Category Archives: Toxins in Food

The dangers of toxins commonly found in our processed foods.

December 27, 2018 · 9:03 pm

You are not gluten intolerant, you are glyphosate intolerant

Study blames Roundup herbicide for gluten intolerance and celiac disease epidemic. Article found in “Get Holistic Health”

“Celiac disease, and, more generally, gluten intolerance, is a growing problem worldwide, but especially in North America and Europe, where an estimated 5% of the population now suffers from it,” researchers wrote in a meta-analysis of nearly 300 studies.

“Here, we propose that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, Roundup®, is the most important causal factor in this epidemic,” they add.

“Here, we propose that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, Roundup®, is the most important causal factor in this epidemic,” they add.

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October 24, 2018 · 1:30 pm

What All Parents Should Know about Pesticides in Produce

The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has been working for years to gather facts and distribute the truth about toxins in our environment and the effect upon our health.  You can trust these folks and their writings!

Fresh Organic Strawberries

Fresh Organic Strawberries

Every spring EWG releases their Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™. The guide can be used by anyone trying to avoid pesticides, but it’s especially important for parents to limit their children’s exposures to these toxic chemicals.

This article on their website has a lot more good information and links to resources.  Hope you find these links useful!

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Chemical concerns should steer families toward organic food

DirtyDozenEWGWhen Sally Struever was pregnant with her 9-month-old son, Jasper Eiermann, she made an effort to avoid the plastic chemical BPA and to eat food free of pesticides. An avid gardener, she tends two organic garden plots, preserves many of the vegetables for winter, and cooks the majority of her food from scratch, avoiding packaged and processed foods. Her pediatrician even shared concerns with her that peanut allergies may be tied to the large quantities of pesticides applied to the legumes.

“Babies are so tiny, even small doses of things can have a big effect,” said Struever, who lives in Portland with her husband, Peter Eiermann. “It just made sense to me to avoid pesticides as much as possible.”

A growing body of research is backing up Struever’s concerns. A study published in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics looked at the connection between prenatal pesticide exposure and a child’s size at birth. By measuring pesticide residues in umbilical cord blood, the researchers found a link between prenatal pesticide exposure and babies with lower birth weights, shorter birth lengths and smaller head circumferences.” Read the rest of this article here:  http://www.pressherald.com/2011/10/05/chemical-concerns-should-steer-families-toward-organic-food_2011-10-05/

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July 16, 2014 · 7:58 am
October 5, 2011 · 4:35 pm

Why Organic is Worth the Price

Photo of people and buckets of applesAccording to the Organic Trade Association , “there is mounting evidence that if all the indirect costs of conventional food production—cleanup of polluted water, replacement of eroded soils, costs of health care for farmers and their workers—were factored into the price of food, organic foods would cost the same or, more likely, be cheaper.” We are just learning about what the harmful effects pesticides have on our bodies. It is too soon to tell what health care costs will be associated with all of the chemical exposure. Buying organic is certainly worth it.

This is the closing statement in a terrific article that I found today.  The full text is definitely worth reading.  Click HERE

The website where I found this article is called “Generations of Organic”Generations of Organic logo and seems to be a project of The Organic Center The Organic Center logo.  The site is full of great information: recipes, stories, nutritional data, etc.  Check it out www.GenerationsOfOrganic.org

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September 18, 2011 · 12:53 pm

‘God’s diet plan’: Health food is organic farmer’s ministry

Organic farmer Richard Kann says his hydroponic-vegetable farm helps him fulfill his Seventh-day Adventist faith

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel

7:16 p.m. EDT, September 8, 2011

There are those who believe in locally grown organic food because they are health-food aficionados and others who believe corporate industrialized farming is bad for your health and some who believe that food trucked halfway across the country is harmful to the planet.

Organic farmer Richard Kann believes he’s on a mission from God.

“We regard this as a health ministry,” said Kann, owner of Heart of Christmas Farms, an organic farm that produces hydroponic vegetables in east Orange County. “Everything is natural and God-given. We call it God’s diet plan.

“Kann is putting his faith as a Seventh-day Adventist — healthy body, healthy mind, healthy spirit — into practice by raising squash, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, herbs and greens without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or soil.

Follow this link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-adventist-organic-farm-20110908,0,4822144.story to read the full article.

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August 30, 2011 · 4:39 pm

7 Simple Ways to Detox Your Diet and Your Home

Variety of Citrus Fruits“EatingWell” Magazine has recently become one of my favorite sources for good, healthy information.  There is so much to read on this site, and all of it is helpful in efforts to live a clean, healthy life.  Check out their newsletters, recipes, articles, and more.  I follow them on Facebook as well.

This article just caught my eye today.  It covers a wide range of toxins that we all need to know about and protect ourselves from (bad grammer, I guess).  I read every bit of it.  Here’s a sample and a link to the full article:

Find out what everyday items are the worst for your health in terms of chemicals and toxins and what you can do about it.

Nobody knows just how much of a risk toxins in our food really pose. Most of the associations between chemical exposures and disease are just that—associations. But we’re exposed to dozens, if not hundreds, of chemicals, and the effects of some multiple exposures may be more than the sum of their parts, say experts. Or, in some cases, they might cancel each other out.

