Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
9/6/09 10:34 AM | 2438 views 9 Hidden Toxins Lurking in Your Food By pollywog
Your grocery store is plentifully stocked with wolves in sheep's clothing. Here are some tips to help you steer clear of hidden toxins that masquerade as safe products.
1. Stay away from processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, and sausage. Sodium nitrate can also cause the formation of nitrosamines in your system, which can lead to cancer.
2. Reduce the amount of canned food you consume. Cans are commonly lined with bisphenol-A, an organic compound that may be associated with diabetes and heart disease.
3. Skip the diet soda and artificial sweeteners. Prolonged exposure to aspartame, a neurotoxic chemical additive in these products, can lead to nerve cell damage, dizziness, and headaches.
4. Opt for organic chicken. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy discovered traces of arsenic in non-organic chickens. Exposure to this dangerous chemical can lead to cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Another study also found numerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria in conventional poultry.
5. Avoid manufactured snacks. Hydrogenated oils are used to lengthen the shelf life of products like crackers and cookies, but they are also associated with diabetes and heart disease. Snack foods are also generally loaded with salt, corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients.
6. Stay away from artificially-colored foods like candy, maraschino cherries, and gelatin. Mice and rats exposed to blue 1 and 2, red 3 and yellow 6 suffered from brain, adrenal gland, thyroid, and kidney tumors.
7. Always buy organic produce. Lingering pesticides can lead to nervous and reproductive system damage, not to mention cancer.
8. Avoid Teflon cookware. The Teflon used to create nonstick surfaces can release noxious gases when exposed to high temperatures, which puts you at risk for a large variety of diseases, many of which are not even well documented at this time.
9. Never microwave food in plastic bowls, containers, or dishes. Exposure to heat causes the bisphenol-A found in plastics to break down and potentially contaminate your food.
Sources:
AlterNet August 11, 2009
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Every day my team and I go through more than 1,000 articles to find the best to insert into the newsletter for you. I can't tell you how many lists like this I have previously seen that were written by conventional medical authors who were beyond clueless as to what the real risks were. This is one of the first ones I have seen that was really enlightened.
Unfortunately, it's becoming more and more difficult to avoid toxins. They're in everything from personal care products to furniture and building materials. Babies are actually born toxic nowadays due to the toxic load of their mothers. One study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that blood samples from newborns contained an average of 287 toxins, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides, and Teflon chemicals!
But there's still plenty you can do, and one of the ways to significantly reduce your toxic load is to pay careful attention to what you eat. And, as an added bonus, when you eat right, you're also optimizing your body's natural detoxification system, which can help eliminate toxins your body encounters from other sources.
Keep in mind, organically-grown, biodynamic whole foods are really the key to success here, as pesticide residues have been detected in 50 percent to 95 percent of all commercially-grown U.S. foods.
Surprisingly, one of the worst offenders for pesticide contamination is commercially-raised beef. A major risk factor of pesticides is cancer, but they also block the absorption of nutrients, which adds to all the other damage a poor diet can create.
The list above is a good resource on several of the hidden sources of toxins lurking in your food supply.
In addition to these nine, the original article also included four more, which I'll review in greater detail here, as I believe the general recommendations offered could be improved upon.
Be Particularly Cautious With Fish
Nearly all fish stocks of the world have now become contaminated to some degree or other. Heavy metal contamination is of particular concern, as metals like arsenic, mercury, lead, aluminum and cadmium easily accumulate in soft tissues, both in fish and in your own body.
Health problems linked to heavy metal toxicity include:
* Cancer
* Neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease
* Fatigue and fuzzy thinking
* Decreased production of red and white blood cells
* Abnormal heart rhythm
* Damage to your blood vessels
Generally speaking, the larger the fish, the higher its toxic potential. These are some of the ones you'll definitely want to avoid, especially if you are pregnant, as they're known to be more contaminated than other species.
In a perfect world, fish would be a near-perfect food -- high in protein and full of essential nutrients and fats. But our world is far from perfect, and today the toxic load of most fish makes their hazards greater than their benefits.
