Category: Toxins

The facts about chemicals, pesticides, and clean water.

  • Tylenol Just Once A Month Raises A Child’s Asthma Risk 540%

    A major study of over 20,000 children suggests that giving Tylenol even as infrequently as once per year could have a permanent, life-threatening health effect. The vast majority of babies are given Tylenol (acetaminophen) within the first six months of life. It is the go-to medicine for modern parents for the last several decades as pediatricians have recommended for almost every ailment an infant or child may suffer from. But what if the newest evidence is showing that it isn’t as safe as we were led to believe? 

    Researchers at the University of A Coruna in Spain asked the parents of 10,371 children ages 6-7 and 10,372 adolescents aged 13-14 whether their children had asthma and how often they had been given acetaminophen within the previous year and when they were babies.

    The children in the younger age group who had received the medicine only once per year were at 70% greater risk for asthma while those receiving Tylenol once a month or more were shockingly 540% more likely to have asthma.

    The study, published in the European Journal of Public Health, also found that children who had even a single dose of Tylenol before their first birthday had a 60% risk of developing asthma. In the older age group of 13 and 14 year-olds, asthma was 40 percent more likely if they had taken acetaminophen within the previous 12 months. The young teenagers were 250% more at risk if they took it once a month.

    The researchers speculated that Tylenol, called paracetamol in the UK, may reduce a potent antioxidant called glutathione in the lungs and blood, which results in damage to the lung tissue. Glutathione is produced by the body (it is a combination of three amino acids: cysteine, glycine and glutamine) and is referred to as the “mother” of all antioxidants by Dr. Mark Hyman MD.

    While Tylenol use is strongly associated with a significant increase in asthma and the effect is greater the more often the drug is taken, no causal link is yet established via randomized-controlled trials.

    Does this mean the results of this large study should be dismissed and parents should continue favoring use of the popular over the counter medication for fever and pain? Not so fast. It would certainly be the wise and cautious approach for parents to investigate alternatives to Tylenol while additional follow-up research is performed.

    • Asthma rates have been on the increase for decades at the same time Tylenol use became more widespread. The potential link cannot and should not be ignored.
    • Examination of 20,000 children establishing such a strong associative risk must be taken seriously and the dismissal of the research by some doctors is irresponsible given the seriousness and life-altering outcome of an asthma diagnosis.

    “All the asthma symptoms analyzed increased significantly with paracetamol consumption,” the researchers wrote.

    Other Autoimmune Illness Also Higher in Children Who Use Tylenol

    The associative link is even stronger when one considers that another autoimmune disease is also more prevalent in Tylenol use making the probability of inverse causation far less likely. Inverse causation would mean that children with asthma are simply more likely to pick up coughs and colds that require painkillers.

    • For example, the Spanish study also concluded that the prevalence of eczema in children increased dramatically the more frequently Tylenol was used.
    • In addition, scientists in New Zealand found in 2010 that Tylenol use before the age of 15 months was associated with a higher risk of children having allergies at the age of six.
    • Also in 2010, another large study of 11,000 children conducted by the Imperial College of London demonstrated that taking Tylenol in the first six months of life was associated with a higher prevalence of asthma and wheezing.
    • Prior to that in 2009, researchers at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute in Canada found a higher risk of asthma for both adults and children via a meta-analysis of existing research.

    Should savvy and health conscious parents wait awhile until the likely causative relationship is established?

    Definitely not!

    With such repetitive and significant associative links firmly established, taking that Children’s Tylenol and chucking it in the trash would be a really constructive action step. There is absolutely no reason to use this product when raising children anyway. I’ve personally never owned a bottle of Children’s Tylenol let alone used it anytime in the past 15 years since my first child was born. There are plenty of other non-toxic options for dealing with fevers and pain in your young ones!

    Another constructive action step? Finding a quality local pasture based farm and having your children drink unpasteurized grassfed milk. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reported in August 2011 that children who drank raw milk had a 41% reduced chance of developing asthma. These same children had a nearly 50% reduction in hay fever as well even when other relevant factors were considered.

    Written by Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

    About the Author

    Sarah is the founder of The Healthy Home Economist,™ which has been featured on NBC, ABC, The Huffington Post, Dr. Mercola, Infowars, Prison Planet, BabyCenter, GreenMedInfo.com, NaturalNews.com and many others. Sarah has had the honor of taking the message of Traditional Diet abroad and has been interviewed on the national TV evening news from as far away as the Philippines. For her full biography visit her website.

    Sources:

    Babies given Calpol just once a month are five times as likely to develop asthma : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21051083

    Glutathione: The Mother of All Antioxidants

    It’s Too Soon to Blame Paracetemol for Rising Childhood Asthma Rates

    Exposure to Paracetemol and Asthma Symptoms

    The effects of early and late paracetamol exposure on asthma and atopy: a birth cohort

    Prenatal and infant acetaminophen exposure, antioxidant gene polymorphisms, and childhood asthma

    Acetaminophen use and the risk of asthma in children and adults: a systematic review and metaanalysis

    Reduce Your Child’s Asthma Risk by 41%

    Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of WakingTimes or its staff.

