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In This Issue:
Any medical therapy must balance the "effectiveness" versus the "safety" of its actions on the human body.
For instance, aspirin therapy is effective in preventing a second heart attack after having a first heart attack, and it is quite safe, only having a very small incidence of stomach or intestinal bleeding as a potential long-term side effect. As you read the following, please keep these key points in mind in terms of "effectiveness" versus the "safety" of vaccinations:
Scientific evidence does support the effectiveness of immunizations. They do prevent infectious diseases; some better than others, but this point is not disputed.
Scientific evidence does not support the safety of immunizations. Safety studies on vaccinations are limited to short time periods only: several days to several weeks. There are no long-term (months to years) safety studies on any vaccination or immunization. There is small but increasing scientific evidence of long-term side effects from immunizations that need much more study.
It is true that there may be situations where extreme measures may be justified to preserve life and health. The basic question, therefore, is whether the benefits of current childhood vaccines outweigh the harm or whether the reverse is true.
As to the benefits of vaccines, polio has been eliminated from the Western Hemisphere, and smallpox may have been eliminated worldwide. Vaccine proponents would have us believe that vaccines have been largely responsible for controlling virtually all of the former epidemics of killer diseases in the U.S.
With the exceptions cited above, the facts do not bear this out. According to the records of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, from 1911 to 1935 the four leading causes of childhood deaths from infectious diseases in the U.S. were
However, by 1945 the combined death rates from these causes had declined by 95 percent, before the implementation of mass immunization programs. By far the greatest factors in this decline were sanitation through:
Also, the virulence of microorganisms tends to become weakened or attenuated with the passage of time and serial passages through human hosts, one example of which is whooping cough (pertussis), which is clearly a much milder disease today in Western nations than it was 100 or so years ago.
Safety Not ProvenIt should be pointed out that today's children receive 22 or more vaccines before school age, whereas today's senior citizens received only one, the smallpox vaccine. Some of these vaccines contain potentially toxic mercury (though mercury-free types have recently been produced in response to safety concerns).
With growing public concerns about potential adverse reactions on the immature immune systems of children, it is reasonable to ask ourselves what is already known about such reactions. There is a school of thought that the so-called "minor childhood illnesses" of former times including:
These entered the body through the mucous membranes, served a necessary and positive purpose in challenging and strengthening the immune system of these membranes.
In contrast, so the theory goes, the respective vaccines of these diseases are injected by needle directly into the system of the child, thereby bypassing the mucosal immune system. As a result, mucosal immunity remains relatively weak and stunted in many children, complications of which may be the rapid increase in asthma and eczema now being seen, both in terms of frequency and severity.
This concept tends to be confirmed by four controlled studies, widely separated geographically, in which vaccinated children were found to have significantly more atopic disorders than controls.
In commenting on the increased incidence of asthma and other atopic disorders in the United Kingdom in the article, "Measles and Atopy in Guinea-Bissau," the authors made the following comment:
"The rise of allergic disease among children in the UK over the past 30 years remains unexplained. One hypothesis is that infections in early childhood prevent allergic sensitization, and that successive generations of children have lost this protection as their exposure to infectious disease in early life has declined. Consequently the prevalence of atopy and concomitant allergic disease has risen."
It is true that in former times there were occasional serious complications from these childhood diseases, but this is an area in which nutritional approaches and homeopathy traditionally have been at their best. If these approaches were made widely available, it is probable that most of these complications could be eliminated. No one wants to see serious complications in our children, but the vaccine route may in time prove to be the worst possible choice that could have been made, as concerns the minor childhood diseases.
Perhaps the greatest concern with vaccines today rests with their possible causal relation to the growing epidemic of childhood autism, developmental delay and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Regarding the latter, a recent news item stated that ADHD has increased from 900,000 in 1991 to nearly 5 million today.
Statistics may be open to question, but one cannot question the observations of veteran elementary school teachers who, in our experience, unanimously and emphatically report a marked increase in this disorder in recent years. Regarding autism, a recent survey mandated by the California state legislature found an increase of 273 percent in California in the past 11 years.
At present, primary suspicion for this epidemic of neurobehavioral disorders rests with the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine. Although scientific evidence has not yet reached the standards of scientific proof, one pioneer researcher in this area, Dr. Vijendra Singh with the Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan, has published the report of a study in which he found that a large majority of autistic children tested had antibodies to brain tissue in the form of antibodies to myelin basic protein, a protein strongly correlated to measles antibodies (almost all of the children had been immunized with the MMR vaccine, and none had had these diseases).
This study tends to confirm the results of a similar study published in The Lancet in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and coworkers of the Royal Free Hospital in London, indicating a possible link between MMR vaccination, Crohn's disease of the bowel and autism. If the MMR vaccine were causing an autoimmune reaction involving the brains of autistic children, what would be the mechanism?
