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Fructose Propaganda
Now that medical science is starting to uncover the dangers of eating fructose, the fructose industry is getting on the defensive. Like the tobacco companies in the past (it actually IS the tobacco companies who own much of the fructose and junk food industry!), they have hired doctors to tout the virtues of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It brings to mind the old ads showing doctors smoking and saying that smoking is good for your lungs.
Web pages and print ads are sprouting up, trying to discredit newer research that shows the harm of fructose intake. They also list the many "advantages" of using HFCS, in the hundreds of products that they are promoting. Most of the so-called advantages are not advantages at all, when you consider that the price you pay for eating "moist cupcakes" is that you also have to eat the poison (HFCS) that makes them moist.
One of the recent monographs they have been circulating is called "Ten Myths About High-Fructose Corn Syrup". The HFCS industry tries to confuse the public by creating new "myths" that have nothing to do with the actual problem, then tears down these made-up myths with factual information that is totally irrelevant. For example, they claim that medical science believes that eating HFCS is worse than eating sugar. Then they "prove" that the fructose in HFCS is exactly the same as the fructose in sucrose (table sugar). Of course, that's true, but totally irrelevant. Fructose is harmful whether from sucrose or from HFCS, but they skillfully avoid mentioning that!
Here is a response to their "Ten Myths":
Ten Myths that the Tobacco/Fructose Industry Wants You to Believe
Myth #1 "HFCS is not high in fructose." HFCS is actually up to 55% fructose, which is equivalent to the toxic levels found in sucrose (refined table sugar). Because most people think that eating sugar is safe, the fructose industry wants you to believe that HFCS is safe. The truth is that both contain large amounts of fructose.
Myth #2 "HFCS and fructose are different." The fructose that is in HFCS is fructose. Being made from enzymatic chemical reactions does not make the fructose in HFCS any safer or any different from any other source of fructose.
Myth #3 "HFCS is not to blame for the obesity epidemic." Although not the sole cause, the inclusion of fructose in hundreds of food products in our modern diet significantly increases our fructose load, adding to the other sugar sources of harmful fructose that we eat.
Myth #4 "HFCS (fructose) acts just like any other sugar in the body's metabolism." It has now been shown that glucose is the functional sugar used by the body's metabolism. Fructose is an unnatural substance to the human body, and is metabolized by the liver to form fatty acids and triglycerides. These are harmful lipids that lead to heart disease, fatty liver disease, hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
Myth #5 "HFCS (fructose) is a natural substance, since it comes from corn." This is like saying that turpentine is a natural substance since it comes from trees, so it's OK to drink. All our biochemicals come from plants, but many of them are deadly toxins. The term "natural" really doesn't have much usefulness in a society that processes most of its food through complex chemical manipulations. The important distinction to make is whether or not the substance is toxic to humans.
Myth #6 "Sugar is healthy for you, so HFCS is also healthy." Refined sugar (sucrose) is 50% fructose, similar to HFCS, and both are unhealthy causes of the obesity epidemic, as well as many other chronic health problems in our society.
Myth #7 "The sweetness of foods in our present diet is the same as it always has been. HFCS did not change anything since the 1970's." It is quite obvious that the quantity of fructose, whether from sucrose or HFCS, is massively greater now than in the 1970's. Adding sugar and HFCS to most of our food has drastically changed our expectation of sweetness in what we eat.
Myth #8 "HFCS is used to enhance the value and quality of our food." When you look at "quality" in terms of longer shelf life, sweeter taste (they call it "tartness modulating") and making powerful acids (like sodas) more stable, HFCS is a winner. These "qualities" unfortunately do not improve the nutritive value. They just improve the profit margins for the industry. Meanwhile, the nutritive value loses big time. A food source becomes a toxin source.
Myth #9 "The HFCS industry is not subsidized by the government." While it is true that the processing plants are not directly subsidized by the government, they do get their raw materials (corn) from subsidized farming. This lowers the cost of the raw materials, making the industry much more profitable. The taxpayers really do pay millions for the privilege of being poisoned by HFCS.
Myth #10 "Removing the DNA from genetically modified corn used in making HFCS makes it safer." Obviously, the DNA is not the problem. It's the fructose. This myth was planted to confuse the public by attempting to draw attention away from their toxic fructose and supplant it with a different "villain", in this case, genetically modified plants.