    This article is offered under Creative Commons license. It’s okay to republish it anywhere as long as attribution bio is included and all links remain intact.

    Additional Medical Study Resources: *some of these might be behind paywalls :
    https://www.webmd.com/asthma/news/20091105/acetaminophen-may-be-linked-to-asthma-risk

    https://www.health.com/allergy/tylenol-asthma

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21051083

  • Meet Dr. Mikovits Ph,D. – Fired, Jailed and Broke For Her Horrifying Discovery of Retrovirus Contamination

    Data suggests that 6% of the U.S. population – 20 million Americans are harboring a retrovirus in their bodies that can develop into an acquired immune deficiency- AIDS. This is not the well-known AIDS caused by HIV, but Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) associated with other retroviruses. These non-HIV retroviruses were unintentionally introduced into humans over the past 75 years. It began with trials of polio vaccines and yellow fever vaccines given in the early 1930s. This is when the first recorded cases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and autism appeared. It involved the use of laboratory mice to prepare vaccines for human use. [1]  

    Even though 20 million Americans are likely to be infected, not everyone will develop serious illness. Retroviruses in the human body are like sleeping giants, very clever and very stealthy. They can infect a person and stay with them for their entire lifetime. Sometimes they shorten life substantially. But, they are just as likely to bring a person to total disability and deny people the opportunity for a normal life. They are quiet until they are activated in immune deficient people.

    These viruses are associated with many diseases. Once activated, they create diseases such as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Chronic Lyme disease, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), numerous cancers, and a wide range of other autoimmune, neuroimmune, and central nervous system diseases. Please see reference number 2 at the end of this article for a comprehensive list of diseases. [2]

     molecular biologist Judy A. Mikovits, PhD

    Dr. Mikovits is one of the leading scientists in the area of retrovirus related illness. Her research showed how retroviruses are linked to the plague of modern illnesses that are bankrupting the U.S. healthcare system. With a well established history of working for the National Cancer Institute as a cancer research, Dr. Mikovits worked with human retroviruses like HIV. Her work focused on immunotherapy research and involved HIV. In 2009, she was working on autism and related neurological diseases. She found that many of the study subjects has cancer, motor-neuron disorders and chronic fatigue Syndrome (CFS). She believed a virus may have been responsible for these symptoms, and through her research, she isolated the viruses that turned out to come from mice.

    She soon realized that these protein and viral contaminants were being introduced into the human population via contaminated vaccines.“Twenty-five million Americans are infected with the viruses that came out of the lab… into the humans via contaminated blood and vaccines.” In response to this discovery, she was fired from her job, indicted, prosecuted, jailed and ordered to retract her research and publicly claim she “made it all up.” She refused to cover up the scientific evidence and was targeted and punished by the “vaccine deep state” establishment.

    The result of her unwavering determination to stick to the truth of her research and to stand up against those who want to keep the truth hidden, resulted in her being taken to criminal court and civil court. She was gagged for four years by fabricated criminal charges in Nevada, and could not speak openly about retrovirus science or the government cover-up without risking further persecution/prosecution.

    Dr Mikovits is silenced no more. 
    She will join us as the featured speaker at the 
    Natural Health Symposium in Boise July 21.

    In one of the most shocking science videos you’ll see this year, reveals the disturbing true story of how she was thrown in prison for blowing the whistle on deadly viral contamination of human vaccines.

    Dr. Mikovitz’ book, Plague: One Scientist’s Intrepid Search for the Truth about Human Retroviruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Autism, and Other Diseases.

  • New Cell Tower On Middle School Campus Causes Health Concerns For Staff And Students

    The new cell tower under constructed on the Vallivue Middle School property is cause for serious health concerns for the families in the small community in Caldwell, Idaho. Canyon County approved the construction of 100 foot lattice cell tower on April 2018. This comes was just one month after the release of a long-term scientific study from Ramazzini Institute (RI) in Italy, one of the most acclaimed institutions of its kind in the world. Their published findings indicate strong reasons for health concerns from electromagnetic radiation (also called radiofrequency (RF) radiation) from base stations or cell towers. The results of this long-term scientific research provide clear evidence that radiofrequency (RF) radiation causes acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) and gliomas, and should be classified carcinogenic to humans.

    “The evidence indicating wireless is carcinogenic has increased and can no longer be ignored,” stated University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health Professor Emeritus Anthony B. Miller MD, Member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Canada and the UK, and Senior Medical Adviser to EHT who is also a long-term adviser to the World Health Organization.

    “Children are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures, including cellphone radiation.” THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, 2013

    This new cell tower on the middle school property will now expose 841 adolescents and more than 40 staff to constant and increased levels of RF radiation throughout the school year. The increased exposures will increase risk of cancer and other diseases such as electro-hypersensitivity. Research shows that radiofrequency electromagnetic (RF) radiation from WiFi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn, particularly those who are already having learning or medical problems in the first place. And since half of the children in this country have some kind of chronic illness, this means that a lot of people are more vulnerable than might be expected to these issues.

