It’s been six years since there was an officially diagnosed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (more well known as “mad cow disease”) in the United States, but a recent confirmation out of the state of California has prompted at least one major importer to temporarily suspend the sale of US beef. South Korea is one of the largest importers of US beef. In fact, they brought well over 100,000 tons of it in during 2010. Their customers are certainly anxious over the whole situation, and with a fair amount of good cause. Their government has stated that it is going to step up checks on US beef imports.

How does this affect the average US consumer? Well, it’s a little much to halting all beef consumption. The single cow that was confirmed was never intended to be used in any way for human consumption. It was never exposed to BSE via animal feed, which is how the original outbreaks in the 80’s and 90’s began. Legislation has passed that prevents other animals from being ground up and used as part of feed for cattle.

What people should be concerned about however is the general state of factory farming of cattle in the US. Both dairy and beef cattle are subjected to some of the worst environments, and loaded with so many antibiotics it’s a wonder that there aren’t more outbreaks of food borne illnesses. In regard to “mad cow disease” however, there doesn’t appear to be any reason to fear. Officials told CNN that this is an “atypical case” and that sometimes it’s genetic. The CDC estimates that the odds of a human contracting mad cow disease are less than 1 in 10 billion.

Sources:

CNN

As obesity continues to plague our country on epidemic levels, there’s always another diet or trend around every corner. “Diet” drinks and foods are always popping up, and for every good claim they make there’s just as much negative about them that we hear the next day. We’ve all heard about negative effects of aspartame, which you may know better as NutraSweet. New information from retired food scientist  Dr. Woodrow C. Monte sheds additional light on exactly what it does, how it does it, and how concerned you should be with your intake of “diet” food and drink.



You probably didn’t know that in its dry form, aspartame is 11% methanol. When it is consumed it is transformed into a type of methanol molecule. Now, methanol is a small part of the human diet these days thanks to food processing and chemical procedures that have entered the chain of production over the last hundred years or so. However, since aspartame’s acceptance its use has skyrocketed.



The problem comes from how methanol is processed by the body. Once absorbed, methanol is converted by the body to the highly toxic, and carcinogenic substance formaldehyde. What’s more, this metabolization takes place in numerous organs of the body other than the liver. In many cases, it is not filtered by the liver, and can lead to many of the most deadly and debilitating diseases that humans can suffer.



Dr. Monte’s study states that as aspartame became a bigger source of methanol in the human diet, incidents of “diseases of civilization” such as autism, multiple sclerosois, cancer, and spina bifida gradually rose. He also states that it is his belief that diet soda specifically has led to the rise of breast cancer.



Sources:
While Science Sleeps

We previously brought you a series of medical and health related stories that were just plain false. Things such as dairy products causing excess mucous production, getting sick from the air in a plane cabin, and connections between stress and high blood pressure turned out to be just plain false. Well, we’ve just officially entered spring, but a very mild winter for most of the US has led to a much earlier allergy season than most of us are used to. We thought it was time to bust some allergy myths so that you can put your best preventative foot forward this year.



Many people have allergies that are caused or worsened by pollen. Pollen exists in multiple forms, and the kind that comes from trees and weeds is airborne. This is what causes 99% if not 100% of all seasonal allergies. A lot of people think that flowers do the same thing, but it’s simply not true. The pollen produced by flowers is sticky, and has to be transported by bees and other insects. You don’t have to stay away from flowers this spring, just don’t roll in a bed of roses or tiptoe through the tulips and you’ll be just fine.



Some people think that pollen counts don’t really matter, but that’s just not the case. Local pollen counts are actually pretty accurate at determining what kind of a day you’ll have in reaction to your allergies due to the fact that the allergy inducing types of pollen are what are considered for these counts. When you see those numbers rise, it’s a good idea to keep your antihistamines and eye drops handy, because it’s actually beneficial to medicate for your allergies before you're even exposed to them. Unlike colds or the flu, taking your allergy medications before you head out can save you lots of pain.



Just because you’ve never had allergies in the past, it doesn’t mean you’re safe forever. A lot of people become more sensitive to pollen and other allergens as they age. If you’re caught off guard by allergy symptoms, start small with something like a saline rinse from a neti pot for your sinuses and see how that helps before consulting an allergist for tests or medications you might not need.

There has been a lot of news and debate over the last few months in regard to raw milk. The government has successfully shut down a number of raw milk dairy farms, and even some co-ops where individuals own shares of cows and have rights to that milk. The FDA even recently completely halted an Amish man’s entire business over his selling of raw milk. Those opposed to it could be getting their own wakeup call very soon though, as a new study has lifted the veil on the industrial dairy scene and exposes just how dangerous commercial pasteurized milk can be to your health.

