Garden of Healing Articles

FDA should act now

Posted in Toxicity, News | Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 | Comments Off

CONSUMER ALERT

FDA should act now

Testing of “microwave safe” products conducted for the Journal Sentinel provides more evidence that the agency needs to act immediately to protect kids.

Bisphenol A

Source: Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel EDITORIALS

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/34612954.html

November 18, 2008

The federal government should act to protect kids from bisphenol A. And if it needs more evidence, it should examine tests conducted for the Journal Sentinel on “microwave safe” products.

All 10 of those products - ranging from a container of Campbell’s tomato soup to a carton of Gerber’s Hawaiian Delights dessert - leached doses of BPA when heated. The amounts of the chemical detected were at levels scientists believe cause neurological and development damage in laboratory animals. The tests, conducted by XeroAnalytical LLC, of Columbia, Mo., were detailed in an article Sunday by reporters Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger.

BPA is used in dozens of products, including clear, hard plastics, can liners and dental sealants; 93% of Americans have it in their bodies. But the biggest concern is ingestion by small children, who tend to get a more concentrated dose and don’t metabolize the chemical as rapidly as adults. In the Journal Sentinel tests, the largest amount of BPA leached out of a can of Enfamil liquid infant formula and a Rubbermaid plastic food-storage container.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should ban metal containers for infant formula or food products for young children until a BPA-free liner can be developed; it should require food and beverage makers to find an alternative for epoxy can liners and mandate a time frame for the change. It should ban BPA from polycarbonate bottles and tableware intended for small children. It should develop a broader campaign to let consumers know the risks of BPA, including mandatory labeling. And it should do more to promote to mothers the health benefits of breast-feeding.

Up to now, the FDA has seemed conflicted on this issue. For years, the agency relied on studies paid for by the chemical industry that found BPA to be safe and ignored independent studies that found BPA caused a range of problems in lab animals, including breast cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm counts and other reproductive failures.

Under pressure, the agency finally acknowledged in late October that its assessment of BPA may be flawed and reopened its examination. But why wait? It has more than enough evidence in hand to protect kids from exposure to a chemical that increasingly seems harmful.

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http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/34612954.html

Mercury Contamination of Seafood

Posted in Toxicity, Concerns | Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 | Comments Off

CONSUMER ALERT

Mercury Contamination of Seafood

Source: US Food and Drug Administration

September 2007

Mercury contamination of seafood is a widespread public health problem.

Eating fish contaminated with mercury, a poison that interferes with the brain and nervous system, can cause serious health problems, especially for children and pregnant women.

The Food and Drug Administration warns that pregnant women, nursing mothers, women who might become pregnant, and children should not eat swordfish, shark, tilefish, and king mackerel because of their high methylmercury content. The FDA also warns women and children to limit their consumption of tuna.

Fish and Shellfish With Highest Levels of Mercury **

Mackerel King - GULF OF MEXICO REPORT 2000
Shark - FDA 1990-02
Swordfish - FDA 1990-04
Tilefish (Gulf of Mexico) - NMFS REPORT 1978

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Seafood low in mercury can be part of a healthy diet. However, seafood consumers should eat a variety of fish low in mercury and should have a balanced diet.

Ask these questions when shopping or eating out:

Where is the seafood from?
Is it farmed or wild-caught?
How was it caught?

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Consumer choices make a difference… Look for these fish to feed your family:

BEST CHOICES FOR FISH

Abalone (farmed)
Bararamundi (US farmed)
Catfish (US farmed)
Clams, Mussels and Oysters (farmed)
Cod: Pacific (Alaska longline)
Crab: Dungeness
Halibut: Pacific
Lobster: Spiny (US)
Pollock (Alaska wild)
Rockfish: Black (CA, OR)
Sablefish/Black Cod (Alaska, BC)
Salmon (Alaska wild)
Sardines
Scallops: Bay (farmed)
Shrimp: Pink (OR)
Spot Prawn (BC)
Striped Bass (farmed)
Sturgeon, Caviar (farmed)
Tilapia (US farmed)
Trout: Rainbow (farmed)
Tuna: Albacore (BC, US troll/pole)
Tuna: Skipjack (troll/pole)
White Seabass

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For more information, check Garden of Healing®’s guide to BEST CHOICES FOR FISH: http://gardenofhealing.net/Articles/fish/

** Source of data: FDA 1990-2004, “National Marine Fisheries Service Survey of Trace Elements in the Fishery Resource” Report 1978, “The Occurrence of Mercury in the Fishery Resources of the Gulf of Mexico” Report 2000.

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Silver Supplement Warnings

Posted in Toxicity | Thursday, August 16th, 2007 | Comments Off

CONSUMER ALERT

Silver Supplement Warnings

Source: Harvard Health Letter

August 2007

Beware: This supplement can turn your skin blue, permanently.

