Green Cleaners

See WomenAndEnvironment.org

Toxic Chemicals Lobby: Exclusive Leaked Footage

Moms Take Action Against Toxic Chemicals

Headzup: Rocket Fuel In Baby Formula
In case you're wondering about this one, there's lots of stuff in our water. The birth control "pill" taken by many women is not fully absorbed by the body, goes into the sewer, and somehow (don't ask me) ends up in our water supply, as does many other pharmaceutical drugs people are taking. Rocket fuel distills from the air onto plants, etc., and gets into our water supply. A popular study I heard of in Natural Cures says rocket fuel was found in 100% of women's breast milk.

Write Your Government

To contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
(202) 326-2618
Fax: (202) 326-2034

To contact the Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville MD 20857-0001
(888) 463-6332
Fax: (301) 443-6591

To contact your congressman or senator:
Look in local phone book or visit www.congress.org or www.contactingthecongress.org

To contact the President of the United States:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: (202) 456-1111
Switchboard: (202) 456-1414
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
www.whitehouse.gov

Tell 'em what you think. It'd be a good idea to contact food producers, too; questionable ones you're skeptical of, and then good farming practices you support. Its always good to figure out what's in your food.

Lead

The following can be found in Healthy Child, Whole Child by Ditchek and Greenfield, both M.D.s.

Children are exposed to lead mostly through dust, dirt, and water. Lead poisoning results in lowered IQ, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, and criminal behavior. Early exposure to lead shrinks areas of the brain associated with attention, decision making, and emotional control. "The optimal level for lead in the blood is zero. Federal safe blood-lead levels are set at 10 mcg/dL, though it's known that damage occurs at even lower levels. Reducing our children's exposure to lead will be an expensive undertaking that may require government subsidy, but must be done."

Ways to reduce lead exposure:
1. Buy a testing kit with wipes that turn color in the presence of lead, especially if you live in an older home. Move out during any remodels. Wipe down walls regularly and take off shoes to reduce amount of dust tracked in.

2. Have your child's blood-levels checked at 10-12 mos. and at 2 years.

3. Make sure your children eat foods rich in calcium and iron. Pregnant women need adequate calcium so lead is not drawn from their bones into the blood supply.

4. Test household water for lead using an inexpensive screening kit. Replace pipes if they are accessible and appear to be a problem, or get a filter.

5. Dispose of thermometers, batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs, etc., as hazardous waste.

6. Request lead checks of schools, day care facilities, community centers, wherever children spend time.

7. Avoid fish and get omega-3 fatty acids through a purified fish oil supplement instead. Check state-by-state freshwater warnings at www.epa.gov.

8. Do not give your children patent remedies from China, India, Mexico, or the Caribbean, which are responsible for up to 30 percent of all cases of childhood lead poisoning.

9. Some candle wicks contain lead as a stiffener, which put enough lead into the air to exceed children's safe daily lead intake. Look for candles guaranteed to be lead free, and be careful in tightly closed rooms.

Milk and the Corporation

I was feeling a little radical proposing raw milk consumption, but yesterday my husband happened to have a lunch conversation about raw milk with a friend of ours. Apparently, someone in the Econ dept. is studying the topic and states that corporations have lobbied congress and now made it illegal to sell raw milk in some states, even though the health benefits are superior. Nutritionists state that supermarket milk just isn't what we need. It just makes it more convenient to get from producer to consumer, but makes it much more dangerous and not as healthy.

Campaign to change nutrition labels

I'm glad that the nutrition label has had some changes. When I was little, it was hardly readable. Its nice they made the print larger, and that trans fats are added to the picture. However, I would change a few very important things.

First off, I now believe the most important thing on the label is not the nutrition facts chart at all but the ingredients listing! I think the main thing to ask before eating is: is this real food?

Second, calories is right at the top of the chart, but focusing too much on calories loses sight of the fact that the chemicals put into diet sodas and low-fat foods often makes us more prone to weight gain than the actual fat and sugar it replaces.

Then on the actual chart, I think the Total Fat section should be expanded to include:
Omega 6 fatty acids
Omega 3 fatty acids and its component DHA (these are essential for brain function, and we have no clue how much we're getting- do they want to raise U.S. test scores, or what?) The ratio of omega 3s to omega 6s in our diet is very important. At the turn of the century, they were eating more correctly, at about a 1:2 ratio. That ratio today is about 1:46. Omega 3s can be found in coldwater fish, primarily, fish capsules (keep refrigerated), walnuts, flax, also in grass-fed red meats and cage-free vegetarian-fed hen eggs. If it were labeled, we'd all see where it is! It'd be nice if all meats were labeled, period, with nutrition facts, but expanded to include omega-3 measurements.
Trans fats should be in milligrams instead of grams so there's no more deceptive labeling and
conjugated linoleic acid could be on there, too.

And, very importantly, the amount of post-production free glutamic acid present (see MSG) should be labeled, in grams, to the third decimal place. See more on this issue at Natural Health Care Products. There are lots of health risks from MSG consumption, and we have no idea how much we're eating.

Maybe post-production lead and arsenic should be labeled, too. Of course, that probably varies in production from month to month.

GMO definitely should be on the label, as well as irradiation. I think that's a consumer's right, yet the producers have vehemently decided for us that its not necessary, to prevent consumers being scared off from their product. Seriously! Its all about the money! Besides, how many people read labels anyway? Chill! People will still eat it anyway, label or no label, sadly.

What really should be jumping out at us to buy at the grocery store (fruits and vegetables!) don't even generally have a nutrition label. I wonder if we'd be amazed at the nutrition found in them (or lack thereof by growing and shipping practices), and want to buy them all up. The way our labels are set up, it destroys all the benefits of fruits and veggies; for example, I have a plastic baggie sitting on the counter stating calories, serving size, carbohydrates, fat, protein, and sodium, of common fruits and vegetables. Looking at it, it just doesn't make sense. No wonder there's so much confusion about nutrition. If we're comparing only those four components it almost makes celery equal to a salty soup. Should I avoid avocados, pears, and bananas because they're highest in calories, and start eating lots of cabbage, iceburg lettuce, cucumbers, and cauliflower? Ridiculous. I realize our food labels make no sense.

