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Aspartame and GMOs: What You Really Need to Know About the Science and Health Risks

Coca-Cola claims diet drinks promote weight loss, but studies show that artificial sweeteners actually contribute to weight gain.

In response to a plunge in sales of artificially sweetened sodas last week, Coca-Cola announced plans to roll out an ad campaign to win back popular favor for its aspartame-containing beverage, Diet Coke. (Diet Pepsi, which also contained aspartame, saw its sales fall 6.2 percent in 2012 while regular Pepsi sales fell little more than half that amount.)

The safety of aspartame, which the FDA approved for human consumption in 1981, has long been in dispute, before, during, and after its approval by the FDA. The simmering controversy is notable for the parallels between aspartame’s safety and regulatory history, and that of another controversial industrial food product – genetically modified foods also known as GMOs.

Aspartame, developed by Searle, was approved for public consumption despite the strong concerns of FDA scientists, who were over-ruled by Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. then the newly appointed FDA Chief—handpicked by Donald Rumsfeld, the former CEO of Searle, and the Secretary of Defense in two Republican administrations. Hayes pushed through the approval, and then returned to the same industry (at Searle’s public relations firm.) Upon aspartame’s approval, Searle gained two things:

1. The ability to market and profit from this product (sold as NutraSweet or Equal)

2. The upper hand in science

Since then, industry sponsored science has sustained the FDA decision, opposing both independent scientific findings, as well as citizen reports of adverse reactions. After a profitable three decades, first for Searle, soon thereafter for Monsanto, which bought Searle in 1985, the vestiges of the former company are now owned by Pfizer. But public confidence in aspartame has steadily eroded. Coca-Cola’s ad campaign seeks to restore that confidence.

Following a similar pattern, the 1992 FDA declaration that GMO seeds and plants were “substantially equivalent” to regular seeds and plants, also occurred despite the concerns of FDA scientists, who were over-ruled by a policy maker (Michael R. Taylor) who came in to the FDA (as Deputy Commissioner of Policy) from industry (Monsanto’s law firm), got GMOs approved, and then returned to the same industry (serving as a Monsanto Vice President for Public Policy.) Note: Taylor is currently Commissioner for Food at the FDA. This time the Searle/Monsanto playbook gave Monsanto three things:

1. The ability to develop, market, and profit from its products

2. The upper hand in science, AND

3. The right to patent its seeds and products and to protect its patents.

With many open questions about the long-range health and environment impacts of GMOs, today over twenty years after FDA approval, public discomfort with GMOs continues to rise. According to a recent New York Times poll, ninety-three percent want GMO foods to be labeled. While industry science supports use, other evidence (and many more concerns not addressed by industry science) continue to emerge. Glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, the Monsanto herbicide, integral to GMO agriculture, increases the proliferation of breast cancer, even at exposures at low concentrations of parts per trillion, 2013 research found. Glyphosate decreases the body’s ability to detoxify from other toxic exposures, thus increasing the potential for diseases arising from other toxic chemicals, a second study found.

According to Dr. Charles Benbrook, a Washington State University professor and researcher, GMO agriculture’s dramatic increases in the use of fungicides and pesticides (principally Roundup) could outstrip earlier scientific projections of safe exposure levels. Based on current use and exposure rates, risk assessment faces a multiplex of testing challenges arising from the likely presence of multiple transgenes, DNA fragments, promoters, regulatory sequences and chemicals from pesticides (active ingredients, metabolites, surfactants, adjuvants…

But how well can the needed risk assessment be conducted (and acted upon) in a climate where science gets mired in debate between independent researchers and pro-industry factions? If we lack the science to inform policy, both environmental risks (like honeybee collapse) and health risks will only become apparent over time. Accurate assessment is further hampered when patent laws permit Monsanto to limit seed access for study. Aspartame is freely available, yet it still took thirty years for concerns over aspartame’s health risks to amplify to levels that would significantly dent sales. We can learn a lot about the risks from GMOs by taking a look at aspartame.

Conflicting Studies
In its ads, and media messaging, Coke plans to tout the benefits of its aspartame-containing soft drinks as a weight loss aid. Its print ad, rolling out in Atlanta and Chicago this week will say that, “diet drinks can help people manage their weight.” Despite Coke’s claim, several studies found that artificial sweeteners fail to promote weight loss, and instead contribute to weight gain.

According to one of the researchers, the San Antonio Heart Study, which studied over 1,100 participants found that, “On average, for each diet soft drink our participants drank per day, they were 65 percent more likely to become overweight during the next seven to eight years, and 41 percent more likely to become obese.”

The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) confirmed these findings when it found that, “Daily consumption of diet drinks was associated with a 36% greater risk for metabolic syndrome and a 67% increased risk for type 2 diabetes.”

One mechanism for weight gain could be that the “Overstimulation of sugar receptors from frequent use of these hyper-intense sweeteners may limit tolerance for more complex tastes,” says Dr. David Ludwig, MD, PhD, a leading Harvard clinician and researcher into the causes and treatment of the obesity epidemic. As a result, less sweet or non-sweet foods may become unpalatable, driving people to avoid healthy foods and eat unhealthy ones.

Given this evidence, Coke’s boast that diet drinks produce weight loss may be a fib, but nowadays, industries wooing the public back to their product, can also bolster their claims with science. Though confusing to a public seeking answers, for every scientific finding, there is often an opposite scientific finding.

For example, a 2012 study published in The Journal of Nutrition concluded that, “There is no evidence that low calorie sweeteners can be claimed to be a cause of higher body weights in adults.”

What explains these opposite findings? Well, the thrust of the JN study is that with so many egregious foods on the nutritional landscape, it’s hard to single out just one. Point taken. Surprisingly, this implied critique of the industrial food system comes from the four study authors, three of whom had “received consulting fees, honoraria, donations, and unrestricted grants from food, beverage, and pharmaceutical companies.”

The Double-Faced Role of Science

If only all science were as unanimously agreed to as is climate science. Despite a lack of political will to address climate change, and public bafflement about how to tackle it, there is no uncertainty in the science.

But that’s harder to locate in other regulatory realms, due to opposing claimants. When assessing the health and safety of products and practices, government regulators default to industry sponsored scientific research. It’s up to independent scientists, (or members of the general public) to uncover evidence of harm— all too often after governmental approval.

Sometimes the shoe winds up on the other foot: Industry sponsored scientists question the safety of their competitors’ products. Exaggerated concerns over artisanal jams, or locally grown lettuce come from the pesticide-ridden ag industry. Drug companies fret that someone will reject pharmaceuticals because they take vitamin C. In such cases, independent scientists, farmers, or regular people counter health concerns with evidence of no to low-harm for non-industrial products.

Beyond aspartame’s benefits (or lack thereof) for weight loss, over the last three decades, public health gatekeepers, reliant on industry research, consistently affirm that aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet and Equal) is safe. This past week, both the FDA and the American Cancer Society were cited in the COMMENT NOW! following Coke’s campaign launch. The American Cancer society noted that: “Most (italics mine) studies using people have found that aspartame is not linked to an increased risk of cancer…”

The same language appears on the ACS on-line information page on aspartame’s cancer risk. “Most (italics mine) studies in people have not found that aspartame use is linked to an increased risk of cancer.”

