Agave plant used to make Agave Syrup

Warning!  You’re Being Had!

It never ends. You know how bad High Fructose Corn Syrup is and how we have been blindsided by clever marketing into thinking HFCS is a healthy sweetener.

Well once again we are being blindsided by the clever marketing of a new so called “natural” sweetener implying it is a safe substitute for High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Science has proven conclusively that High Fructose Corn Syrup is a major cause of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease because of its 56% high fructose content.

This new so called “natural” sweetener is from the agave plant.  Ferment it and you have Mexico’s favorite alcoholic beverage — tequila.

Blue agave, agave “syrup”, or agave “nectar”, is nothing more than a laboratory generated super-condensed fructose syrup devoid of all nutrient value and offering metabolic misfortune.

Agave syrup is much worse than the High Fructose Corn Syrup it’s replacing.

It has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener —- 70% to 97% depending on the brand.

Your body burns glucose for energy, not fructose.  Nearly all of the fructose is  broken down by your liver and directly converted to dangerous fats, not energy.

This is why fructose is the leading cause of obesity.

It is important to understand that fructose from fruits and vegetables are a completely different animal.

Natural fructose contains fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, whereas fructose sweeteners have no nutritional value at all.

Here are some more menacing facts about synthetic fructose like HFCS:

• Fructose elevates your uric acid level.  This is more dangerous than elevated cholesterol levels as it causes chronic low-level inflammation increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis and premature aging.
• Fructose “tricks” your body into gaining weight by fooling your metabolism.  It actually impairs your body’s normal appetite-control system.
• Excessive fructose decreases HDL, increases LDL levels, elevates triglycerides, elevates blood sugar, and raises your blood pressure.  This is classic metabolic syndrome.

Let me be clear that small amounts of fructose are not the problem, it is excess fructose, over 25 grams per day, that is the problem, and the average person consumes at least 70 grams of fructose per day.

Despite manufacturer’s claims, agave syrup is not made from the sap of the agave plant as is maple syrup.  Agave syrup is made from the starch of its pineapple like root bulb.

The root is comprised mainly of starch, similar to corn, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of fructose molecules.

The process in which the starch and inulin are converted into agave syrup it very similar to the way cornstarch is converted to High Fructose Corn Syrup.

The process uses genetically modified enzymes and is chemically intensive involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals.

Here is a partial list of the chemicals involved:

• Activated charcoal
• Cationic and ionic resins
• Sulfuric and/or hydrofluoric acid
• Dicalite
• Clarimex
• Inulin enzymes
• Fructozyme

The public has been deceived into thinking that agave syrup comes from the pure sap of the agave plant just like maple syrup comes from the sap of the maple tree.

The result of this deception is the strong growth of sales of agave syrup to the public, bakers, and food processors.

This deception needs to be exposed and the purchase of agave syrup by consumers and food companies needs to be stopped or the health of millions of people will go down the drain.

Personally, we too were deceived.  We bought agave syrup thinking it was a safe substitute for maple syrup and other sweeteners as we do not use any products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup.

When we uncovered the fraud, we dumped our agave syrup down the drain, as should you.

We all need to help protect the health of our families, friends, and neighbors.  Pass on this information because when it comes to health, we need to help ourselves.

Don’t look to our government, FDA, USDA, or medical doctors for help.

Unfortunately, the very people who should be helping us, are the very ones who are causing the greatest damage to our health.

You need to take charge of your own health.  Don’t buy products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup and do not buy agave syrups or any products containing agave syrups.

Our only defense is to boycott those food processors as their only goal is to make money and could care less if they poison our bodies along the way.

The only way to beat them is by withholding our dollars.  It catches their attention in a hurry, making them sit up and listen.

For a long time I have been warning you about the dangers to your health of ingesting High Fructose Corn Syrup.

More and more studies have proven the folly of consuming products that contain HFCS to the extent that some of our major food processors are finally paying attention and switching away from HFCS as their sweetener of choice.

Pepsi-Cola being one of them.  But, if they switch to agave syrup, we will be worse off when using their products.  I use Pepsi-Cola as an example but no one should be drinking soda! Period!

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2010 – All Rights Reserved

Note: Good Health Supplements are dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals as necessary on any matter relating to their health and well-being. Individual results will vary and statements mentioned are anecdotal and may not represent typical results.

Can you afford the cost of diabetes?

In a new study by researchers based at the University of Chicago, and recently published in the journal “Diabetes Care”, it was determined that the number of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetics will climb from almost 24 million this year to about 44 million in 2034.

Over the same period, annual diabetes related treatment costs are expected to increase from $113 billion to $336 billion, (based on the value of the dollar in the year 2007), and Medicare spending on diabetes is expected to jump from $45 billion to $171 Billion.