Colloidal silver is peddled as a cold medicine, decongestant, all-around germ fighter, and a kind of cure-all. Is there any legitimate reason for taking the dietary supplement? The short answer is no, and there may be some serious and strange side effects, reports the August 2007 issue of the Harvard Health Letter.

Silver has several uses in conventional medicine. Silver sulfadiazine is used to treat serious burns. Fabric impregnated with silver is sometimes used as a dressing for wounds or skin infections. And silver nitrate is occasionally used to treat warts and corns.

But there’s no proof that taking colloidal silver by mouth has any benefits. As for harm, brain and nerve damage from silver exposure is rare, but colloidal silver can cause kidney damage, stomach distress, and headaches.

The most common problem associated with silver exposure is argyria: The skin turns a bluish gray as granules of silver accumulate in the body. The conjunctiva (the membrane that covers the eyes) and internal organs may also be affected. Once silver is deposited, there’s no way to get it out, so the discoloration may be permanent.

Will the colloidal silver products currently on the market turn you blue? The Harvard Health Letter says if you use them for a short time and in recommended amounts, probably not. But some people overdo it. For example, a 59-year-old man was sent to the emergency room because he looked cyanotic—the bluish color that indicates you’re not getting enough oxygen. It turned out he’d been taking a homemade version of colloidal silver whenever he felt a cold coming on.

http://www.health.harvard.edu

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Swiss to use Ozone to clean Waters

Posted in Toxicity, Concerns | Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 | Comments Off

SPECIAL REPORTS - CLEAN WATER

Swiss to use Ozone to clean Waters

Pilotversuch für noch saubereres Wasser

Source: www.swissinfo.org

August 2007

A pilot study is set to combat a new enemy of Switzerland’s lakes and rivers: micro-contamination.

Der Zustand von Seen und Flüssen in der Schweiz ist nach einer Periode ständiger Verbesserung stabil. Heute gibt es eine neue Herausforderung für sie: die Mikroverunreinigungen.

While water quality has improved progressively over the past three decades, the situation has stabilised. The Federal Environment Office, which is behind the initiative, will now use ozone to purify Swiss waters.

Micro-contamination is caused by minute traces of so-called organic elements such as herbicides, cleaning materials and medicines.

These are to be found in very low concentrations in water, from a billionth (nanogram) to a millionth (microgram) of a gram per litre.

A nanogram of contamination is the equivalent of a headache pill dissolved in a 25-metre long swimming pool, according to the Federal Environment Office.

The pilot project - at Regensdorf near Zurich - seeks to minimise micro-contamination passing from water used in residential areas into lakes and rivers.

A special technique involving ozone will be administered in addition to other purification methods, Alberto Bianchi, head of the water protection agency in canton Ticino, told swissinfo.

Liquid oxygen or O2 is converted into ozone or O3. “This is then added to sewage water, which enables the removal of micro-contaminants,” Bianchi explained.

Challenges

Current sewage plants are geared towards eliminating nitrates and phosphates, which cause rapid growth in algae and water plants, which in turn use up oxygen reserves in the water.

These plants are unable to eliminate micro-contaminants completely.

However, combating micro-contamination is not only a technical problem. Sometimes, certain substances are found in surprisingly high concentrations. This is true of medicines, which are often used unnecessarily.

“The real challenge lies in consuming such products sensibly,” stressed Bianchi. “Medicine should only be taken if it is absolutely necessary.”

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Swissinfo: SRG SSR idée suisse

Source: http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=8052930

Beijing Admits Tainted Pet Food Link

Posted in Toxicity, Pet Health | Friday, April 27th, 2007 | No Comments »

FOOD WATCH

China steps up probe of role in USA pet-food recall

By Mark Isaac Thyss
Garden of Healing®

Chinese authorities in Beijing today acknowledged for the first time that ingredients exported to make pet food contained a prohibited chemical. Chinese police two days ago sealed the headquarters of Binzhou Futian Bio-Technology, which exported rice protein concentrate to the USA for use in pet food.

As inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prepare to visit the firms where the ingredients were made, Chinese and American food experts say China’s vast and fragmented food-processing industry makes inspection difficult.

FDA tests identified melamine in imported wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate in pet foods. It also has said cyanuric acid, a chemical related to melamine used in cleaning pools, also was found in wheat gluten.

The agency has said melamine, a chemical high in nitrogen, might have been added to the grain products to make them appear higher in protein than they actually were.

Since March 16, pet food sold under more than 100 brand names have been recalled. The FDA has said 14 pets died after eating recalled foods, but reports from veterinarians and pet owners suggest higher numbers.

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FDA should act now

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