This is misleading because when scientists consider evidence, they don’t merely count the number of studies, a la the Electoral College, in which a majority vote wins. They evaluate the weight of the evidence, and damning evidence on aspartame goes back to the mid-1960’s. The phrase “most studies” likely refers to the many industry-sponsored studies, but certain significant independent studies find that there are health concerns.

The ACS aspartame web page was created in February 2011, and never revised to include significant 2012 findings on aspartame cancer risks. When this past week, the ACS (and the FDA) weighed in with Coke on the safety of aspartame, both the agency and the premiere cancer organization politely omitted mention of a well-regarded December 2012 Harvard study which found that a daily serving of diet soda increased the risks of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma in men.

Nor was this the first warning of health risks with aspartame. As is often the case with science, first there were animal studies.

The Animal Studies
As early as 1967 and again in 1971, animal study outcomes provoked questions about aspartame health risks. In 1980, a Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) convened by the FDA, revoked an earlier approval of aspartame because of a study indicating it caused brain tumors in rats.

More recently, a 2007 study conducted by Dr. Mirando Soffritti, MD, the Scientific Director of the Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, (located in Bologna, Italy) found high rates of lymphomas, leukemias and other cancers in rats consuming aspartame. As in the Harvard study, this similar constellation of cancers was more pronounced in males.

Soffritti, a prominent and highly regarded international scientist, designed his research to correct design flaws he identified in the original Searle research. Searle scientists followed rats for only two years, which roughly equates to age fifty-three in the human life span. The Ramazzini study used a larger cohort of rats (1,900 vs. 300-700 animals) and followed them throughout their natural life cycle. Soffritti’s rationale for the study design was that:

Cancer is a disease of the third part of life. You have 75 percent of cancer diagnoses for people who are 55 years old or older. So if you truncate the experiments at 110 weeks and the rats are supposed to survive until 150 to 160 weeks, it means you avoid the development of cancer at the time when cancer would be starting to arise.

When independent, international, or even mainstream Harvard scientists find post-approval evidence of health risks from ingredients (like aspartame or GMOs), they are in effect acting as scientific whistleblowers, but scientific whistleblowers all too easily get dismissed or marginalized as cranks or quacks.

Yet over time, the evidence mounts. As aspartame research continues to emerge, the history of aspartame science and its suppression confers key lessons for the scientific assessment of GMOs.

First, GMOs were introduced a decade later than aspartame, and have much less science, and consumer report. Second, GMOs are difficult for independent scientists to study because Monsanto (via patent law) limits access to its seeds. Nevertheless, two animal studies done in Europe, found evidence of tumor growth in mice consuming GMO ingredients. A storm of protest erupted over the study design both for the earlier English study and the recent French study. But while study designs can often be improved, and independent research merits better funding, it’s vital that critiques not end by suffocating all independent research into industrial food products.

A 2009 position paper published by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, surveyed animal studies on GMO health effects, and found:

  • Immune dysregulation of inflammatory markers associated with increases in asthma, allergy, and inflammation.

 

  • Functional and structural changes of the liver, which can alter fat and carbohydrate metabolism

 

  • Intestinal and immune system damage, including proliferative cell growth

 

  • Changes in the kidney, pancreas and spleen have also been documented

 

  • Links to infertility and low birth weight

 

  • Changes in the expression of four hundred genes that “control protein synthesis and modification, cell signaling, cholesterol synthesis, and insulin regulation

This review of animal studies is a strong indicator of areas of health concern entailed by GMO consumption. The Public Trust

What people find so hard to wrap their minds around is this: How can major gatekeeping organizations, trusted by the public, lay claim to scientific validation of product safety while selectively ignoring animal studies and other meaningful science?

First, it’s obvious that institutional loyalties, economic pressures, and reputations make it hard for organizations like the FDA and the ACS to shift their stance on nearly three decades of safety claims.

Second, we, the public allow it. Apart from climate science, in most cases where there is scientific debate, there is complexity. As the breakdown in traditional journalism eats away at traditional scientific reporting, people seek simple answers and lack time for nuanced analysis.

Most of the educated public wants to trust science, without having to evaluate its credibility, and industry takes advantage of that.

“If at the outset, agencies like the FDA confer scientific validation on an industrial food product or ingredient, going forward, industry can more readily maintain the scientific upper hand,” says James S. Turner, Chairman of Citizens for Health, a health and science policy organization.

The studies industry commissions will be cited. Contending studies will be invalidated. Typically corporate funded science has more generous budgets for larger cohorts of participants in a study than independent researchers. This can translate into a seemingly “scientific” basis for rejecting independent research, because “most studies” are funded by industry and support industry claims.

Because it takes time and money to progress up the chain of proof from animal to human studies, it may take decades for independent science to reverse the initial advantage conferred by a government agency like the FDA, the USDA, or the EPA. By then the product or ingredient is in wide use, making its risks “impossible” to accept (even with scientific proof) given that by then millions have been exposed to its dangers. Moreover, there is heavy economic vestment in the use of even a nutritionally valueless ingredient like aspartame. Finally, since our medical treatment and research model focus on treatments of disease, rather than the causes of disease, it will be harder after the fact to ascertain whether a person’s illness was caused by aspartame or GMOs or other exposure to chemicals, like in plastic bottles and containers containing bisphenol-A (BPA), or chemicals used in fracking oil and gas wells, which are becoming more common, or myriad other chemicals or combinations of chemicals.

Soffritti defined the bottom line when he spoke to The New York Times back when his animal study was first published, “If something is a carcinogen in animals, then it should not be added to food, especially if there are so many people that are going to be consuming it.” When it comes to the novel ingredients in the food supply, independent study is a must.

Source: alternet.org

2013
09/21
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Sugar May Be Bad, But This Sweetener Called Fructose Is Far More Deadly

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By Dr. Mercola

A 2009 study from University of California, Davis takes its place in a growing lineup of scientific studies demonstrating that consuming high-fructose corn syrup is the fastest way to trash your health. It is now known without a doubt that sugar in your food, in all its myriad of forms, is taking a devastating toll.

And fructose in any form — including high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and crystalline fructose — is the worst of the worst! Fructose, a cheap sweetener usually derived from corn, is used in thousands of food products and soft drinks. Excessive fructose consumption can cause metabolic damage and triggers the early stages of diabetes and heart disease, which is what the Davis study showed.

Dr. Richard Johnson also does a fabulous job of comprehensively reviewing this important topic in his new book The Fat Switch. In the study, over the course of 10 weeks, 16 volunteers on a controlled diet including high levels of fructose produced new fat cells around their heart, liver, and other digestive organs. They also showed signs of food-processing abnormalities linked to diabetes and heart disease. Another group of volunteers on the same diet, but with glucose sugar replacing fructose, did not have these problems. Fructose is a major contributor to:

  • Insulin resistance and obesity
  • Elevated blood pressure
  • Elevated triglycerides and elevated LDL
  • Depletion of vitamins and minerals
  • Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis, and even gout

A Calorie Is Not a Calorie

Glucose is the form of energy you were designed to run on. Every cell in your body, every bacterium — and in fact, every living thing on Earth — uses glucose for energy.

If you received your fructose only from vegetables and fruits (where it originates) as most people did a century ago, you’d consume about 15 grams per day — a far cry from the 73 grams per day the typical adolescent gets from sweetened drinks. In vegetables and fruits, it’s mixed in with fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and beneficial phytonutrients, all which moderate any negative metabolic effects.