Currently on the label are macronutrients which include protein, fats, carbohydrates, (and water), and then micronutrients, which are vitamins, minerals, (and good bacteria). Sometimes I look at labels, and wonder how I'm even getting any vitamins and minerals (except in the case of fortified foods). Isn't it crazy how the nutrients are almost always 0% or 2%? If you're real lucky it may have 4% or 6% daily value. (My applesauce had 100% vitamin C, which I was surprised of. Then, I switched brands and realized it was all just the ascorbic acid added; my applesauce now has just 4% DV vitamin C and 8% iron.) I also wonder if there is ever a >1% DV in a food, is it always on the label? (You know... how its common to skip most and just put Vitamins C, A, Iron, and calcium?)

Beyond this, though, (note: its just a fantasy) but there's even more to put on the nutrition label. Heard of phytonutrients? Bioflavinoids? Antioxidants? Enzymes? Coenzymes? Cofactors? Amino acids? There are even some healthy properties of our food that science doesn't even know what they are yet, just knows they're there.

WIC

WIC is a national food program designed to benefit infants, children, and pregnant or nursing women by giving them checks for specific food items at registered stores. Its not meant to provide all the food that low-income children or expecting women need, but to supplement meager incomes with healthy foods in hopes of improving overall nutrition.

I first noticed WIC food choices were rather interesting about 3 years ago. The items that first struck me as odd were peanut butter and tuna fish. The foods available to buy on the check are pretty limited, and why peanut butter was selected was odd to me. Most children are advised not to eat peanut products until age two because of the risk of allergies.

Tuna fish is on pregnant women's checks, yet, the amount is right at the limit of a pregnant woman's recommended intake of tuna, assuming she's rationing a can per week and not eating more than one. I was told that peanut butter is a great source of protein. Tuna as well, and its high in omega 3s which are essential especially for developing infants. But, why does WIC warn about high mercury consumption, and then have it as a WIC item?

The other available foods through WIC are (See Federal online listing or Washington State specific brochure):

• Select cold cereals
• Milk
• eggs
• fruit juice
• dried beans
• dried beans or peanut butter
• canned meats
  
• cheese
• fruit and vegetable choices
• whole grain choices
  
• soy beverages
• infant formula, cereal, and baby food
  

I won't even go into the quantities of foods that are on the checks, its just weird sometimes, like 1 quart of milk or two separate one pounds of cheese, but lets talk more about the health of these products. Here's Washington WIC:

Select cereals Kix, Special K, Cheerios, Wheat Rice or Corn Chex, Grape-Nuts, Grape-Nut Flakes, Cream of Wheat, Life; I thought it was all great, increasing whole grain consumption. I've lately learned a little about cold cereals, and that due to the level of heat of production, whole grain cereals like Wheaties and Cheerios result in higher insulin spikes than even straight sugar. The high heat also destroys many nutrients, and "creates toxic elements that have caused rapid death in test animals," yet the FDA approves the use of words like cancer and heart-health promoting on the box. (Barbee, 117)
Milk Well, I've learned raw milk from grass-fed cows beats all, including increasing omega 3s, but raw milk isn't allowed. Nor is goats milk, which is fit for those that can't digest cow's milk. Homogenizing milk (all supermarket brands) makes xanthine oxidase (which damages arterial walls) more absorbed in humans. (Read Politically Incorrect Nutrition.) The growth hormone rBST which has been linked to cancer and weakened immune, and is also important to avoid. In Washington state, rBST-free are readily available and labeled.
In the second year of life, children are given whole milk, which fats help in "brain development." At 2 years of age, they are then switched to anything but whole milk. Are we supposed to believe that the brain instantly doesn't need those fats for development anymore, and "dieting" should be higher priority? Low fat, reduced fat, and skim often have milk solids added which increases free glutamic acid.
eggs Organic eggs aren't allowed, which are higher in omega 3s, but I wonder if advertised vegetarian-fed "cage-free" eggs are, which also have higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids and DHA, essential for brain function. If they're not, I'm sure WIC would change if they realized more omega 3s would be available.
fruit juice This is one of the worst. Sure, it gives vitamins, and it comes from fruit, right? Well, its best fresh made at home. Pasteurization of packaged juice destroys a lot of the enzymes and other nutrients. Just sitting on the shelf, it loses nutrients. Its basically just a sugar drink. It also comes in a plastic bottle- BPA threat? or, tin can- aluminum threat?
WIC offers so much juice. Juice is one of the major sources of sugar in children's diets, right next to soda, according to Behavior and Nutrition. Dentists advise not giving these juices in sippy cups for all-day sipping, which leads to tooth decay, as well as hyperactivity, insulin resistance, and further down the road, type II diabetes. Boxed juice also contains lead, but big deal; so does much of our food.
dried beans Sounds good. They give out a cookbook of bean recipes to expand our world of beans. Cheap, great food storage food :), and they say "baby's love beans."
dried beans or peanut butter Who's really going to choose $1 worth of free beans over $3 worth of free peanut butter, even if it is allergenic? Avoid trans fats by buying 100% natural (Adam's) peanut butter.
canned meats Tuna: contains mercury, but excellent for omega 3s.
cheese Great. Gotta love this one. Just trying to switch over to raw milk cheese, rBST free, from grass-fed cows, and annatto coloring isn't great for us, nor are enzymes.
fruit and vegetable choices They just barely started this. Much needed.
whole grain choices choose corn tortillas, bulgur, oatmeal, brown rice, or 100% whole grain bread (all if its the right weight). Many dough conditioners, additives, and preservatives, aren't good for us. Bread is best homemade.
soy beverages, tofu Soy is not a complete protein; also, unfermented soy products can lead to hyperthyroidism
infant formula, cereal, and baby food Infant formula and baby foods often have hidden MSG and/or BPA. Most people I know have an excess of baby foods and cereals from WIC that they never used.

So, overall, is WIC helping or hurting? I'm not anti-government-choosing-for-us what we eat, so its not Twinkies and Ho-hos, especially when we've got an obesity epidemic and we're undergoing universal healthcare. I think WIC is pretty helpful in many ways (whole grains, fruits and veggies). A real problem is just our food system in general, so how can you blame WIC when its got poor food to choose from?