This could exceed current projections for all Medicare costs, the researchers said.

Their advice to slow the growth of diabetes was to exercise more.

Now I do not disagree that exercise is very important and does help.

However, diabetes is not a contagious disease, it is a developed disease, and the lack of exercise if far from the whole story.

Neither our government agencies, the medical profession, nor any of the diabetic societies talk about the cause or prevention of diabetes.

Their focus is on drugs and cure.

Diabetes is a food related and induced disease. Prior to the introduction of high fructose corn syrup and trans-fats, there was no Type 2 Diabetes.

If our FDA and USDA were to ban the use of high fructose corn syrup and trans-fats (partially hydrogenated vegetable oils) in prepared foods, baked goods, sodas and other drinks, as has been done in other countries, we would see not a doubling of diabetes but a diminishing and probably the end of this horrible disease that causes death, amputation, and blindness.

Another diabetic issue is the deficiency of vitamin D-3 that exists in over 70% of Caucasians and over 90% of dark skinned people.

Hundreds of scientific studies have proven that D-3 deficiency can cause diabetes.

No one has to get diabetes.  The solution to the problem is right there in front of us.

By not eating any food or drink that contains high fructose corn syrup or trans-fats, and raising our levels of vitamin D-3, we can keep from getting diabetes and other diseases.

You need to carefully read the labels on the food you buy, and do not be fooled by packaged foods that say “0″ trans-fats.

The FDA allows food processors to use a half percent of trans-fats per serving and put “0″ trans-fats on their label.  Guaranteed, their serving size is so small, you will be eating at least four servings or more at each meal and multiple servings of trans-fats.

You don’t have to be or become a diabetic. It’s all about what you eat.

And yes —- you really do need to exercise.

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2010 – All Rights Reserved

In a recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the rapid increase of people diagnosed with diabetes “rose by more than 90 percent among adults over the past 10 years” with Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia having the highest incidence of new diabetes cases.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is most commonly caused when your body does not produce enough insulin (a hormone released by the pancreas) which is needed to convert sugar, or glucose, which is your basic fuel energy for your cells.

In addition, the CDC stated that 25 percent of Americans are at risk of “pre-diabetes” due to lack of awareness of the common causes of diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes.

Recognizing some of the signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes such as… hyperglycemia (too much sugar build up in the blood) and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can help you to prevent a potentially dangerous problem.

Not paying attention to the symptoms and taking action can create serious complications such as heart or cardiovascular disease, blindness or retinopathy, nerve damage or neuropathy, and even kidney damage or nephropathy.

Other common symptoms can include dizziness, double vision, confusion, drowsiness, trembling, weakness, lack of coordination, headaches and more.

Type 2 diabetes is considered the most common form of diabetes and accounts for 90%-95% of diabetes cases with around 6% of the US population suffering diabetes and it’s the 7th leading cause of death.

Here are just a few tips to help you avoid pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

1: Exercise: This is probably the most important thing you can do because when you exercise you help your body lower your blood sugar levels because your muscles are using up glucose, or sugar, to help create more energy.

2: Diet: Watching what you eat is most important because the typical North American diet is one of the leading causes of type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes. Choose foods that are healthy and low in carbohydrates and avoid starchy foods such as breads, cereals, rice and potatoes which are broken down into sugars and eating too much creates too much sugar for your body to handle, so pay attention to your food portion sizes.

3: Obesity: This is a growing problem that connects diabetes and diet because when you start to exceed a normal body fat percentage you can become insulin resistant which can lead to higher blood sugar levels.

4: Eye Care, Foot Care & Skin Care: If you are having issues with diabetes the three areas of health care you need to pay attention to are the eyes, feet and skin because they are the first areas to be affected with health problems.

5: Heart Health and High Blood Pressure: The growing incidents of diabetes is also causing cardiovascular disease because when you don’t properly get nutrients into your cells your blood can become unhealthy to delivery nutrients and take away toxins which can lead to reduced blood flow to cause high blood pressure.

6: Oral Health: If you ask any well trained dentist they will tell you that your gums will show definite problems of diabetes because of the lack of blood flow to the gums which in turn leads to gum disease and toxic buildup in your body.

One last item to discuss is to stop smoking because smoking can double your risks by interfering with the delivery of insulin and can raise your blood glucose levels.

When you take care of your life-style issues and put into place a total health program of exercise, diet, health care and most of all changes to your lifestyle you can live a diabetes free life.

Remember, if you feel that you are experiencing any of the signs or symptoms of pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes seek out a qualified health care provider because many people with type 2 diabetes lead active productive lives without the need of medication when you maintain an ideal weight, increase your activity, watch your diet and control blood sugar levels.

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2009 – All Rights Reserved