going down for nearly a decade, even as Americans pigged out on all those cakes and soft drinks sweetened by HFCS. But it would be silly to argue that HCFS consumption is preventing cancer.
The physiological problems of fructose metabolism extend well beyond a couple of pant sizes:
Fructose elevates uric acid, which decreases nitric oxide, raises angiotensin, and causes your smooth muscle cells to contract, thereby raising your blood pressure and potentially damaging your kidneys.
Increased uric acid also leads to chronic, low-level inflammation, which has far-reaching consequences for your health. For example, chronically inflamed blood vessels lead to heart attacks and strokes; also, a good deal of evidence exists that some cancers are caused by chronic inflammation.
Fructose tricks your body into gaining weight by fooling your metabolism—it turns off your body’s appetite-control system. Fructose does not appropriately stimulate insulin, which in turn does not suppress ghrelin (the “hunger hormone”) and doesn’t stimulate leptin (the “satiety hormone”), which together result in your eating more and developing insulin resistance.
Fructose rapidly leads to weight gain and abdominal obesity (“beer belly”), decreased HDL, increased LDL, elevated triglycerides, elevated blood sugar, and high blood pressure—i.e., classic metabolic syndrome.
Fructose metabolism is very similar to ethanol metabolism, which has a multitude of toxic effects, including NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). It’s alcohol without the buzz.
I have a friend who died from Pancreatic Cancer.
Didn’t drink and didn’t care for for sugar.
Worked out everyday and ate whole foods.
Sometimes Shit happens.
This study isn’t conclusive in my mind.
Having several friends who are health nuts die from cancer or are afflicted with it, I have come the conclusion that, yes there are lifestyles that can make cancer possible but others don’t fit the profile.
I also have a friend, who turns 100 years and 1 month tomorrow and Gawd if she doesn’t know what a salt shaker is and has a sweet tooth like no one I know.
Some people are predispositioned for maladies while others are not.
For the most part, I have noticed those who live long are generally always have a positive outlook on life and expect the best for any situation.
That’s not to say that others how are generally happy and have hopeful outlooks don’t suffer but in general, your attitude determines your altitude.(Don’t know who said that to me but it stuck)
Last year my Mom had kidney cancer. Not one of us in the family flinched. In fact, we laughed at the whole thing and made fun of the cancer. Actually insulted it and told it how stupid it was to take hold in my Mom.
My initial reaction was exactly the same as my Mom’s. That God fella is most surely one smart guy. He gave my Mom two Kidneys, so this is no big deal. When the operation is over she will still have one.
Our only concern was infection or staph. We focused on that, prayed with the family, the surgeon and his staff. They were actually happy to pray and felt like that would be a huge factor in the success of the operation.
So my Mom is a pound or two lighter for not having a Kidney that was going to be useful much longer anyway.
1 year later and .... Nothing. All markers say good to go.
Change your attitude and your circumstances change.
I’d be more concerned about corn liqour than corn sugar.
Something like 90% of pancreatic tumors are related to alcohol consumption.
It's not over. T-cell chimerism and ESBL infections must be conquered still.
"Thank God your daughter is all right, and thank God for modern medicine."
She'll never be 'all right' without a divine touch from God. She has no stomach, another child had to die for her to live, immuno-suppressants destroy your kidneys and leave you open to opportunistic infections.
It is amazing what medicine can do these days, but people generally don't appreciate how complex the human body is. Everything affects everything.
My ex is a transplant surgeon who does lots of multi vis txs & travels the world lecturing on them at various transplants conferences. I am a nurse anesthetist & I’ve provided anesthesia for lots of these operations. We have been touched in our lives by many patients like your daughter. Although my child has never been through this, I can somewhat understand what you deal with. May God bless your daughter, you, and your family.
I’m not going to jump on the HFCS-cancer link, I have little doubt from being around diabetic folks who are far more sensitive to HFCS sweeteners than what I call natural sugars, that HFCS is very likely a factor in the massive increase in diabetes we have seen. While I acknowledge that more cases that would have gone undiagnosed in the past are being identified, the reality is - the disease IS on the increase.
Obesity is also, I believe, encouraged by HFCS. Remember, it is “sweeter”, ounce for ounce, than natural sugar, and some believe it feeds the sweet desire in a drug-like way, causing an increased sweet tooth (kind of like the druggie who needs more and more to fulfill his crave).