In fact, I do not recommend eating fish anymore, unless you can verify its purity.
After years of research I found one company that offers the level of purity I was personally looking for. Vital Choice sells salmon with no harmful mercury or other toxin levels, and they work closely with a native Alaskan tribe to ensure the salmon are sustainably harvested during their migration.
What's the Best Solution to Toxic Fish Supplies?
Although fish farming is believed by many to be the solution to dwindling fish supplies and contamination of waterways, studies have consistently found levels of PCBs, dioxins, toxaphene, dieldrin, and mercury to be higher in farm-raised fish than wild fish.
In fact, farm-raised salmon is a MAJOR source of PCB exposure.
In addition to that, farm-raised fish, like factory-farmed meat, is pumped full of antibiotics, hormones and even chemicals to change their color (such as to make salmon appear pink).
Sea lice have also become a significant problem within fish farming in recent years. To combat the problem, salmon farms are now regularly using chemicals that have not been tested for safety on other species of crustaceans.
Overall, farmed fish may actually be worse for your health than wild-caught contaminated fish.
However, keep in mind that you can still get the main health benefits of fish through other means.
Alternative sources like krill oil will supply you with the healthy omega-3 fats your body needs for optimal health, without the risk of toxic contaminations.
Krill are also one of the most easily renewable food resources available, making them an excellent nutritional source from an environmental perspective.
The Case Against Pasteurized Milk -- With or Without rBGH
Naturally, choosing milk labeled ``non-rBGH'' is a far better choice than milk that contains this cancer-causing growth-hormone. However, there are many reasons to consider opting out of pasteurized milk entirely, including so-called organic milk.
Why?
Because the pasteurization process itself creates a product that is no longer in your body's best interest. If you want to protect your health, raw milk from grass-fed, pastured cows is the only real choice.
Certainly do not fall for the idea that soy milk is a good substitute for regular milk, like the article above suggests.
If you were to review the thousands of studies published on soy, I believe you too would reach the conclusion that any possible benefits of consuming non-fermented soy are FAR outweighed by its well documented risks.
For example, common health problems linked to a high-soy diet include:
* Thyroid problems, including weight gain, lethargy, malaise, fatigue, hair loss, and loss of libido
* Premature puberty and other developmental problems in babies, children and adolescents
* Cancer
* Brain damage
* Reproductive disorders
* Kidney stones
* Weakened immune system
* Severe, potentially fatal food allergies
* Stroke and heart disease
In addition to that, most soy, perhaps about 80 percent or more, is also genetically modified, which adds its own batch of health concerns.
Not All Meat is Created Equal
The author of this article completely ignores the difference between commercially-raised meats, and meats derived from grass-fed, free-range cattle. And there's a vast difference.
Few people realize that over 95 percent of their exposure to dioxins comes from eating commercial animal fats. The health risks of dioxins include:
* Cancer
* Reproductive and developmental disorders
* Chloracne (a severe skin disease with acne-like lesions)
* Skin discoloration
* Excessive body hair
* Mild liver damage
Grass-fed beef, on the other hand, is vastly superior to grain-fed, commercially-raised beef. Not only is it raised in a more sustainable way for the environment, and a more humane way for the animal, but it's also the superior choice for your health.
Not only is it lower in fat than regular beef, but more importantly, it also contains three to five times more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid, than grain-fed animals.
CLA is known for its excellent health benefits, which include:
* Fighting cancer and diabetes
* Helping you lose weight
* Increasing your metabolic rate, a positive benefit for promoting normal thyroid function
* Helping you maintain normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels
* Enhancing your immune system
So the recommendation to simply avoid meat is not the healthiest choice. There are many health benefits to eating beef, as long as you make sure it's been raised right.
The article ``Better Beef,'' written by California rancher Dave Evans, gives a great in-depth view of the many benefits of grass-fed beef, from environmental sustainability to the sheer difference in taste and nutrient content of the beef.
Keep in mind that grass-fed meat is almost always preferable to ``certified organic'' meat as most organic beef is still fed corn (albeit organic corn), which is what causes the myriad of health problems associated with eating beef.