    Powerful industrial entities have a vested interest in leading the public to believe that EMF/RF radiation, which we cannot see, taste or touch, is harmless, but this is not true. The increased exposure to RF radiation in the adolescents and adults could increase their risk of cancer and other diseases such as electro-hypersensitivity. 

    These studies confirm the ever growing literature and provide a wake-up call to governments to enact protective policy to limit exposures to the public and to the private sector to make safe radiation-free technology available.

    We ask the Canyon County and the City of Caldwell to do the right and precautionary thing for our children, relocate the cell tower currently under construction at Vallivue Middle School to an area that will not expose children and staff to the constant barrage of carcinogenic RF radiation. – Health Freedom Idaho

    More About Safety Concerns

    Ramazzini Institute investigators have completed nearly 500 cancer bioassays on more than 200 compounds, and their study design is unique in that animals are allowed to live until their natural deaths in order to allow detection of late-developing tumors. Eighty percent of all human cancers are late-developing, occurring in humans after 60 years of age. This longer observation period has allowed the RI to detect such later-occurring tumors for a number of chemicals, and Armed with current scientific knowledge and guided by the precautionary principle, their published research includes studies of benzene, xylenes, mancozeb, formaldehyde and vinyl chloride.

    The Ramazzini research results come in the wake of similar findings from the US National Toxicology Program (NTP) large-scale experimental studies on cell phone radiation. Both studies found statistically significant increases in the development of the same type of very rare and highly malignant tumor in the heart of male rats—schwannomas.

    “Biological significance and concordance of results between humans and animals clearly reinforces the strength of the evidence of carcinogenicity. The facts that both experimental studies found the same types of rare tumors, which also have pertinence to the human clinical picture, is striking,” stated Annie J. Sasco MD, DrPH, SM, MPH, retired Director of Research at the INSERM (French NIH) and former Unit Chief at the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, France.

    Prior to these recent finding a 2011 article in IEEE Spectrum says that for the World Health Organization, a working group of 31 scientists from 14 countries reviewed the latest research and classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields — from any source — as Group 2B, “possibly carcinogenic to humans based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer.” (source) Citing Studies completed from 2011 to 2018, Dr. Lennart Hardell and other members from that committee are calling to change RF Microwave radiation to Group 1 — a definite human carcinogen.

    What Should Be Done: 

    State and City governments should enact protective policy to limit exposures to the public and to the private sector to make safe radiation-free technology available.Transmitting wireless antennas such as those on cell towers, should not be be near homes, schools, parks or hospitals. The priority should be to restore more wired communications to reduce the need for wireless connections. Wired communication is higher quality, less vulnerable to cyber attacks and safer for human health because wired technology does not have radiofrequency exposure.In parallel with restoring and building out a wired infrastructure, the goal should be to reduce the power density of cell towers and base stations. People should have the opportunity to live and work in healthier environments.Importantly, the exposures used in this study were at levels that are allowable and legal by the Federal Communications Commission. The Ramazzini and National Toxicology Program Studies show that these two decade old FCC limits from 1996 are non- protective. FCC limits must be updated to protect against biological effects such as cancer and other diseases.

    FURTHER READING:

    What Parents Need To Know About Safe Technology <printable>

    Ramazzini Study on Radiofrequency Cell Phone Radiation …. https://ehtrust.org/worlds-largest-animal-study-on-cell-tower-radiation-confirms-cancer-link/

    Link to the Ramazzini Institute Study 

    Question and Answer on the Ramazzini Study 

    One page Comparison of the Ramazzini Institute Study and the US National Toxicology Program Study 

    Biological Effects from Exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation Emitted by Cell Tower Base Stations and Other Antenna Arrays, by B. Blake Levitt and Henry Lai

    Electromagnetic Radiation Safety – Cell Tower Health Effects This is an informative website offered by Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., a leading activist in this field.

    International EMF Scientist Appeal More than 200 scientists from 39 countries are calling on the World Health Organization and the United Nations to adopt more protective exposure guidelines in the face of increasing evidence of risk.

    Location of Registered FCC Cell Towers in Idaho

    EHTrust.org

    Canyon County http://www.canyonco.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/PH2018-16.Vallivue.pdf

    In the Treasure Valley contact BeEMFSafe to learn more about your home and ways to reduce exposure.

  • Get Rid of A Wasp Nest Without Toxins

    Amazing how quickly wasps can build a nest. We found a dessert plate size nest built over the course of a week. While normally our motto is “Live and Let Live” this nest posed a threat to my children’s play space. One actually flew up to a child who was no where near the nest and stung her on the forehead. They must go! Did you know you don’t need Raid or toxic chemicals to get rid of a wasp nest?! Kill wasps, hornets with this super simple homemade natural wasp killer spray. 

