"Sugar is sugar" [corn syrup content]

[bassrique]

I saw the following [corn lobby] commercial the other day that claims the human body doesn't know the difference between corn syrup and lets say....brown cane sugar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyj2N-AspqU

I'm skeptical. IIRC, the process of making corn syrup can be kinda nasty, but I could be wrong.

[MatticusMania]

Did you know that most major cat food companies use ground corn, corn meal, and other corn based derivitives (along with lots of other bad stuff, like ash, and roadkill) in their formulas. Funny thing, cats can't digest corn, and its been linked to causing diabetes in cats, shortening their lives. I dont think our bodies were meant to process corn that well either, seeing as how diabetes is on the rise, and the fact that we poop out the corn skins.

[bassrique]

When my Mother was on tube feeding in the hospital, I looked at the ingredients of the liquid nutrients being pumped into her. It was mostly fortified corn and soy byproducts, with corn syrup being number one.

[bongomania]

Yeah I saw that ad from the corn lobby, and it made me want to smash my TV. Those lying bastards should drown in their own syrupy death juice.

[funkydjembe]

Oh darn! now another thing to watch out for,,guess I'll wait 'till tomorrow to research corn

[Simo98]

I don't doubt it can't tell the difference between glucose from cane sugar, and glucose from corn.

However, it does respond to the other parts of "High fructose corn syrup". If it was just glucose, it would just be called "Glucose (derived from corn)" where only trace elements of corn remain.

Is there any reason the corn industry is so heavily pushed in America? It must just be a more suitable crop for your environment or something. Corn is pretty rare here in Australia, infact most crops around my area are sugarcane.

My younger brother is allergic to corn, it makes him extremely hyperactive, to the extent of being uncontrollable. I wonder how many hyperactive kids there are in the US with the same issue, eating corn products every day.

[funkydjembe]

only chickens should be allowed to eat corn

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by Simo98

Is there any reason the corn industry is so heavily pushed in America? It must just be a more suitable crop for your environment or something. Corn is pretty rare here in Australia, infact most crops around my area are sugarcane.[/corn] <- lol

Yup, corn grows here almost as well as marijuana.

My younger brother is allergic to corn, it makes him extremely hyperactive, to the extent of being uncontrollable. I wonder how many hyperactive kids there are in the US with the same issue, eating corn products every day.

That would explain all the recent ADD/ADHD diagnosis.

[bongomania]

At one time it was a staple crop, and during WWII there was a big push to develop high-efficiency products, so scientists set about trying to take waste products and turn them into consumables. The "best" results were corn syrup and vinyl. There were/are others, but those two were the most successful because they can be adapted into so many forms and purposes. After WWII, after the "baby boom", the demand for cheap consumer goods skyrocketed, so there was a massive push and demand for these super-cheap, super-adaptable materials. Then they became ubiquitous, and we became addicted to the corn syrup. The lobbies for corn and PVC became incredibly powerful in the US government, having legislature altered to suit their needs, in terms of health, safety, and manufacturing-cleanliness standards.

Now the "health food", organic, all-natural, anti high-fructose-corn-syrup crowd has gotten large enough and popular enough that the corn lobby is scared. Even mainstream soda brands are now advertising "made with real sugar, no HFCS". So the corn lobby has decided to start an ad campaign to spread their filth and lies.

So far, nothing has caused the PVC lobby to worry in the least.

[Simo98]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

That would explain all the recent ADD/ADHD diagnosis.

Yep, if we had taken him to a doctor when he was younger, they would have likely prescribed medication, Ritalin or similar.

Its crazy how much difference a few select things can make. Originally we took out everything pretty much. High salicylate foods (including corn and honey) as well as a huge amount of artificial colours/flavours/preservatives. Then slowly try different things to see what has the biggest difference. You would expect that the artificial food additives are the culprit, however nowadays he can eat most foods with food additives no problem.

However give him something high in salicylates, corn and honey being the highest, followed closely by berries and a large amount of spices, and he will be out of control. To get his attention you need to hold him by the head, and face him directly at you, even then his eyes will be darting around getting distracted by things, not paying attention, similar to someone on speed.

[bassybill]

I can't see how corn itself (the plant) is the problem. Maybe the thread title should say "sugar is sugar, and too much is bad for you whether it's from corn or anything else".

It's pretty true that "sugar is sugar" (or more accurately, "sugars are sugars"). And fructose is fructose whether it's made from corn or from anything else. It gets broken down by digestion into glucose.

Sugars are all high in calories and therefore eating too much may lead to obesity, which is a risk factor for diabetes This wil be true for high levels of sugar consumption whether the source is corn syrup or something else like cane sugar.

