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THE HEALTH RISKS FROM CORN AND AGAVE SWEETENERS THE HEALTH RISKS FROM AGAVE CORN SWEETENERS AND Recent studies show that refined sweeteners like high- fructose corn syrup and agave "nectar" are neither safe nor natural alternatives to ordinary sugar and are more damaging to your health. The Lowdown on High-Fructose Corn Syrup igh-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) entered the marketplace in the early 1970s and within 20 years accounted for over half the refined sweeteners used in the US food supply. Produced mainly by the two food-processing giants Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, it is he main sweetener in soft drinks and is increasingly replacing sugar in baked goods, bread, cereals, canned fruits, jams and jellies, dairy desserts and flavoured yoghurts. Sweeter and less expensive than sugar, HFCS represents the major change in the American diet over the last 40 years. Although the food industry made this change very quietly, consumers are beginning to ask a lot of loud questions about this sweetener as research accumulates to indicate that it is much worse for us than we thought. Although the corn industry claims that HFCS received GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status when it filed for it in 1983, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not grant GRAS status until 1996 after considerable pressure from the industry, which was becoming nervous with the publication of negative research findings described in the first anti-HFCS articles. Growing consumer resistance to HFCS is the likely explanation for a recent industry campaign to put the new sweetener in a favourable light. Ads run on elevision and in popular magazines portray HFCS as benign and its critics as bossy, overbearing, unqualified and misinformed. For example, a full-page ad in Better Homes and Gardens portrays a man and a woman engaged in the ollowing conversation. He states: "My dry cleaner says high fructose corn syrup is loaded with calories." Her reply: "A registered dietitian presses your shirts?” Then comes the official statement: "There's a lot of misinformation out there about sugars made from corn. Truth is, high fructose corn syrup is nutritionally the same as table sugar. The same number of calories, too. As registered dietitians recommend, keep enjoying the foods you love, just do it in moderation. We welcome a healthy discussion. Get the facts. You're in for a sweet surprise. www.SweetSurprise.com"’ On the surface, the official statement is true. Both HFCS and sugar, which are refined carbohydrates, have approximately the same number of calories, and both are virtually devoid of vitamins and minerals. For this latter reason alone, HFCS should be strictly avoided. Since refined carbohydrates, sugar and HFCS included, tend to be addictive, it is difficult to follow the platitudinous advice of registered dietitians who urge us to consume them in moderation. In fact, the entire food industry has succeeded very well over the past 30 years in getting Americans to consume far more than moderate amounts of refined sweeteners, particularly high-fructose corn syrup. Between 1970 and 2000, the per-capita consumption of HFCS in the US increased from less than one pound [0.45 kilograms] per person to over 60 pounds [27 kg] yearly.’ There can be no debate about the fact that both sugar and HFCS, with by Sally Fallon Morell and Ramiel Nagel © 30 April 2009 Web page: http://www.westonaprice.org/ Agave-Nectar-Worse-T han- We-Thought.html by Sally Fallon Morell and Ramiel Nagel © 30 April 2009 Web page: http://www.westonaprice.org/ Agave-Nectar-Worse-T han- We-Thought.html APRIL - MAY 2010 NEXUS ° II www.nexusmagazine.com