    Soapy water, a sprayer and a little bravery are all it takes! 

    These suggestions come recommended from Facebook friends. When posing the problem to the WOMEN, they suggested waiting until even when the wasps were calm and dealing with it. The MEN, on the other hand, suggested swinging at it with a bat or spraying it full stream with the hose. I am going for the calmer and likely safer method of extinguishing the problem. 

    Did you know wasps are also attracted by certain colors, especially white and yellow, so you can also prevent wasps from bothering you personally by not wearing yellow or white colors. With that in mind I am wearing my dark ninja clothes for this job. I haven’t been stung since I was a kid, but the hives and reaction the resulted isn’t something I want to repeat.

    Tested Strategy: Get Rid of the Wasp’s Nest

    1. Wait until they’re asleep at night 
    2. Soak the nest with a combo of 1/2 water/1/2 vinegar and about a 1/4 cup dawn with a large squirt bottle. *

      You can use a regular spray bottle, or get a bottle attachment for your garden hose. Using your garden hose will allow the mixture to penetrate the hornets next effectively, while keeping you a safe distance away.

    3. Once it’s soaked, knock it into a bag and close tightly. 

    BONUS RECIPE: Homemade Garlic-Mint Garden Insect Spray {that really works!!}

    Click the green arrow for the full printable recipe!
    Take me to the recipe_300x135

    Why does it work? 

    The soapy water works because soap breaks the water tension that insects normally rely on as a barrier to be water resistant. Instead of water normally beading off their bodies as it hits the surface, it sticks and clogs up their spiracles (breathing tubes). Soapy water ultimately drowns bees, wasps, hornets, fleas, roaches and ants.

    Next time I will be more proactive. How to Avoid Wasps.

  • Monsanto Faces Man Dying of Cancer in Roundup Trial

    Doctors didn’t think he’d live long enough to testify in court that exposure to Monsanto Co.’s Roundup weed killer caused his deadly cancer. But the 46-year-old is now first in line to go to trial against the agrochemical giant among thousands of people across the U.S. who blame its herbicide for their disease.As groundskeeper for the school district in Benicia, California, about 40 miles east of San Francisco, Johnson mixed and sprayed hundreds of gallons of Roundup. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and in July, after chemotherapy and other treatment, his oncologist gave him six months to live.  A pretrial ruling allows Johnson’s lawyers to try to use internal Monsanto correspondence to show that the company has long been aware of the risk its herbicides are carcinogenic.

    Monsanto knows “the cat is out of the bag” and there is no more hiding or pretending. We know that the majority of researches that claim safety of glyphosate are performed by scientists who are funded by Monsanto. Monsanto and its financial beneficiaries should be ashamed aware of the toxicity of their product they are poisoning our nation with glyphosate its residue found in soy, sugar, corn or wheat, orange juice and more. 

     

    #ELIMINATEGLYPHOSATE AROUND SCHOOLS AND IN PARKS – sign the HFI PETITION

    Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, was first approved for use in Monsanto’s weed killer in 1974. According to rodale.com, in U.S. alone, homeowners and farmers use about 100 million pounds of Roundup herbicide every year. At the same time, weeds are becoming more resistant to Roundup, so farmers are using more and more chemicals to deal with super-pests and super-weeds. From 1994 to 2005, the use of glyphosate has increased by 1,500 percent. As it grew to become the world’s most popular and widely used herbicide, the question of whether it causes cancer has been hotly debated by environmentalists, regulators, researchers and lawyers — even as Monsanto has insisted for decades that it’s perfectly safe. Now, a jury will decide in a case set to start this week in San Francisco state court.

    The case is Dewayne Johnson v. Monsanto Co., CGC-16-550128, California Superior Court (San Francisco).

    Biologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber comments on the links between cancer and pesticides in the President’s Cancer Panel report:

    We have sprayed pesticides … throughout our shared environment. They are now in amniotic fluid. They’re in our blood. They’re in our urine. They’re in our exhaled breath. They are in mothers’ milk … What is the burden of cancer that we can attribute to this use of poisons in our agricultural system? … We won’t really know the answer until we do the other experiment — which is to take the poisons out of our food chain, embrace a different kind of agriculture, and see what happens.

    Steingraber’s book (and documentary film) Living Downstream tells the story of her own “journey” as a cancer survivor, and documents her scientific investigations that expose a simple, tragic truth: As a society, we are so busy treating cancer and searching diligently for a cure that we’re failing to tackle its causes.

    Read more at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-18/monsanto-squares-off-with-man-dying-of-cancer-in-roundup-trial

    MORE ABOUT GLYPHOSATE:

    RoundUp Toxicity it isn’t just the carcinogenic glyphosate

    Farmers Sue Monsanto 2016

  • MERCURY Contaminates High Fructose Corn Syrup

    There were already plenty of reasons to avoid the highly processed high fructose corn syrup like the plague. Now there’s an even better reason. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) makes up one out of every ten calories Americans eat. It is in nearly every processed food and sweetened beverage. Americans consume about 150 pounds of sugars per person per year, forty one pounds of which is in the form of HFCS, making HFCS one of the principal drivers behind heart attacks, strokes, cancer, dementia, and diabetes. Now we learn that high fructose corn syrup (also called fructose) contains the neurotoxic heavy metal mercury that has been known to cause mood disorders, behavioral disorders, dementias of various kinds, memory loss, or many, many other serious health conditions. 

