Tag Archives: High Fructose Corn Syrup

Mercury poisoning and your foods

October 23, 2013

Mercury poisoning

Mercury poisoning

Dr. Dalal Akoury

Mercury poisoning: Is it so common? Yes, we are constantly exposed to mercury in whatever small amounts. This is because it is there in soft drinks and snacks that we often enjoy. So, let us know more about this element and save our health. Mercury is naturally found everywhere which includes air, water and soil. It is released into the atmosphere due to coal burning. This mercury then settles on land and water sources like rivers. Its toxic form called methyl mercury accumulates in fish and shell-fish. These are the main sources of mercury poisoning in human beings though it does not mean that all fishes have high mercury levels. Their mercury level depends on what they eat. What are the health effects of mercury poisoning? Exposure to mercury affects multiple organs including brain, heart, lungs, immune system and kidneys. Methyl mercury is rapidly absorbed from the intestine into the blood circulation. The health effects depend on whether it is inorganic mercury salts or organic methyl mercury. Methyl mercury mainly affects the nervous system and brain. Inorganic mercury affects not only brain but also causes pneumonia, kidney damage and bleeding disorder. Some of the health effects of Mercury poisoning include:

  • Ataxia: Inability to maintain body balance while standing or walking due to lack of coordination of muscles.
  • Loss of vision and hearing
  • Memory loss
  • Emotional dysfunction occurs due to involvement of frontal lobes of brain.
  • Dysarthria: difficulty in articulation.
  • Neuropathy: Loss of function of nerves like sensory, motor and autonomic functions. They develop tingling sensation and numbness of limbs. Sensory loss involving hands and feet may occur. Tremors or uncontrolled vibratory movements of limbs may occur.
  • Psychiatric disturbance resulting in abnormal behaviour
  • Kidney damage: Reduced kidney function occurs due to death of renal tubules which form urine.
  • Contact dermatitis, hyperpigmentation, stomatitis or inflammation in oral cavity. Rash may also appear over palms.
  • Respiratory difficulty occurs in acute mercury exposure.

What are the common sources of exposure to mercury poisoning?

mercury poisoning.

English: Element mercury (Hg), liquid form. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seafood: Consumption of a lot of seafood from contaminated water is the most important cause of mercury poisoning. High-fructose corn syrup: Detectable levels of mercury have been reported in high fructose corn syrup. In a scientific study published in the Journal of Environmental Health, they reported that high fructose corn syrup may contain about 0.570 micrograms of mercury. The WHO has recommended that consumption of less than 0.2 micrograms of mercury per kilogram of body weight is within safe limits. Since the average American consumption of soft drinks and other snacks containing high fructose corn syrup is very high, it poses a risk of mercury poisoning. Soft drinks and snacks: High fructose corn syrup is used as a sweetening agent in soft drinks and other food products. Some of these favourite snacks which contain high fructose corn syrup include oatmeal, barbecue sauce, chocolate syrup, cereal bars, jellies, dressings, yogurt and other milk drinks. This probably comes from caustic soda which is used for manufacturing high fructose corn syrup. Soft drinks in which high fructose corn syrup is added as a sweetening agent are also a potential source of mercury poisoning.

What to do at home to avoid or reduce mercury poisoning? You should be careful in your selection of food that is consumed at home. Sharks and tuna are especially rich in mercury and are better avoided. Pregnant and lactating mothers should avoid consumption of large fishes. Avoid taking processed foods containing high fructose corn syrup. Read labels carefully at the time of shopping. It adds value to life. Being extra careful will go a long way to reduce and prevent further accumulation of mercury in your body. This also helps in weight loss as high fructose corn syrup consumption is associated with obesity and its complications like atherosclerosis, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, stroke and obstructive sleep apnoea.

 

mercury poisoning.

Soft drinks on shelves in a Woolworths supermarket (Australia). Taken by myself. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How to get rid of mercury which is already there? In people with serious disease with symptoms described above, chelating agents are used. These are chemicals with bind with mercury or convert it into non-toxic substance which is then easily excreted. These chelating agents include dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and Penicillamine. DMSA is the agent of choice in people with mild or chronic poisoning. For people with acute poisoning, Dimercaprol is used. If there is recent ingestion, the decontamination of the gastrointestinal tract is done. For this, activated charcoal is consumed and is known to neutralize both organic and inorganic forms of mercury. The other agent of use here is Polyethylene glycol. This is a laxative with strong osmotic effects.

Mercury poisoning and you foods

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Shocking news!!!

February 18, 2012

 Shocking news!!! Arsenic, an extremely poisonous metallic element that has been shown to cause cancer is found in your Organic Food

Beware of rice and rice based Gluten free food, as it can be be your Arsenic Source. Scientists are warning parents to avoid some infant formulas that may contain high levels of. Baby and toddler formulas are sweetened with hazardous arsenic-containing organic brown rice syrup. The alarming body of knowledge about the harmful effects of corn syrup on the health of the population and on the upsurge of obesity has led many food manufacturers to turn to organic brown rice syrup, believing it to be a healthier alternative to the high fructose corn syrup. Now, researchers have discovered that brown rice syrup may be an unintended source of arsenic, a highly toxic metallic element that’s been shown to increase the risk of cancer when present in drinking water. Brian Jackson, one of the researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Dartmouth University in New Hampshire, investigated the amount of arsenic in foods consumed by babies. Jackson and other investigators randomly purchased more than a dozen baby formulas to test them for the presence of arsenic. The result of the study showed that the formulas contained very low or trace amounts of arsenic, including those that had rice starch. One toddler formula with organic brown rice syrup as the primary ingredient had arsenic concentrations six times the federal limit of 10 parts per billion for arsenic in drinking water. Researchers also found high levels of inorganic arsenic, the most toxic form of arsenic, in soy based formula. Researchers uncover that growing rice needs a mineral in soil called silica sadly arsenic looks like silica, therefore the growing rice plant absorbs both silica and arsenic equally from the ground. Unfortunately when the rice is fermented to make organic rice syrup arsenic dissolves easily in the watery brew and becomes part of the syrup. 