I don't know whether there's other stuff in corn syrup that's also bad for you, but high levels of any sort of sugar will have health implications regardless of whether that sugar is made from corn or not. In other words, corn syrup can be bad for you because it's syrup (read "sugar"), not because it's corn (unless, as I say, there's other stuff in corn syrup that's bad for you; all I'm saying is sugar in general is pretty bad stuff healthwise in excess, regardless of the source).

As for the "corn skins" comment. all plants have cellulose fibre that is pretty much indigestible by our guts and gets passed out as waste.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by bongomania

At one time it was a staple crop, and during WWII there was a big push to develop high-efficiency products, so scientists set about trying to take waste products and turn them into consumables. The "best" results were corn syrup and vinyl. There were/are others, but those two were the most successful because they can be adapted into so many forms and purposes. After WWII, after the "baby boom", the demand for cheap consumer goods skyrocketed, so there was a massive push and demand for these super-cheap, super-adaptable materials. Then they became ubiquitous, and we became addicted to the corn syrup. The lobbies for corn and PVC became incredibly powerful in the US government, having legislature altered to suit their needs, in terms of health, safety, and manufacturing-cleanliness standards.

Now the "health food", organic, all-natural, anti high-fructose-corn-syrup crowd has gotten large enough and popular enough that the corn lobby is scared. Even mainstream soda brands are now advertising "made with real sugar, no HFCS". So the corn lobby has decided to start an ad campaign to spread their filth and lies.

So far, nothing has caused the PVC lobby to worry in the least.

There are no adverse health effects to PVC, no reason for them to worry.

lowsound

[Cannabass]

theres a good documentary called King Corn if this subject intrigues you

which it should

[funkydjembe]

Wasn't there a disease which often plagued the native Americans from too much corn?,,or was that a vitamin deficiency?

[tplyons]

Today the corn industry approached going to the USDA to change the name of "high fructose corn syrup" to "corn sugar"

Same stuff, different name.

[Simo98]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

There are no adverse health effects to PVC, no reason for them to worry.

True, I once ate several metres of PVC pipe, and no adverse health effects here.

[MEKer]

Ahh, corn

The food that can say "Hello" twice.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

There are no adverse health effects to PVC, no reason for them to worry.

That is false. The fumes outgassing from new vinyl products are a neurotoxin and a carcinogen. PVC pipe has a hardener added to it which also mitigates outgassing, so in its standard usage PVC pipe is not toxic. But vinyl that is softer and more flexible outgasses a lot, and again those fumes are harmful. Additionally, here's the manufacturing chain:

Salt (safe, obviously) is transported by train or ship to the raw-materials plant. There it is converted into the base chlorides that are the main ingredient in vinyl. This processed material is highly toxic, and is subject to hazardous-material regulations for storage and transport. Then that substance is transported by truck and train to the various factories where it will be turned into all kinds of vinyl sheets, pellets, pipes, etc., each with their own recipe of additives, which are not regulated except they may not include lead or mercury, in the US. Vinyl compounds from overseas very often do include lead or mercury, and guess what--most of our vinyl goods are manufactured overseas.

[MEKer]

Originally Posted by bongomania

That is false. The fumes outgassing from new vinyl products are a neurotoxin and a carcinogen. PVC pipe has a hardener added to it which also mitigates outgassing, so in its standard usage PVC pipe is not toxic. But vinyl that is softer and more flexible outgasses a lot, and again those fumes are harmful. Additionally, here's the manufacturing chain:

Salt (safe, obviously) is transported by train or ship to the raw-materials plant. There it is converted into the base chlorides that are the main ingredient in vinyl. This processed material is highly toxic, and is subject to hazardous-material regulations for storage and transport. Then that substance is transported by truck and train to the various factories where it will be turned into all kinds of vinyl sheets, pellets, pipes, etc., each with their own recipe of additives, which are not regulated except they may not include lead or mercury, in the US. Vinyl compounds from overseas very often do include lead or mercury, and guess what--most of our vinyl goods are manufactured overseas.

Can you make a cable from it, put it on a scope and give us the specs in comparison to other cables?

[bassybill]

Vinyl chloride monomer (the "building block" for PVC polymer, a type of plastic) is very toxic, due at least in part to its relatively high chemical reactivity. When reacted to make polyvinyl chloride, that product is pretty much harmless. There's no automatic connection between the safety risks of a chemical starting material and the compounds produced from it. For example, sodium is highly reactive dangerous material (it would explode on contact with stomach acid) and chlorine is a deadly poisonous gas, but they combine to produce sodium chloride, which is just ordinary everyday salt.

It's true, however, that some additives used in the manufacture of plastics can be hazardous, like plasticisers in softer vinyls or cadmium and mercury compounds used as catalysts in some polymers. I don't know what legislation exists in the US nowadays, but I do know that major companies like Ford were effectively banning plastics containing mercury or cadmium about 25 years ago, regardless of the source from which they bought them.

Anyway, just clarifying the scientific stuff - now, back to corn syrup...