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Do the Chemicals That Turn Soda Brown Also Cause Cancer?


Dr. Mercola
Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:15 UTC
Image
© istock
Soda is bad for your health. But it may be even worse than you'd thought. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the "caramel coloring" used in Coke, Pepsi and other sodas is carcinogenic.

The artificial brown coloring is made by reacting corn sugar with ammonia and sulfites under high pressures and at high temperatures. This produces the chemicals 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, which have been found to cause lung, liver and thyroid cancer in lab rats and mice.

Time Magazine reports:
"According to California's regulators, a level of more than 16 micrograms per day would pose a significant risk - meaning it could result in at least one excess case of cancer per 100,000 exposed people.

Given that there are roughly 130 micrograms of 4-MI per 12-ounce can of soda - and given that the average American drinks 14 ounces of soda a day, with young men drinking far more - that would mean that most of us would be at some risk."
The FDA responded to the charge by saying:
"4-MI is not a threat to human health. There is no evidence that 4-MI causes cancer in humans. No health regulatory agency around the globe, including the Food and Drug Administration, has said that 4-MI is a human carcinogen. This petition is nothing more than another attempt to scare consumers by an advocacy group long-dedicated to attacking the food and beverage industry."
Sources

Time Magazine February 17, 2011

NIH Study January 2007

CSPI Petition to FDA February 16, 2011
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Pills

Ritalin for children is "quick fix" and should be reviewed, demand educational psychologists

Angela Hussain
phsychminded.co.uk
Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:09 UTC
Ritalin
© Sean O’CarrolA image from Sean O'Carroll's exhibition entitled 'Ritalin'
Ritalin and other psychotropic medication for children are a "quick fix" and the government should urgently review their use, psychologists have urged.

The Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) fears there is insufficient data on the effects such drugs have on child development. Further research is urgently needed, it says.

The AEP's demand is despite the fact that a European Medicines Agency (EMA) investigation into methylphenidate drugs, which include psychotropics Ritalin, Concerta, Equasym, Medikinet and Rubifen - had previously stated that the benefits of such drugs outweigh any negative effects for children diagnosed with ADHD and other conduct disorders..

Plus, UK doctors have been advised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence not to prescribe methylphenidate as a first-line treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD.

But the AEP - which represents UK educational psychologists - fears there will be an increase of methylphenidate prescribing because the number of official psychological disorders for children is set to increase.
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Arrow Up

Canada, British Columbia: Hogweed: A Toxic Invader


Global News
Thu, 07 Jul 2011 02:04 UTC
Giant hogweed that can burn or even blind you is spreading fast due to the cool, wet, spring.
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Syringe

Type 2 diabetes set to overtake coronary heart disease and depression

Brigid O'Connell
Sunday Herald Sun
Sat, 09 Jul 2011 21:21 UTC
diabetic lifestyle changes
© Tony Gough Herald Sun Melita Blackney lost 18kg after taking part in the Life! Taking Action on Diabetes program.
Lifestyle-related diabetes has become the fastest-growing disease in the country, with more than 275 Australians diagnosed with some form of diabetes each day.

And alarming projections show type 2 - or "lifestyle" - diabetes will overtake coronary heart disease, anxiety and depression as having the most severe impact on public health within just eight years.

Diabetes Australia Victoria chief Greg Johnson said with 243,000 Victorians now registered with some type of the disease, the highest growth had been among young adults.

There has been a 15 per cent rise in 21 to 29-year-olds diagnosed and an 11 per cent increase for those aged in their 30s over the past 24 years.

"It's a myth that diabetes only affects the older population, as we're now even seeing adolescents being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes," Prof Johnson said.

"It's the epidemic of the 21st century and the forecasts show it's only going to become a bigger burden of disease."

Type 2 diabetes is often triggered by a person gaining significant weight and not getting enough exercise.

Comment: The treatment for Type II diabetes is diet, but not the way mainstream medicine thinks.

Why High-Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Insulin Resistance

How Coconut Oil Could Help Reduce the Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

Vitamin D Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Helps Prevent Diabetes

Cutting edge research has shown that the Paleo Diet (high fat, low carbohydrate) is the best defense against developing the insulin resistance characteristic of Type II diabetes.

Leptin resistance and impaired fat metabolism precede type 2 diabetes

Saturated Fat is Good for You

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Info

Sharks Fin Soup Bans Don't Stop Strong Demand

Benjamin Radford
Live Science
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:05 UTC
Finned Shark
© WCSA "finned" shark that was caught recently in Delaware Bay.

Shark fin soup has been served as a delicacy for centuries in China and elsewhere. But it's more than just an expensive bowl of soup; it's considered to have special medicinal properties and is used in Chinese medicine. It's one of many folk remedies and alternative medicine cures threatening endangered species around the world.

The shark fin industry has come under mounting pressure in recent months. Shark populations have declined dramatically in recent years, fueled in part by the demand for shark fins. Scientists estimate as many as 73 million sharks are killed annually for their fins. The sharks are often thrown back into the ocean to die after their fins have been cut off.

Some shark species populations have dropped by 90 percent, studies find.

Despite public pleas for a ban from celebrities including Jackie Chan, Scarlett Johansson, Leonard DiCaprio, basketball star Yao Ming and others, shark fins remain in demand, defended by some Chinese Americans and restaurateurs.
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2 + 2 = 4

It's Time to End the War on Salt

Melinda Wenner Moyer
Scientificamerican.com
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:46 UTC
Image
© TooFarNorth/Flickr
The zealous drive by politicians to limit our salt intake has little basis in science

For decades, policy makers have tried and failed to get Americans to eat less salt. In April 2010 the Institute of Medicine urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the amount of salt that food manufacturers put into products; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already convinced 16 companies to do so voluntarily. But if the U.S. does conquer salt, what will we gain? Bland french fries, for sure. But a healthy nation? Not necessarily.