Although research in this area is in its infancy, we do know some things. Both the measles and mumps fractions of the MMR vaccine are cultured in chick embryo tissue. As purely genetic material, viruses are highly susceptible to the process of "jumping genes," in which they may incorporate genetic material from tissue in which they are cultured.
Furthermore, protein sequences in the measles virus have been found to have similarities to those found in brain tissues. As a result, once this foreign genetic material is introduced into the child by a vaccine, it may set in motion an immunologic attack on brain tissues, a process that the work of Dr. Singh would tend to confirm.
A similar process may have taken place with the oral (Sabin) polio vaccine, which is cultured in monkey kidney tissue. Years ago Dr. John Martin, then serving as director of the viral oncology branch within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, found foreign DNA in contemporary polio vaccines.
He later learned that a simian (monkey) cytomegalic virus had been found in all of the 11 African green monkeys imported for production of the polio vaccine. After leaving the FDA, Dr. Martin took a position as professor of pathology with the University of Southern California. There he tested blood samples from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, autism and other nervous system disorders.
This work led to his discovery of unique cell-destroying viruses that were not recognized by the immune system. Termed "stealth viruses," some of which he thought had clearly originated from the simian cytomegalic virus, these viruses were missing specific genes that ordinarily would induce immune responses from the host. It should be admitted that this work is preliminary. No definitive conclusions can be drawn from it, but the need for further intensive investigation should be apparent.
Overdue in the opinion of many, on June 17, 1999 U.S. government officials voted to withdraw their recommendation for the use of the live oral polio vaccine and to recommend exclusive use of the inactive (Salk) polio vaccine, because the former vaccine has been the only remaining source of polio cases in the U.S. since 1979.
As another concept, it is highly pertinent that many of today's children are second-generation vaccinees; that is, they are born to mothers previously vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and/or rubella vaccines. It is possible that the reaction rates in the second-generation vaccines may be happening on a much larger scale due to previous sensitization of mothers from their vaccines, this sensitization being transmitted in turn to the fetus during pregnancy.
If this process is taking place, something we cannot know until appropriate research is done, there predictably will be additional increases in autism beyond that already taking place, should the process be continued into a third generation. Time may prove that vaccine programs went awry when they deviated from the most basic of all medical ethics, the right of parents to accept or reject vaccines for their children.
Freedom of choice provides a system of checks and balances now lacking. At the very least, this would provide the parents the power to compel better safety screening of vaccines. Today we have a system in which vaccine production by the pharmaceutical companies is largely self-regulated.
Naturally these companies are interested in profits from their products, which, in itself, is not wrong. However, when arbitrary decisions in the mandating of vaccines are made by government bureaucracies, who are highly partisan to the pharmaceutical companies, with no recourse open to parents, we have all the potential ingredients for a tragedy of historical proportions.
In closing, it may be appropriate to cite an item which, though seemingly small in itself, may be indicative of the problems with which we are faced. In January 1993 a scientific journal published the results of a study of 89 children with adverse clinical reactions following administrations of various combinations of vaccines. Detailed case histories were taken and blood tests were done to examine various parameters of cellular and humoral immunity.
It was found that children with adverse reactions had marked increases in abnormal blood parameters as compared with children who had had no reactions. The first study of its kind as far as we are aware, perhaps the most striking and significant feature of the report is not the results of the tests, which might have been anticipated, so much as the fact that it was published in a foreign publication, Czechoslovakia Pediatrics. American science has been foremost in the development and promotion of vaccines. That it should be laggard in basic safety testing, of which this study may represent one of the modest beginnings, is a sad reflection on the American scientific community. Do we not have a right to expect better?
Harold Buttram is an author and physician at the Woodlands Healing Research Center in Quakertown, Penn.
Santa Fe New Mexican December 20, 2002,
This is from the Center for Science in the Public Interest:
McDonald's Shakes:
McDonald's Triple Thick Shakes look like ordinary shakes. You'd never guess that a large averages 1,1800 calories (a day's allowance for someone trying to lose weight) and 25 grams of fat, 16 of them saturated. Good Grief! That's the heart slamming fat of two Quarter Pounders....and the calories of three. Since when does a beverage supply half a day's calories and close to a day's worth of artery sludge???
Burger King Fries:
It's not that fries at other chains are good. But Burger King's Fries are the worst. An order of King fries has 600 calories and 30 grams of fat, 16 of them saturated, plus trans - three-quarters of a days worth...Holy Heart Stopper, Batman!!.
Sunny Delight
This fruit-flavoured beverage is little more than a non-carbonated soft drink that's been spiked with a couple of cheap vitamins (B-1 and C). Shoppers are led to think this is pure fruit juice, but each cup contains a measly tablespoon. Go for 100% orange juice instead. It's got the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals - which may cut the risk of cancer - that Sunny Delight is missing.