The Bottom Line
In order to reduce, or in large part eliminate much of the toxins in your food supply, you need to focus on eating as non-processed a diet as possible. You can turbo-charge the health benefits of such a diet by also paying eating the types of food suitable for your nutritional type.
You know, when it comes down to it, it's a lot easier to remember what to do, than remembering all the things to avoid. The list of foods to eliminate from your diet keeps growing by the day, whereas what to add remains constant.
Just memorize these five simple guidelines, originally written by Weston A. Price in 1920, and you'll be eating healthy and consuming as few toxins as possible:
1. Eat foods that are natural, unprocessed, and organic (and contain no added sugar except for the occasional bit of honey or maple syrup).
2. Eat foods that grow in your native environment. In other words, eat locally grown, seasonal foods.
3. Eat unpasteurized dairy products (such as raw milk) and fermented foods.
4. Eat at least one-third of your food raw.
5. Make sure you eat enough healthy fats, including those from animal sources like omega-3 fat, and reduce your intake of omega-6 from vegetable oils.
posted
good article, but boy it sure hit on some of the things i eat which i didnt' think were BAD! uffda...
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lightparfait
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 22022
posted
Any cookware suggestions for products that do not have leaching of metals or chemicals like the teflon products I own?
I have always wanted to get some new ones anyway!
Posts: 1009 | From NJ | Registered: Aug 2009
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
What on Earth does this Dr. Mercola eat? lol. I read his articles and just shake my head at times. He seems very far out and holds a standard most people can't live by.
Not cooking with non-stick cookware? Well, wouldn't 99% of the population be ill then?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Thanks Melanie for all this information. -p
Posts: 641 | From So. CA | Registered: May 2008
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Yes Miss BG, I am very guilty of bad eating habits, even though I KNOW those things are not good for me, some habits are hard to curb.
Don't quote me Parfait, but I think that cast iron cookware is a safe alternative.
Seek, he does have a high standard, and don't you wonder exactly WHY so many people are chronically ill these days? Just look at our lifestyle choices, known and unknown, until recently.
You are most welcome Peedie. Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
I also wanted to add for you animal lovers...
I skimmed the most enlightening and somewhat sickening book last week re: pet food. MOST processed can and bagged foods on the market consist of roadkill, euthanized pets, including collars and bags... and MANY other things that would never pass FDA regulations for human consumption.
It immediately caused me to rethink what I feed my cat, and to make changes in his diet. That was a quick and easy decision of something I could do to improve his health. Do WE not deserve the same considerations for ourselves?
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
It is nearly impossible to avoid all the possible hazards in food. We need a system that does this so individual consumers do not have to zig and zag thru the minefield.
Have you noticed that most of the glass jars in grocery stores have disappeared, replaced by plastic. Even the ones contained acids, like vinegar. Who thinks this is a good idea? Presumbly they are trying to avoid breakage en route. I can no longer find any mayo in a glass jar. Fats absorb and hold toxins longer. And what is a safe plastic? Is it being used in food containers, or does no one even worry about it.
Fish is not the only way to get mercury exposure. Most of it comes from coal burning power plants and other industrial sources.
And the FDA considers GMO foods to be equivalent to non-GMO. I don't. The jury is still out on health effects from soy, corn, canola, etc which are now all GMO, except for the organics, which still might get some exposure thru proximity and wind-blown pollen.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
So true, STYRENE and vinyl chloride out-gases from everyday plastics. Plastic bottles, like where we get water, milk, soda, fruit juice, mayo and even baby formula. Phthalates and Benzene too.
Cellophane bags, glass, glazed ceramic and stanless steel are much better choices.
Use a water filter. a cheap charcoal blocl, reverse osmosis or whatever.
Keep trans fatty acids out of your diet - look for soybean oil, soy oil, hydrogenated oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil, hydrogenated margarine or shortening.
Cancer causing chemicals out-gas to the meats and veggies in plastic or foam trays and wrapped in plastic wrap.
Better to buy veggies - organic. Apples are sprayed with pesticides approx. 14 times a season.