It isn’t that fructose itself is bad — it is the MASSIVE DOSES you’re exposed to that make it dangerous. There are two reasons fructose is so damaging:

  1. Your body metabolizes fructose in a much different way from glucose. The entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver.
  2. People are consuming fructose in enormous quantities, which has made the negative effects much more profound.

Today, 55 percent of sweeteners used in food and beverage manufacturing are made from corn, and the number one source of calories in America is soda, in the form of HFCS.

Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup in the 1970s when they discovered that HFCS was not only far cheaper to make, but is also about 20% sweeter than table sugar. HFCS is either 42% or 55% fructose, and sucrose is 50% fructose, so it’s really a wash in terms of sweetness.

Still, this switch drastically altered the average American diet.

By USDA estimates, about one-quarter of the calories consumed by the average American is in the form of added sugars, and most of that is HFCS. The average Westerner consumes a staggering 142 pounds a year1 of sugar! And the very products most people rely on to lose weight — the low-fat diet foods — are often the ones highest in fructose. Making matters worse, all of the fiber has been removed from these processed foods, so there is essentially no nutritive value at all.

Fructose Metabolism Basics

Without getting into the very complex biochemistry of carbohydrate metabolism, it is important to understand some differences about how your body handles glucose versus fructose. I will be publishing a major article about this in the next couple of months, which will get much more into the details. But for our purpose here, I will just summarize the main points.

Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, has been a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism. His work has highlighted some major differences in how different sugars are broken down and used:

  • After eating fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests on your liver. But with glucose, your liver has to break down only 20 percent.
  • Every cell in your body, including your brain, utilizes glucose. Therefore, much of it is “burned up” immediately after you consume it. By contrast, fructose is turned into free fatty acids (FFAs), VLDL (the damaging form of cholesterol), and triglycerides, which get stored as fat.
  • The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance progresses to metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes.
  • Fructose is the most lipophilic carbohydrate. In other words, fructose converts to activated glycerol (g-3-p), which is directly used to turn FFAs into triglycerides. The more g-3-p you have, the more fat you store. Glucose does not do this.
  • When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose results in 40 calories being stored as fat. Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat!
  • The metabolism of fructose by your liver creates a long list of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.
  • Glucose suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and stimulates leptin, which suppresses your appetite. Fructose has no effect on ghrelin and interferes with your brain’s communication with leptin, resulting in overeating.

If anyone tries to tell you “sugar is sugar,” they are way behind the times. As you can see, there are major differences in how your body processes fructose and glucose. The bottom line is: fructose leads to increased belly fat, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome — not to mention the long list of chronic diseases that directly result. And eating sugar may accelerate the aging process itself.

Panic in the Corn Fields

As the truth comes out about HFCS, the Corn Refiners Association is scrambling to convince you that their product is equal to table sugar, that it is “natural” and safe. Of course, many things are “natural” — cocaine is natural, but you wouldn’t want to use 142 pounds of it each year.

The food and beverage industry doesn’t want you to realize how truly pervasive HFCS is in your diet — not just from soft drinks and juices, but also in salad dressings and condiments and virtually every processed food. The introduction of HFCS into the Western diet in 1975 has been a multi-billion dollar boon for the corn industry.

The FDA classifies fructose as GRAS: Generally Regarded As Safe. Which pretty much means nothing and is based on nothing. There is plenty of data showing that fructose is not safe — but the effects on the nation’s health have not been immediate. That is why we are just now realizing the effects of the last three decades of nutritional misinformation. As if the negative metabolic effects are not enough, there are other issues with fructose that disprove its safety:

  • More than one study has detected unsafe mercury levels in HFCS.2
  • Crystalline fructose, a super-potent form of fructose the food and beverage industry is now using, may contain arsenic, lead, chloride and heavy metals
  • Nearly all corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn, which comes with its own set of risks.

The FDA isn’t going to touch sugar, so it’s up to you to be proactive about your own dietary choices. For a real eye-opener about what sugar has down to the health of America, I recommend watching a piece that 60 Minutes did on this issue.

What’s a Sugarholic to Do?

Ideally, I recommend that you avoid as much sugar as possible. This is especially important if you are overweight or have diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure. I also realize we don’t live in a perfect world, and following rigid dietary guidelines is not always practical or even possible. If you want to use a sweetener occasionally, this is what I recommend:

  1. Use the herb stevia.
  2. Use organic cane sugar in moderation.
  3. Use organic raw honey in moderation.
  4. Avoid ALL artificial sweeteners, which can damage your health even more quickly than fructose.
  5. Avoid agave syrup since it is a highly processed sap that is almost all fructose. Your blood sugar will spike just as it would if you were consuming regular sugar or HFCS. Agave’s meteoric rise in popularity is due to a great marketing campaign, but any health benefits present in the original agave plant are processed out.
  6. Avoid so-called energy drinks and sports drinks because they are loaded with sugar, sodium, and chemical additives. Rehydrating with pure, fresh water is a better choice.

If you or your child is involved in athletics, I recommend you read my article Energy Rules for some great tips on how to optimize your child’s energy levels and physical performance through good nutrition.

Did You Know?

fructose overload infographic

Discover the fructose content of common foods, beverages, sauces, and even sugar substitutes in our infographic “Fructose Overload.” Use the embed code to share it on your website.

fructose overload infographic

Discover the fructose content of common foods, beverages, sauces, and even sugar substitutes in our infographic “Fructose Overload.”

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2013
09/21
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Bottled water found to contain over 24,000 chemicals, including endocrine disruptors

Woman-Drinking-Water-Plastic-Bottle(NaturalNews) Widespread consumer demand for plastic products that are free of the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) has led to some significant positive changes in the way that food, beverage and water containers are manufactured. But a new study out of Germany has found that thousands of other potentially harmful chemicals are still leeching from plastic products into food and beverages, including an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) known as di(2-ethylhexyl) fumarate, or DEHF, that is completely unregulated.

Martin Wagner and his colleague, Jorg Oehlmann, from the Goethe University Frankfurt, in conjunction with a team of researchers from the German Federal Institute of Hydrology, learned this after conducting tests on 18 different bottled water products to look for the presence of EDCs. Using an advanced combination of bioassay work and high-resolution mass spectrometry, the team identified some 24,520 different chemicals present in the tested water.

But of major concern, and the apparent underpinning of the study’s findings, was DEHF, a plasticizer chemical that is used to make plastic bottles more flexible. According to reports, DEHF was clearly identified in the tested water as the most consistent and obvious culprit causing anti-estrogenic activity. Despite trace amounts of more than 24,000 other potentially damaging chemicals, DEHF stood out as the only possible EDC capable of inducing this particular observed activity, a highly concerning observation.

The study’s published abstract explains that 13 of the 18 bottled water products tested exhibited “significant” anti-estrogenic activity, while 16 of the 18 samples were found to inhibit the body’s androgen receptors by an astounding 90 percent. Additionally, the other 24,520 chemical traces besides DEHF were also identified as exhibiting antagonistic activity, which means that they, too, are detrimental to the body’s hormonal system.