    A 2009 study led by a former FDA employee found that half of tested samples of HFCS contained mercury. Another study found nearly a third of tested commercial products containing HFCS were contaminated with mercury. In a statement released with the study, one of the authors remarked:

    Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. Potentially, the largest exposure of Americans to the neurotoxin mercury is through the consumption of products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup. 

    The circumstances leading up to the study are even more alarming.

    Years before the study, the lead author, Renee Dufault, was an environmental health researcher at the FDA conducting research on chlor-alkali processing plants. These plants use mercury to produce chlorine and caustic soda—sodium hydroxide, a chemical base used in manufacturing paper, textiles, and many other products, including HFCS. In 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that about seven tons of mercury were missing from the eight chlor-alkali processing plants in the US. Every year, in fact, these plants reported missing mercury to the EPA. Due to the public health nightmare this poses—since exposure to mercury in even small amounts can cause serious health problems—Dufault began investigating where the missing mercury was going.

    Dufault learned that mercury residue in chlor-alkali plants could be found in all products made with mercury, and that caustic soda from these plants was used heavily by the HFCS industry.

    She conducted tests and found that 45% of HFCS samples tested positive for mercury contamination. In 2005 she presented her findings to the FDA, but was instructed to drop the issue altogether. 

    THE FDA (CHARGED WITH REGULATING SAFETY) INSTRUCTED THE RESEARCHER WHO DISCOVERED THE NERUOTOXIC CONTAMINATION TO IGNORE SERIOUS HEALTH SAFETY ISSUE.

    Dufault said that the FDA began taking her off field projects and wanted her “to sit in an office.” When Dufault left the FDA in 2008, she decided to go public with her findings.

    Following up on Dufault’s report, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found that nearly one-third of the fifty-five brand-name products they tested were contaminated with mercury. For a list of those products, you can consult the full report here.

    The FDA and the HFCS industry say there is nothing to worry about. The agency said the mercury in Dufault’s samples was elemental mercury and thus safer than other forms of mercury—although no scientific evidence was provided to substantiate such a claim. Know this, there is no safe level of mercury exposure!  None! The lab that originally analyzed the samples even said it was likely that the kind found in the HFCS samples was organic mercury—which is the form most dangerous to human health.

    The peril mercury poses to human health, especially to young children with developing brains, cannot be understated.

    As Dufault and her colleagues point out in the article, mercury in any form is toxic. Organic mercury readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and damages developing nervous tissue. Even if only trace amounts are found in HFCS-containing products, the amount of HFCS that Americans consume every day without even realizing it makes this a huge concern—especially given the propensity of metals like mercury to accumulate over time. Americans consume Over 41 Pounds of Mercury-Laden HFCS each year.


    Dr. Harmon of Clear Mind Center Idaho says, “We see signs of heavy metal toxicity on the brain maps we do at the office. These are neurotoxins and affect the brain. Symptoms are commonly fuzzy brain, ADD/ADHD, learning disorders, and many more.”


    Renamed HFCS Is Grossly Misleading

    In 2010, the Corn Refiners Association tried to improve the image of HFCS by petitioning that it be renamed “corn sugar.” Thankfully, the Food and Drug Administration turned down their request in 2012. Now, manufacturers have changed the name of a form of HFCS called HFCS-90 to fructose. Regular HFCS contains 42 to 55 percent fructose, while HFCS-90 contains 90 percent.

    In other words, the food ingredient now called fructose contains even higher concentrations of one of the primary components within HFCS linked to health issues. Rather than being a healthier product, which the name implies, it is more of health risk than regular HFCS. In fact, since it contains more fructose, the FDA declined to recognize HFCS-90 as safe.

    Food companies are taking advantage of the name change to hide HFCS in their products. On the front of General Mills’ Vanilla Chex cereal box, it says the product contains “no high fructose corn syrup.” Yet in the ingredients, it lists fructose, the more concentrated form of HFCS. This means manufacturers are successfully concealing the fact that their products contain the ingredient consumers want to avoid.

    8 Deceiving Names for High Fructose Corn Syrup

    1. Maize syrup
    2. Glucose syrup
    3. Glucose/fructose syrup
    4. Tapioca syrup
    5. Fruit fructose
    6. Crystalline fructose
    7. HFCS
    8. Fructose

    Are you concerned?
    Mercury contamination was discovered in 2009. The FDA ignored it. In 2010, the FDA then granted permission to manufacturers permission to use a new name. Now almost a decade later, have the producers of high fructose corn syrup/fructose changed the way of processing to avoid mercury contamination? An extensive search on FDA website doesn’t indicate any change in processing requirements to eliminate mercury contamination were ever made. 

