Irradiated Foods May Cause Serious Brain Damage

A possible contributor to neurodevelopmental problems and neurological disorders has been uncovered in irradiated food.

Findings in a recent scientific study show that irradiated foods may cause severe neurological damage in cats, including paralysis, visual problems, and movement disorders.

Cats fed a diet of irradiated foods suffered from degradation of myelin, a protective insulator of nerve fibers in the central nervous system ane neurons in the brain.

Loss of the myelin sheet leads to diseases such as multiple sclerosis and impairs the central nervous system. This may result in movement disorders, cognitive problems, pain, and loss of feeling.

Some of the damage in the cats was reversible when they were taken off the irradiated food diet, showing promise for people with MS leading a more normal life with dietary intervention. However, the newly developed myelin was not as thick as the original myelin.

Unfortunately, irradiated foods are increasing and are not required by law to be labeled. Many so-called fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats are approved for irradiation with a dose of radiation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the claim of preventing bacteria growth and preserving freshness.

Scientists were quick to dismiss the potential for similar demyelinating in humans. "We think it is extremely unlikely that [irradiated food] could become a human health problem," Ian Duncan., a professor at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, explained.

Others cite the rise in autism, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological disorders along with many studies which show food irradiation produces known toxic and carcinogenic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects.

Reference

Duncan ID, Brower A, Kondo Y, Curlee JF Jr, Schultz RD. Extensive remyelination of the CNS leads to functional recovery. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Apr 2.

and from our main domain, added in 1998.

Food irradiation exposes food to the equivalent of 30 million chest X-rays.

Irradiation creates new chemicals in foods called radiolytic products. Some of these products are known cancer-causing substances (like benzene in irradiated beef). Others are unique to the irradiation process and no one knows what effects these have on human health.

Irradiation destroys essential vitamins and nutrients that are naturally present in food. No studies have been done to show that a long-term diet of irradiated foods is safe. Safer, well-tested alternatives to irradiation exist.

Irradiation plants pose environmental threats to workers and surrounding communities. The transportation of nuclear materials to irradiation facilities also poses severe public health risks.

For information about Food & Water, or for hard copies of this Action Alert, 1-800-EAT-SAFE.

and food irradiation.

There's a Dent in Denture Care Consumer Products

ABC News Coverage May 2009

UPDATED 6 May
The issue of toxicity in denture cream products recently met with a critical mass when Good Morning America discussed this issue on a very recent program.

You can find that information here...

Originally posted 17 April
Health Considerations of Consumer Products: Zinc and other Issues with Denture Adhesive Creams

Several years ago complaints began to surface regarding the use of dental adhesives and the development of neuropathy as an adverse effect of using denture adhesive creams.

The reports came from people who were thought to be suffering with hypocupremia (copper deficiency) and hyperzincemia (excess zinc) which may have resulted from chronic excessive use of denture adhesive creams. Most recently, denture cream lawsuits are being investigated regarding adhesive creams such as Super Poligrip and Fixodent. There are, however, other health problems that may be associated with ingredients found in denture adhesive creams.

According to available ingredient information on popular dental adhesives they may include some or all of the following ingredients: Polymethylvinylether Maleic Acid Calcium-Zinc Salt, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Cellulose Gum, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Saccharin, Flavor, Red 27 Aluminum Lake and Yellow 6 Aluminum Lake. Combinations of this group of chemicals raise concern.

Consumers are well advised to read product labels carefully to evaluate if any ingredient may lead to an adverse event.

Both Calcium and Zinc are essential minerals. Calcium is most commonly known to be stored in bone and teeth, and is important to skeletal and muscle health. One of many of zinc’s functions is in the health of the immune system and assisting vitamin A use in forming bone and teeth.

Copper is also an essential mineral, however in sufficient amounts, copper can be poisonous and even fatal. Zinc may act to cause heavy metal poisoning similar to lead when the body stores excess amounts. Zinc and copper are antagonists to each other; as one rises in the blood, the other decreases. Excessive zinc has been linked to neuropathy.