How dangerous could milk possibly be? As it turns out, a new study from Harvard University has determined that commercial milk from factory dairy farms contains extremely high levels of an estrogen compound that has been linked to prostate, breast, and testicular cancer. Part of the reason for this is that these commercial cows are milked upwards of 300 days a year, even when they’re pregnant. In the study, the pasteurized milk contained more than 30 times estrone sulfate than raw milk that was only produced during the first 6 months after cows had given birth.

Organic, raw milk obtained from grass-fed cattle that are properly milked has actually been linked to boosting immunity and aiding digestion. Commercial factory milk is far from a healthy product, and can actually be attributed to the development of hormone dependent cancers. This is a direct result of factory farming methods, where animals are confined and fed a steady diet of genetically modified foods that make them ill. Just remember next time you see a commercial about “happy cows” that they’re probably only so happy because their food is laced with antidepressants.

Sources:

Harvard University Gazette

Everyone knows the traditional, telltale signs of a heart attack. Chest pain, discomfort, and in many cases a dull ache in the left arm that radiates toward the chest. What many people don’t know is that there are numerous other symptoms and whether or not you even experience them could depend on your sex. That’s right, new research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that heart attack symptoms often vary between men and women. So, how can you be sure if you’re actually having a heart attack?

Over a third of the patients surveyed did not have any chest pain associated with their heart attacks, and this percentage was even higher in women than it was in men. Some of the other symptoms to watch out for are things like excessive sweating, tightening of the jaw, nausea, or feelings similar to that of heartburn or acid reflux. An increasing number of women end up hospitalized for heart attacks without ever feeling any chest pain. Because of this, the death rates have increased as well.

Women under age 45 were the least likely to mention any chest pain during a heart attack, and although chest pain is still the main symptom it has been the youngest of the patients who have experienced heart attacks without it. In most cases, women are about 10 years older than men when they have their first heart attack, though it could simply be from protective benefits of estrogen. There are no definitive reasons for the sex based difference, but some believe that there are certain biological differences that could be responsible.

Sources:

Journal of the American Medical Association

American Heart Association

Men and women alike have those certain items that we just never want to get rid of. For some, it may be that comfortable pair of old gym shoes that just feel like home. For a lot of women it can be makeup and beauty products. Maybe it’s an expensive moisturizer that you use sparingly to make it last, or perhaps it’s a mascara that you just pull out for girls night. Whatever it may be, you should know when to let it go. If not, you could actually do more harm to yourself than good.

Most women don’t know the actual shelf lives of cosmetics. Sure, you wouldn’t apply something that looked dried out or discolored, but you should know that they could become dangerous far before they look it. Makeup can easily become bacteria feeding and breeding grounds, and unfortunately it’s worse with the more natural types. The sad side of getting rid of chemical preservatives is that the products can spoil much quicker, and you could subject yourself to skin damage or infection if used at this point.

The best bet for preventing this is to store these types of products in cool, dark places, (definitely not in your bathroom – you’ve seen the inside of your shower right? That stuff can grow anywhere) and be sure they’re sealed properly. Over exposure to oxygen can cause damage over time. It’s best to apply any makeup with a tool of some sort, whether it’s a brush or sponge. Using your hands is a sure fire way to spread bacteria. Sharing cosmetics can be dangerous as well, as there have been many cases of lip products spreading the herpes virus, and mascara wands sharing pink eye.

Last Year Dr. Mehmet Oz, who many people are familiar with as the host of “The Dr. Oz Show” created a big buzz about arsenic levels in a large portion of different brands of apple juice. In fact, about 30% of them were over the limit for drinking water which is 10 parts per billion. What might be scarier than the fact that there are acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water is the fact that in the US there are no federal limits set for food. Because of this, amounts of arsenic that are even higher than the limit for drinking water are sneaking into our foods, and recent research from Dartmouth College has found unacceptable levels in the one food item that any new parent should be concerned about: infant formula.

Even more bothersome than the fact that dangerous levels of arsenic have been found in infant formula is the fact that the brands sampled also advertise as being organic, which one would think would have much less a chance of being tainted with toxins such as this. It seems that organic brown rice syrup, which is used as a sweetener in many organic foods, could be the culprit. Arsenic is found in soil many times, and since rice is more prone to absorption of minerals from the soil it is possible that this is how it ended up in sweeteners.