Many thousands of endocrine-disrupting chemicals used in plastic production prove material unsafe

But DEHF is apparently not alone in causing significant damage to the endocrine system, as the team was unable to identify this chemical as being specifically anti-androgenic. What this suggests is that there is some other chemical, or chemical combination, being leeched into bottled water that is interfering with the body’s chemical signaling system, which is, of course, responsible for hormone production and use within the body.

“We confirmed the identity and biological activity of DEHF and additional isomers of dioctyl fumarate and maleate using authentic standards,” report the researchers. “Since DEHF is anti-estrogenic but not anti-androgenic we conclude that additional, yet unidentified EDCs must contribute to the antagonistic effect of bottled water.”

So while these specific findings concerning DEHF are groundbreaking, the overall conclusion to be drawn from this research is that far more study is needed to determine the types of chemicals that are being leeched from plastic into our food and water, not to mention the extent of this leeching. And since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the rest of the three-letter government agencies will surely never get around to conducting this important research, independent science will simply have to take up the charge.

“This work is a ‘tour de force’ in identification of endocrine disruptors in packaged materials,” says Bruce Blumberg from the University of California, Irvine, as quoted by Chemistry World. This type of analysis, he adds, “will be very important for our future understanding of what chemicals we are routinely exposed to and which of these pose hazards of being endocrine disruptors.”

You can read the full study abstract here:
http://www.plosone.org

In the meantime, conscious consumers can avoid plastic containers whenever possible and simply use glass or steel containers instead to avoid these unknown risks.

Source
Sources for this article include:

http://www.plosone.org

http://www.rsc.org

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

2013
09/21
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Diet Soda, Aspartame Shown to Destroy Kidney Function

In an 11-year study by scientists at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, there was a strong positive correlation found between degeneration of kidney function and consumption of aspartame-containing diet soda.

sodasugarfree-265x165Published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the study followed 3,318 women for a number of years as they consumed diet soda containing artificial sweeteners like Aspartame. Scientists took into account each participant’s age, blood pressure, smoking habits (when applicable), and pre-existing conditions like heart disease or diabetes, and administered food frequency questionnaires in 1984, 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998. Two or more diet drinks daily, it was found, led to a doubled risk in fast-paced kidney decline.

A separate study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that, contrary to safety claims made by the manufacturers of aspartame, health-related concerns including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia still abound. While study authors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School admitted that there were other variables to consider, such as the sex of the consumer in that particular case, they remained troubled by the risks associated with diet soda.

It’s worth noting that diet soda is also high in sodium—and in greater amounts than found in sodas sweetened with sugar or corn starch (which were not examined in either study).

Corruption: a Brief History of Aspartame

Is diet soda really that bad for you? This is neither the first nor will it be the last time diet soda and artificially sweetened goods will come under fire from the scientific community. The Food and Drug Administration quickly approved aspartame, called “NutraSweet,” in 1974 in use for limited foods, but only after examining studies provided by G. D. Searle Co.. Yes, the inventor of aspartame.

It was only after a research psychiatrist concluded that aspartic acid—a key ingredient in aspartame—made holes in mice brains that the FDA rounded up a task force to investigate Searle’s claims. The investigation unveiled a series of falsified claims, corrupted study results, and information that simply wasn’t there. Although the FDA moved for further investigation of Searle by grand jury, US Attorney Thomas Sullivan and Assistant US Attorney William Conlon didn’t lift a finger to help. Conlon, however, found a job at the law firm representing Searle.

Since then, the genetically modified creation, aspartame, has been implicated in a number of studies as potentially causing tumors, seizures, brain holes, and reproductive problems. But the mainstream media won’t report on the aspartame-cancer link.

Other Sweeteners, the Good and the Bad

Other artificial sweeteners, like sucralose (supposedly “made from sugar”), have been implicated in other health problems like changing the gut flora environment and preventing proper nutrient absorption, according to the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health.

Thus far, Stevia has drawn little fire comparative to artificial sweeteners, although excessive use might be cautioned as with anything. Stevia is, however, safer to use than artificial or GMO sugar, especially for diabetics.

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2013
09/20
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What Happens to Our Bodies After Drinking Coca-Cola

After 10 minutes: Ten tea spoons of sugar contained in a glass of Cola, cause devastating “strike” on the organism and the only cause, by reason of not vomiting, is the phosphoric acid which inhibits the action of sugar.

After 20 minutes: A leap of insulin levels in bloodstream occurs. The liver converts all the sugar into fat.

Coca-Cola Post Strong EarningsAfter 40 minutes: Ingestion of caffeine is finally completed. The eye pupils are expanding. Blood pressure rises, because the liver disposes more sugar into bloodstream. The adenosine receptors get blocked, thereby preventing drowsiness.

After 45 minutes: Body raises production of dopamine hormone, which stimulates the brain pleasure center. Heroin has the same principle of operation.

After 1 hour: Phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in the gastrointestinal tract, which supercharges metabolism. Releasing of calcium through urine also rises.

After more than 1 hour: Diuretic effect of the drink enters in “the game”. The calcium, magnesium and zinc are removed out of the organism, which are a part of our bones, as well as sodium. At this time we have already become irritable or subdued. The whole quantity of water, contained in a coca cola, is removed by the urine.

Actually, when having a cold bottle of Coke and enjoying its undeniable freshness, do we know what chemical “cocktail” we pour into our throats? The active ingredient of Coca-Cola is orthophosphoric acid. Due to its high acidity, cisterns used for transporting of the concentrate have to be equipped with special reservoirs designed for highly corrosive materials. Let’s have a look at “the anatomy” of one of the most advertised products of “Coca-Cola Co.” – Coca-Cola Light without caffeine. This drink contains Aqua Carbonated, E150D, E952, E951, E338, E330, Aromas, E211. Aqua Carbonated – this is sparkling water. It stirs gastric secretion, increases the acidity of the gastric juice and provokes flatulency – plenty evolution of gases. Furthermore, spring water is not used, but is used regular filtered water.

E150D – food coloring, obtained through the processing of sugar at specified temperatures, with or without addition of chemical reagents. In the case with coca-cola, ammonium sulfate is added.

E952 – Sodium Cyclamate is a sugar substitute. Cyclamate is a synthetic chemical, has sweet taste, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar, and is used as an artificial sweetener. In 1969 it was banned by FDA, since it as well as saccharin and aspartame, caused cancer in rats’ urinary bladder. In 1975, prohibition seized also Japan, South Korea and Singapore. In 1979, WHO (World Health Organization), “who knows why?” rehabilitated cyclamates and recognizing them as safe.

E950 – Acesulfame Potassium. 200 times sweeter than sugar, containing methyl ether, where it aggravates the operation of the cardiovascular system. Likewise, it contains asparaginic acid which can also cause excitant effect on our nervous system and in time it can lead to addiction. Acesulfame is badly dissolved and is not recommended for use by children and pregnant women.

E951 – Aspartame. A sugar substitute for diabetics and is chemically unstable: at elevated temperature it breaks down into methanol and phenylalanine. Methanol is very dangerous: 5-10ml can cause destruction of the optic nerve and irreversible blindness. In warm soft drinks, aspartame transforms into formaldehyde which is very strong carcinogen. Some number of cases with aspartame poisoning include: unconsciousness, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, palpitation, weight gain, irritability, anxiety, memory loss, blurry vision, fainting, joint pains, depression, fertility, hearing loss and etc. Aspartame can also provoke the following diseases: brain tumors, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), epilepsy, Graves’ disease, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, mental deficiency and tuberculosis.

