Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism are plaguing our society. Countless diseases are ravaging our bodies and there is no definite cure in sight. Is there any hope that our society can return to a state of good health?
We, as the American people, are steadily eating ourselves to death. The foods we consume are laced with toxins that are slowly poisoning our bodies. These toxic ingredients have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the foods that we consume every day.
A common toxin found in today’s foods is phenylalanine, which can cause seizures, brain damage and mental retardation in people who are sensitive to its effects or have phenylketonuria (PKU.) It is in a category of additives called excitotoxins. Excitotoxins are chemicals added to our foods to enhance flavor. These toxins cause direct harm to nerve cells, causing the cells to become over-excited to the point of death of the cells. While phenylalanine is naturally occurring in some foods, it is also an ingredient added to man-made foods, such as artificial sweetener (aspartame) used in diet soft drinks, diet foods and some medicines.
Due to the potential for health problems associated with the use of phenylalanine, products containing this ingredient are labeled with special warnings. The best course of action concerning this dangerous ingredient is to avoid it at all costs. Choose foods and drinks that do not contain aspartame or phenylalanine.
Diacetyl is another detrimental ingredient in the American diet, and also a part of the excitotoxin family of food chemicals. Diacetyl (butanedione) is used in the flavoring process of foods, such as pet foods, microwave popcorn and candies, among others. Studies have shown that many food processing plant employees, who come into contact with food flavorings containing diacetyl (FFCD) on a regular basis, suffer with serious respiratory illnesses. Some of the health issues caused by FFCD include wheezing, shortness of breath and a persistent dry cough. A high percentage of these employees developed asthma or bronchiolitis obliterans. Bronchiolitis obliterans results in inflammation and scarring of small airways, which causes the airways to become thick and narrow. This is a permanent condition which cannot be reversed.
Many of the employees working in microwave popcorn processing plants have been treated for eye, nasal, or upper respiratory irritation or burns, due to exposure to the vapors emitted by the FFCD.
Testing involving FFCD has shown respiratory tract damage and death in rodents that were exposed to diacetyl and diacetyl-laced butter flavorings. Further testing has also shown that rats that are exposed to 198.4 ppm (parts per milhon) of diacetyl for only six hours suffered from necrosis (localized death of living tissue) of the nasal and tracheal epithelium (membranous tissues that line the nasal and tracheal passages.)
A third member of the excitotoxin family, monosodium glutamate (MSG), can cause headaches, numbness and burning in the neck, face and other areas, heart palpitations, nausea, chest pains, and general weakness. MSG is commonly found in canned meats, canned vegetables and Chinese style foods. While not everyone is sensitive to the effects of MSG, your health would most likely benefit from an avoidance of foods that are tainted with this additive.
While not a food itself, BPA is a toxin that comes into contact with our food and drinks via plastic dishes and storage containers. It is a chemical used in the manufacture of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics. Many food and liquid storage containers, such as plastic cups, baby bottles and plastic soup storage bowls, are made of plastics which contain BPA. Epoxy resins are used to line and seal the insides of vegetable and soup cans, as well as coating the supply lines that bring water into our homes. Other items that are tainted with BPA toxins include dental sealants, bottle tops and cash register receipts.
BPA seeps into food and drinks from BPA-tainted storage containers and water supply lines. Most people in industrialized nations consume or come into contact with low levels of BPA on a daily basis.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Toxicology Department has conducted research concerning the possible effects of BPA poisoning on unborn babies, infants, children and the human brain. The effects of BPA contamination are so serious that The Food and Drug Administration has stepped in and is working to reduce the amounts of BPA to which humans are exposed.
Due to the potentially damaging effects of BPA exposure, it would be wise to limit the amount of the toxin with which you come into contact. Start by eliminating BPA-containing products from your home. This may seem like a daunting task, but your efforts will be rewarded when you begin to notice your health improving.
If removing BPA products from your home is not an option for you, be sure to handle the products in the safest way possible. Do not microwave BPA plastics. (These often have the No. 7 on the bottoms of the containers.) Microwaving gradually causes the plastics to break down, which in turn causes more leeching of BPA.
BPA-containing products should be hand-washed with a mild detergent. The harsh detergents used in dishwashers have a tendency to wear down plastic containers much more quickly than hand-washing. Any type of handling that wears down the plastic may cause the BPA toxins to leech out more freely.
When possible, use stainless steel and glass containers for food storage purposes. These types of containers do not contain BPA toxins and are safe for use with foods and beverages.
Water is the fountain of life, but what happens when our drinking water is contaminated? Chlorine, fluoride and aluminum are added to water systems to help purify the water. However, these have negative side-effects. Chlorine is added to water to destroy microorganisms. Killing certain microorganisms makes drinking water healthier, but the chlorine also combines with naturally occurring materials in the water to create trihalomethanes, a substance which may trigger the development of bladder cancer. Trihalomethanes have also been linked to miscarriages in pregnant women who consumed chlorinated drinking water, as well as spina bifida and other birth defects.
Trihalomethanes can enter the human body even if the water is not consumed in the form of drinking water. When showering in chlorinated water, trihalomethanes enter the respiratory system as the evaporated water enters the air. Spending ten minutes in a hot shower can be even more dangerous than drinking a half gallon of chlorinated tap water. Showering in chlorinated water also dries out skin and contributes to hair breakage. The best way to avoid these potential problems is to use a shower filter, which will remove most of the chlorine from the water.
Fluoride is added to public drinking water to help keep tooth decay at bay, but it is also a known toxin. That is why toothpaste comes with warnings to call a poison control hotline if your child swallows too much toothpaste while brushing her teeth. Fluoride is poisonous to humans!
Aluminum is another substance used in the treatment of drinking water. It causes organic materials to clump together and makes them easier to remove from the water system. The problem with this method of cleaning water is that not all of the aluminum can be removed from the water. Therefore, aluminum remains in the water that we drink. Aluminum is harder on the human body than fluoride or chlorine. It has actually been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The question is why would our government, which is responsible for the well-being of the American people, allow, and even encourage, the use of toxins in our foods and drinking water? Is there a motive? Is there a reason our government would want us to be sick? The foods and water we consume are slowly killing us and our government agency (Food and Drug Administration) approves of it.
The only thing the people of the American public can do is take matters into our own hands and take responsibility for our health. If we continue to consume these toxins, our health will continue to decline, cancer rates will continue to climb and we will die at younger ages. There is no alternative, but to take responsibility for our own health and make the decision to no longer allow ourselves to be slowly poisoned to death.