Dr. Wesley Shankland II, DDS, MS, PhD has written two very well done, informative books "TMJ: Its Many Faces" and "Face The Pain-The Challenge of Facial Pain"
What I really liked about both books was how well explained, these very complex issues are and the related syndromes that can be causal/associated factors. Few people would realize that headaches at the back of your head could be TMJ (temporalmandibular joint (read jaw joint)). Dr. Shankland addresses traditional and alternative therapies along with his expert dental advice.
Anyone suffering from facial/jaw or neck pain (very common in my mercury toxic patients)..definitely needs to read these books!
For more information and order forms see Dr. Shankland's site HERE
Another great health book is Dr. Carolyn Dean's book - The Miracle of Magnesium.
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Nov. 1 - When Juanita Green needed to take some medication on a flight to Los Angeles, she washed down the pill with a cup of water from the plane's bathroom sink. It tasted funny, but she tried not to think about it. "For peace of mind," says the nurse from Miraloma, Calif. "I just hope it's clean and sterilized."
FOR YEARS, FLIERS have worried about everything from stuffy cabin air to bad meals. But what about the water? While airlines insist it's safe to drink, some little-noticed studies from Japan to the Netherlands have turned up some unfriendly bacteria in the tank water, including E. coli and the germ that causes Legionnaire's disease. U.S. researchers have tested it, too, with mixed results that suggest you don't know what you're drinking.
But we do - because we tested it. We packed sample vials and took to the skies, hopping on 14 different flights everywhere from Atlanta to Sydney, Australia. On each, we collected water from the galley and lavatory taps, sealed them up and sent them to a lab for analysis. The results of our water-quality snapshot: a long list of microscopic life you don't want to drink, from Salmonella and Staphylococcus to tiny insect eggs. Worse, contamination was the rule, not the exception: Almost all of the bacteria levels were tens, sometimes hundreds, of times above U.S. government limits. "This water is not potable by any means," says Donald Hendrickson, the director of Hoosier Microbiology Laboratories in Muncie, Ind., which tested our samples.
The good news, of course, is that this water isn't the main drinking supply for passengers, who usually get bottled H2O from the beverage carts. But plenty of people depend on the plane's taps to wash their hands and brush their teeth. And while the airlines say they rarely serve tap water, many flight attendants say it isn't that uncommon: When the bottled water runs out, they turn to the tanks - which, under federal regulations, are supposed to provide drinkable water. "It's the way our service works," says Sara Dela Cruz, a spokeswoman for the union of United Airlines attendants.
For their part, the airlines say they closely follow federal guidelines for drinking water, and say no passengers have ever complained about getting sick from it. "It's absolutely drinkable," says a United spokesman. They called our water tests unscientific, and said our own samplers could have contaminated the results. "Someone with dirty hands must have used that sink," said a spokesman from National Airlines, where the lavatory sample came back positive for coliform.
But our experts said human contamination wouldn't explain all our results. Some of the water we collected on a short flight to St. Louis, for example, contained Pasteurella pneumotropica, a bacterium primarily carried by rodents. Similarly, our Chicago-to-Los Angeles trip turned up Pseudomonas, a highly resistant bacterium associated with a range of infections. And while the U.S. government sets a maximum bacterial level of 500 "colony-forming units" per milliliter for municipal drinking water, our lab counted more than four million per milliliter in a single sample alone. That's roughly the same bacterial concentration you find in a tainted raw hamburger, Dr. Hendrickson says.
"If I were the airline, I would worry about what these results say about the sanitation in their galleys," says Abigail Salyers, outgoing president of the American Society for Microbiology and a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
This isn't the first time, of course, that airline cabins have raised a health issue. Travelers have worried about everything from the quality of recirculated air to the potentially fatal blood clots associated with "economy-class syndrome." But airlines' tank water may fly beneath the radar, health experts say, because travelers wouldn't think of linking it to any bugs they might pick up. "People blame it on where they've been," says Arthur Forni, an infectious-diseases physician at Westchester Medical Group in New York
WHEN BOTTLES RUN OUT
Still, at least some people try to avoid it - including a number of flight attendants. "It doesn't taste good," says Jennifer Walker, the health coordinator for the union that represents American Airlines' flight attendants. She says some attendants bring their own bottles to avoid the stuff from the tanks - especially when it's the only thing left. Indeed, the flight-attendant unions at American, Northwest, US Airways and United confirm that they serve tap when water bottles run out, primarily on full flights. "It happens fairly frequently," Ms. Walker says.
Do they tell fliers? Only if they ask. "It's not like we have some huge sign saying 'This is Tap Water,' " she says. In response, American says serving tap water would violate company policy. (Other carriers said the same thing, although several had earlier acknowledged that tap water could get served.) "When bottled water runs out, we offer canned distilled water," says a Continental spokesman.
