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April 23rd, 2013 at 10:38 pm
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 America's lack of scientific knowlege has long been an area of abuse by certain industries.
ALSO, People don't investigate what's really in the products they swallow. When something is sold as an herb, vitamin, superfood or supplement, they think it's automatically safe. And while the natural products industry has a truly remarkable safety record -- especially in contrast to pharmaceuticals -- it still suffers from a lot of hidden toxins that are routinely used throughout the industry.
According to Natural News a source of natural product information:
"After reviewing this list, you will probably throw out quite a few products in your refrigerator and pantry"
.
Some or all of this may come as a complete shock (see #1 and #2, below).
#1) Maltodextrin (from GMO corn)
Let's start out with the big one first: If you pick up a natural product and the ingredients list says "maltodextrin," chances are very high that the maltodextrin in the product is derived from genetically altered corn.
Virtually all the maltodextrin used throughout the natural products industry is genetically modified. Products that are certified USDA organic, however, are not using GMO maltodextrin.
The non-GMO, non-corn replacement for maltodextrin derived from GM corn is tapioca maltodextrin, and you'll find tapioca starch / maltodextrin in many certified organic, non-GMO products. Corn maltodextrin should be avoided unless it's certified USDA organic. Look for tapioca maltodextrin instead (or no maltodextrin at all).
#2) Vitamin C / acorbic acid (from GM corn)
Nearly all the "vitamin C" sold in vitamin stores across America right now is derived from GMO corn. Our buffered Vitamin C is NOT!
This means that many of the supplements sold at Whole Foods, the vitamins sold on Amazon.com, the pills at your local pharmacy, and especially the products at the grocery store are (nearly) all routinely made with genetically modified vitamin C. It's typically called "ascorbic acid," and nearly 100% of the ascorbic acid used in the natural products industry is derived from GMOs.
Rest assured that all those cheap "vitamin C" pills sold at retail are also derived from genetically modified corn.
#3) Hexane-extracted soy and rice proteins
Nearly 100% of the "natural" soy proteins and rice proteins sold in the USA are extracted in China using a hexane extraction method. This is true for brown rice protein superfoods as well as the soy protein used in nearly all so-called "protein bars."
Here's a list of many of the protein bar brands currently using soy protein:
http://www.naturalnews.com/032862_soy_protein_food_bars.html
Hexane is a highly toxic chemical. It is not only extremely hazardous to the environment, there may also be trace amounts of hexane left remaining in the resulting protein products. My understanding is that hexane extraction is not allowed in certified organic proteins, so if you have a choice, go for certified organic.
Hexane extraction, by the way, is also used in the manufacture of textured vegetable protein (TVP). Read more about TVP here:
http://www.naturalnews.com/033728_TVP_textured_vegetable_protein.html
#4) High levels of Aluminum in detox products
Natural News helped expose high aluminum levels (over 1200ppm) in a popular detox liquid, causing the main U.S. distributor to issue a "recall" notice and provide over $1 million in refunds to customers.
The manufacturer of this product, Adya Clarity, intentionally and knowingly deceived consumers by mislabeling the product and not mentioning the 1200ppm of aluminum it contained. The FDA seized some of the products and ran its own lab tests, confirming the high aluminum level as well as identifying multiple labeling violations.
#5) Lead and arsenic in herbs from China
China has pollutants far above the levels in the US, yet many fruits, vegetables and herbs are grown in China and exported to North America for use in natural products.
High levels of lead and arsenic are routinely found in various food, supplement and herbal products from China. I'm not concerned about 1ppm or lower, by the way, of heavy metals like lead and mercury. Even aluminum isn't necessarily a problem when found organically grown inside foods that test at higher levels such as 150ppm. But when lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium get to high saturation levels (or are present in inorganic forms), it makes the products potentially a source of heavy metals poisoning for consumers.
Astonishingly, many of the small and medium-sized companies that import and retail products from China conduct no metals testing whatsoever. Our Chinese Herbs are from Good manufacturing plants equivalent to US standards. See our Chinese Herbs here:
#6) Inorganic minerals in cheap vitamins
Would you eat iron filings and call it nutrition? The majority of people don't know that most of the cheap vitamins sold today are made with non bioavailable minerals. The calcium found in low cost vitamins is often just ground-up seashells, and magnesium is often sold as cheap magnesium oxide which may be completely useless to your body's cells. If you're buying mineral supplements, you are your money unless the minerals are in the right form: Magnesium aspartate orotate or malate, for example.