But, money is voting power, and whoever decides what WIC can and cannot buy has a lot of power to choose a lot of votes in our food supply, for good or ill. What really kills me is the bottled fruit juice and the no-raw no-goats now no-organic milk, and, well, you can see what else I wrote above about the other items.

The Corporation

The Corporation. Available at Washington State University library (search for "the corporation dvd achbar") and through Netflix.

John Perkins Speaking Freely

This movie put a lot of the pieces of the puzzle together for me. Whereas the world was kind of confusing to me, its now in perspective. Foreign aid, third world poverty, and immigration laws.

America: the Land of Plenty

Dear Mr. President,

My people are starving! We have a shortage of real food! My husband and my family are beside ourselves about what to eat! Our food is full of high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, sugar, MSG, aspartame, fluoride, often of little nutritional value. Add to that GMO foods, pesticides, herbicides, and homogenized milk. Our people are sick, and their bodies are suffer from food reactions of rage, ADHD, depression, obesity, headaches, fibromyalgia, etc., etc., etc. We're filling the prisons and popping more pills than ever. You'd think we were a third world country instead of "developed" with the way kids are "deficient" (by government standards) in so many essential vitamins and minerals, over half in vitamin A and iron, and people are still contracting scurvy.

Sure, at home I can avoid these things by reading labels, but what if I am ever sent into a rest home, with the typical American diet high in all these dangers? What about when I get sent to a hospital, or heaven forbid a prison, and served the same hazards on my plate? What about patients that go in for brain surgery, returning with a brain that is feeble and more susceptible to glutamate toxicity, and unwittingly administered a liquid diet full of excitotoxins? Worse yet, what am I going to do about about sending my kids to public school?

Heads should roll in our aristocratic elite, namely, the "glutes," the FDA (who appointed these guys anyway?), the FTC, corporate "food" entities, chemical and biotech producers, Big Pharm, and all the big business lobbyists, who shortchange real information about health and are spending big bucks everywhere keeping us sick. They're sucking the life out of the servant class, making us sick and resorting to drugs, which leads to further problems and more drugs and money. To the Guillotine!

President Obama:

So, you say MSG is making you sick, eh? Isn't that just an essential amino acid?

Well, you know, we don't recite, "We the people," for nothing; you can't expect the people in Washington to do all the work for you. Keep blogging and hope people forward the information as they find fit to their friends. Some will go along, others won't. It would also be a good idea to write local leaders and state governments, and the producers of food.

Look at the case of trans fats and BPA. The FDA really didn't do anything about it until public opinion practically forced it to do its work. Once public is educated and people start talking, then you have a little more leverage over big business. Otherwise, its just going to rule this nation. (Believe me, I know; got paid $200,000 just yesterday from another drug company.) [j/k]

We care about you, and we want our people to have the best schools, best healthcare, best criminal justice. America is a world leader in a global economy! So, you say the people are starving? Hmm, perhaps, we should let them eat cake?

Me: Very insightful, Mr. President. We do have an obesity problem in this country, but perhaps cake is just the trick. Thanks for the insight, and perhaps we won't starve after all... as,

Homemade pudding doesn't call for sodium caseinateI've never seen a recipe for ice cream that called for carageenan,
and homemade chocolate syrup doesn't have Xanthan gum added to thicken and prevent separation, and
homemade granola doesn't have whey protein concentrate.I'd never want to eat a store-bought cake again, but perhaps homemade would be alright.

...We just need to grow (and demand) more healthy food!

An Abundance of Food

We rented Fantastic Mr. Fox, and it wasn't as great as I thought it would be. My second grade teacher Mrs. Askins read us the book, which was wonderful, but this movie just wasn't entertaining even though it cracked lots of jokes. I did enjoy Meryl Streep's lines (Mr. Fox's wife) taming her unruly husband.



Mr. Fox is a chicken robber who is cornered underground by his enemies, farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, until the end of the movie where he finally escapes by the skin of his teeth, and then serendipitously raids the ginormous Boggis, Bunce, and Bean supermarket store, as though he's mastered his enemies.

"Do another toast, Dad," says his son.

"Okay. Let's see. They say all foxes are slightly allergic to linoleum. But it's cool to the paw. Try it. They say our tree [their home which was dug up] may never grow back. But, one day, something will.

"Yes, these crackles are made out of synthetic goose, ...and these Giblets come from artificial squab. And even these apples look fake...but at least they've got stars on them.

"I guess my point is we'll eat tonight, and we'll eat together, and even in this not particularly flattering light, you are without a doubt, the five-and-a-half most wonderful wild animals I've ever met in my life.

"So let's raise our boxes. To our...survival!

"How was that?"

"That was a good toast." -His closing lines
(Best shot I could get of the store is just a glimpse in the above video clip).

So, my point: was he really moving up in the world by trading in his chicken stealing days for raiding the Boggis, Bunce, and Bean supermarket store? (Waah!) Hello, heart disease. I feel that the sentiments he shared on that momentous night are what most people are feeling deep inside across this great land. "This might be fake food, but this is livin'."

The superfoods guru of FoodMatters believes we should be having the best food in the world. Instead of demanding good food people would rather spend money on rent or other luxuries. Food, Inc. producers states we average spending about 9% of our income on food in the U.S., which is measly. (For our family its a lot bigger chunk than 9%!)

Others believe that our modern technology has helped the world meet the demands of a growing population; but watch John Perkins Speaking Freely, Supersize Me, Food, Inc., Fed Up! or King Corn to see our food supply is not what it could be. Greed (from businesses and industry) will never supply us with good food. Quite the contrary, what has Monsanto given us? Soybeans, GM corn, tons of pesticides and herbicides, rBST growth hormone? Sounds like a bunch of poison to me, illegal dumping aside.

