Have a Coke and a smile -- and some tissue damage and diabetes

That nasty (but cheap!) artificial sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, continues to make news -- and perhaps diabetes.

And yes -- I declare that the sweetener in Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew and many other sweetened foods and drinks is indeed artificial! It's corn syrup that has been put through chemical reactions. It's certainly not sugar. Sugar is expensive, relatively speaking. And in this day and age of maximizing profits, the bottom line is what really matters, right?

Researchers have found new evidence that soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup contain high levels of reactive compounds that have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage that could cause diabetes, which is at epidemic levels these days.

Full story here.