Fw: Mercury in Fructose: is that why soda cause pancreatic cancer?

[Guest guest]

So sorry about the length, but right on the subject at hand... -D

Fructose and Mercury: Is it the explanation?

Schor, ND, FABNO

February 22, 2010

Several people responded to our recent newsletter on the link between soda

consumption and pancreatic cancer bringing my attention to a recent study that

reported that high fructose corn syrups used to sweeten soda may contain high

levels of mercury. These writers ask whether this might be a better

explanation than the insulin hypothesis being used to explain the link.

Last weeks newsletter on soda consumption and pancreatic cancer risk is at:

http://denvernaturopathic.com/sodaandPC.htm<http://denvernaturopathic.com/sodaan\

dPC.htm>

I’ve written about fructose in the past and am admittedly not a big fan of the

stuff, but this study raises our concern to a new level.

The September 2009 issue of the Environmental Health Journal contained an

article suggesting that some of the chemicals used in making high fructose corn

syrup may contain mercury and as a result may impart unacceptably high levels of

mercury into the corn syrups. The full text of the article is posted at:

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/8/1/2<http://www.ehjournal.net/content/8/1/2>

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) over the last thirty years has become a common

ingredient in many foods. It is very inexpensive, very sweet tasting and

increases shelf life of the food. It is the preferred ingredient for sweetening

soft drinks.

HFCS is made from corn. The corn is milled, the corn starch is extracted and

enzymatically converted to corn syrup which is almost pure glucose. Most of the

glucose syrup is converted through the use of a series of enzymatic reactions

into fructose. During the process, the pH of the reaction is carefully

controlled through the addition of either acidic hyrdochloride solutions or

caustic soda solutions. These solutions used to adjust the pH of the chemical

reactions may be the source of the mercury. Both chemicals are known as

chlor-alkali products.

Chlor –alkali products are made through two different processes. The older

method, known as the the Castner-Kellner process dates back to 1892 and uses

mercury to manufacture chlorine and caustic soda. An electric current is run

through giant vats filled with concentrated salt water that floats on top of a

cathode made of a thin layer of mercury. Chlorine is produced at the anode, and

sodium is produced at the mercury cathode where it forms a sodium-mercury

amalgam with the mercury. The amalgam is drawn out of the cell and reacted with

water that decomposes the amalgam into sodium hydroxide and mercury. The mercury

is theoretically recycled into the electrolytic cell. In theory, because some

of the mercury is not recovered; it is lost. These mercury cell chemical plants

are gradually being phased out. A newer, more energy efficient, mercury free

process that uses membrane technology is gradually being phased in

Yet, there are still about fifty of these older mercury cell chlor-alkali plants

operating in the world, eight of which are in the United States. Each of these

plants operates an average of 56 mercury cells, each cell containing about 8,000

pounds of mercury. The EPA estimates that in 2000, each of these plants

‘lost’ seven tons of mercury.

This mercury ends up in the chemicals produced by the mercury cells. From there

it can be incorporated into the food products these chemicals are used to make.

The September study was just a pilot study; high fructose corn syrup samples

were collected from just three different manufacturers and analyzed for total

mercury. The samples varied depending on their source. Some contained

undetectable levels, less than 0.005 micrograms of mercury per gram HFCS. Some

samples were quite high, up to 0.570 mcg/gm. Average daily consumption of HFCS

in the US is about 50 gm per day. Obviously some people consume even more.

This may provide a potentially high mercury burden to consumers.

As mentioned, this was just a pilot study. The FDA does not yet monitor mercury

in fructose or soda or other food products made using these chlor-alkali process

chemicals. It is not possible to tell from labeling which foods are made using

these chemicals and which not.

Using the numbers from this pilot study, we can calculate that average mercury

exposure from HFCS may range from zero to 28.4 mcg of mercury per day. For the

sake of comparison, total mercury exposure from dental amalgam fillings in

children is estimated to range from 0.79 to 1.91 mcg/day.

Mercury is nasty. It is an extremely potent neurotoxin. Organic mercury

compounds cross the blood brain barrier damaging developing brain tissue. We

clearly do not want pregnant women consuming mercury. But does mercury cause

pancreatic cancer?

It doesn’t appear to. While a search of the medical journals using PubMed

yields multiple papers linking sugar consumption to pancreatic cancer, a search

for articles on mercury and pancreatic cancer yields nothing. If the results

of larger studies are consistent with those of this pilot study, fructose will

need to be viewed with greater caution. Even if this does turn out to be the

case, mercury in fructose, and so in soda, does not explain the link between

soda consumption and pancreatic cancer. That doesn't mean that fructose is good

for you by any means. It just means it probably doesn't cause pancreatic

cancer.

Past articles on fructose:

http://denvernaturopathic.com/news/fructose.html<http://denvernaturopathic.com/n\

ews/fructose.html>

http://denvernaturopathic.com/news/fructoseandobesity.html<http://denvernaturopa\

thic.com/news/fructoseandobesity.html>

http://denvernaturopathic.com/news/fructosejp.html<http://denvernaturopathic.com\

/news/fructosejp.html>

.................................................................

[Guest guest]

Wow, Dave, thanks for the great info!

herbladie

 

So sorry about the length, but right on the subject at hand... -D

Fructose and Mercury: Is it the explanation?

Schor, ND, FABNO

February 22, 2010

Several people responded to our recent newsletter on the link between soda

consumption and pancreatic cancer bringing my attention to a recent study that

reported that high fructose corn syrups used to sweeten soda may contain high

levels of mercury. These writers ask whether this might be a better explanation

than the insulin hypothesis being used to explain the link.

Last weeks newsletter on soda consumption and pancreatic cancer risk is at:

http://denvernaturopathic.com/sodaandPC.htm <

http://denvernaturopathic.com/sodaandPC.htm >

I’ve written about fructose in the past and am admittedly not a big fan of the

stuff, but this study raises our concern to a new level.

The September 2009 issue of the Environmental Health Journal contained an

article suggesting that some of the chemicals used in making high fructose corn

syrup may contain mercury and as a result may impart unacceptably high levels of

mercury into the corn syrups. The full text of the article is posted at:

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/8/1/2 < http://www.ehjournal.net/content/8/1/2

>