Cholesterol

"'The public is so brainwashed, that many people believe that the lower your cholesterol, the healthier you will be or the longer you will live. Nothing could be further from the truth... The cholesterol cartel of drug companies, manufacturers of low-fat foods, blood-testing devices and others with huge vested financial interests have waged a highly successful promotional campaign. Their power is so great that they have infiltrated medical and government regulatory agencies that would normally protect us from such unsubstantiated dogma.'" -Professor Rosch, former President of the New York State Society of International Medicine, quoted in Barbee

Maintaining healthy cholesterol: Exercise "very fit athletes are known to ahve high HDL readings. Even moderate exercise like walking creates healthy changes in the body which, in turn, appear to create a demand for frewer of the dense LDL cholesterol particles."

Tips (Barbee, p31):
There is clinical evidence that stress reduction helps lower cholesterol levels.

Avoid all foods containing partially hydrogenated oils. Limit sugar. Excessive amounts can raise cholesterol.

Start adding healthy omega 3s to the diet from fish, flax, walnuts, and olive oil. For cooking at high heat, use organic coconut, sesame, or rice bran oils.

Drink water. Its the easiest way to protect the heart.

The idea that cholesterol is bad for us comes from a study in 1924 done on bunnies. They were fed cholesterol and their arteries were clogged and they died. The problems with the studies were 1. The cholesterol they were eating was already damaged (oxidized and not fresh) and 2. bunnies are vegetarians and have no way of dealing with dietary cholesterol.

"We need cholesterol to keep our cells healthy, to help create the sex hormones, and to make sure the brain and nervous system function properly. Cholesterol is an important component of every cell. The liver acts like a cholesterol thermostat, controlling how much is in the bloodstream at a given time. What has largely been hidden is the fact that, if for some reason there is not enough cholesterol supplied to the brain, people are more likely to suffer depression, exhibit aggressive behavior, and have higher suicide rates." (This in Barbee's book, with references)

"Very low cholesterol levels are indeed dangerous. Low cholesterol levels are equated with a greater risk of dying from cancer. In terms of heart disease, there is no greater risk at cholesterol levels of 300 than at 180. But some research indicates that the "all-cause" death rate is higher in individuals with cholesterol levels lower than 180."

Cholesterol plays the role of healer. If the task is too big for the role cholesterol attempts to play, and if a person succumbs to heart disease, we wrongly blame the cholesterol instead of focusing on the other factors related to developing this disease. Saturated fat and cholesterol should not be feared.

Cholesterol is needed to synthesize sunlight into vitamin D. If the body gets inadequate sunlight, cholesterol levels rise. Plenty of sunlight normalizes cholesterol levels.

"Abundant amounts of fruits and vegetables will help to prevent oxidative damage to the arteries and also help to keep the cholesterol and fats carried by the LDL from becoming oxidized." LDL is highly subject to oxidization, but vitamin E can prevent this from occuring.

"Avoid cholesterol that has already been oxidized outisde the body: dried or powdered milk and eggs. Also on the 'to avoid' list are the processed meats. Fresh sources of cholesterol-rich foods are fine. Remember, it's the processed, oxidized, chemical-laden, cholesterol-rich foods that are a problem.

"High levels of homocystein can contribute not only to heart disease but to osteoporosis as well. There even appears to be a link between elevated levels of homocystein and Alzheimer's disease. In most cases, this substance can be kept in check with a diet supplying plenty of vitamins B6 (potatoes, bananas, liver, turkey, lentils, wheat bran, cabbage, milk, eggs, cantaloupe) and B12 (eggs, dairy, beef, fish, poultry), folic acid (leafy greens, beans, citrus, beets, meat, carrots, whole wheat) and choline (some fo the best sources for cholinea re egg yolks, lecithin, and fish).

"Low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets-particularly those which include large amounts of refined carbohydrates- are also implicated in causing heart disease. The high-carb diets pushed on the public for so many years by numerous health authorities tend to create insulin resistance, whereas a high-fat diet does not. The body's increased production of insulin not only puta a strian on the panceras, but the exess inslulin appeasr to generate greater levels of heart-damaging homocysteine.

"Fatal heart attacks were cut in half in a group drinking more water.

High levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream are not the cause of heart disease. About half of all those having heart attacks have cholesterol readings that are normal or below normal.

FDA

Trans fats

"Trans fats have been implicated in higher risks of developing both heart disease and cancer. The list of problems associated with the consumption of trans fats, unfortunately, is not a short one: heart disease, obesity (by increasing the size of the fat cells), diabetes, low birth weight, allergies, asthma, and immunte dysfunction." (Barbee, p26)

"For years the FDA turned a blind eye to [the fact that trans fat disrupts cellular function and interferes with the use of essential fatty acids in the body], although recently they have begrudgingly decided that food labels will soon have to include trans fat in the estimation of total fat content. Why not ban it instead of just warning us? One would think the edible oil industry has the same clout as the tobacco companies.... This is a product suspected of causing death. Breast cancer rates are directly tied to trans fats, which are found in 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil'... Government regulations permit products to be labeled as 'all natural' even if they have trans fats added to them in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. But the trans fats found in these oils do not behave like the trans fats that occur naturally in small amounts in certain animal foods like milk. Natural trans fats are converted to beneficial conjugated linoleic acid or to energy. To say that the partially hydrogenated oil added to countless food products is 'natural' is more than a little deceitful." (Barbee, p29)

Bovine Growth Hormone

"It is clear that this added hormone harms the cows, but what about the people who drink their milk? The FDA, which gave approval to rBGH in 1993, said that Monsanto's product was no different from the natural BGH already present in cow's milk and that it would have no specific impact on humans. Untrue. BGH acts as a growth hormone only in cows, we were told; the extra hormones in milk from injected cows would not be absorbed in the bloodstream. False, again.

"The problem for people may not be the rBGH per se, but rather what it does inside the cow: rBGH creates elevated levels of another hormone called IGF-1 (insulinlike growth factor), which occurs naturally in the human bodya nd is useful for a variety of metabolic functions. One study showed a sixfold increase of IGF-1 in milk form cows injected with rBGH. Elevated amounts of IGF-1, however, are of great concern. It must be remembered that hormones are unlike many drugs in that they are esxtrememly powderful in small amounts and can set up an entrire chain of events in the human body. The IGF-1 from milk is identical to that found in humans iand is not destroyed by pasteurization; nor is it destroyed in the human stomach. It is absorbed into the bloodstream, thereby raisnng levels of this potent hormone, which causes cells to divide. THe concern, of course, is with high amoutns of IGF-1 and its ability to promote cancer.

