I'll take the sweetener without the mercury

A study released recently by the Environmental Health peer reviewed journal found that there is mercury in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Everyone knows that HFCS is a very common sweetener in everything from soda to baby food. What shocked most of the scientists conducting the study was the prevalence of mercury in the HFCS containing products sampled. 45% of the samples contained mercury from 0.005 to 0.570 micrograms mercury per gram.

"But that doesn't seem like a lot"...

It is if you consider that the average American consumes 50 grams or 12 teaspoons of corn syrup per day. This is anywhere from 0.25 to 28.5 micrograms per day of mercury consumed. This is an average which means some Americans, like this Doctor, don't consume any corn syrup in an average day to those that consume many times the average.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends women limit their dose of methylmercury to 5.5 micrograms per day. The mercury found in the corn syrup was elemental mercury which the EPA has yet to set an acceptable dose.

The mercury is believed to have been introduced into the corn syrup during the refining process in which caustic soda is used.

So the next time you reach for a product, choose one that has the most unrefined sweetener in it. The more we adhere to nature's ways, the better our health and well-being for ourselves, others and the planet.