17 out of 55 foods with high fructose corn syrup as their top ingredients were found to contain detectable levels of mercury. The list of foods was found on the website of the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).
Here is the list of the 17 foods shown to contain Mercury
- Quaker Oatmeal to Go Bars
- Jack Daniel's Barbecue Sauce
- Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
- Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
- Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
- Manwich Gold Sloppy Joe
- Market Pantry Grape Jelly
- Smucker's Strawberry Jelly
- Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry
- Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
- Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing
- Coca-Cola Classic: no mercury found on a second test
- Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
- Minute Maid Berry Punch
- Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink
- Nesquik Chocolate Milk
- Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk
"David Wallinga, MD, director of the IATP's and colleagues caution that their list was ‘just a snapshot in time; we only tested one sample of each product. That clearly is not sufficient grounds to give definitive advice to consumers.'" The report "doesn't prove that the mercury in the tested products came from high-fructose corn syrup, but "I'm hard pressed to say where else it would come from," Wallinga tells WebMD." As the article goes on, they begin to speculate as to the type of mercury. Toxicologist Carl Winter, PhD, "imagines that a good majority of the mercury that is detected would have been in the form of elemental mercury, not methylmercury."
Methylmercury is more toxic than elemental mercury, so I want to talk about methylmercury and its effects on us. The half life of methylmercury is 70days in serum, while 20years in the brain. Fish is the main dietary source of mercury, however amalgam fillings tops the list for sources of mercury absorption. There are several factors that can increase the mercury release from the fillings; they include chewing, brushing, grinding, hot drinks and drilling or polishing the teeth. Mercury can also be absorbed from the air we breathe and the water we drink.
Once mercury is in the body it will travel to different organs including the kidney, liver, gastrointestinal tract, jaw, brain, eyes and possibly even to bones. Mercury's biochemical effects include formation of hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxides, and OH radicals. It reduces selenium, vitamin E, glutathione, glutathione reductase and glutathione synthetase. Mercury also influences that cytochrome P450, so that other chemicals are processed at different rates than normal by the liver. In the brain mercury can cause neuronal swelling, destruction of astrocytes, it inhibits the uptake of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, along with inhibiting the release of SAMe.
Some of the psychological symptoms of mercury overload include - irritability, excitability, temper outbursts, fearfulness/anxiety, restlessness, depression and insomnia. Methylmercury levels can be tested through urine, blood, stool and hair, while elemental mercury can be tested through urine, blood and stool.