    RESOURCES: 

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.anh-usa.org/mercury-found-in-high-fructose-corn-syrup/.

    Report: http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/BMBR/article-full-text-pdf/41CAC0411547

    Effective of Mercury on the human body: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/mercury/l-2/mercury-2.htm

  • HISTORIC WIN! Hawai‘i enacts first U.S. ban on chlorpyrifos

    Tiny amounts of chlorpyrifos, lead, chemical flame retardants and organophosphate pesticides such as Round Up, among other toxins, course through the blood of nearly every American. States are beginning to stand up to protect their children our future generation against the multitude of toxins that assault them daily. Hawai’i made history today when Governor David Ige, watched by representatives of the community from across the islands, signed into law Senate Bill 3095, banning all uses of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide that has been shown to harm children and has been found in food, air and drinking water. The high-profile pesticide was slated for a ban, but under Scott Pruitt’s Environmental Protection Agency, the planned ban was reversed. 

    For half a century, U.S. staple foods such as corn, wheat, beets have been sprayed with chlorpyrifos, a dangerous pesticide that can damage the developing brains of children, causing reduced IQ, loss of working memory, and attention deficit disorders.

    “Environmental law group Earthjustice listed the risks the EPA discovered through its own research into chlorpyrifos:

    • All exposure to chlorpyrifos through food exceeds safe levels of the chemical. The most exposed population is children between one and two years of age. On average, this vulnerable group is exposed to 140 times the level of chlorpyrifos the EPA deems safe.
    • Chlorpyrifos contaminates drinking water.
    • Chlorpyrifos drifts to schools, homes, and fields in toxic amounts at more than 300 feet from the fields.
    • Workers face unacceptable risks from exposures when they mix and apply chlorpyrifos and when they enter fields to tend to crops.

      After decades of determining the neurotoxic impact of this chemical on our children, Dow Chemicals complains that there still has yet to be developed a comparable product available to farmers as a substitute for chlorpyrifos.  Dow add that the proposed restrictions could further result in over-reliance on more toxic substances, such as pyrethroids, which may have a greater negative impact on beneficial insects.

    There is little doubt about the science. The federal government has taken a back seat in protecting our children. Its time for the States to take stand up and protect our children.

    Hawaii’s landmark law also takes steps to protect children that could be exposed to other airborne pesticides; it mandates 100 foot no-spray buffer zones around schools to protect children from spraying of EPA-designated restricted use pesticides (RUPs) during school hours. As a result, chemical companies will have to report regularly on the RUPs they spray, when and where they are sprayed and in what quantities. As a result, impacted communities can access information about what they are being exposed to, and regulators can make informed decisions about protecting public health, the environment and endangered ecosystems.

    “‘Without the ban, farmworkers, their children, and others can’t escape exposure because the poison is in [the] air they breathe, in the food they eat, the soil where children play,’ observed Erik Nicholson, national vice president of United Farm Workers. ‘We all have a basic right to a healthy life.’

    “This law is our message to the EPA and to the chemical companies that we will no longer tolerate being ground zero for the testing of toxic pesticides that are damaging our children’s health and poisoning our environment,” said Gary Hooser, former Majority Leader of the Hawai’i Senate, and founder of the Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action.

    Hooser, who lives on Kauai, guided the “Protect our Keiki” coalition of diverse residents from across the islands through the complicated political process that resulted in the law.

    “Hawaii’s efforts have set a precedent, and we hope this will pave the way for other states that are looking to enact similar legislation,” said Leslee Matthews, a Honolulu-based policy fellow with Pesticide Action Network.

    What about Idaho? 

    Idaho usage of neurotoxic pesticides:  Agricultural products contribute more than $3.9 billion to Idaho’s annual economy, many of which – although diverse – are nationally significant. Sugar beets, lentils, wheat, sweet cherries, and apples are among the crops for which Idaho is one of the top ten producers in the U.S.  

    Does this mean that Idaho is one of the top ten users of chlorpyrifos?
    Did you know Idaho leads infant mortality rates in the U.S. due to fetal congenital defects?

    Read More:

    What you Need to Know About Chlorpyrifos

    Use of Chlorpyrifos in Idaho

  • Toxic Tea. Popular Tea Brands Contain Illegal Amounts of Pesticides

    Although tea is widely thought to be a healthier source of caffeine than coffee, soda or energy drinks, conventional tea brands have been shown to contain high levels of toxic substances such as fluoride and pesticides, artificial ingredients, added flavors and GMOs(modified corn starch and soy lecithin).The levels found in these products are so high that they are considered unsafe for consumption. As with most products, all tea is not created equal. Opting to save a few dollars on cheaper tea can cost you a lot more when it comes to your health.