E338 – Orthophosphoric Acid. This can cause irritation of skin and eyes. It is used for production of phosphoric acid salts of ammonia, sodium, calcium, aluminum and also in organic synthesis for production of charcoal and film tapes, for production of refractory materials, ceramics, glass, fertilizers, synthetic detergents, medicine, metalworking, and textile and oil industries. Food orthophosphoric acid is used in the production of carbonated water and for preparation of ingredients in pastry. It is known that orthophosphoric acid interfere with the absorption of calcium and iron from the body, which can cause weakening of bones and osteoporosis. Other side effects are thirst and skin rashes.

E330 – Citric Acid. It is widely spread in nature and is used in pharmaceutical and food industries. Salts of citric acid (citrates) are used in food industry as acids, preservatives, stabilizers, and in medical fields – for preserving blood. Aromas – unknown aromatic additives

E211 – Sodium Benzoate. It is used in production of some food products, as an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent. These products refer to jams, fruit juices and fruit yoghurts. It’s not recommended for use by asthmatics and people who are sensitive to aspirin. A study conducted by Peter Piper at the Sheffield University in Britain, found that this compound causes significant damage to DNA. According to his words, sodium benzoate which is an active component in preservatives doesn’t destroy DNA, but deactivating it. This can lead to cirrhosis and degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease.

So, what turns out? Well, it turns out that “the secret recipe” of coca-cola is just one advertising play. What kind of secret may be there, when it’s well known to us that this is a weak solution of cocaine with preservatives, colorants, stabilizers and etc. I.e., this is legalized cocaine addiction plus pure poison. Diet Coke is even worse, because the aspartame in it, replaces sugar, becoming pure neurotoxic poison.

So, if you can’t imagine a life without coca-cola, take advantage of the following recommendations:

– Many distributors of coca-cola in U.S use this drink for cleaning their truck engines.

– Many police officers in U.S have bottles of coca-cola in their cars and when a car accident happens, they wash the blood out of the road with it.

– Coca-Cola is a great tool for removing rusty stains on chrome surfaces of cars. To remove corrosion from car battery, pour it with Coke and the corrosion will disappear.

– To unscrew a rusty screw, dip a cloth in coca-cola and wrap around it for several minutes. – To clean stains from clothes

– pour coca-cola on dirty clothes, add washing powder and run the washing machine as usual. You will be surprised of the results.

– In India, some farmers use coca-cola instead of pesticides for pest extermination, because it’s cheaper and the effect is completely satisfying. So, coca-cola undeniably is a very useful product. The key is to be used for intended purposes, but not for drinking!

Source: Get Holistic Health Read More: http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/09/what-happens-to-our-body-after-drinking-coca-cola.html – Follow us on Facebook: whydontyoutrythis
2013
09/20
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The great thimerosal cover-up: Mercury, vaccines, autism and your child’s health

This was copied from here.

You have probably seen your nurse insert a syringe into a large vial, extract some liquid, and then leave a substantial amount of vaccine in the original container. If you’ve witnessed this seemingly benign procedure, you’ve seen how vaccine manufacturers are saving money at the expense of public health. In order to store larger amounts of vaccine at a lower cost, companies began offering “multi-dose units” while adding preservatives to prevent contaminations. That way doctors can open and close a vaccine container, inviting germs into the once-sterile solution, while assuring the public that those contaminants are quickly killed by the preservative.

Sound familiar? It’s the same story of corporate America’s love affair with preservatives. It saves them money, while posing an undue risk to your health. But like many toxic preservatives found in food, a vaccine preservative kills more than just bacteria and fungi; it can lead to extensive neurological damage in your children, and has even been implicated in autism.

 

Thimerosal

Thimerosal is the preservative of choice for vaccine manufacturers. First introduced by Eli Lilly and Company in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the company began selling it as a preservative in vaccines in the 1940s. Thimerosal contains 49.6 percent mercury by weight and is metabolized or degraded into ethylmercury and thiosalicylate. Mercury, or more precisely, ethylmercury, is the principle agent that kills contaminants. Unfortunately, mercuryalso kills much more than that.

The Department of Defense classifies mercury as a hazardous material that could cause death if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Studies indicate that mercury tends to accumulate in the brains of primates and other animals after they are injected with vaccines. Mercury poisoning has been linked to cardiovascular disease, autism, seizures, mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia and many other nervous system conditions. That’s why the FDA rigorously limits exposure to mercury in foods and drugs. Some common sources of mercury include dental amalgam fillings, various vaccines and certain fish contaminated by polluted ocean waters.

The toxicity of mercury has never been in question. The real question is precisely how much mercury-laced thimerosal is toxic, and what are the possible consequences for our children at low doses?

Eli Lilly and Co. supposedly answered this question for us back in 1930. Concluding thimerosal to be of “a very low order of toxicity . . . for man,” the company hired its own doctors to perform thimerosal experiments in Indianapolis City Hospital on meningitis patients during a severe outbreak in 1929. This 60-year-old evidence was still quoted on the company’s brochures as recently as 1990. Andrew Waters, who is involved in a lawsuit against Eli Lilly, claims that most critical studies on the toxicity of thimerosal were suppressed by the company until now.

 

Banned around the world, but not in the United States

That might explain why thimerosal was eliminated in many countries 20 years ago. In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to ethylmercury, the form of mercury in thimerosal, suffered brain damage years later. Studies on thimerosal poisoning also describe tubular necrosis and nervous system injury, including obtundation, coma and death. As a result of these findings, Russia banned thimerosal from children’s vaccines in 1980. Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have also banned the preservative.

Eli Lilly stuck to its “scientific” facts, but the truth began slipping between the cracks in 1999. After the number of immunizations rose to 12 to 15 per child, the public finally became privy to the possible dangers of thimerosal. One 1999 study revealed that some infants, due to a genetic or developmental factor, lack the ability to eliminate mercury. Trace amounts of mercury in these infants, when accumulated over several vaccines, could pose a severe health risk. Some vaccines, such as vaccines for hepatitis B, contained as much as 12.5 micrograms of mercury per dose. That’s more than 100 times the EPA’s upper limit standard when administered to infants.

Hepatitis B vaccines aren’t the only immunizations under suspicion. According to Burton Goldberg in Alternative Medicine, scientists are finding stronger and stronger links between thimerosal and neurological damage. One report by Dr. Vijendra Singh of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan found a higher incidence of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) antibodies in autistic children.

The National Vaccine Information Center in Vienna, Virginia, has noted a strong association between the MMR vaccine and autistic features. Reporting similar findings, the Encephalitis Support Group in England claims that children who became autistic after the MMR vaccine started showing autistic symptoms as early as 30 days after vaccination. The diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine (DPT) given at two, four and six months has triggered autistic symptoms, as well.

When the FDA finally formally released this information in 1999, the news came too little too late for some parents. The damage had already been done.