Unidentified is “Flavor” and it is well established that this category may include MSG, a flavor enhancer and neuro-excitotoxic substance. Synthetic flavorings may be petroleum based. Mineral oil and petrolatum are petroleum based ingredients. Petroleum based products have been reported to effect lung function and other mucous membrane function in the gastrointestinal tract.

Cellulose gum is often used either as a bulking agent, an emulsifier, stabilizer and thickener. It is known chemically as Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.

Silicon Dioxide is a commonly used ingredient often used as a flow agent or hydration factor. Since it takes on water, extended exposures may cause drying of the skin or other tissue, and may be an abrasive when used in a hydrated form. It is known as a gastrointestinal irritant and may be connected with GI obstructions.

Fluoride is known to react with silicon dioxide to form hexafluorosilicic acid which is considered to be corrosive and may cause fluoride poisoning or swelling of lung tissue. Fluoride is also considered to be a thyroid suppressive substance with many health risks. Impaired thyroid function may be associated with immune suppression and other health concerns.

In addition, silicon dioxide reacts chemically with zinc salts.

Sodium saccharin has a controversial history as an artificial sweetener. This substance is banned in many countries, including Canada, but was allowed in the United States as long as the product is labeled to contain saccharin which may increase the risk of cancer. In 2000 the labeling requirement was discontinued by Congress. Older research showed an increase risk of bladder cancer when using saccharin.

Both Red 27 and Yellow 6 are Aluminum Lake colorings. Some research has proposed that aluminum is a factor in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. These are naphthalene-azo dyes.

The gum like paste that forms the base material for these adhesive creams is Polymethylvinylether Maleic Acid (PVM/MA). This is a synthetic polymer used as a film forming or thickening agent. Ingestion of excessive amounts of these substances may cause nausea, abdominal pain, burning sensations, vomiting or diarrhea. They may also be drying to skin.

Authors of a study at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
involving people using dental creams found very large and varied amounts of zinc concentrations in the products. They concluded that use of the creams in excessive and chronic use patterns may result in trace element imbalance and serious neurologic disease.

Should you have questions about using these products, contact your dental or other health care provider.

This article is part of a consumer health education series written by Gayle Eversole, DHom, PhD, MH, NP, ND, of Creating Health Institute, in collaboration with Bernstein Liebhard, LLP, who sponsors the consumer advocate website, www.ConsumerInjuryLawyers.com.

You can follow this link to read more about a denture cream lawsuit, Fixodent lawsuit or Poligrip lawsuit. 12/11/08

Correcting One of Those Cholesterol Myths

I notice from time to time that people are searching for information about keeping arteries clean and healthy. This may be associated with the rash of anti-cholesterol drug-dosing-on-a-rampage panic, or earnest queries.

Order lecithin granules through simply4health.org to help us continue this work.

I am not a fan of soy. It might be said that if I suggest a soy based supplement that I am ignoring my own best advice. My greatest concern about soy today are the facts that it is generally a GMO crop and it does have many negative health effects.

On the up side, a long used supplement, especially for those who have been convinced that eggs are evil, you might find some salvation in lecithin.

Lecithin is good for you in that it contains phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl inositol and essential fatty acids as linoleic acid in a tablespoon of granules. It also contains fish-oil-like, omega-3 linolenic acid. Any one of these substances is not found in a standard daily diet.

Choline & Inositol are essential for the breakdown of fats and cholesterol. And lecithin helps prevent arterial congestion, helps distribute body weight, increases immunity to viral infections, cleans the liver and purifies the kidneys.

Dr. Michael Sharon suggests that it "improves the condition of patients with neurological disorders such as tardive dyskinesia (a side effect of anti-psychotic drugs), Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease or pre-senile dementia."

It may help with improving attention span which would certainly benefit ADD/ADHD issues.

Lecithin helps in maintaining the surface tension of cell wall membranes. Without enough lecithin, the cell wall hardens. This condition contributes to premature aging of the cells. The surface tension of the cell, maintained by lecithin is also responsible for transmitting nerve impulses and messages through or from the cell.

Udo Erasmus, PhD shares some lecithin function facts -

"Lecithin helps keep cholesterol soluble. In a food like eggs, which contain a large amount of cholesterol, it is especially important that lecithin be of high quality.