    Conventional Teas May Contain Fluoride and Pesticides

    Most tea isn’t washed before it is distributed into bags. If the tea was sprayed with pesticides, those pesticides will wind up directly in your cup. Many non-organic tea brands have been found to contain pesticides that are known carcinogens. Popular tea brands often get away with listing “natural flavors” as an ingredient, causing many consumers to think they are buying better, cleaner ingredients. But there is a whole list of what “natural flavors” could mean.

    Reports from India and China find high levels of banned pesticides in tea products, pointing to a lack of enforcement on pesticide use in major tea exporting countries. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consistently finds high levels of illegal residues on imported Tea that eventually finds its way to the American consumer. These include permethrin (a synthetic pyrethroid, linked to cancer and endocrine system disruption), DDE (a metabolite of DDT, banned in the U.S. in 1972), heptachlor epoxide (a derivative of the pesticide heptachlor, which was banned in the U.S. for use in agriculture and as a termiticide due to its carcinogenicity and persistence in the environment) and acetamiprid (a bee-toxic neonicotinoid). These issues increase consumer exposure to a dangerous blend of pesticides in conventional tea.

    Where Does The Fluoride Come From?

    Tea plants absorb fluoride from soil and accumulate it as they grow, so older leaves contain the most fluoride. Cheaper quality teas are often made from older tea leaves, which contain more fluoride. These teas also contain the least amount of anti-oxidants, lessening the health benefits associated with drinking tea.  See our full article on the dangers of neurotoxic Fluoride

    Which Brands Contain The Most Toxins?

    The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation actually conducted an investigation on several popular international tea companies, including:

    1. Tetley
    2. Lipton
    3. Twinnings
    4. No Name
    5. Uncle Lee’s Legends of China
    6. King Cole
    7. Signal

    Alarmingly, the CBC found that half of the tea brands contained a level of toxins that exceeded the legal limit. The worst offenders were:

    • King Cole, which contained the monocrotophos – a chemical that is currently in the process of being banned, as it causes irregular heartbeat and even coma.
    • Uncle Lee’s Legends of China, which contained more than 20 types of pesticides. One was endosulfan, which causes nervous system damage.
    • No Name, which contained more than 10 pesticide types.

    That doesn’t mean the other tea brands were totally safe, however. 
    In fact, only Red Rose tea was found to contain no pesticides at all.

    How To Avoid Toxic Chemicals in Tea

    You don’t need to stop drinking tea altogether to keep yourself safe from harmful toxins or pesticides that may be lurking in your cup. After all, tea is the source of some amazing health benefits. So what’s the solution?

    • Try switching to white tea. It has the least amount of fluoride because it’s made from young leaves.
    • Be sure to buy loose leaf tea or brew your own tea from scratch.
    • Buy organic! Choose a non-GMO certified brand of tea.
    • Check the ingredient list to make sure there are no added flavors or GMO ingredients added to the tea leaves.
    • Many restaurants use tea brands that are known to be full of pesticides, so be careful about ordering tea while out to eat.
    • Know the correct brewing times for certain types of tea. Black or Pu-reh teas should be steeped for 3-5 minutes; white or green teas should be steeped for 2-3 minutes; Oolong teas should be steeped for 4-7 minutes; and herbal teas should be left to steep for five minutes at minimum, longer for a stronger tea.

    Here is a list of bagged tea that is safe!

    Watch the video below for a breakdown of different tea brands and how they measure up in terms of health:

    Sources:

    Sources:

    IS THE TEA YOU ARE DRINKING TOXIC AND THE TEA BAG IT IS IN …. https://www.bwellbhealthy.com/blog/2017/2/26/is-the-tea-you-are-drinking-toxic-and-the-tea-bag-it-is-in

    Most Brands of Tea Contain THESE Harmful Chemicals …. https://www.davidwolfe.com/tea-contain-harmful-chemicals/

    These Popular Tea Brands Possess Dangerously High Levels …. https://worldtruth.tv/these-popular-tea-brands-possess-dangerously-high-levels-of-pesticides/

    The hidden dangers of bagged tea | Body Unburdened. https://bodyunburdened.com/the-hidden-dangers-of-bagged-tea/

  • #1 Children’s Vitamin in US Contains: Aspartame, GMOs and Hazardous Chemicals

    Children vitamin #1 Children’s Vitamin in US Contains: Aspartame, GMOs and Hazardous Chemicals

    upposed to be healthy, right? Well then, what’s going on with Flintstones Vitamins, which proudly claims to be “Pediatricians’ #1 Choice”?  Produced by the global pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, this wildly successful brand features a shocking list of unhealthy ingredients, including:  

    On Bayer Health Science’s Flintstones product page designed for healthcare professionals they lead into the product description with the following tidbit of information:

    “82% of kids aren’t eating all of their veggies*1. Without enough vegetables, kids may not be getting all of the nutrients they need.”

    References: *1. Lorson BA, Melgar-Quinonez HR, Taylor CA. Correlates of fruit and vegetable intakes in US children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109(3):474-478.

