Health & Wellness
MSG is not a nutrient, vitamin, or mineral and has no health benefits. The part of MSG that negatively affects the human body is the "glutamate", not the sodium. The breakdown of MSG typically consists of 78% glutamate, 12% sodium, and about 10% water. Any glutamate added to a processed food is not and can not be considered naturally occurring. Natural glutamate in plants and animals is known as L-glutamic acid. Our normal digestive process slowly breaks down this natural or "bound" glutamic acid and it is then delivered to glutamate receptors in our body and brain. Broken down this way, it is harmless. In a factory, however, the bound glutamic acid in certain foods (corn, molasses, wheat) is broken down or made "free" by various processes (hydrolyzed, autolyzed, modified or fermented with strong chemicals, bacteria, or enzymes) and refined to a white crystal that resembles sugar.
This October, more than 580 natural food stores nationwide will take part in the first ever Non‐GMO Month, celebrating consumers' right to choose food and products that do not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Organized by the non‐profit Non‐GMO Project, the event coincides with the launch of the "Non‐GMO Project Verified" seal on retail products.
The process of genetic modification, which takes place in a laboratory, typically merges DNA from different species, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. Virtually all commercial GMOs are bred to withstand direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide. None of the GMO traits currently on the market offer increase yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit.
If you've been following along with the previous China Study entries (and the wild drama that ensued), you know that I've been promising an entry on wheat for a while now, mostly because this little snippet snagged so many eyes:
Correlation between wheat flour and coronary heart disease: 0.67
That's a value straight from the original China Study data. Could the "Grand Prix of epidemiology" have accidentally uncovered a link between the Western world's leading cause of death and its favorite glutenous grain? Is the "staff of life" really the staff of death? Bwah ha ha.
Damning as it seems, a single unadjusted correlation isn't enough to make that leap. Actually, nothing in this post will be enough to make that leap, because A) it's epidemiological data and not a controlled study, and B) correlation isn't causation anyhow. You know the drill.
The company has operated a franchised distribution system dating from 1889. They produce a syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who add water and sugar to the secret concentrate and turn it into soda, distributing it in cans and bottles.(2)
The first person to bottle Coke was Joseph Biedenharnin in Vicksburg, Miss., in 1894. In 1912 he bought a bottling franchise in Monroe, Louisiana and moved to Monroe to establish the plant in 1913.
In July, 2010, Coca-Cola Enterprises announced it will cease its bottling production in Monroe in September at the historic Ouachita Coca-Cola plant. A Coca-Cola Enterprises spokesperson said the company will continue to employ 180 at the Monroe facility, which will operate as a distribution and sales center. The facility currently produces 2-liter and 20-ounce plastic bottles of Coke.(3)
Research Cites Dramatic Increased Incidence of Celiac Disease
Dr Joseph Murray, a Mayo Clinic specialist in gastroenterology led a study which spanned 5 decades and included over 9,000 participants. It was presented in the journal Gastroenterology July 2009. The study found that subjects who were unaware they had celiac disease were almost four times more likely than non-celiacs to have died during the 45 years of follow-up the study spanned.
Dr Murray reports that celiac has become much more common in the last 50 years. He also remarked that undiagnosed or 'silent' celiac disease may have a significant impact on survival. He felt that putting together the increased prevalence with the impact on mortality made celiac a significant public health issue.
The farmer said, "The first corn is genetically engineered. They won't touch it."
It's not just pigs that swear off genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In South Africa, Strilli Oppenheimer's chickens won't eat genetically modified (GM) corn. Most buffalo in Haryana, India, refuse cottonseed cakes if made from GM cotton plants. Geese migrating through Illinois only munched sections of the soybean field that was non-GMO. When given a choice, elk, deer, raccoons, and rats all avoided GMOs. And even during the coldest days of Iowa winter, squirrels, which regularly devour natural corn, refused to touch the GM variety.
One skeptical farmer who read about the squirrels wanted to see for himself if it was true. He bought a bag full of GM corn ears, and another of non-GM, and left them in his garage till winter. But by the time he fetched the bags, mice had done the experiment for him. They broke into the natural corn bag and finished it; the GM cobs were untouched.