Monsanto has been very concerned about the public's reaction and possible mistrust of their new cow drug. And so it is no surprise that former Monsanto employee, who was rehired byh the company after hsi tenure at he FDA, was respobsible for writing regulations prohibiting food lables taht would tell consumers whether or not they were getting rBGS- treated products. Monsanto itself got into the act in 1994 by suing two milk processors for trying to label their proudcts "BGH free," and was reported to have sent out about 2000 warning letters to other diary processors and retailers.

Watch about Monsanto and Health Canada, and Fox TV in Tampa.

"The British journal Lancet reported a sevenfold increase in the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women with the highest levels of IGF-1 in their blood. The publication Science reported a fourfold increased risk of prostate cancer in men with elevated levels of IGF-1, even though these levels were within the normal range. This growth hormone has also been implicated in cancers of the lung and colon. It is interesteing to note that elevated levels of IGF-1 are also caused by consumption of fluoride and soy protein. British researchers have cautioned agsint consuming substances that incrase concentrations of IGF-1 because of "the increasing evidence of the risk of cancer."

Dr. Michael Hansen, a researcher at the Consumer Union in New York, believes that hte risk of polyps and tumors from iGF-1 in treated milk, along with an inadequate or improper evaluation of its safety by the FDA is enough to pull rBGH off the market. In fact, every other country in the world prohibits its use. The IGF-1 in treated milk is absorbed in teh GI tract and is more bioactive than that in regular milk; these properties are enhanced by pasteurization.

Dr. Samuel S. Epstein at the University of Illinois in Chicago is an expert on the environmetnal causes of cancer and has frequently been called upon to give expert testimony before Congress. He cliams that the IGF-1 from rBGH-treated milk may well promote cancer of the breast and colon. He adds, "In short, with the active complicity of the FDA, the entire nation is being subjected to an experiment... it (rBGH) poses a major potential public health risk for the entire U.S. population. With the clear health risks to cows and the potential for rBGH to cause human tumors, how could the FDA have ever granted approval to market this drug? Did the long period of testing on animals before approval reveal no risks at all? Well, the FDA has kept these details under wraps.

You see, a key 90- day study on 30 rats conducted by Monsanto, which convinced the FDA to approve their drug, has never been made public- or even made availabe to the independent scientifific community.

Trans Fats

In our local Women's Conference at church four or so years ago, one speaker addressed us about nutrition. I remember her telling us about trans fats, and how they were terrible things to avoid; they make rats dumb and fat, unable to use their heads to get themselves through mazes. She said trans fats give items a long shelf life, so producers love to use them, and they're in everything: crackers, chips, etc., and I later learned in shortening, peanut butter, and lots of our goods with flour in them like breakfast bars and cake mixes. She said that they weren't on the nutrition label yet, but shortly it would be required, and in the mean time to read ingredient labels for partially hydrogenated oils and to avoid them.

Well, time passed, and trans fats became labeled. All the things I had been taught contained trans fats had "zero" trans fat on the label. I have only found one product in all of my existence that said it had "trace amounts of trans fat," but still zero trans fat. I was so confused. Everything I knew about trans fat became fuzzy to me, I couldn't even write about it until just a week or two ago.

Apparently, zero does not mean zero in Washington D.C., and there is deception in our food labels. Watch "Deceptive food labels" video.

It is still true that trans fats are not good for us, and basically they're hydrogenated oils. I have no idea how producers are saying their products have zero trans fat, because its in everything. I'm looking at my can of Crisco right now, and it says zero trans fat. It has 1. soybean oil 2. fully hydrogenated oil (is that okay?) 3. partially hydrogenated oil (the culprit), and then on to lots of other things I'd rather not eat such as TBHQ and citric acid which is probably derived from corn. So, how could this be, zero trans fat?

Anyways, I would think it wise look for and to avoid the partially hydrogenated oils. Doctors and dieticians advise it. Trans fats "disrupt cellular function and interfere with the use of essential fatty acids in the body... Breast cancer rates are directly tied to trans fat consumption (Barbee, p29)." "Trans fats [partially hydrogenated vegetable oils] have been implicated in higher risks of developing both heart disease and cancer. The list of problems associated with the consumption of trans fats, unfortunately, is not a short one: heart disease, obesity (by increasing the size of the fat cells), diabetes, low birth weight, allergies, asthma, and immunte dysfunction(Barbee, p26)."

Trans fats are created "by the deoderization process designed to mask vegetable oil rancidity or throught eh hydrogenatoin process to maek the oil firm, and are found today in countless baked an d processed ofoods They were identified as unhealthy as far back as 1958," says Barbee. "A recent report at The National Academy of Science's Institue of Medicine concluded that the safe amount of trans fat in our food is 'zero'."

Now, the clincher: trans fat is touted as a great way to avoid "saturated fats". Thus, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), (which I quoted in "12 food additives to avoid," as not to be fully trusted (I was right!)) with all good intentions tried to interfere with McDonalds to reduce their use of saturated fats on french fries. Thus, now McDonald's french fries are slathered in hydrogenated oils which plummets fry health value to a food of death, and the thing is, saturated fat isn't even something to avoid; the American Heart Association has us all misinformed. Read Julie & Julia!

CSPI was aghast with all the saturated fat on theater popcorn, and now that's full of trans fat, too, in place of the healthy coconut oil! CPSI acknowledged: 'Until the early 1900s, if you wanted a solid fat for your pie crust, you had to choose between lard, butter, or beef tallow. In 1911, Procter and Gamble changed all that when it introduced Crisco, a shortening made by hydrogenating a liquid oil (cottonseed)." It is a mystery why CSPI couldn't put two and two together and see that it was at this very time in our history that heart disease rates began to climb. Healthy, natural animal fats were replaced with polyunsaturated and hydrogenated oils (Barbee)."A Harvard University study showed higher intakes o ftrans fats in those who developed heart diseas.

