Kids, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Mercury Toxicity

Recently I was in a restaurant and observed a family of two adults and two children sit down at a table near me. The children were very disruptive and couldn't seem to sit still; banged their feet against the bench of the booth; yanked things out of each other's hands; shouted at each other and seemed to have the attention of the whole restaurant except for the two people who accompanied them. I assume that their behavior was so commonplace that the parents didn't recognize it as unacceptable.

The little girl of the “team” began ripping off the seals of the little jelly tubs and eating the contents by popping the mixture directly into her mouth—non-stop. So that in just a few minutes she had about 10 opened and empty containers in front of her. I could hardly believe my eyes. I have two granddaughters who before they would even reach for a jelly container on a table in a restaurant would ask for permission first. They recognize that sugar is not a wholesome food and is a treat. No way would they think of popping it into their mouth! It would be spread on bread or toast using perhaps half the container; of course neither of them are over weight either.

The children continued to be ignored while the parents discussed what they were going to have for breakfast etc. and then finally looked at the children to find out what they were going to order. Upon seeing the pile of empty jelly tubs, the mother simply scooped them up and handed them to the waitress. Finally, the noise settled down and I was able to concentrate on my book and eat my breakfast. When their meal arrived it came with more commotion. Each child had ordered hot chocolate and a waffle loaded with whipped cream. I might add that both children were on the chubby side, as were the parents.

I am very proud of my grandchildren and enjoy taking them with me to many places. We talk and laugh and have engaging conversations. I felt very sorry for those children in the restaurant because they were crying for attention. They needed to be heard. They fed themselves comfort food in an effort to assuage their hurt feelings of being ignored. I see this too often. Children need to feel important. They also need to know what is acceptable behavior. We are big proponents of Parenting With Love And Logic. If you are having difficulty with parenthood, this book will have some great guidelines of raising children.

There are major problems to allowing children to eat so many refined carbohydrates, but here's a new one—they can be sources of mercury.  Almost all jellies and preserves put into individual serving tubs are made with HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) not sugar. Home made jam and jelly are made with sugar. Sugar is not very healthy but at least it doesn't contain mercury. A recent study showed that 50% of all HFCS has mercury in it at levels considered toxic. The way HFCS is made is using a mercury laden caustic acid  to separate corn syrup from cornstarch. It is the cheapest way to separate these and make a highly refined sugar that is many times sweeter than regular sugar.

What products have this ingredient? HFCS is found in sweetened beverages, breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunchmeats, yogurts, soups, salad dressings and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS. Consumption by teenagers and other high consumers can be up to 80 percent above average levels. Mercury toxicity is cumulative. This means unless you take specific steps to detox, the mercury never leaves the body and simply accumulates in the cells.

For fetuses, infants and children, the primary health effects of mercury are on neurological development. Even low levels of mercury exposure, such as result from mother's consumption methyl mercury in dietary sources, can adversely affect the brain and nervous system. Impacts on memory, attention, language and other skills have been found in children exposed to moderate levels in the womb. So, if a mom has mercury fillings and is constantly chewing gum some of those mercury vapors being rubbed off the filling may be affecting the baby she carries.

Now add a few mercury-laden vaccines to the previously absorbed mercury—and along the way eating jellies, breads and pop made with HFCS—is it any wonder our children can't sit still or think clear thoughts? We do not have a Ritalin deficiency in this country. We have a nutrition deficiency! By the way if you think all vaccines have had mercury taken out—think again. “It is still in limited use  as a preservative in multi-dose flu and tetanus vaccines and a few other non-childhood vaccines.”  Unfortunately the preservative they now use in childhood vaccines contains aluminum —a known contributor to Alzheimer's and other brain function conditions.

It is recommended to use a natural vitamin and mineral supplement while using Heavy Metal Detox to help the body get rid of these toxins.  It is best done slowly. The bottle recommends taking one at two meals per day. However, I feel you should start at only one per day for a couple of days and then you can take two (one at two different meals) per day. Many natural health consultants agree that taking fiber in the morning before breakfast and again at night before bed is a good idea to help the body get rid of stored heavy metal toxins while doing the Heavy Metal Detox.

Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, nichol and arsenic are generally stored in fat cells. Fiber attracts fat cells and helps to remove them through the intestinal system. The usual protocol involves: enzymes with meals; a vitamin/mineral supplement such as Super Supplemental twice a day and fiber away from meals along with lots of water in between meals. Usually there is no discomfort involved in doing the cleanse this way. Headaches will occur if you do not take enough water (remember we are detoxing mercury which has an affinity to the brain—lots of fat there!)

Heavy Metal detox  by Nature's Sunshine has cilantro, magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine and alginic acid that help to bind heavy metals and clear them out of the body while supporting healthy liver function. Combined with the other ingredients this product can aid in the removal of toxins from the cells. This isn't a 10 day cleanse. Some people will find they need to do this program for several months. As their thinking becomes clearer and memory slowly returns, the cleanse can be reduced or discontinued and perhaps done for a month out of the year. Of course, you want to be diligent about not adding Heavy Metals in – so no more HFCS!

Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumers.org) alerted me to this information. They are a great resource for what's happening with our food and with making our voices heard. The report they quote, "Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup," by David Wallinga, M.D., Janelle Sorensen, Pooja Mottl and Brian Yablon, M.D., can be found at: www.iatp.org.