"Once produce is ready for market, transportation usually requires fungicides to keep it from rotting in transit. To prevent it from becoming infested, shipments are often blanketed with vermicides to kill rats or insecticides to keep the flies and other bugs off." (Detoxify or Die)
We absorb a damaging amount of everyday chemicals like chlorine and chloroform through our skin while showering and bathing in City water. (also from D or D)
What is in your bed pillow? You spend 8 hours or more taking a direct hit from your pillow - better be organic rather than foam!
-just to add to Lou and Melanie's posts. Posts: 641 | From So. CA | Registered: May 2008
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karenl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17753
posted
I use stainless steel cookware instead of teflon. Put immediately water in the hot pan, then it is easy to clean.
There are glass bowels which can go in the freezer.
Posts: 1834 | From US | Registered: Oct 2008
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Many, if not most of us here are more aware of these issues b/c of what we are all dealing with healthwise.
Yet, it boggles my mind that some of the strongest, healthiest people I know have the most unhealthy diets and habits. Go figure.
I try to learn as much as I can, and try to do what I can to keep my family as healthy as possible.
But despite the 4000 supplements we take, the mostly organic and healthy foods in our house (which the kids are now used to), avoidance of gmo foods and foods containing trans-fats, the mostly home-cooked meals, no use of teflon at all ever (never used/liked it), never microwaving anything plastic, substituting organic almond milk (fortified with vit d and calcium) instead of cow's milk (which btw was not difficult to do) and good doses of fresh air, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference (esp for my older one).
Considering asking the healthy unhealthy people I know for a vial of their blood. Posts: 214 | From where ticks flourish | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
Kathy - the standard of comparison you use is that of biological homogeneity which means people with exactly the same chemistry.
This is the standard our medical comunity uses. However it can't be further from the truth.
"Even the newborn already has the chemicals he got from his mother through the placenta. There are likewise no clean animals, nor large bodies of water. Every ocean, sea, gulf, lake and river has measurable levels of xenobiotics." (D or D)
We are all unique in that our biochemical make up is different. Toxins do not effect everyone equally the same.
It sounds like you are doing so many things right! Be patient.
[ 09-13-2009, 02:39 AM: Message edited by: Peedie ]
Posts: 641 | From So. CA | Registered: May 2008
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
Mercola's list is pretty much in line with the diet I've been following for years - and what most doctors have been recommending for a long time, cutting artificial stuff out altogether.
I had a hard time finding good cookware when I switched from the glass Visions (I kept dropping it!). I highly recommend Chantal. It is expensive but I have found no good match. Amazon sometimes has good prices on it.
Chantal Cookware is (glass) enamel coated steel cookware.
For heavier pans, enamel coated Le Crueset cast iron is good, too, but much more expensive. Although the smaller pots are often on sale.
And, one can always used just good old cast iron but I never liked the idea of leaving old oil on it as is required for the "seasoning" of it - we know some very bad things now about what old/hot oils can do.
karenl suggests using stainless steel. I find the shinier the polish, the better. Amazon has good prices on Cuisinart - that line has a great polished interior. It's easy to cook an egg with just a little coconut oil.
--
As for the organic chicken, I'd been buying chicken, flash frozen from Trader Joe's due to great price and convenience. But salt water is added before freezing. I called to ask how the chickens are raised and they NEVER get to go out. They may be cage-free but they are packed tight in a barn.
I can't afford the organic chicken but my market has some variations such as free-range and no chemical added to feed. That is lower in price than an official organic chicken. They also have grass-fed beef which is far healthier than corn-fed, stockyard beef. I just eat a lot less of meat but when I do, try fo the best since it's helping to build my body back for me.
I also look more to organic eggs, nuts and legumes to round out protein without sinking my budget.
However, I notice the irony in my saying I can't always afford organic meats but then spending money on taking supplements to get the chemical back out of me (which they can never do, totally). It's much easier and affordable not to consume chemicals in the first place. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
yes, i bought stainless steel pots/pans as my 1st expensive adventure when i started out at age 20; age 60 now; 40 yrs. old and just like brand new; wise investment !!
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