The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has been trying for years to make high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which I prefer to call the 'Corn Refiners Association Product' (CRAP), as acceptable as all other forms of sugar. As more and more studies show that CRAP (HFCS) is a major cause of the recent dramatic increases in obesity, diabetes and other 'metabolic diseases' in the US, UK and other westernised countries, consumers are getting the message and are abandoning CRAP laden foodstuffs in their droves.
Does the CRA give up? No sirree! The CRA think that if they change its name, the gullible public won't notice. According to the Associated Press, CRA is now petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow it to change the name of the highly-processed, controversial sweetener to 'Corn Sugar', which they fervently believe will make it more acceptable.
No matter how you look at it, CRAP (HFCS) is a highly-processed, unnatural form of refined sugar that inflicts a heavy burden on the liver. Besides being derived from corn, most of which is genetically-modified (GM), HFCS is linked to metabolic syndrome, heart disease and type-2 diabetes. If that weren't bad enough, a study last year also found that much of the HFCS contains high levels of toxic mercury caused by the chemical refining process necessary to produce the HFCS. Nearly a third of the HFCS-containing breads, cereals, sodas and other consumer foods tested as part of the study showed up positive for mercury.
In doing research for the book, Olmsted and Blaxill investigated the backgrounds of the parents of some of the first children identified with autism by Leo Kanner in the 1930s. Olmsted, a reporter who has devoted his career to writing about autism, and Blaxill, a parent of a girl with autism, found links to mercury in the backgrounds of some of the parents of the children who were the original cases of autism.
Olmsted and Blaxill also state their belief that the rise in autism is related to the use of mercury in childhood vaccines. They point out that they are not anti-vaccine, but are pro-vaccine safety.
Researchers at New York City's Mount Sinai School of Medicine reviewed 10 years of toxicology studies.
The review, published in the journal Pediatrics, finds bisphenol A detectable in saliva for up to 3 hours after sealants containing BPA derivatives were used in children's teeth but concluded the overwhelming benefits to oral health outweighed the brief exposure to BPA.
"These dental products are still safe and an effective way to promote good oral health, but dentists should take precautions to reduce potential absorption of this chemical and the negative side effects associated with it," study leader Dr. Philip Landrigan says in a statement.
Precautions suggested include using less risky BPA derivatives -- such as bis-GMA over bis-DMA -- and taking action that lessens exposure, such as rubbing the surface with pumice to remove the top liquefied layer of the sealant and encouraging the patient to rinse for 30 seconds.
Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and the University of Exeter, both in England, and colleagues linked higher BPA exposure with small increases in levels of testosterone in the blood.
The large population study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, found the average BPA daily of more 5 micrograms per day exposure in the European study population was slightly higher than recent comparable estimates for the U.S. population.
"This is the first big study of BPA from a European country and confirms that 'routine' exposures in the population are not negligible," David Melzer of Peninsula Medical School said in a statement. "This finding is consistent with the evidence from laboratory experiments. However, this is just the first step in proving that at 'ordinary' exposure levels, BPA might be active in the human body. This new evidence does justify proper human safety studies to clarify the effects of BPA in people."
Comment: To read more on BPA, see the following articles carried on SOTT:
Bisphenol A Has Not Gone Away
New Study Confirms Bisphenol A Found in Plastic is Linked to Heart Disease
Bisphenol A (BPA) Found In Many Plastics May Cause Heart Disease In Women, Research Shows
Bisphenol A Exposure Dangerous for Human Heart and Reproduction
Bisphenol A, Chemical Used to Make Plastic, Lingers in Body
Bisphenol A Linked to Metabolic Syndrome in Humans












Comment: To read more on BPA, see the following articles carried on SOTT:
Bisphenol A Has Not Gone Away
New Study Confirms Bisphenol A Found in Plastic is Linked to Heart Disease
Bisphenol A (BPA) Found In Many Plastics May Cause Heart Disease In Women, Research Shows
Bisphenol A Exposure Dangerous for Human Heart and Reproduction
Bisphenol A, Chemical Used to Make Plastic, Lingers in Body
Bisphenol A Linked to Metabolic Syndrome in Humans