A significant risk factor for developing heart disease is high levels of a substance in the blood called lipoprotein(a). This Lp(a) is a 'sticky' variant of LDL cholesterol and appears to help form arterial plaques. Saturated fat lowers levels of this damaging substance while consumption of trans fat raises the amount of Lp(a) in the blood. Cell membranes simply prefer saturated fat, but through their advertising, promoters of the vegetable oil industry have tried to convince us otherwise. A high consumption of polyunsaturated fats, however, has long been connected to the development of cancer and heart disease.

The Dutch government has banned the sale of margarine containing trans fats. Government regulations [in the U.S.] permit products to be labeled as "all natural" even if they have trans fats added to them in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The trans fats found in these oils do not behave like the trans fats that occur naturally in small amounts in certain animal foods like milk. Natural trans fats are converted to benefiecial conjugated linoleic acid or to energy. To say that the partially hydrogenated oil added to countless food products is 'natural' is more than a little deceitful. ...It is foreign and toxic.

Update July 24, 2010:
So, watching this video by nutritionist Rhadia Gleis, I think I understand that the hydrogenation process used to make fats stable goes a little flukey sometimes and creates trans fat. So, I guess that's how something made completely of hydrogenated components (such as shortening) can have only a little trans fat in it. Its just a percentage that goes haywire in the chemical process. The recommended intake of trans fat is zero trans fat (as it is zero for lead, BPA, etc.). However, I think even though all our labels say zero trans fat it doesn't mean it doesn't have it. As one person states "zero in Washington [D.C.] doesn't mean zero."

King Corn

We had a hard time understanding where this movie was going for the first half hour besides growing an acre of corn in Iowa. It got better, though, much better, and I think these guys stumbled on just about the hugest story of our food, and Food, Inc. was just a spin-off (unless its just common knowledge). This is the food movie. (Aside from this gem).

These two document filmers very politely interview a farmer and his wife in Iowa, and the farmer's wife just out says, "Yeah, we're growing a bunch of crap." They were blown away. "Crap?" The farmer's wife says she can't use it, maybe she'd grind it up to make a little cornmeal, but she hardly does that.

This corn is genetically modified and breeded and its easy to get a high yield. Millions of dollars have been spent researching uses for it. Now its subsidized. Yet, its inedible to beast and man. Its feeds our beef, and anyone my age has probably only had corn-fed beef, and no grass-fed beef in their life.

A little over half of the corn in Iowa goes to confinement feed lots where they bring in young calves and feed them for 140-150 days and then butcher them. "They may as well slaughter them after six months, as the cows are going to die anyway." The corn diet will actually kill a cow in six months.

A corn-fed diet which is high in starch, with a confinement lot where they can't move, makes the cows gain weight quickly and can they can be slaughtered much faster than grass-fed cows. The resulting ground beef from corn-fed cows is full of antibiotics put in the cows so they can survive the diet, and their muscle tissue looks more like fat tissue. There are 9 grams of saturated fat vs. 1.3 grams saturated fat per serving in corn-fed vs. grass-fed beef. "Its really not meat, its fat. Sixty-five percent of the calories come from fat." One farmer of a confinement feed-lot states "If America wanted grass-fed beef, we would give them grass-fed beef."

I have two pages of notes of knowledge this film has, so there's lots more. Available at WSU library. I recommend viewing this.

Tuna: The Triple Whammy

Look, Ma, I caught a big one!

More playing with the food storage. So, yes, tuna can contain mercury, MSG, and BPA. I'm not going to say don't eat it. Its got omega 3 fatty acids, protein, I don't even know the cost-benefit analysis of eating a can of tuna, but there are ways to reduce risks:

1. Look for tuna with just water, salt, no broth. Broths often contain MSG.

2. Buy fresh and avoid canned to hurdle BPA leached from can linings. I'd like to can my own meat if I can find the right size jars.

3. Mercury: sadly, 95% of all tuna on earth now contain mercury. What to Expect When you're Expecting (2008) states pregnant women should limit tuna and freshwater fish caught by recreational fishers to 6 ounces per week. For everyone, fish with lower mercury content are "salmon (wild caught is best), sole, flounder, haddock, tilapia, halibut, ocean perch, pollack, cod, and trout, as well as other smaller ocean fish (anchovies, sardines, and herring are not only safe, but also loaded with omega 3)." Alex Jones states he read that much of the mercury we eat passes through us with our food, but the dangerous mercury to avoid is in our vaccinations.

The Seattle Times quoted a producer on the BPA-ban in sippy cups and formulas in WA: "It's 'being put in the mind of consumers that it [canned food] is a dangerous product,' said Randy Ray, a lobbyist for the Pacific Seafood Processors Association. 'And try making a can of salmon to sell in 50 states and have 50 states tell you [you] have to do it differently.'"

I would say to him, we're all the same species and what is harmful to humans in Washington state is going to have the same affect on humans in Mississippi, so there are no 50 different standards; what endangers Washingtonians also endangers Mississippians, too.

Mercury

Word on the street, a few ways to get mercury into your system:

1. "Breathing in while passing a coal plant," will give you "the same amount of mercury found in your local flu shot."

2. Select vaccinations.

3. Eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, or tuna steaks.

4. Mercury fillings.

Whoa, whoa, back up. This video reveals a way longer list than I knew:

Watch Video Clip "Mercury- How to get this lethal poison out of your system"

Do NOT vaccuum up mercury, as it will distribute it into the air.

Do not have your mercury fillings removed by just anyone. Once the drilling starts, it goes into the air and can poison those present. The dentist must know what they're doing and have a special vaccuum for the vapors.

Pregnant women should not be getting the normal flu shot, even though they'll offer it; get thimerosol free.

Chelation is a process of putting proteins in the body which gather the mercury in order to get it out of the system. Also special foods and supplements.

What are the affects of Mercury on the body? (Lots of neurological, depression, weight gain, etc.) How to clean up? What to eat, what to avoid? Watch the continuation of the above video.

Read more:

Most flu shots contain mercury, but few know it

First person: The quest for a flu vaccine without mercury

Mom's Against Mercury

Thimerosol, organic mercury, swine flu, and you

Does the Swine Flu Vaccine contain Mercury?

