> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Are You Eating These Unsavory Ingredients? Part Two
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/unsavory_ingredients_0217140838/
- Published: 2014-02-17T21:36:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T14:06:14.000Z
- Description: Part two weighs high fructose corn syrup against artificial sweeteners, citing a Miami study linking a daily diet soda to 61 percent higher heart attack or stroke odds and a Harvard study tying one sugary drink a day to 20 percent more heart disease. It then turns to “meat glue.”
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Comments, Opinion, #vivvo-import

**High Fructose Corn Syrup and Artificial Sweeteners in Soft Drinks**

Scientists and health professionals cannot decide which is worse--high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or artificial sweeteners in soft drinks. HFCS, which is cheaper for soft drink makers to use and store than "real sugar," has been linked to liver damage, diabetes, heart problems, obesity and [even mercury consumption](http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/16/sugar-sue-high-fructose-corn-syrup-over-name/?ref=foodconsumer.org). Yet, aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame potassium, three leading artificial sweeteners, have all been linked to cancer. A [2011 study](http://www.consumersdigest.com/special-reports/the-truth-about-sugar-sweeteners/view-all?ref=foodconsumer.org) by the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine found that people who drank one diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher chance of having a heart attack or stroke and questions also persist about artificial sweeteners’ links to Alzheimer’s disease, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. (Nor do artificial sweeteners necessarily help people *lose weight,* suggest some studies.) More bad news for soft drink lovers surfaced in 2012 when a [Harvard study](http://vitals.nbcnews.com/%5Fnews/2012/03/12/10656108-soda-drinking-men-at-higher-risk-for-heart-attack?ref=foodconsumer.org) found men who drank one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day had a 20 percent increased risk of heart disease regardless of their age, diet, family history or alcohol/tobacco use. The Harvard study was announced one month after doctors published an editorial in the journal *Nature* that called for all types of sugar and HFCS to be regulated the way that alcohol or tobacco are. 

**Transglutaminase Also Known as "Meat Glue"** 

Around the same time rumors of pink slime and BVO in the US food supply began to surface, the term "meat glue" also debuted. Meat glue is transglutaminase, an adhesive powder originally obtained from animal blood but lately more likely to come from fermented bacteria which is cheaper. Meat glue lets chefs cobble together disparate and low quality scraps of meat, put it in the refrigerator overnight and produce "filet mignon," a deception that is the basis of many consumers' objections. Up to [35 percent of food](http://glutenfree.answers.com/alternative-foods/activia-meat-glue-an-alternative-foods-overview?ref=foodconsumer.org) products contain meat glue including [tofu,](http://ladyrain.hubpages.com/hub/Meat-Glue-or-No-Meat-Glue?ref=foodconsumer.org) milk, yogurt and even cereal according to industry accounts. Animal versions of meat glue in which the coagulation animal protein thrombin is combined with fibrin have affected blood clotting time in humans because bovine thrombin can [cross react](http://blog.usfoodsafety.com/2011/07/11/meat-glue-toxic-meat-products/?ref=foodconsumer.org) with human factors. Studies showed that repeat clinical applications of topical bovine thrombin increase human risk. Another risk of meat glue is bacterial growth: scraps that were outside pieces but are now glued together inside a "formed meat" are hard to cook says microbiologist [Glenn Pener](http://blogs.discovery.com/dfh-sara-novak/2011/12/meat-glue-thats-right-it-could-be-holding-your-steak-together.html?ref=foodconsumer.org). “The amount of bacteria on a steak that’s been put together with meat glue is [hundreds of times](http://digitaljournal.com/print/article/306060?ref=foodconsumer.org) higher.” (By Martha Rosenberg)