In addition to formulas, a number of cereal bars containing organic brown rice syrup were tested and found to contain higher levels of arsenic. A total of 17 brands of formula and 29 different cereal bars were tested, and one of the formulas even contained arsenic levels that were 6 times higher than the drinking water levels of 10 ppb. No brand names have been released, and no recalls have been issued, but it’s ever more important to read the labels when shopping. Especially for your newborn.

We’ve all heard and probably used the phrase “I’m not going to sugar coat this…” but how often do we really think about what that means? Many children’s medications are coated in sweeteners to make them more palatable, and more likely that your kids will actually take them. You should be wary of what types of medications your child takes, because when it comes to these coatings there’s more involved than just a “spoonful of sugar” to make the medicine go down, and it’s not delightful at all.

Many children’s medications are coated in food colorings that are actually carcinogenic, and contain petroleum, antifreeze, and ammonia. Aluminum lake food coloring specifically can cause heavy metal poisoning and even lead to nervous system damage like autism. Even just 4 parts per million of aluminum can inhibit learning, cause bone disorders, and even lead to Alzheimer ’s disease. Most of these aluminum lake dyes are derived from coal tar, and are toxic in the right amounts.

What’s scary is that even with all the harmful effects that are known, the FDA still believes that food colorings like these are important. In fact their formal take on the issue is that “Color additives are important components of many products, making them attractive, appealing, appetizing, and informative”

Here are some of the most frequently used dyes, and what they’ve been shown to cause in clinical testing:

Red #2 -Toxic to rodents, bladder tumors

Red #40 –Allergic reactions are very common, and lab mice had severe immune deficiencies

Yellow #5 -Causes severe hypersensitivity reaction

Sources:

US Food and Drug Administration

Chemical of the Day

Feingold Association

Paula Deen has been a famous face for years now. Starting as a restaurant owner, and moving through the ranks of paid programming to have her own shows on Food Network and multiple appearances on other celebrity talk shows, she’s even the face of Smithfield meats now. Pumping out dozens of recipes that aren’t exactly healthy has had the southern chef in hot water before, as most doctors wouldn’t recommend eating bacon cheeseburgers with donuts as buns. Recently though, she’s been in the news for other reasons than ridiculous deep fried concoctions. It seems that Deen is now a paid spokesperson for a pharmaceutical company, and it’s not just a coincidence.

Three years ago, Paula Deen was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Could cheeseburger meatloaf and deep fried stuffing on a stick contribute to such a condition? Sure. What’s sketchy is that the drug she’s being paid to endorse is a diabetes drug from Novo Nordisk. Is 3 years promoting a diet of foods that contributed to her development of the disease a little long? Most of her supporters seem to think so. Not helping her image is the fact that when questioned about her own habits on national television, she evaded the question and neglected her position as a role model of sorts.

Even most of the other celebrity chef community is remaining silent on the issue, and Deen is surprised. Most say however, that they would have jumped to support her had she not waited until she was contracted to endorse a diabetes drug. The PR agency that represents other celebrities like Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart, and Bobby Flay said that “none of our chefs want to go on record saying anything about her.”

Sources:

Huffington Post (1) (2)

Mother Jones

Salon

Prescription drugs are a mixed bag at best in regard to what’s safe, and what’s not. Those who support big pharmaceutical companies often tout that the FDA regulates everything so strictly in order to ensure and increase the safety of every day consumers like you and I. This a classic case of “good in theory, poor in execution” as it sounds good to say that there’s an organization like the FDA to protect our safety. However, you’d be surprised by a new report that suggests exactly the opposite – unregulated ingredients and uninspected production facilities.

According to a new report by the US Government Accountability Office up to 40% of the pharmaceuticals sold in the US are actually manufactured abroad. In fact, a 2007 report listed over 1,000 facilities throughout Canada, India, and China. The real problem here is tat the FDA has only listed 368 official inspections, which means that over 600 of these facilities have never been inspected at all. It’s actually shocking to know that such a large percentage of drugs; both prescription and OTC are produced overseas. Example, aspirin is produced nearly exclusively in China.

We should have seen it coming, as major pharmaceutical companies have been shutting down factories in the US and moving abroad. Each year the number of people who are killed or severely hurt by prescription drugs continues to grow. Likely in part to these tainted pills. The New York Times reported back in 2009 that a majority of ingredients for important medication like those for allergies, diabetes, high blood pressure, and antibiotics are almost completely procured in China or India.

Checks and balances are important, but when it comes to your health who regulates the regulators?

Sources:

New York Times

AlterNet