Since I’ve been writing to you about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and how unnatural it is for you, you’ve probably seen the ads that say it’s the same as sugar. And that sugar, whether it comes from corn or from cane is the same.
Well, it’s not.
If you’ve read my previous letters I show you why it’s not the same and how the fructose is handled differently by your body than sugar from cane.
But there’s another big issue… when high fructose corn manufacturers smile at you and want to reassure you that corn syrup is perfectly fine, ask them about mercury.
One of the steps used to make high fructose corn syrup is to process with caustic soda, which is made using mercury. And when we test, we find that half of the HFCS samples have mercury. Mercury was also found in a third of the off-the-shelf commercial foods where HFCS is the first or second labeled ingredient.
Unfortunately, you probably aren’t going to learn much about this from your doctor. Most are still hopelessly ignorant in these areas. They were simply never taught about nutrition and environmental toxins in medical school and instead only learned about drugs and surgery.
One of the worst toxic offenders you’re exposed to every day is mercury. 6 million pounds of it go up into the air every year just from coal power plants.
This elemental or metallic mercury produces vapor that gets thrown into the air we breathe. It is also used in industry to produce chlorine gas and the caustic soda I mentioned, and in dental fillings and batteries.
Mercury combines with other elements, such as chlorine, sulfur, or oxygen, to form “inorganic mercury” or mercury salts. They are sometimes used in synthetic skin lightening creams and as antiseptic creams and ointments.
Mercury also combines with carbon to make “organic mercury” compounds. The most common is methylmercury. This is produced by organisms in the water and soil, and is the kind of mercury you get when you eat fish.
We also get mercury in our bodies from drinking water, some vaccines, fluorescent light bulbs, red tattoo dye and contact lens fluid. Here are some other places you’d never expect to find mercury:
- Many protein powders contain high levels of mercury and other toxic and cancer-causing heavy metals like lead, cadmium and arsenic. This was confirmed by a recent study published in Consumer Reports.
- Gone are the days when candles were made from natural products. Today, paraffin is the ingredient of choice. Sounds innocent enough, but paraffin is actually the sludge found at the bottom of barrels of crude oil.
The oil by-product is then bleached and treated with benzene and other chemicals to make it usable for candles. Even the American Lung Association warns that paraffin candles release lead and mercury into the air. One study from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that toxic emissions from paraffin candles exceed their own recommendations.
Mercury can build up inside you unless you help your body get rid of it. If you have any of the symptoms of mercury poisoning – emotional instability, depression, numbness, muscle weakness, tremors or ataxia – have yourself checked by your doctor.
And to help your body defend itself, here are two things you can do to protect against buildup of mercury and other toxins:
Take The Fast Lane to Detox – Working out helps your blood and lymphatic circulation do its job or removing toxins from your body. The critical issue when using exertion for detoxification is to work up a good sweat. Working up a sweat will rid your body of many toxins. P.A.C.E. works very well for this.
The principles of short duration and progressively increasing intensity allows for quickly adapting to high levels of exertion. I have never perspired so quickly and heavily as when I condition myself with P.A.C.E.
Hundreds of my patients are using it with great results. T.D., a subscriber to our newsletter recently wrote me thanking me for the program. He said he wouldn’t mind if I passed his words on to you:
“Got the chance to do my first P.A.C.E. workout on the elliptical cross trainer. WOW! I have never achieved that kind of workout before! Heart rate was the highest I have ever seen. Calorie meter was incinerated, and the distance was more than I ever achieved before. I have never worked up a sweat like that ever.” (Click here to try P.A.C.E. for yourself.)
Push the Poison Out – Antioxidant foods are good medicine to prevent toxic damage from mercury. Lots of cruciferous vegetables and berries give you the most antioxidant protection.
But, there is one antioxidant that your body makes which is your main detoxifying agent against mercury. It’s called glutathione. It resides in each cell and pushes out heavy metals that you then eliminate through sweat or bodily waste so they don’t do damage inside.
The nutrients L-Glutamine (1,000 mg) and N-acetyl cysteine (1,800 mg to 2,400 mg a day) help your body make more glutathione. Both are available at your local nutrition or health food store.
Organ meats like chicken livers or turkey and chicken giblets, plus eggs and walnuts also make the list of detoxifying foods because they have a lot of selenium, a powerful antioxidant mineral that also helps your body make glutathione. Try to get at least 55 micrograms, and up to 200 micrograms of selenium a day. Brazil nuts are a good source, too. Each has around 100 mcg.
1 Je Dufault R, LeBlanc B, Schnoll R, Cornett C, Schweitzer L, Wallinga D, Hightower J, Patrick L, Lukiw WJ. “Mercury from chlor-alkali plants: measured concentrations in food product sugar. Environ Health. 2009 Jan 26;8:2.
2“What’s in your protein drink?” Consumer Reports July 2010
3Khan H, Khan M, Jan S, Mukhtiar M, Ullah N, Anwar N. "Role of Glutathione in protection against mercury induced poisoning." Pak J Pharm Sci. 2012 Apr;25(2):395-400.
4Schaller M. Oxidant-Antioxidant Balance in Granulocytes During ARDS-Effect of N-Acetyl cysteine, Chest, Jan 1996;109(1):163-166.