Flu Vaccine: Contains Mercury, Take Caution if Younger or Lightweight

Your Child’s Flu Vaccine May Contain Mercury

The Mercury Story

Mercury Poisoning and Heavy Metal Toxicity

Learn more about Mercury and other heavy metal toxicities by clicking on my toxin label.

Freedom of Speech

I don't feel its quite fair when McDonald's is advertising and advertising and advertising $4 billion worldwide while anti-MSG advocates get illegitimately institutionalized and drugged for carrying on their campaign, and forced penniless. (My hero, even when I don't really know much of the guy)

I find it amazing that it is becoming illegal to take photographs of industrial food in processing.

Its rather crazy that a mother of a son killed by E. Coli can't say on Food, Inc. in interview everything she knows about our system because of retaliation she may receive by the food industry, and disturbing that scientists fear losing their reputation for publishing work against fluoride.

Censor dentists that refuse to use mercury fillings, and doctors that cure "incurable" neurological diseases (by treating for toxic reaction to a flu shot and mercury toxicity), by taking away their licenses, money, and also destroy their family.

Fire columnist of the Denver Post David Wann for diagnosing America with "affluenza," the insatiable desire for more goods, (Simple Prosperity, Wann, 24) to appease the CEOs whose companies advertised in this metropolitan newspaper, and call him a terrorist for "shaking the foundations of our society."

How about two threatening letters from Monsanto to Fox TV in Tampa, FL, about their TV series on rBGH in milk, claiming there would be "dire consequences" if the station proceeded with the reports? "Management at the Fox station ordered the [investigative] reporters to make changes to the series, particularly where it addressed cancer concerns. Steven and Karen would not consent to the changes. They were even offered money to leave the station and keep quiet... They declined and were fired." (Barbee, 71)

I'm starting to see the world in terms of these looming entities: big business, Big Pharm, ADA, and AMA, that overshadow the scientists, dentists and doctors like King Kong.

Glutamate Blockers

Millions of dollars are being spent producing Glutamate Blocker pharmaceuticals instead of taking MSG out of our food supply.
Examples of glutamate blockers (I think, I just Googled this quickly, also read truthinlabeling):

• Dimebon (to treat Alzheimer's)
• Budipine
• Abilify (now given to treat autism)
• Remacemide
• Memantine
• Riluzole
• Lamotrigine
• Gabapentin
  
• GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal (lamotrigine)
• ipenoxazone hydrochloride
• Memantine
• acamprosate (for schizophrenia)
• gabapentin
• Naltrexone
• Liraglutide (for diabetes and obesity)
• CoQ10
• Ibuprofin (but Tylenol does not block glutamate)
  

Super Size Me

This movie was so revolting. I don't recommend it to anyone. We watched it in two parts, the first half hour and then the rest. I was so disgusted in the first half hour, I didn't want to finish, but forced myself to just to post it on this here blog. I don't know who was a worse sucker for stubbornness: him trying to kill himself eating burgers for a whole month against the advice of his doctors, or me torturing myself through the entire movie just to see what I could get out of his interviews, etc. By the end, I thought I had gotten nothing out of it. Then... I got to thinking, and realized more and more what I learned.

Highlights:
The very best part of this movie, that you'll want to watch, is when he goes into the public school system to see what they're eating. It may vary according to version, but FF to about 51 minutes 20 seconds and watch to 57:52. Amazing! Highly recommended.

I also recommend seeing the GMA lobbyists (FF to Minute 1:22:15) The GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) is a member of the group that promotes "MSG is safe"

Besides that, there's,
Bypass surgery "Desperate problems call for desperate measures."

Advertising Kids that can't even recognize visuals of Washington, Lincoln, or Jesus, correctly identify Ronald McDonald.
In 2001:

• McD's spent $1.4 billion on radio, television, and print worldwide
• Pepsi spent $1 billion on direct media advertising
• Hersheys spent $200 million internationally
• In its peak year, the 5-a day Fruit and vegetable campaign total advertising budget in all media was $2 million "100 times less than just the direct media budget of [Hershey's] candy company."
  

Regulations are being passed prohibiting photography of industrial food production They don't want us to see how our food is made! We might not want to eat it.

Nutrition Facts are difficult, if not impossible to find. They're "on the internet," yet he states that an astounding percent of the U.S. populous does not have the internet. How can you argue consumer responsibility, when the nutrition facts aren't even posted?

Naivety of interviewees off the street It was ingenious to ask people off the street, "What is a calorie?" I would have never thought to ask that question, and would have never guessed that so many people didn't have an answer. What is the point of even having food labels if people don't know what a calorie is?

What goes into a chicken nugget You guessed it- a million ingredients, all low quality.

Heavy users defined Seventy-two percent of McD's customers. These guys eat at McD's at least once a week. Those that frequent McD's 3+ times a week that are called super heavy users and total 22% of McD's customers.

See lots of fat people on video And realize how big we are.

and, of course, I guess you have to include the punchline
Spurlock gets life-threateningly ill on his month- long McD's diet He induces a fatty liver and rapid weight gain. He suffers a myriad of other symptoms such as depression, food addiction, and erectile dysfunction.

Spurlock's study methods are totally unscientific; he should have controlled for calories. He was eating 5,000 calories a day. So, was it all due to the food source, or his calories? If he would have stuck to a normal caloric intake it would really show what McDonald's food does to you, overeating aside. He is very good at his statistics, throughout the whole movie, though, which makes watching it enjoyable, including statistics about his own personal health deterioration.

This is not a movie we wanted to watch with toddlers, I mean, if not for the very fact that its like watching one big McDonald's commercial.

*The full-length movie documentary Super Size Me is available in its entirety on YouTube.

If its there, we're going to eat it.

It makes you wonder why there's aspartame, loads of sugar, MSG, and Nitrates in our food. I guess its 'cause the FDA has "tested" it and claimed its safe. For many of these, we don't really know if there's an effect right away; it takes time to see what happens. Now 40 years after scientists first found MSG was bad for us, we see it in the lab (the entire U.S.), we're fat and sick. Can we take it off the market yet?

