O.k., so we know that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the devil.  Leaving aside the fact that its major purpose in life seems to be to increase the wealth and power of agribusiness giant and destroyer of farmland and farmers Archer Daniels Midland, HFCS has been convincingly linked with disruptions in insulin and glucose metabolism and thus the rising prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes for some time. (Google high fructose corn syrup and you'll come up with a LOT of citations on this topic.)  More recently, a variety of authors have noted a correlation between high fructose corn syrup and a variety of arthritic disorders.  Today I read an article which states that mercury has been found in 50% of all samples of HFCS tested.  That's mercury, folks--a potent neurotoxin.  There is no "safe" dose of mercury. 

Remember the uproar over the presence of mercury in a preservative used in many childhood vaccines (thiomersol)?  Eli Lily, manufacturer of the vaccines, paid millions to settle a lawsuit by parents of kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders  (ASD) out of court.  This of course doesn't mean that anyone has proven a causative link between thiomersol and ASD, but if Lily had no concerns about this ingredient, my guess is that they wouldn't paid to settle the suit out of court--and removed thiomersol from their products.

Now think about how many products with HFCS the average American kid drinks and eats each day.  HFCS is in everything--most sweetened drinks, breads, yogurt, breakfast bars--almost all processed foods.  If there is mercury in 50% of that HFCS, a lot of kids could be receiving a pretty hefty dose of mercury in their daily diets.  The latest issue of the Organic Consumer's Association Bytes Newsletter states:

In a new study published Monday in the scientific journal Environmental Health, mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup. The news is disturbing given that this ingredient is present in a large portion of processed American foods. According to David Wallinga, M.D., co-author of the study, "Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply." A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where high fructose corn syrup is the first or second highest labeled ingredient-including products by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's.

To read more, visit the Organic Consumer's Association's website.  Click here.