Researchers warn you and urge you to read labels especially if you are parent you need to read the label on every baby food products and by all means avoid purchasing infant foods that contain organic rice syrup.

Arsenic In Exposure can cause thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, numbness in hands and feet, partial paralysis and blindness, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Arsenic also increases the risk of bladder cancer and other cancers..
Again Yes your Rice may contain arsenic, There is a surprisingly high level of arsenic in rice-based organic toddler formula and energy bars.
Cereal bars that contained rice products like brown rice syrup or rice flour had arsenic levels ranging from 23 to 128 parts per billion.
Regrettably people who are on gluten-free diets and who eat a lot of rice-based foods are at higher risk to ingest large doses or arsenic.
Sadly brown rice tends to have more arsenic than white rice, however one should remember that arsenic levels vary greatly depending on where and when rice is grown. Researchers indicate that eating about a half-cup of cooked rice daily was equivalent to drinking a liter of water with arsenic at the maximum 10 parts per billion levels considered safe by the EPA.
It is our duty at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center to raise public awareness and be first to the inform the community of any new Health and Wellness hazard and help the everyone to escape the consequence of unawareness.

 

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The secret to a Faster Metabolism lies in Food choices that we make

February 9, 2012

 The secret to a Faster Metabolism lies in Food choices that we make

Eating carbohydrates makes you store belly fat. A recent study1 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that when you eat a low protein diet, you store bad fat around your organs including the liver, kidneys and pancreas. On the other hand if you eat a diet rich in protein, you add muscle and increase your resting metabolism and muscle mass. Muscle in action is the your energy power house and it help the body to burn seven times as many calories as fat. This novel study used 25 brave volunteers who accepted to be admitted to a hospital ward for 12 weeks. Two controlled groups were formed, the two groups were identical, and were offered a 1000 calories diet, the only difference was that one group was only allowed where calories from protein and the other group consumed a high carb diet. The high carb group (5% protein) lost 1.5 pounds of muscle, and gained 7.5 pounds of fat. The high protein group (25% protein) gained 6.3 pounds of metabolically active muscle. They also gained fat because they were being force fed. But even though they gained more total weight, they were LESS fat than the low protein group.

The moral of the story is that: Not all calories are the same. Carb rich calories make us store fat, while protein rich calories help us you store muscle. During an era where morbid obesity is reaching a critical epidemic magnitude (2.1 billion) and the world population is getting bigger – even in countries like China and India where the population were usually slender to skinny. We now that rapidly absorbed carbohydrates from the bulk of the Standard American Diet (SAD) that is now sweeping increasingly the entire world’s diet. This generation diet and calories come primarily – from sugar, high fructose corn syrup and white flour. These highly processed food items are the staples of the modern worldwide diet. These food items are very competently turned into belly fat in the body which in turn lead to obesity and diabetes. Another recent study found that the free fructose in high fructose corn syrup (not in fruit), led to dramatic increases in belly fat, inflammation, blood pressure, blood sugar and even pre-diabetes in adolescents.

Carbohydrates and protein elicit very different chemical messages in the body independent of caloric value, it is the quality and not the quantity of calories that matters. Carbs lay down the fat, while protein lays down muscle. 4 This study on protein adds to a whole slew of research that proves that higher protein diets (25%) does all sorts of obesity fighting things to your body and your brain. 1. Protein Rich diet makes you feel more full than an equivalent amount of calories from carbs. 2. Protein Rich diet leads to more weight loss in “free-living” humans as compared the ones who were force fed extra calories. 3. Protein Rich diet prevents gaining weight back after you have lost weight.5 4. Protein Rich diet speeds up metabolism and builds muscle so you burn more calories all day long and even while you sleep. Reducing belly fat and building muscle is quite simple. And it is not just about the calories you consume. It is about where those calories come from. Here are a few simple tips from AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center that will help you to speed up your metabolism and get rid of belly fat:

1. Omit the sugar – in all of its forms. Especially liquid calories from any source (soda, juice, alcohol) all of which store belly fat. Be on a mission to get high fructose corn syrup out of your diet, it is especially good at laying down belly fat.

2. Trench the flour – wheat flour, especially, is just like sugar. Did you know that 2 slices of whole wheat bread raise your blood sugar more than 2 tablespoons of table sugar?

3. Jolt the day with protein not starch or sugar. Try whole omega-3 eggs, a protein shake, nut butters or even kippers! Skip the bagels, muffins and donuts. 4. Have protein with every meal – try nuts like almonds, walnuts or pecans, seeds like pumpkin, chia or hemp or have beans, chicken or fish. Somehow we are still duped by the idea that all calories are the same. They are not. Hopefully soon the practice of nutrition and medicine, and our government nutrition advice will catch up with the science. Then perhaps we can make a dent in the tsunami of obesity, diabetes and chronic disease coming right at us.

My personal hope is that together we can create a national conversation about a real, practical solution for the prevention, treatment, and reversal of our obesity, diabetes and chronic disease epidemic.

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