What’s more, toxins get into our bodies through more than just food. We are exposed to them through our carpets, lawn chemicals—even our clothing. Check out these 7 toxins you can avoid in your diet and get simple solutions for minimizing these chemicals and toxins in your diet and life.

Here’s you link to the article:  http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/organic_natural/7_simple_ways_to_detox_your_diet_and_your_home  Enjoy.

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May 11, 2010 · 10:28 am

Organic Milk: A Pint of the Right Stuff

Cows in organic field

Happy Organic Dairy Cows

This morning I read a terrific article in “The Independent” of UK.  It covers the pros and cons of switching to organic milk.  It’s such a terrific article, let me share some quotes.

If just 5 per cent of us switched to buying organic milk, says Humble, it would turn 52,000 acres – an area the size of Greater Birmingham – into organic land. For an extra pound a week we would get healthier milk, happier cows, more wildlife and a prettier countryside. Not a bad deal.

That translates into about an extra $2 per week for 5% of the UKs population to protect 52,000 acres of countryside for chemical pollution.  Just think what that could mean in the US!  It sends shivers up my spine to imagine it.  We vote with our dollars every day.  If we buy it, they will produce it.  Our family recently switched to organic milk and it tastes better!

Buying organic milk, says Kate Humble, is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of supporting farming with nature. “You will know it comes from well-managed farms, and you are doing something actively to protect and conserve the British countryside – and what an effortless way to do it.”

While this article was written in the UK, all of the principles are just as valid here in the US.  It’s a simple thing to do.  Just switch to buying organic products as much as you can and you will be changing the toxic load on our environment and ourselves.  Please think about it.  And comments are welcome.

Here’s a link to the full article:  http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/organic-milk-pint-of-the-right-stuff-1970459.html.

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March 23, 2010 · 3:06 pm

Pesticides to Blame for Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

Colony collapse disorder: Scientists blame pesticides for honeybee decline

New research finds systemic pesticides in 60 percent of tested honeybees and their hives in U.S., Canada

 By Leah Zerbe

(This story is reposted by permission of Rodale.com, where it orginally appeared.)

What you can do
Vote with your dollar: Support organic agriculture that keeps harmful chemicals out of the environment—and our bodies (and the bees’).

 
Agricultural chemicals are wiping out bees that  pollinate our crops and flowers.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Bee fan or not, we all rely on the insects to pollinate the fruit, nut, and vegetable crops we enjoy every day. But in the last few years, the populations of our pollinators, particularly honeybees, have been plummeting. Dubbed colony collapse disorder, the cause of the devastation isn’t known. There are many theories, from mites and viruses to cellphone towers. One potential cause—pesticides—gained more credibility this week with the release of a new study by Pennsylvania State University. Researchers found “unprecedented levels” of pesticides in honeybees and hives in the United States.

THE DETAILS: Scientists tested wax, trapped pollen, and honeybee specimens for chemical pesticides and chemicals originating from those pesticides. Investigating pesticide residue in samples taken from beekeepers from 23 states and one Canadian province during the 2007 to 2008 growing season, researchers found 121 different pesticides and metabolites in the 887 wax, pollen, bee, and hive samples. Nearly 60 percent of the 259 wax and 350 pollen samples contained at least one systemic pesticide—a type of poison that doesn’t remain on the surface of plants, but is taken up inside the plant, too, where honeybees go to feed.
For complete article click HERE.

[tweetmeme source=gsorganics only_single=false]

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February 18, 2010 · 12:38 pm

Mercury in Canned Tuna

In my update from Natural Food Merchandiser today, they highlighted their article titled “Canned tuna exceeds EPA’s safety levels for mercury.”  The information in the articles comes from testing done by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2006.  Nevertheless, it is interesting.  Read the full article at this LINK.  Here is an excerpt: 

More than half of canned tuna samples from three national brands exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safety level for human consumption, according to a new study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Only 5 percent of the tuna studied contained more mercury than what the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers safe.

A few things I noticed when I looked into the source a little further…

  1. The EPA guidelines for safe levels of mercury in human food is much lower than the levels set by the FDA.  Who to believe?
  2. While they note that one brand is worse than the other two, they don’t reveal the brand names.  Bummer!
  3. They noticed difference in mercury levels in different “types” of tuna.  Seems that “chunk light” was slightly less contaminated than “solid white” or “chunk white.”  Strange.

The conclusions drawn in the article and the study are that there is a need for a long-term monitoring program to ensure the safety of the tuna we consume.  I certainly agree with that!!  So what’s a body to do?

Of course, the answer to that depends on your situation and intention.  For children and pregnant women, the risks appear to be more dramatic.  It might be advisable to avoid tuna altogether.  Other adults might want to use it in moderation.  But there is an option for purchasing much safer tuna, but of course the cost is three to five times more than mainstream brands.  If you are like me, you will want to pay the extra price to be mercury free.

American Tuna LogoThe best mercury-free tuna I have found so far is American Tuna, a group of six fishing families in San Diego, California.  The 6 oz. cans run about $5 on their website market.  I would expect similar prices at the Whole Foods Market locations and other retailers on their list. 

Best regards to all of you.  Be safe, be healthy. [tweetmeme source=gsorganics only_single=false]

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