Key Points:
*"A widely used weed killer that’s been linked to cancer has turned up in nearly every common food in the US, according to a new report."
*"Scientists with the Food and Drug Administration found glyphosate, which has been used as an herbicide since the 1970s, in everything from corn to honey, granola, wheat crackers and oatmeal, The Guardian said, citing records it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request."
*"Linda Birnbaum, a toxicologist and director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Services, said even a small exposure to pesticides can be dangerous."
*"“Even with low levels of pesticides, we’re exposed to so many, and we don’t count the fact that we have cumulative exposures,” Birnbaum told the Guardian."
*"Another FDA chemist, Narong Chamkasem, found “over-the-tolerance” levels of glyphosate at 6.5 parts per million in corn, the Guardian reported. The legal limit is 5.0 parts per million."
Read Full Article:
Source:
Eustachewich, Lia. (2018, April 30). Pesticide linked to cancer is in nearly every US food: report. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2018/04/30/pesticide-linked-to-cancer-is-in-nearly-every-us-food-report/
Key Points:
*"Consumer Reports tested 45 packaged fruit juices for heavy metals, like lead, arsenic, and cadmium and found measurable levels in every product."
*"Long-term exposure to these metals could cause some serious health risks, like kidney disease and certain types of cancer."
*"Twenty-one of the samples contained one or a combination of heavy metals that reached a level Consumer Reports researchers deemed concerning for daily consumption."
*"They said the metals found in seven of the 21 samples had the potential to harm children who drink only a half cup per day."
*"According to the CDC, long-term exposure to heavy metals may put people at risk for kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, damaged ability to learn and certain types of cancer."
Read Full Article:
Source:
CBS News, New report finds heavy metals like arsenic and lead in 45 packaged fruit juices. (2019, January 30). Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/consumer-reports-finds-heavy-metals-in-popular-fruit-juices-arsenic-lead-cadmium/?ftag=CNM-00-10aac3a
Key Points:
*"Conventionally grown strawberries tested by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2015 and 2016 contained an average of 7.8 different pesticides per sample, compared to 2.2 pesticides per sample for all other produce, according to EWG's analysis."
*"What’s worse, strawberry growers use jaw-dropping volumes of poisonous gases to sterilize their fields before planting, killing every pest, weed and other living thing in the soil."
*"USDA tests found that strawberries were the fresh produce item most likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues, even after they are picked, rinsed in the field and washed before eating."
*"The USDA’s strawberry tests found that:
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Almost all samples – 99 percent – had detectable residues of at least one pesticide.
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Some 30 percent had residues of 10 or more pesticides.
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The dirtiest strawberry sample had residues of 23 different pesticides and breakdown products.
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Strawberry samples contained residues of 81 different pesticides in various combinations."
*"If pesticide tolerance levels were set to protect the health of children, who are more vulnerable than adults even to small doses, more fruits and vegetables would fail EPA standards."
*"The transformation of strawberries from an occasional treat to a cheap and abundant supermarket staple should serve as cautionary tale about the consequences of chemically driven industrial agriculture."
Read Full Article:
Source:
Environmental Working Group, Pesticides + Poison Gases = Cheap, Year-Round Strawberries. (2019 March 20). Retrieved from https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/strawberries.php?utm_campaign=EWG+Content&utm_content=1553035796&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2fJj5T1TKmnjTG0JoWMXEAYpN4SIT1uZmy1iLl9HlJ0d1Nnm8hMrglWt0
Key Points:
*"The rise of Candida auris embodies a serious and growing public health threat: drug-resistant germs."
*"C. auris is so tenacious, in part, because it is impervious to major antifungal medications, making it a new example of one of the world’s most intractable health threats: the rise of drug-resistant infections."
*"But lately, there has been an explosion of resistant fungi as well, adding a new and frightening dimension to a phenomenon that is undermining a pillar of modern medicine."
*"In the United States, two million people contract resistant infections annually, and 23,000 die from them, according to the official C.D.C. estimate. That number was based on 2010 figures; more recent estimates from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine put the death toll at 162,000. Worldwide fatalities from resistant infections are estimated at 700,000."
*"Some scientists cite evidence that rampant use of fungicides on crops is contributing to the surge in drug-resistant fungi infecting humans."
*"Dr. Lynn Sosa, Connecticut’s deputy state epidemiologist, said she now saw C. auris as “the top” threat among resistant infections. “It’s pretty much unbeatable and difficult to identify,” she said."
*"In the United States, 587 cases of people having contracted C. auris have been reported, concentrated with 309 in New York, 104 in New Jersey and 144 in Illinois, according to the C.D.C."
*"In Chicago, 50 percent of the residents at some nursing homes have tested positive for it, the C.D.C. has reported. The fungus can grow on intravenous lines and ventilators."
*"There are different theories as to what happened with C. auris. Dr. Meis, the Dutch researcher, said he believed that drug-resistant fungi were developing thanks to heavy use of fungicides on crops."
*"This is similar to concerns that resistant bacteria are growing because of excessive use of antibiotics in livestock for health and growth promotion. As with antibiotics in farm animals, azoles are used widely on crops."
*"“On everything — potatoes, beans, wheat, anything you can think of, tomatoes, onions,” said Dr. Rhodes, the infectious disease specialist who worked on the London outbreak. “We are driving this with the use of antifungicides on crops.”'