This week a meta-analysis of seven studies involving a total of 6,250 subjects in the American Journal of Hypertension found no strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces the risk for heart attacks, strokes or death in people with normal or high blood pressure. In May European researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the less sodium that study subjects excreted in their urine - an excellent measure of prior consumption - the greater their risk was of dying from heart disease. These findings call into question the common wisdom that excess salt is bad for you, but the evidence linking salt to heart disease has always been tenuous.

Comment: For more information on the health benefits of salt, see these Sott links:

Why Salt Doesn't Deserve its Bad Rap

High salt consumption not dangerous, new European study finds, but U.S. experts disagree

Why Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt is So Much Better for your Health than Processed Table Salt

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Cheeseburger

Top 10 Scariest Food Additives

David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding
Yahoo Health
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:51 UTC
There was a time when "fruit flavored" and "cheese flavored" meant "made with real fruit" and "made with real cheese." Today? It's artificial everything. Most of the food at your local supermarket is no more authentic than Snooki's tan. Our fruit comes packaged in Loops, our cheese delivered via Whiz. Sure, it's edible, but there's no way your great grandparents would recognize this junk as food.

The problem with additives runs deep. The FDA currently maintains a list of ingredients called Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS), which features more than 3,000 items and counting. Thankfully, most EAFUS ingredients are benign, but a few of them do have potentially harmful effects. Why they're legal is a mystery to us. Some of them might be backed by powerful lobby groups, while others probably survive simply because some guy at the FDA has too much paperwork on his desk and hasn't made time to adequately review the data.

Below are 10 of the most dubious ingredients hiding in your food, compliments of Eat This, Not That! 2011. Even if you're not convinced of their danger, you have to admit this: The more filler ingredients you cut from your diet, the more space you have for wholesome, nutritious foods.

Comment: The author of this article hardly begins to scratch the surface of what could be called 'scary' in industrialized food today, but coming from such a mainstream source, its a start.

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Smoking

Anti-smoking Propaganda Spreads Across World

Mark Metherell
The Sydney Morning Herald
Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© AFPIf current trends continue, by 2030 tobacco will kill more than 8 million people worldwide each year.
The tobacco industry's multimillion-dollar campaign against the federal government's plain-packaging measures comes amid evidence of a growing distaste worldwide for smoking.

A World Health Organisation report issued yesterday on the ''global tobacco epidemic'' finds that more than half the world's population, or 3.8 billion people, live in countries with at least some form of anti-smoking measure such as health warnings on cigarette packs, cigarette taxes or anti-tobacco media campaigns.

There are 425 million people in 19 countries - about 6 per cent of the world's population - where bans on tobacco marketing are in place, the report says. Nearly all of those people are on low or middle incomes.

Comment: The dangers of smoking have been overstated in the media and the benefits all but ignored. For more information read:
Let's All Light Up!
Study finds smoking wards off Parkinson's disease
Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients
Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers
Scientists Identify Brain Regions Where Nicotine Improves Attention, Other Cognitive Skills
Can Smoking be GOOD for SOME People?

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Chalkboard

Living with Parkinson's: Symptoms and treatment of this mysterious - but not life-ending - disease

Robyn Gautschy
Southeast Missourian
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:25 UTC
Parkinson's disease has some worrisome symptoms, like tremors and stiffness, but doctors say this common neurological disease is easy to treat and far from the end of the world. Remember that actor Michael J. Fox has had the disease for 20 years and pro boxer Muhammad Ali has lived with Parkinson's since 1984 -- both have continued to be active and successful public figures.

"The disease doesn't mean a death sentence," says Dr. A. Basit Chaudhari, a neurologist at SoutheastHEALTH in Cape Girardeau. Like many other diseases, says Chaudhari, Parkinson's disease has a psychological effect, and people believe the worst. "By the grace of God, they can still do quite a lot," says Chaudhari.
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Smoking

Best of the Web: Does Smoking Help Protect the Joints?

Ella Quittner
CNN
Fri, 08 Jul 2011 06:29 UTC
Curious as it may sound, a new study of nearly 11,000 older men in Australia has found that the longer the men smoked, the less likely they were to undergo surgery to replace hips and knees damaged by arthritis or other conditions.

Lit cigarette
© Getty ImagesResearchers are quick to cover their butts by pointing out that smoking is "bad for you."
Smoking will increase your risk of cancer, emphysema, heart disease, stroke, and dying young, but if you manage to dodge all those bullets, it may actually reduce your need for joint-replacement surgery later in life.


Comment: Ah yes, they must start with the requisite propaganda mustn't they? If they didn't, they would be accused of working for tobacco companies because they printed the results of scientific studies that showed anything positive about smoking. This is the way of anti-tobacco activists. If you say anything that counters their message of "Smoking kills and there is nothing positive about it" you are attacked.

But we digress. If you subscribe to the Dot Connector now, you'll get to read a very revealing upcoming article on what is really known about smoking and what is only propaganda.


Curious as it may sound, a new study of nearly 11,000 older men in Australia has found that the longer the men smoked, the less likely they were to undergo surgery to replace hips and knees damaged by arthritis or other conditions.
Read More...