"Lecithin keeps cholesterol isolated from arterial linings, protects it from oxidation, and helps prevent and dissolve gall and kidney stones by its emulsifying action on fatty substances.

"Lecithin is necessary in our liver's detoxification functions, which keep us from slowly being poisoned by breakdown products of metabolic processes that take place in our body. Poor liver function is a common forerunner of cancer. According to some healers, cancer always involves the liver. Deficiency of either Choline or EFAs can induce cancer in experimental animals, and is likely involved in causing some human cancers.

"Lecithin increases resistance to disease by its role in our thymus gland. Here, EFAs are precursors of several prostaglandins, as well as being vital as part of the ammunition made by our immune cells to kill bacteria (fatty acid peroxides are used to produce bacteriocidal hydrogen peroxide).

"Lecithin is a phospholipid that makes up 22% of both the high density (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol-carrying vehicles in our blood. These vehicles keep cholesterol and triglyceride fats in solution in our bloodstream and carry them to and from all parts of our body.

"Lecithin is an important part of membrane phospholipids that are involved in electric phenomena, membrane fluidity, and other functions for which EFAs are responsible.

"Finally, lecithin is an important component of bile. Its function in digestion is to break food fats into small droplets (emulsify them), to increase their surface area, speeding up the digestion of fats by enzymes."

Other helpful information about lecithin is that each serving (1 tbsp.) contains:
Choline 275 mg, Inositol 168 mg, Potassium 108 mg, Linoleic Acid (omega 6 EFA) 2,025 mg, Phosphatidylcholine 1,760 mg, Phosphatidylethanolamine 1,530 mg, Phosphatidylinositol 1,070 mg, Linolenic Acid (omega 3 EFA) 260 mg.

and Lecithin

Breaks up fats and cholesterol, Excellent for a healthy heart
Contains the Highest Phosphatide concentration available (98% or more!)
Is a Rich source of GLA (Gamma Linoleic Acid)
Helps the body utilize Vitamins A,D,E and K
Is Excellent for memory, concentration and recall
Cleanses liver and kidneys
Helps the body absorb nutrients

Lessen Chronic Inflammation
People whose diets supplied the highest average intake of choline (found in egg yolk and soybeans), and its metabolite betaine (found naturally in vegetables such as beets and spinach), have levels of inflammatory markers at least 20% lower than subjects with the lowest average intakes, report Greek researchers in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Detopoulou P, Panagiotakos DB, et al.)

Compared to those whose diets contained <250 mg/day of choline, subjects whose diets supplied >310 mg of choline daily had, on average:

* 22% lower concentrations of C-reactive protein
* 26% lower concentrations of interleukin-6
* 6% lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha

Compared to those consuming <260 mg/day of betaine, subjects whose diets provided >360 mg per day of betaine had, on average:

* 10% lower concentrations of homocysteine
* 19% lower concentrations of C-reactive protein
* 12% lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha

Each of these markers of chronic inflammation has been linked to a wide range of conditions including heart disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and Alzheimer's, and type-2 diabetes.

In an accompanying editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition entitled, "Is there a new component of the Mediterranean diet that reduces inflammation?," Steven Zeisel from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill noted that choline and betaine work together in the cellular process of methylation, which is not only responsible for the removal of homocysteine, but is involved in turning off the promoter regions of genes involved in inflammation.

"Exposure to oxidative stress is a potent trigger for inflammation. Betaine is formed from choline within the mitochondria , and this oxidation contributes to mitochondrial redox status ," Zeisel continued.

"If the association between choline and betaine and inflammation can be confirmed in studies of other populations, an interesting new dietary approach may be available for reducing chronic diseases associated with inflammation," he concluded.

Recommended daily intakes of choline were set in 1998 at 550 milligrams per day for men and 425 milligrams a day for women. No RDI has been set for betaine, which, since it is a metabolite of choline, is not considered an essential nutrient.

Practical Tip: Egg yolks are the richest source of choline, followed by soybeans. Spinach, beets and whole wheat products are primary sources of betaine. (Olthof MR, van Vliet T, et al. J Nutr)