Read Full Article:
Source:
Richtel, Matt and Jacobs, Andrew. (2019, April 6). A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/health/drug-resistant-candida-auris.html
Key Points:
*“Candida can be very serious. Recently, a “superbug” candida species known as Candida auris has emerged as a dangerous health threat in several countries and many health care facilities in the U.S. This version of candida — which often spreads through candida biofilms on surfaces such as catheters and bedrails — has proven resistant to multiple drugs, resulting in serious illness.”
*"Candida overgrowth syndrome, or COS, is the term used when candida has grown out of control in your body. Make no mistake: This is a chronic health condition. "
*"In addition to candida symptoms, individuals who have never experienced a serious yeast infection can find they have developed new sensitivities, allergies or intolerances to a variety of foods. These foods include dairy, eggs, corn and gluten."
*"Candida albicans is the most common type of yeast infection found in the mouth, intestinal tract and vagina (vaginal/genital candidiasis), and it may affect skin and other mucous membranes."
*"When it overproduces, typical candida symptoms may appear. In the digestive tract, if left unchecked, it breaks down the walls of the intestinal lining and penetrates into the bloodstream. This releases byproduct toxins and other toxins from your system, causing leaky gut syndrome."
*"9 Candida Symptoms: 1. Chronic Fatigue, 2. Mood Disorders, 3. Recurring Vaginal and Urinary Tract Infections, 4. Oral Thrush, 5. Sinus Infections, 6. Intestinal Distress, 7. Brain Fog, 8. Skin and Nail Fungal Infections, 9. Hormonal Imbalance"
*"The Candida Diet: 1. The first step of the diet is to boost your immune system through the elimination of sugar, alcohol and refined carbohydrates. These items are contributing to the growth of the candida in your system. 2. Step two is to replace these foods with organic vegetables, including carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale and asparagus. 3. Add cultured dairy, preferably goat milk kefir, because healthy probiotic foods can effectively kill the candida in your system. Probiotics like kimchi and sauerkraut are good additions to your diet, as well as unsweetened cranberry juice, because they create an acidic environment that makes it difficult for candida to thrive."
Read Full Article:
Source:
Axe, Dr. John. (2019, January 25). 9 Candida Symptoms & 3 Steps to Treat Them. Retrieved from https://draxe.com/candida-symptoms/
Key Points:
*"According to Chaffer, the average American woman today has 30,000 to 50,000 chemicals in her body that her grandparents did not have. Many of these chemicals have been linked to the rapidly rising incidence of chronic childhood diseases.”
*"Atrazine is the second most commonly used herbicide in the U.S., and the most commonly found herbicide in U.S. ground, rain and drinking water. It’s widely used to combat weeds on golf courses, residential lawns and in commercial agriculture.”
*"Atrazine’s Effects on Frogs May Indicate Effects on Children: It turns males into egg-laying females by inducing an enzyme called aromatase, which causes overproduction of estrogen. Even more disturbing, it produced male frogs with TWO sets of each sex organ, meaning two sets of testes and two sets of ovaries.”
*"Atrazine “turns on” the enzyme aromatase, which converts testosterone into estrogen. As a result, the male frogs lose their testosterone; they’re essentially chemically castrated, and are feminized as a result of the excessive estrogen being produced.”
*"Atrazine may be involved in the development of breast cancer, for example, since many breast cancers are triggered by the overproduction of estrogen and are regulated by the enzyme aromatase.”
*"As noted by Hayes, aromatase is so important in the development of breast cancer, the cancer drug Letrozole works by blocking aromatase, which in turn blocks estrogen production. Ironically, Letrozole is also produced by Syngenta, the same company that brought us atrazine.”
*"One study also linked atrazine exposure in utero to impaired sexual development in young boys, causing genital deformations, including microphallus (micropenis).”
*"The evidence3,4 also suggests atrazine exposure may contribute to a number of different cancers, specifically ovarian cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, hairy-cell leukemia and thyroid cancer.”
*"Elevated concentrations of atrazine in drinking water have been associated with birth defects, including abdominal defects, gastroschisis (in which the baby's intestines stick outside of the baby's body) and others.”
*"According to Hayes, atrazine:
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Induces breast cancer in females
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Induces prostate cancer in males
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Male fertility is reduced by as much as 50 percent, as the chemical produces holes in the testicular tissue. This has been shown in fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals
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Retards mammary (breast) development in females
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Induces abortion in female rodents”
*"Peer-reviewed studies also support the notion that atrazine poses similar threats to humans.6Among female rodents exposed to atrazine, spontaneous abortions are common. And when abortion does not occur, the surviving male pups have higher rates of prostate disease — they’re essentially born with an old man’s disease — and female pups have impaired mammary development.”
*"These chemicals not only cross the placenta, entering the baby while still in the womb, they also pass through breast milk. So whatever the mother is exposed to, the baby gets as well, even after they’re born. “We are, in effect, polluting our children,” Chaffer says.”
*"According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 75 percent of the U.S. population has detectable levels of pesticides in their urine, and unless you're a farmer, your diet is one of the most likely routes of exposure, along with your drinking water.11”
*"Eating organic is one of the best ways to lower your overall pesticide burden. The largest study12 of its kind found that people who "often or always" ate organic food had 65 percent lower levels of pesticide residues compared to those who ate the least amount of organic produce. Organic produce also had, on average, 180 times lower pesticide content than conventional produce.13”
Read Full Article:
Source:
Dr. Mercola. If Common Chemicals Harm Frogs and Rats, What Are They Doing to Your Children? (2016, November 12). Retrieved from https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/11/12/atrazine-herbicide-effects.aspx