 

Links between autism and thimerosal

Autism affects 500,000 to 1.5 million Americans and has grown at an annual rate of 10 to 17 percent since the late 1980s. California found a 273 percent increase in autism between 1987 and 1998. Maryland reported a 513 percent increase in autism between 1993 and 1998 and several dozen other states reported similar findings. Some scientists say the estimated number of cases of autism has increased 15-fold –1,500 percent – since 1991, when the number of childhood vaccinations doubled. Whereas one in every 2,500 children was diagnosed with autism before 1991, one in 166 children now have the disease.

This increase in reported autism cases eerily parallels the increase in the number and frequency of thimerosal-containing vaccinations administered to infants. As of today, children are given as many as 21 immunizations in the first 15 months of life. After a number of scientists and concerned activists noticed the correlation, an investigation was launched to get to the heart of the matter.

 

Statistical evidence links thimerosal with nervous system disorders

In June 2000, federal officials and industry representatives were assembled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discuss the disturbing evidence. According to Tom Verstraeten, an epidemiologist who had analyzed the data on the CDC’s database, thimerosal appeared to be responsible for a dramatic increase in autism and other neurological disorders. Verstraeten told those at the meeting that a number of earlier studies indicate a link between thimerosal and speech delays, attention-deficit disorder, hyperactivity and autism.

Verstraeten offered no possible cause for this correlation, but held that the statistical evidence linking vaccines and neurological disorders was strong. Dr. Bill Weil, a consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Dr. Richard Johnston, an immunologist and pediatrician from the University of Colorado, presented similar concerns to the group. However, given no causal relationship, the CDC and industry representatives were quick to discredit the evidence.

Consequently, the CDC paid the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to conduct another study on thimerosal. According to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., this study was fixed in order to “whitewash” previous findings. In its 2001 report, the IOM’s Immunization Safety Review Committee did conclude that the link between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders was biologically plausible, though the evidence neither proved nor negated it. The Committee stated that phasing out thimerosal from vaccines was “a prudent measure in support of the public health goal to reduce mercury exposure of infants and children as much as possible.” However, these findings offered no imperative. The data presented at the 2000 meeting was withheld from publication and the link between thimerosal and autism remained “inconclusive.”

But what does “inconclusive” mean? Well, that depends on who you talk to. According to the FDA, these “inconclusive” findings negate the risk of a causal relationship between thimerosal and autism. Even Tom Verstraeten, one of the presenters of epidemiological evidence at the CDC meeting, seemingly changed his tune a bit. In 2000, Verstraeten vigorously campaigned against thimerosal based upon his “inconclusive” correlation, but after he was hired by GlaxoSmithKline, the doctor changed his position. The same evidence from 2000, in Verstraeten’s eyes, became “neutral” in 2003. After criticism for this apparent flip-flop, Verstaeten wrote a letter to the editor of Pediatrics in 2004 backing the CDC’s actions and his own research methods.

 

Merck continues selling vaccines with thimerosal

Without an imperative to eradicate thimerosal immediately, vaccine manufacturers like Merck & Co. seemingly took their time in reducing thimerosal levels in vaccines. After a large public outcry in 1999, Merck & Co. began decreasing or eliminating the amount of thimerosal in its vaccines. In September 1999, Merck announced that its new line of vaccines were preservative-free, but still continued to distribute the remainder of thimerosal-preserved vaccines until 2001. Only after a congressional inquiry in 2002 did they stop distributing their stockpile. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., called Merck’s actions “misleading.”

While officials at the Center for Disease Control claim evidence is lacking to support the possible risks of thimerosal, Dr. Mark Geier, a Maryland geneticist and vaccinologist, along with his son and research partner David Geier, says the CDC has chosen to ignore the science. According to Dr. Geier, more than 5,000 articles have been published that question the safety of thimerosal in vaccines.

The Geiers analyzed the data and determined that the more thimerosal a child receives, the greater his or her chances are of being autistic. The CDC says the Geiers misused information from a CDC database that was not intended to help prove theories. Given no real causal mechanism linking thimerosal and autism, the game seems to have become one of slanting the data to suit the needs of government and industrial interests. Even Verstraeten has admitted that these “inconclusive” findings certainly don’t rule out the possibility of finding a link in the future.

 

Grassroots action against vaccine manufacturers

Given the dearth of health organizations owning up to the dangers of thimerosal, many parents followed their gut instincts and took legal action against vaccine manufacturers. More than 4,200 families have filed lawsuits claiming thimerosal caused injuries to their children. These lawsuits often have two goals: First, to seek reparations for the loss of consortium (basically meaning that an autistic child creates emotional and psychological burdens on their family life), and second, to ensure that these companies exercise more concern for public health and less concern for their own bottom line.

The lawsuits are slow in producing results. The first constraint on these lawsuits is the National Childhood Vaccine Act of 1986. This act stipulates that victims cannot seek redress in the courts without first filing a claim for recovery in the federal Vaccine Court. The statute of limitations for this is within three years of “the first symptom or manifestation of onset or of the significant aggravation of a [vaccine-related] injury.”

In the cases of many thimerosal victims, the link between autism and vaccines didn’t appear until six years after the first vaccine was administered. While this statute has stopped some claims against vaccine manufacturers, including such big firms as Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Johnson & Johnson, many judges are now allowing suits against Eli Lilly, the maker of thimerosal, to stand. While the Vaccine Act shields vaccine manufacturers, one judge reasons that the legislation does not protect the production of thimerosal because it is a “component.”

The burden of proof in court is also extremely problematic for most of these suits. Given the supposed lack of scientific data, lawyers are hard-pressed to prove the link between thimerosal and autism. In what seems like an underhanded move, the CDC sold its data to a private company, ensuring that lawyers could not access it under the Freedom of Information Act.

In the past five years, Congress has also aided vaccine manufacturers, supposedly for “security” reasons. In 2002, a mysterious piggyback on the 2002 Homeland Security bill freed drug companies of liability in lawsuits regarding thimerosal. Called the “Eli Lilly Protection Act” by outraged parents and activists, the then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey told CBS News he snuck the amendment in to keep vaccine-makers from going out of business. Armey claimed it was a matter of national security. “We need their vaccines if the country is attacked with germ weapons.”

Ironically, foreign biological terrorism hasn’t been a big problem for American citizens, but those whose lives (and the lives of their children) have been affected if not ruined by the harmful effects of thimerisol would undoubtedly say these potentially harmful vaccines are indeed a problem. Armey’s piggyback bill was repealed in 2003, but that didn’t stop lawmakers from continuing to protect the vaccine industry.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is no stranger to the thimerosal debate, having received $873,000 in contributions from the pharmaceutical industry and $10,000 from Eli Lilly. Frist’s position allowed him to attempt to help the industry from the inside, according to Kennedy. Kennedy reports that on five occasions, Frist tried to seal the government’s vaccine-related documents and shield Eli Lilly from subpoenas. Frist also introduced a provision in the 2005 Senate Bill S-3 called the “Protecting America in the War on Terror Act,” that would effectively insulate the pharmaceutical industry from liability for thimerosal poisoning. Pharmaceutical manufacturers, including Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis, Weyeth and Eli Lilly, can basically get off scot-free for their actions, even as more and more evidence suggests that top company officials were aware of the possible dangers and did nothing.