When it comes to mineral supplements, you'll often find trace levels of scary things like barium and lead in liquid supplements, but these are typically at such low levels (ppb) that they are no real concern. But the No. 1 best source for all minerals is, not surprisingly, fresh plants. If you really want to boost your minerals, eat sprouted or organic plants. Your body utilizes "organic" minerals from plants, not inorganic minerals from rocks.
#7) Carrageenan?
The Cornucopia Institute, a highly-effective food activism group recently published a warning about carrageenan in foods. Cornucopia says carrageenan is linked to "gastrointestinal inflammation, including higher rates of colon cancer, in laboratory animals."
It goes on to report:
Given its effect on gastrointestinal inflammation, Cornucopia urges anyone suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms (irritable bowel syndrome/IBS, spastic colon, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, etc.) to consider completely eliminating carrageenan from the diet to determine if carrageenan was a factor in causing the symptoms.
#8) Acrylamides
Acrylamides are cancer-causing chemicals produced during the cooking of carbohydrates. Fried snack chips, for example, contain acrylamides. They don't have to be listed on labels because they are technically not "ingredients." They are chemicals produced during cooking or frying. Consuming acrylamides increases kidney cancer risk by 59 percent.
The FDA has published an extensive reference guide on acrylamide levels in foods, revealing that french fries have the highest levels of all. But they are also present in prune juice and even breakfast cereals.
A bag of organic snack chips can have just as many acrylamides as a bag of conventional snack chips. This is why fried snack chips should be eaten only sparingly, or never at all.
Interestingly, it turns out that vitamin C blocks acrylamides from causing damage to your body. But if your vitamin C is from a GMO source (see above), you may want to rethink that strategy. Natural citrus juice, rose hips or even camu camu berry powder is a much better choice of natural, full-spectrum vitamin C.
If you eat fried foods of any kind, make sure you ingest a lot of vitamin C, astaxanthin and chlorella before and after your meal or snack.
#9) Hidden MSG / yeast extract
Hidden MSG is a huge issue across the natural products industry. Pick up almost any veggie burger, and you'll find it's made with yeast extract, a hidden form of MSG (monosodium glutamate).
Yeast extract is unbelievably prevalent in the food industry because it looks nicer on the label than "MSG." Most people are trained to avoid MSG, but yeast extract slips by, so food manufacturers put it into canned soups, dip mixes, snack chips, microwave dinners and especially in vegetarian products, many of which are so loaded with chemicals and additives that I won't dare touch them. Just because a food says "vegetarian" doesn't mean it's healthy.
Hidden MSG is also labeled as "autolyzed yeast extract" or "torula yeast" or even "hydrolyzed vegetable protein."
#10) Fluoride in green tea
Green tea is famous for being contaminated with high levels of fluoride. This is frustrating, because green tea is phenomenally good for your health. It has been proven to lower "bad" cholesterol levels, and it may even help prevent cancer and neurological disorders. It's probably one of the healthiest beverages you can ever drink.
The tea plant that produces green tea just happens to uptake a huge amount of fluoride from the soils. So when there's fluoride present in those soils, the green tea will have a surprisingly high concentration, sometimes as much as 25ppm.
An interesting article on this issue is found at Toxipedia.org:
http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Fluoride+Content+in+Tea
While this fluoride in green tea might not be a health hazard all by itself, the governments of the world seem insistent on pumping even more synthetic, chemical fluoride into the water supplies, thereby creating a high risk for fluorosis. Adding green tea to the fluoride consumption you might experience from tap water is a recipe for disaster: brittle bones, discoloration of teeth and even cancer.
So once again, buyer beware and remember you ALWAYS get what you pay for. I for my part am proud of my products their manufacturers and the rigorous testing they undergo. I am thrilled to be able to offer these products to you.Learn more about what may be lurking in your vitamin supplements:
Best of Health!
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Taryn DeCicco, ND, LAc, LDN
Naturopath
Acupuncturist
Clinical Nutritionist
Professional Vitamins and Supplements
Chinese Herbs
Natural Skin Products
Arlington Heights, IL
www.apple-a-day-clinic.com
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