Being on a generally “low-carb” diet, I try to avoid a lot of sugars, regardless of they form - but I most certainly try my best to avoid HFCS whenever possible. Unfortunately, because of subsidies and other factors, it has come to replace “real” sugar in nearly everything - and is now added to things we wouldn’t normally think of as needing sugar - because it “enhances flavor/color/texture”. Ummm... adding sugar for no good reason isn’t going to help our health.
I’m not in favor of any bans, but I would like to see much more clear label on foods that specifically admits that HFCS is used to sweeten. After all, law says that products containing sodium saccarine, Sucralose (Splenda-class), and Aspartame (Nutra-sweet) all must be labeled.
I think more research is advised specifically looking at the affect of HSBC vs. “natural” sugar -
How about some Soylent Green????
Here's a start:
Making Americans Sick, by Walter E. Williams!
Thank you.
She has a huge prayer-chain across the U.S. that developed over the past few months and I’m sure that had a major impact. How else can I explain the timing of the transplant when the tumor was within .1cm of being unresectable.
The surgeon who attempted her first resection saw what was there and just closed her back up. He told us that he would “understand if we didn’t want to do anything”. We obviously rejected that advice and chose to fight as hard as we could.
God is never late, but sometimes ‘just in time’ is pretty scary.
Un mentioned was the test of feeding maple syrup and honey.
I would guess the cells would jump on them too.
I also avoid HFCS like the plague, and it’s NOT easy, along with anything soy related, which is equally as hard. Just found out in the last two months or so that I have a MAJOR allergy to MSG. Couldn’t figure out why after years of never having any sinus problems, my nose would go crazy for a day (making me miserable) and be fine the next, unlike people who are allergic to pollen and are often miserable for weeks, etc. Then one night after eating at a Chinese buffet, my nose started acting up before we even left the restaurant, drove me crazy all night, and the next day. Dawned on me halfway through the night, MSG? Got up and looked it up on the net, and was very surprised at all the negative reactions MSG has in your body, one of which was increasing histamines 150%! Further confirmation came about two weeks later after getting halfway through a piece of KFC chicken, and I thought, hmmm....wait a minute (now you know what the secret ingredient is!). Sure enough, in the middle of the night, my nose started up and I was again miserable for a day. Home cooking, growing your own veggies, etc., is the only way to go! Like someone else said, better to eat REAL food, rather than just PARTS of it.
Your daughter has my prayers. I know they work, because that is what has kept me alive all these years.
Hang in there....
I just hate that HFCS is in EVERYTHING. If it’s processed you can bet it will have HFCS in it. Hell it’s in bologna!
Soy is very hard to avoid. It’s a phytoestrogen and not bad in small amounts, but the problem is that it is in everything! We even found soy powder added as an anti-caking agent to dry roasted peanuts! My dad was hospitalized from MSG exposure. He thought he was having a heart attack. The ER doc asked him what he had recently eaten and dad told him that they ate out at a Chinese restarant. Those restaurants load MSG on their food.
This is a remarkable statement. Do you have any references to back it up?
I will keep posting this link until all of you read how these scare studies are conducted. 99% of these types of studies are not done for the purpose of advancing science, instead they are conducted to make a political point, get funding or just for pure ego.
This also applies to so called research about global warming, endangered species, and many other political based causes.
I once thought about using the type of study detailed in the article that I posted the link for to announce that the pumping of crude oil had a direct link to earthquake activity in California by creating an uneven thermal expansion in the earths plates. I was however afraid that the news media would pick up n this followed by the mother earth worship groups and I would be out of a job.
http://www.junkscience.com/news/sws/sws-chapter1.html
http://www.knowthecause.com/
Prayers for you and your daughter. Have you read Anticancer by Dr. David Servant-Schrieber? It is a fascinating a book in which he discusses his encounters with brain cancer. He is an MD and a Ph.D. He outlines natural cancer prevention and natural cancer treatments. He makes a point to write that there is no natural cure after cancer has been diagnosed, but there are natural ways to help medical approaches. It is a very good book and uses published medical studies to back up his natural claims. He doesn’t just tell you to eat nothing but broccoli for three months and you’re cured.
Then your car will get cancer.................
HFCS contains sugars that all cells (animal, cancer, somatic, bacteria, etc.) like to metabolize. If you feed cells sugar they are going to grow. That’s pretty basic stuff. This is a BS study to further demonize HFCS.
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