I thought of a way to test these things before they're given to the general public. Before any new chemicals are introduced (and surely they will) make a welfare program called "Sickville" or some very attractive name, where people get free food and housing but they're testing all these "safe" foods before given to the general public, and we'll see what happens to them... I knew I could never share such a repulsive thought to blog readers...

But, then, I thought of a better idea. To make it more ethical, and fair all across the board (we wouldn't want to target one racial or socioeconomic group), why don't we just feed a whole country a diet of chemicals that we don't really know what they do and have controversial side effects or cause cancer and call it the United States of America, and let them be the guinea pigs.
In the Watchdog Report from JS Online on BPA:

"'The safety of this compound is in major question, and our government is not taking steps to address this,' said Urvashi Rangan, senior analyst for Consumers Union, a watchdog group that regularly tests products. 'Consumers shouldn't have to be the guinea pigs here.'

"Canada has declared BPA a toxin and is moving to ban it from baby bottles, infant formula and other children's products. But U.S. regulators have been conflicted.

"The National Toxicology Program has expressed concern about the chemical for fetuses, newborns and young children. But the FDA has declared it to be safe. That assessment, however, was found to be flawed, and the FDA since has reopened its examination."

Back to my original statement: if its on the shelf, we're going to eat it. I vaguely remember picking up something sugar-free a few months ago, and thinking to myself, "I remember my grandma [who is now deceased] telling me about Nutra-sweet and Equal in the restaurant when we saw the little packets on the table, and her telling me that they've found its bad for you, and you should avoid it and just eat sugar." Then, subconsciously (no real thought pattern), I looked at the sugar free product in front of me (I can't remember what it was) and decided whether I should eat it or not, "if its being sold, and other people eat it, what's the big deal? And, I could save on calories."

Such it is with all other foods. If its out there, its going to be eaten. Although America doesn't think fast food is a healthy choice, if its offered to people, somebody's going to be eating it. Why all the pop machines, tons of cola, all the junk we're selling, and serving in schools? Do we really care about health care or not? Think of how many people don't know what is bad for them? Who's going to be the last in America to know of the harm in our food products? Who's going to be uninformed? Who's out of the loop, doesn't have good connections? Probably the people who need it most! Poor, young, or unborn.

One more thing I've learned: an ingredient label is a warning label, and its probably all the warning you'll get. Why does our cereal say "BHT added to packaging"? Who cares what's added to packaging. That's not an ingredient! Or is it? I think it says that because someone is on top of it and knows its harmful, doesn't want to be eating it, and wants it labeled. I think for some reason the government wants labels on our food so that we can be informed and make our own choices. I had no clue I shouldn't be eating nitrates, though, and who else does? Thus enters consumer responsibility- a joke.

Then, on top of that, you've got laws like the Cheeseburger Bill, that states that food producers have an immunity from causing obesity. MSG, aspartame, aren't really foods, I guess sugar is, but are they going to count in the Cheeseburger Bill? Most positively. At least foods (additives!) don't have an immunity from cancer, yet, I hope.

"No MSG added" is a lie

Its illegal, but not regulated, to state "No MSG" on a label for foods that contain hidden MSG. If it is suspected that MSG is in a product that says "No MSG," the producer may be contacted directly, or the FDA has a number to call: (800)332-4010. For meat, the USDA is (800)535-4555. If it feels like the company is lying about claims of no MSG, the Federal Trade Comission's number is (800)872-8723.

In preparing for my years' supply of food storage, which is a task I've looked more deeply into this year, I thought maybe I'd look into the quality of my items. I knew in the back of my mind I probably shouldn't be using cream of chicken soup; I mean the slimy mess that comes out of the can can't be all that good for you. I'm not sure exactly what it was I was cautious of; BPA in the can, hydrogenated fats, I don't know. (I'm also looking into getting a good chili recipe and canning my own chili to avoid BPA.)

I found this great food storage recipe to replace cream of chicken soup that's got to be so much healthier (click here) at foodstoragemadeeasy.net. The three ingredients to this recipe are white bean flour, water, and chicken bouillon, and viola! Use it in place of cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and milk in recipes. I don't have a grinder so I just cook and mash my beans kind of like refried beans and then mix it in.

So, I figured we'd up our fiber and reduce our monosodium glutamate intake by using this bean recipe; except, the brand of bouillon I had bought also has monosodium glutamate in it. Uggh! Maybe I'd have to make a special trip to the Food Co-op to go get it MSG free.

But, no! Lo and behold, we had No MSG added Herbox Chicken Bouillon right at WinCo. I was so happy, and snatched it up and figured the cost of throwing away my old contaminated one would be well worth the health benefits.

Come to find out, on the day of cooking: I had googled MSG and researched it and I was making my first MSG-free Shepherd's pie, and I read the back of my MSG-free Herbox, and find it has "hydrolyzed corn protein, autolyzed yeast extract, whey powder, disodium isonate, and disodium guanylate", which all mean MSG. They can still advertise there's no MSG added under the FDA. I was devastated, but put in my own ingredients from its safe ingredient list (dehydrated onion, garlic powder and salt) and the Shepherd's Pie turned out fine.

It doesn't stop there, though. My kids went to grandma's for a week (yea!) which meant more time for foodstorage planning and cleaning the house (yea for me, boo for Ben). They came home and my daughter says "chicken noodle soup is yummy." We're all glad when our kids like eating something, right, so I go to the store and stock up on four cans. Then I read the back and notice it has monosodium glutamate right in it. I went back into the store for a second round of groceries including a bag of flour and four cans of soup. I read all the labels, and Campbell's, Hy-top, everyone was full of monosodium glutamate. :(. Then, music starts singing and a light shines from heaven and I see Progresso soup. Huge advertisement right on the label that this soup is safe.

It threw me for a loop when it says in small print "*Except that which occurs naturally in yeast extract and hydrolyzed vegetable protein" I tried to comprehend. "'Naturally'... They've got to know what they're talking about. It must be okay. They say right on the can NO MSG." But as you'll learn from the truth in labeling campaign and this list here (click here), hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and yeast extract are MSG. I know it may be a little confusing at this point, but its just one of the biggest food scams ever that the FDA is mistakenly causing.