A secret memo leaked to the Los Angeles Times reportedly implicates one vaccine manufacturer, Merck & Co., for knowing that thimerosal could pose serious threats to infants. Allegedly, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of Merck’s top scientists, warned the president of Merck of a possible threat as early as 1991. Dr. Hilleman told executives that six-month-old children receiving regular immunizations frequently received mercury doses 87 times higher than guidelines for the maximum consumption of mercury. Given today’s more prudent mercury standards, those thimerosal doses would be 400 times that of safe levels. Dr. Hilleman recommended in the memo that thimerosal be discontinued.

Not only do government and industry officials seem to be trying to downplay the possible harms of thimerosal; the media is also denying the issue coverage. Just recently, ABC flip-flopped on whether it will air interviews with Robert Kennedy Jr., a leading critic of thimerosal. ABC has been accused of suppressing the interviews because of its ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

 

The thimerosal debate continues

Along with the enormous amount of controversy surrounding this issue, the five-year-old plea for “more research” may have finally produced some results. Burton Goldberg notes that a defect in the myelinization process (insulation of nerve fibers) could explain mercury’s propensity to cause autism and neurological damage. This may also account for the frequent development of epilepsy in older autistic children.

Scientists are also working on biological links that support the strong correlations. Researchers at Northeastern University, working with scientists from the University of Nebraska, Tufts and Johns Hopkins University, may have recently found the mechanism by which thimerosal interferes with brain activity. If these researchers are right, vaccine manufacturers could do little to keep the damaging effects of thimerosal hidden.

Pharmacy professor Richard Deth and colleagues found that exposure to thimerosal potently interrupts growth factor signaling, causing adverse effects on the transfer of carbon atoms. These carbon atoms play a significant role in regulating normal DNA function and gene expression and are critical to proper neurological development. Additionally, the scientists recently obtained more insight into the mechanism by which thimerosal interferes with folate-dependent methylation. The mechanism inhibits the biosynthesis of the active form of vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin), a vitamin now being administered to autistic children.

 

The experts speak on mercury, vaccines and thimerosal

Now all childhood vaccines have at least one mercury-free version, and I urge parents to ask for those versions if they choose to vaccinate their children. Injecting mercury into children, especially infants whose immune systems are still underdeveloped (hepatitis B shots are typically given at birth, before the immune system has developed), can be an assault to the immune system.
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Autoimmune Disorders by Stephen B Edelson MD, page 65

In 1999 studies began to surface showing that multi-dose vial vaccines, such as the MMR and hepatitis B vaccines, contained enough thimerosal to expose vaccinated children to 62.5 ug of mercury per visit to the pediatrician. This is one hundred times the dose considered safe by the Federal Environmental Protection Guidelines for infants! Worse yet, some infants will receive doses even higher; because thimerosal tends to settle in the vial. If it is not shaken up before being drawn, the first dose will contain low concentrations of mercury and the last dose will contain enormously high concentrations. If your baby is the unlucky one that gets the last dose, serious brain injury can result…
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 166

Thousands of families say they can demonstrate with videotapes and photos that their children were normal prior to being vaccinated, reacted badly to the vaccines, and became autistic shortly thereafter. The number of vaccines given before age two has risen from 3 in 1940, when autism occurred in perhaps one case per 10,000 births, to 22 different vaccines given before the age of two in the year 2000.
Building Wellness with DMG by Roger V Kendall PhD, page 104

We know that certain forms of mercury, such as methylmercury and phenylmercury, are highly lipid soluble, which makes the brain especially susceptible to mercury accumulation. These forms of mercury are found in vaccines as the preservative thimerosal. Once in the brain, it tends to attach itself to protein structures, especially to the cell membrane, where it can disrupt membrane functions.23 By binding to the cell membrane, mercury changes the membrane’s fluid-like quality, making it stiffer and causing the cell to age faster.24 The brain is unique in that neurons depend on special microscopic tube-like structures within the cell, appropriately called neurotubules, for their function. These neurotubules are manufactured by the cell from a substance called tubulin. We know that mercury interacts with tubulin causing it to unravel. Studies in rats have shown that doses of mercury corresponding to those seen in humans can cause a 75 percent increase in tubulin inhibition.
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 53

In the case of the susceptible newborn infant and toddler, multiple exposures to mercury-containing and multiple antigen vaccines are highly suspect in the causation of multiple organ injury (Bernard et al. 2000). The GI tract, the liver, the pancreas, the kidneys, the immune system, and the brain are major sites of mercury absorption. Researchers have clearly shown a chronic inflammatory bowel disease due to vaccine strain measles in a subset of children with autism (Thompson et al. 1995; Wakefield et al. 1995, 1999, 2000a,b; Kawashima et al. 2000; Pardi et al. 2000; Uhlmann et al. 2002).
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 153

Studies of autistic children have frequently shown very high levels of mercury, with no other source but vaccines found for the exposure. These levels are equal to those seen in adults during toxic industrial exposures. Several autism clinics have found dramatic improvements in the behavior and social interactions in children from whom the mercury was chelated. Results depended on how soon the mercury was removed following exposure, but permanent damage can be caused if the metal is not chelated soon enough. Still, even in cases of severe damage, because of the infant brain’s tremendous reparative ability, improvements are possible. The problem of autism involves numerous body systems including the gastrointestinal, immune and nervous systems; as a result we see numerous infections and magnified effects of malnutrition. Intrepid workers in the shadows, that is outside the medial establishment, have worked many miracles with these children using a multidisciplinary scientific approach completely ignored by the orthodoxy. Some children have even experienced a return to complete physiological normalcy.
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 166

Mercury and autism mercury toxicity is a suspected cause of a steep rise—a tenfold increase between 1984 and 1994—in diagnosed cases of autism in children around the world, according to some scientists. Specifically, the culprit is thimerosal, a mercury-based compound used as a preservative in vaccines commonly administered to babies and infants. thimerosal-free vaccines are available. If you have a child who will be receiving vaccinations, ask for and make sure thimerosal-free vaccines are used. Kelp, with its essential minerals (especially calcium and magnesium), helps remove unwanted metal deposits.
Prescription For Dietary Wellness by Phyllis A Balch, page 198

The pertussis vaccine (DPT) may cause 45,000 cases of autism per year in America, affecting 15 cases out of 10,000 vaccinations; also caused by the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) that causes mental impairment, gastrointestinal damage, and increased mortality in 6-12 months from impaired immunity; 9 out of 10 cases were not breast-fed; eating dairy products caused parasites in the autistic (take Vermex; contact Dr. Nelson in Mexico for control of parasites in children with autism). There are now over 500,000 victims of autism residing in the United States, in 1994. The pertussis vaccination is not used in Sweden, which has virtually 0 cases of autism, as does Holland. This mental illness afflicts environmentally and socially non-reactive persons, ofwithdrawn personality; with inability to speak, violenttantrums, insomnia, actions such as bolting across aroad with no regard for the dire consequences. May be caused infant antibiotic use in ear infections with subsequent yeast overgrowth, by cumulative genetic Brain damage, Vitamin deficiencies, or milk and additives allergies. Immune disorders in autism include white blood cellneutrophil Myeloperoxidase enzyme deficiency for insufficient hypochlorite ions to kill yeast – genetic type from Chromosome 17 mutation or biotinidase deficiency, or acquired type from lead poisoning, Folic acid or B-l 2 deficiency, infection or leukemias…
Anti-Aging Manual by Joseph B Marion, page 450