    The implication? That Flintstones vitamins somehow fill this nutritional void. But let’s look a little closer at some of these presumably healthy ingredients…

    ASPARTAME

    Aspartame is a synthetic combination of the amino acids aspartic acid and l-phenylalanine, and is known to convert into highly toxic methanol and formaldehyde in the body. Aspartame has been linked to over 40 adverse health effects in the biomedical literature, and has been shown to exhibit both neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity. [1]

    What business does a chemical like this have doing in a children’s vitamin, especially when non-toxic, non-synthetic non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia already exist?

    CUPRIC OXIDE

    Next, let’s look closer at Cupric Oxide, 2mg of which is included in each serving of Flinstone’s Complete chewable vitamins as a presumably  ‘nutritional’ source of ‘copper,’ supplying “100% of the Daily Value  (Ages 4+), according to Flintstones Vitamins Web site’s Nutritional Info. [2]

    But what is Cupric Oxide? A nutrient or a chemical?

    According to the European Union’s Dangerous Substance Directive, one of the main EU laws concerning chemical safety, Cupric Oxide is listed as a Hazardous substance, classified as both “Harmful (XN)” and “Dangerous for the environment” (N).

    Consider that it has industrial applications as a pigment in ceramics, and as a chemical in the production of rayon fabric and dry cell batteries. In may be technically correct to call it a mineral, but should it be listed as a nutrient in a children’s vitamin? We think not.

    COAL TAR ARTIFICIAL COLORING AGENTS

    A well-known side effect of using synthetic dyes is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. For direct access to study abstracts on this topic view our Food Coloring research page.

    There is also indication that the neurotoxicity of artificial food coloring agents increase when combined with aspartame, [3] making the combination of ingredients in Flintstones even more concerning.

    FOOD DYES & KIDS: A Rainbow of Risk 

    ZINC OXIDE

    Each serving of Flinstones Complete Chewable vitamins contain 12 mg of zinc oxide, which the manufacturer claims delivers 75% of the Daily Value to children 2  & 3 years of age. Widely used as a sun protection factor (SPF) in sunscreens, The EU’s Dangerous Substance Directive classifies it as an environmental Hazard, “Dangerous for the environment (N).”

    How it can be dangerous to the environment, but not for humans ingesting it, escapes me. One thing is for sure, if one is to ingest supplemental zinc, or market it for use by children, it makes much more sense using a form that is organically bound (i.e. ‘chelated’) to an amino acid like glycine, as it will be more bioavailable and less toxic.

    SORBITOL

    Sorbitol is a synthetic sugar substitute which is classified as a sugar alcohol. It can be argued that it has no place in the human diet, much less in a child’s. The ingestion of higher amounts have been linked to gastrointestinal disturbances from abdominal pain to more serious conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. [4]

    FERROUS FUMARATE

    The one clear warning on the Flinstone’s Web site concerns this chemical. While it is impossible to die from consuming iron from food, e.g. spinach, ferrous fumarate is an industrial mineral and not found in nature as food. In fact, ferrous fumarate is so toxic that accidental overdose of products containing this form is “a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6.” 

    The manufacturer further warns:“Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.”

    HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL

    Finding hydrogenated oil in anything marketed to children is absolutely unacceptable. These semi-synthetic fatty acids incorporate into our tissues and have been linked to over a dozen adverse health effects, from coronary artery disease to cancer, violent behavior to fatty liver disease. [5]

    GMO CORN STARCH

    While it can be argued that the amount of GMO corn starch in this product is negligible, even irrelevant, we disagree. It is important to hold accountable brands that refuse to label their products honestly, especially when they contain ingredients that have been produced through genetic modification.

    The ‘vitamin C’ listed as ascorbic acid in Flintstones is likely also produced from GMO corn. Let’s remember that Bayer’s Ag-biotech division, Bayer CropScience, poured $381,600 of cash into defeating the proposition 37 GMO labeling bill in California.

    Parents have a right to protect their children against the well-known dangers of genetically modified foods and the agrichemicals that contaminate them, don’t they? GMO corn starch is GMO, plain and simple. We’d appreciate it if Bayer would label their “vitamins” accordingly.

    In summary, Bayer’s Flintstone’s vitamin brand is far from a natural product, and the consumer should be aware of the unintended, adverse health effects that may occur as a result of using it.

    By Sayer Ji, Green Med Info; |

  • “Let’s Talk Detox” at Natural Health Symposium

    Let’s take the confusion out of cleansing. Colon Cleanse? Liver Cleanse? Parasite Cleanse? Lymphatic Cleanse? Juice Cleanse? Sauna? EFT?  Water Fast? Where does one begin? We’ll discuss the concept and process of detoxification and make it more approachable, practical and sustainable. 

    When your body is clean, it can absorb the essential nutrients it needs to heal and repair. You’ll experience an improvement in literally every aspect of your health. 

     David DeHaas of Living Waters Wellness Center provide clarity to questions about detoxing. 

    Join us at the Natural Health Symposium 
    Saturday, July 21
    10 am- 5 pm
    Vineyard Boise