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.
Yes, see post 38 for the book reference. I would reference Dr. Servant-Schrieber’s references, but my mom is borrowing the book. Yes, this is true, cancer feeds on these things. I’m sure a Yahoo! or Google search could also find those sources. His sources include the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet. The book is remarkable, especially since he uses documented, peer reviewed, published studies to show how food effects our bodies.
Hunt’s makes ketchup without high fructose corn syrup. It does taste different but it is still good. The calorie count is the same.
I will pray for you and your daughter.
I have avoided it for the most part for years because I tend toward a low carb diet, and even when I’m eating carbs, I just don’t think eating much in the way of sweets is good for you, be it sugar or HFCS. Besides, it doesn’t taste the same as sugar, it has a more sweet and cloying taste to me. What I really hate are low fat foods because they seem to oversweeten them to compensate. I agree with you, make your own sweets from scratch. They are better, cheaper and you can control the ingredients.
“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.”
In November, 2009, my tricglycerides were at 168. I stopped eating sugar, HFCS, and most carbs (except for fruits and vegetables) in mid-May 2010. I also eliminated consumption of most saturated fats, but consume monounsaturated fats fairly freely (avocados, olives, olive oil for cooking, etc.). By late June, just over a month after ceasing to consume the ‘bad’ carbs and fats, my triglycerides were measured at only 67. My fasting glucose also improved from 109 in November to 91 in late June. I’ve lost about 20 pounds and my extreme daytime sleepiness (the real reason I changed my diet in the first place) is less of a problem.
I’m very sorry. I incorrectly assumed that she was on the path to recovery. I agree with you that the human body is incredibly complex. It sometimes seems to me that good health is a miracle.
Prayers are on the way for your daughter.
bfl
If HFCS is poison, sucrose is as well.
“14 years old”
Many, many prayers for you and your baby. May God heal her ailment and give her family strength and comfort during this time. God bless.
When I began teaching high school in 1999 (a late in life career change, my own kids were already grown) one of the things I noticed right away was all of the belly fat on the girls. EVEN THE ACTIVE ONES who played sports, drill team, cheerleader, etc. I know there is something going on beyond simply eating more and being less active (both also not good). When I was growing up, few girls had the same type of fat bellies, even the fat ones. I don’t know if it’s something like HFCS or hormones in the meat and milk. I simply don’t know, but I think it warrants further investigation. I know conservatives don’t like to think about these things, but we are not immune to problems caused by changes in diet just because we are conservative.
Humans have only eaten a modern diet for a short period of time. We may eventually adjust to it (those who cannot tolerate will die off and/or not reproduce at a very high rate). Maybe. However, we know what we are designed to eat, so I don’t know why we insist on eating things that are suspect, unless and until we know for sure they are not harmful.
Excellent link! Thanks.
A friend of mine said, "All of life is a constant struggle against death."
I think he is right.
Thank you for your prayers.
Soy is a phytoestrogen. That’s fine if you eat little soy, but now soy is in everything. I’ve done a lot of research on my polycystic ovarian syndrome, and I’ve tried to cut out as many phyto- and xenoestrogens as I can. The girls with the slim figures and guts, I would bet they have extremely irregular periods and aren’t ovulating due to what you mentioned and what I’ve just written.
Great story!
My diet is much simpler - No refined sugar (especially HFCS) and No refined flour. I eat anything else, but only real foods without ingredients on the label. I play racquetball every morning. I have a family history of heart disease, but I take no meds whatsoever.
Treat the cause, not the symptom.
Yeah, my Mom had kidney cancer too. She (and all of us) thought she would win the battle, she was a force of nature, after all. They took her kidney, and all seemed well. Doctor said they got it all. They didn’t. I don’t think attitude had anything to do with it. The interesting thing is she had zero risk factors. Not a man, non smoker, no family history. You’re right, stuff happens. My personal belief is that God was ready for her, because I can’t come up with any other reason.
I’m glad your Mom is doing well. I miss mine almost every day.
I agree. My husband has 2 friends whose wives both have aggressive breast cancer. Both women have had kids and are in their mid-30’s. Oddly enough, both families live in the same neighborhood. Weird and scary.
I am really, really sorry for you and hope your mom is held close to God, while looking down on family and friends, hoping for their good life.
Could be, I never asked them. I have avoided much soy thru the years simply because it tastes disgusting! I do occasionally eat edamame tho.
Thank you, she was a believer, so I think she is (if they can see us, maybe they are so busy they don’t bother with us, OR perhaps from their point of view we are already there, since I think Heaven is outside of time as we know it). I’m glad you have your Mom, I am always reading something on FR that I want to share with her, she was a die hard conservative.
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