Multiple vaccinations, especially in newborns, are another major source of childhood mercury exposure because of the mercury-containing thimerosal preservative. Over twenty-two vaccinations are now recommended for children before the age of two!
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 64

In addition, there is some anecdotal evidence that autism may be tied to diet. One theory is that, in very rare cases, a child’s immune system could be weakened by the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination (MMR), which is usually administered before a child turns 2. As a result of this weakening, the theory goes, the child’s digestive system is unable to break down certain food proteins, leading to abnormal brain development. Proponents of this theory believe that putting the child on a diet that eliminates certain foods, such as wheat and dairy products, could in certain cases reverse the course of the disease. This theory remains speculative, however, and research needs to be done to determine its validity. In fact, a 2001 report issued by an Institute of Medicine committee examining studies about the health effects of the MMR vaccine in young children suggests that there is no proven link between the vaccine and autism. The committee recommends that there be no change in immunization practices that require children to be immunized during early childhood.
The Immune Advantage by Ellen Mazo and Keith Berndtson MD, page 292

Rather than calling for an all-out immediate ban on thimerosal-containing vaccines, they suggested that parents continue to have their children vaccinated with mercury-contaminated vaccines until new stocks of uncontaminated vaccine could be made available. Here are two doctors’ unions that had to be beat over the head with an overwhelming amount of data that mercury-contaminated vaccines were harming children far worse than the actual diseases against which the vaccine was intended to protect them, only to have them suggest that parents continue to harm their children just to satisfy their vaccination obsession. Are you surprised to discover that recent investigations have found that several doctor-members of vaccine boards were either receiving grants from vaccine manufacturers or held stock in the companies? They were willing to sacrifice the health of millions of children just to fill their pockets with cash. These people should be looking through bars, not serving on boards.
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 167

Vaccines may afflict 45,000 cases of autism per year in America, which afflicts 15 victims in every 10.000 births: there are now 5 00,000 of these victims in the U.S. In Sweden not using the pertussis vaccine, there is virtually no autism (and likewise in Holland).
Anti-Aging Manual by Joseph B Marion, page 600

Many symptoms of autism are similar to those of mercury poisoning. Immune dysfunction, visual disturbances, and motor dysfunction are seen in both. Treating autistic children for removal of mercury and other heavy metals has shown significant improvement in their autistic symptoms. Most autistic individuals have poor liver detoxification, low antioxidant levels, and low levels of glutathione. Vaccines are effective, but the production and use of vaccines should proceed more cautiously. Currently manufactured vaccines still contain harmful substances like mercury. The link between vaccines and autism is far stronger than the medical community is willing to admit, and more research in this area should be an urgent priority.
Building Wellness with DMG by Roger V Kendall PhD, page 105

Studies indicate that autism may be the result of adverse reactions to childhood vaccinations. Dr. Alan Cohen, an environmental physician from Connecticut, notes that high levels of autism and attention deficit disorder (ADD) did not occur until the mandatory use of childhood vaccinations, and suggests that there may be a connection between certain vaccines and the onset of these conditions.
Complete Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing by Gary Null PhD, page 46

Almost from the inception of vaccination programs, manufacturers added a mercury preservative called thimerosal to vaccines. The practice continued until recently, and was stopped only because of the outcry from thousands of concerned parents and numerous experts in the field. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Practice did not warn parents or pediatricians that the mercury was dangerous until they were forced to. That mercury was toxic to cells had been known for over sixty years, but manufacturers apparently were more worried about lawsuits…
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 165

In fact, a 2001 report issued by an Institute of Medicine committee examining studies about the health effects of the MMR vaccine in young children suggests that there is no proven link between the vaccine and autism. The committee recommends that there be no change in immunization practices that require children to be immunized during early childhood. Another disorder affecting the brain, Alzheimer’s disease, may also have an immune connection. Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease that slowly attacks nerve cells in the brain. It eventually results in the loss of all memory and mental functioning. Scientists are currently investigating the role that the immune system plays in producing an overabundance of the amino acid glutamate, a powerful nerve-cell killer. Another immune connection that researchers are investigating is the idea that Alzheimer’s might be triggered, in part, by a virus.
The Immune Advantage by Ellen Mazo and Keith Berndtson MD, page 292

In the past 10 years, the number of autistic children has risen between 200 and 500 per cent in every state in the U.S. This sharp increase in autism followed the introduction of MMR vaccine in 1975. Representative Dan Burton’s healthy grandson was given injections for 9 diseases in one day. These injections were followed by autism.
A Physicians Guide To Natural Health Products That Work By James Howenstine MD, page 267

“Probably 20% of American children, one in five, suffers from a “development disability’,” according to Harris Coulter, Ph.D., Founder and Director of the Center for Empirical Medicine, in Washington, D.C. “This is a stupefying figure and we have inflicted it on ourselves. ‘Development disabilities’ are nearly always generated by encephalitis. And the primary cause of encephalitis in the U.S. and other industrialized countries is the childhood vaccination program. To be specific, a large proportion of the millions of U.S. children and adults suffering from autism, seizures, mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia, and other branches of the hydra-headed entity called ‘development disabilities’ owe their disorders to one of the vaccines against childhood diseases.”
Alternative Medicine by Burton Goldberg, page 1101

Martin noted that the increased incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and other behavior-linked illnesses “may be an inadvertent consequence of stealth virus vaccine contaminants.”
AIDS And Ebola by Leonard Horowitz, page 493

Just for perspective if we go back to 1971 up to 1980, we see that California consistently added 100 to 200 new cases a year; but in the year 2002, California added 3,577 new cases. Since 1980, the documented start of California’s autism epidemic, the number of new cases has steadily increased. If we break down those statistics it means that from 1994 to 1995, California only added on average 2 new autistic children a day into its system. In 2001, it was a rate of 8 new autistic children added a day; in 2002, it jumped up to 10 children a day. mercury-containing vaccines are still in use today, including the most recently recommended addition to the childhood immunization schedule, 2 shots of flu vaccine for infants, bringing the total number of vaccines up to 41 in California that a child will receive before the age of two. It will take a few years to start seeing the effect of the phasing out of the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal from childhood vaccines on this autism epidemic. Many symptoms of autism are similar to those of mercury poisoning. Immune dysfunction, visual disturbances, and motor dysfunction are seen in both. Treating autistic children for removal of mercury and other heavy metals has shown significant improvement in their autistic symptoms. Most autistic individuals have poor liver detoxification, low antioxidant levels, and low levels of glutathione.
Building Wellness with DMG by Roger V Kendall PhD, page 105

Since the 1990s, there has been a tenfold or 1000-percent increase in autism, an increase which has been linked by some researchers to the organic mercury preservative commonly found in baby vaccines. A greatly increased incidence of juvenile diabetes has been correlated to specific vaccination sequences and to the number of vaccines given. In some Australian Aboriginal communities, every second child died shortly after vaccination.
The Natural Way to Heal by Walter Last, page 309

The best current estimates are that autism occurs in 40 to 67 children per 10,000 live births. This means that the prevalence of autism has increased 1,000 percent in the last decade. According to the latest figures just released in January 2003 by the California Department of Developmental Services, California experienced an astounding 31 percent increase in the number of new children…
Building Wellness with DMG by Roger V Kendall PhD, page 104

2012
11/04
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