Comments on: Mercury: One More Reason To Avoid High-Fructose Corn Syrup

By: skeptic

skeptic — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:15:48 +0000

Dana, not sure how you and Monica have gone from mercury to raw milk and now to your weight gain. But if you read Szwarc regularly, you will know that she has discussed weight gain as a symptom of insulin resistance. But a symptom is not a cause or reason to blame people. Here’s her latest on diabetes that seems closest to what you are looking for: http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/01/government-health-officials-decide-its.html
As a medical professional, weight gain occurs years before type 2 diabetes presents itself, but a 100 pound weight gain may have other causes you might want to look into, such as PCOS (weight gain is a SYMPTOM of this hormonal condition) in women.

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:23:39 +0000

Um, skeptic? She’s apparently bought into the idea that being fat is just being fat and has nothing to do with bad health, never ever ever. I’m as much about fat acceptance as any “good” feminist in the sense that I don’t get what all the vitriol against fat people is about (do we also routinely insult people with measles or broken legs and try to exclude them from society?), but you know what? I’m a hundred pounds heavier than I was in my early twenties. I’m now 35. A certain amount of weight gain should have been expected, but not this much, and type 2 diabetes runs very strongly in my mom’s family, so anybody who pooh-poohs the idea that obesity has nothing to do with bad health, NOT EVEN AS A SYMPTOM OF IT, has a heck of a lot of explaining to do.

She also goes in for the “everybody knows” fallacy, which is immediate disqualification from being an “expert” in anything as far as I’m concerned.

By: Son of Grok » Blog Archive » Weekly Summary 2/1/09

Son of Grok » Blog Archive » Weekly Summary 2/1/09 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 23:26:58 +0000

[...] 1. Not only does HFCS come with a healthy dose of insulin spikes but it also comes with a healthy dose of mercury! Yum. Modern Forager has the goods on it. 2. Heading to a Super Bowl party? Watch out for [...]

By: skeptic

skeptic — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:39:33 +0000

It is hard when the soundest science doesn’t agree with ideologies, but that doesn’t make the science bad. It means maybe we all need to look more skeptically at what we’re being sold.

Good grief, Monica. As a medical professional and nutrition researcher, I read her post on milk and found the science far more credible than your ad hominum attacks and name calling.
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/01/raw-milk-debate-helping-parents-wade.html

By: Weekend Link Love | Mark's Daily Apple

Weekend Link Love | Mark's Daily Apple — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:49:16 +0000

[...] HFCS foods may contain mercury and Modern Forager tells all. Really, sometimes picking on HFCS is just too easy. [...]

By: Monica

Monica — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:28:05 +0000

I agree that the risk of mercury is overblown, particularly in the context of a nutrient dense diet, and that there’s already more than ample reason to avoid HFCS. Still, the fact that they are using old equipment previously used to manufacture chlorine does sit well with me. That’s how the HFCS is getting mercury in it. YUCK.

As for Sandy Szwarc her analysis seems to be good on this one, but I’m less than impressed with her analysis on many other issues. I have a love/hate relationship with her writing. She’s a health professional so of course she has a strong influence from germ theory and the “obvious” need to sterilize everything.

She also has a link on her blog to Steven “JunkScience” Milloy, infamous defender of the tobacco industry and unbeliever in evolutionary theory. Urgh. This raises huge red flags for me, as does anyone’s use of the term “junk science”. It’s a phrase that too often stops all rational conversation in its tracks. “Junk science” brooks no give and take. It’s a trump card too many people play when they don’t want to have to bother thinking a little bit harder. What is worse, it’s a type of argument from authority and intimidation. If you can accuse someone of junk science without actually showing that it’s bad science, it makes you appear to have won the argument. When people use that word I realize there’s a strong possibility that what *they* are presenting may indeed be the *real* junk science.

For instance, I’ve discussed her bogus “analysis” of raw milk here: http://www.fa-rm.org/blog/2009/01/real-junkfoodscience.html

I would post some comments on her blog but it doesn’t appear as if there’s any mechanism for that.

By: Son of Grok

Son of Grok — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:12:38 +0000

Well I will give them this much. Someone is never going to develop freak mercury superpowers by NOT eating mercury. Wait.. whut?

The SoG

By: Yavor Marichkov

Yavor Marichkov — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:20:15 +0000

Scott, this is very depressing news, considering how toxic mercury is. I will watch out!

Yavor

By: Scott Kustes

Scott Kustes — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:48:10 +0000

foobarbaz, thanks for that link. Looks like I made an error in publishing this one without tracking down the study, something I never do. Haste kills me on this one.

Rusty, I gave up Reese’s Pieces when I realized they had trans fats in them. They may not anymore, but I haven’t had them in a LONG time.

Cheers
Scott

By: Rusty - Fitness Black Book

Rusty - Fitness Black Book — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:39:39 +0000

Darn it Scott! I am getting more and more depressed about High Fructose Corn Syrup. You see, I eat well 80-90% of the time…but when I see a Sci-Fi flick in the movie theaters, I must have Red Vines! I’m also a fan of Skittles, and Starburst.

Movies just won’t be the same without a fresh box of Red Vines! Well maybe I will just limit the amount to less than a full box (I am usually 1/2 way done by the time the previews are over).

The good thing is that when watching DVD’s with my girlfriend we tend to snack on fruit.

Good info as always!

Rusty