Some Toxic Truths
The spread of illness and disease in the world has become alarming.
In the supposedly ‘developed’ western world, cancer research in the UK states that 1 in 3 people will get cancer at some point in their life.
Why? In the Europe and the US, Pharmaceutical giants spend billions on research and development.
Medical Science is at a supposed all-time great.
So why is there a dichotomy?
Well, think of the environment first. We create a wide variety of chemical toxins that go into the eco-system through rivers and streams, the air, the soil and so on.
Now there’s not much we can do to control the air we breathe, but the situation gets worse… we actually synthesize toxic chemicals and then inject them directly into the food supply.
To confirm this for yourself, just take a look at the ingredient labels of 3 products in your food cupboard. Do you know what those chemicals do?
Well you and your family are EATING THEM every day
Now take a look at the shampoo, soap and body care products you use every day! Do you know what those chemicals do?
First think about Food
The movement against chemicals in food first started to gain momentum in the 1980s. In the UK for example, “E” number (like E123) “warning lists” were being circulated and photocopied by concerned adults.
The chemicals that tallied with the “E” numbers were bad for your health - sometimes carcinogenic (cancer causing), and only a little research showed, that some of these cancer-causing chemicals were banned in some countries and not in others.
Fluorosilicic acid (Fluoride) is a toxic waste that is regulated in most developed countries (in America it is regulated by the EPA).
It would be illegal for you, me or a big company to drip Fluoride into a river or a stream, but it is introduced into the public water supply and people are made to drink it!
Of course, the governments state that they control the ‘’safe level’’ of Fluoride in the water, trading any risks off against the ‘benefits’ of good dental health in the population and in children.
Some other scientific sources however (“CAP” guide, Singapore) suggest that the combination of fluoride in our water AND in our toothpaste, places us above a safe daily level of consumption. At some point, too much fluoride becomes toxic!
While we are on the subject of toothpaste, check to see if your toothpaste contains sodium hydroxide. This is a powerful alkali used in industry for cleaning drains and pipe lines and it is also used in oven cleaners!
Workers exposed to steam containing sodium hydroxide have suffered lung damage and an increased risk of throat cancer. It is still used however in toothpastes and as a pH adjuster in skin creams.
It causes contact dermatitis and sensitizes individuals to other chemicals. Just read what a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) has to say about large ingestion of sodium hydroxide:
Ingestion:
Corrosive! Swallowing may cause severe burns of mouth, throat, and stomach. Severe scarring of tissue and death may result. Symptoms may include bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, fall in blood pressure. Damage may appear days after exposure.
Now that safety sheet information does apply to the raw chemical itself, but nevertheless, how many times have we absorbed tiny amounts of it?
We clean our teeth twice a day or more, every day, every year don’t we…?
Would you even want to ingest a small amount of this stuff anyway?
Back to fluoride; think about this also, how can fluoride in water really help our teeth or gums when we swallow the stuff straight into our tummies anyway!?
People swallow water (and fluoride); we don’t rinse tap water in our mouth and spit it out! We drink it and use it in everything we cook and every cup of tea we brew!
Interestingly, “fluorosis”, is a real medical condition and other bone disorders exist that are related to the over-consumption of fluoride.
Some scientists would argue that fluoride is "naturally-occurring"
Really? - Consider this…
Go to your local water supplier. Ask them, "Hey, do you dig this out of the ground in natural fluoride chunks?" Now, maybe they do, but then again, it’s not the cheapest way to get it.
The other option is for the water supplier to buy it from an industrial waste processing company because it's cheaper than fluoride out of the ground.
Verify this information yourself and find if your local community is adding this waste chemical to your water. Do you like the sound of that?
Artificial Chemical Sweeteners
OK. So we’ve considered fluoride… let’s switch a bit… Have you heard of Aspartame?
Take a look at any of the soft drinks or ‘squash’ drink concentrates you have in your home right now – is it there? It is in most drinks, especially, ‘diet’ versions of drinks.
According to Newstarget.com. “Aspartame is a sweetener that was never proven safe; in fact, the original safety recommendation panel at the FDA recommended that aspartame be denied approval as a safe food ingredient. It was none other than Donald Rumsfeld at the time who helped push aspartame through the FDA to get it legalized as a food additive.”
What does aspartame do to us then?
Well basically, it breaks down (especially when the body temperature rises) into different and better known nasties. Formaldehyde is one of them!
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen (causes cancer). It also causes allergic, irritant and contact dermatitis, headaches and chronic fatigue.
Now whilst the above is true of neat formaldehyde, would a stack of drinks and sweeteners through the day really keep you away from safe levels of this chemical?
The International Journal of Podiatric Medicine, spring 2005, carried a centerfold paper that alleges that aspartame can mimic the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis in people. In fact, the journal reports that a clinic that was treating patients with “MS” made them stop all absorption of Aspartame.
Chlorine
Have you ever heard of a “Chlorine” leak at a swimming pool? There was a case of it here in the UK several years ago.
Chlorine gas is taken seriously because it’s deadly.
In fact, just to handle chlorine, technicians have to wear protective garb and respiration devices.
What did your mum tell you (hopefully) about using Chlorine in the home?
She was right, if you take household chlorine bleach and mix it in a mop bucket or work surface with another household product (ammonia), you will create a highly toxic gas that could actually poison and/or kill you. These products often contain warnings that they should not be mixed.
OK, so Chlorine is potent stuff… where is this one going!?
Well besides Aspartame (discussed previously), newer sweeteners claim to be made from sugar. This is clinically true, but, they’re made by removing some of the atoms from sugar and replacing them with chlorine atoms.
Did you realize that you could be metabolizing chlorine atoms?
Hydrogenated vegetable oil
Again, as I want you become aware of what your mouth AND skin is eating in this course, please look at the ingredients in your food cupboard.
How many products contain Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil? (Start with your biscuits and choccy bars if you’re unsure!).
Food Scientists working in research and development for the food industry continue to have a love affair with Hydrogenated vegetable oil. Why? Quite simply, it doesn’t go “off” (At least not half as quickly as natural oil and fat does!)
If food doesn't go bad on the shelves, it makes better economic sense to the manufacturer.
So how do you make hydrogenated oils?
Well, as I said, it’s artificial - you don't find them anywhere in nature -- you have to have a chemical processing facility to make hydrogenated oils.
You pass hydrogen through liquid oils, with an absorption catalyst (typically the metal ‘nickel’). The nickel and hydrogen produce extra hydrogen atoms into the oil, which makes them solid.
In this solid state, they can be easily combined with margarine products, chocolate bars, biscuits, cookies, etc.
Do you really fancy some of that? Have you been eating it for years? Now's the time to learn... and lift your diet to the healthier higher ground!