Our own suspicions about the water came from an unlikely quarter: Zach Bjornson-Hooper, a home-schooled 13-year-old from Alamo, Calif., who became curious about airline tap water when he saw a flight attendant pouring it for passengers. "My parents own a sailboat," he says, "and I know we don't drink the tank water on that." So as part of a science project, he took samples during a trip to Australia and New Zealand - and watched later as colonies grew on his petri dishes. "I got fairly grossed out," he says.
In our tests, we thought the length of the flight, or the country in which it originated, might affect the results. It didn't. While our lab turned up 750 colonies per milliliter during a Chicago-Mexico City flight, we found millions of colonies on that short hop to St. Louis. Among our other findings: Salmonella, a well-known bacterium that can cause violent illness, on a Continental flight to Newark, N.J. Then there were the eggs: On a United flight, our lab found aquatic insect eggs that, after a few days, hatched into maggots. "I've never seen it in all the 26 years I have been testing water," Dr. Hendrickson says.
To be sure, much of the bacteria we found aren't harmful - one that showed up in many samples is commonly found in soil. Even the most unfriendly bacteria don't necessarily cause illness either. And foolproof testing isn't possible: As airlines pointed out, our samples weren't taken under sterilized conditions onboard. "It's unscientific," said a spokesman for Continental, who said the Salmonella could have come from a customer's hands. The Air Transport Association, which represents the industry, says our methods were "not consistent with scientific protocols."
But the microbiologists we talked to said the results are valid - we followed guidelines recommended by our lab and recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency. What's more, other studies have turned up similar results. In 1999, the Japanese government found excessive bacteria levels in one-third of 65 planes it tested at Narita Airport outside Tokyo. The following year, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines found traces of the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease in one jet. And last January, E. coli was found on the aircraft used by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. (The Canadian Department of National Defense says no one became sick.)
'NOT A PRIORITY'
So who's regulating this? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is responsible for the quality of airports' water facilities, like hoses and hydrants. The Federal Aviation Administration is also involved, requiring airlines to clean and flush their onboard tanks (the schedule can vary, but is usually done every 12 to 14 months, the FAA says). And once the water's onboard, it falls under the regulation of the EPA, which requires airlines to clean tanks quarterly and confirm their water complies with federal standards.
But the agencies say they leave most of the monitoring to the airlines. The EPA says spot-checks are rare because airplane water is "not a priority" compared to all the other water systems the agency tracks, says Bill Diamond, the director of the agency's Drinking Water Protection division. The FDA, meanwhile, says it's never found problems with the water in airline tanks, and holds inspections only when complaints come up. Still, the FDA has issued six warning letters since 1997 that might disturb some fliers: It found a "dead mosquito-type insect" in an AirTran Airways potable water cart, and cited Northwest for not maintaining "clean and sanitary potable water stations" at its storage system in Detroit. It also warned American Eagle, American's commuter branch, for not having a splash-back valve on a hydrant that supplied drinking and chemically treated lavatory water. (Airlines say all of the violations have been resolved.)
Still, travelers may have something to look forward to. Based on public concerns raised in recent years, the FDA says it's now starting a program to take regular samples of airline water. And at least one carrier concedes airlines should be doing more: After its own voluntary spot checks, KLM suggested carriers world-wide were vulnerable to similar contamination and advocated creating official water-quality test programs.
That's good news for veteran fliers who worry about the water from time to time. But Andrew Baldauf, a 35-year-old attorney from Madison, N.J., worries on every flight. "I don't want to run the risk," he says.
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FISH, MERCURY, AND HEART DISEASE
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. Several studies have shown that regular fish consumption protects against cardiovascular disease. Other studies have shown that consuming mercury-contaminated fish increases the risk of coronary heart disease. The beneficial effect of fish consumption is believed to be due to the presence of the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the tissue of fish and shellfish. Two recent studies have attempted to answer the question "Are the beneficial effects of fish oils (EPA and DHA) outweighed by the negative effects of mercury"?
The first study, carried out by a team of researchers from eight European countries, Israel and the United States, involved 684 men who had suffered a first non-fatal heart attack and 724 matched controls. All participants had their mercury level measured in toenail clippings and their level of DHA measured in a fat tissue sample taken from the buttock. Participants with a mercury level of 0.66 mcg/gram were found to have twice (odds ratio of 2.16) the risk of having a first heart attack when compared with participants having a mercury level of 0.11 mcg/gram. This risk assessment was arrived at after adjusting for age, DHA level in adipose tissue, body-mass index, waist:hip ratio, smoking status, alcohol intake, HDL cholesterol level, diabetes, history of hypertension, family history of heart attack, blood levels of vitamin E and beta-carotene, and toenail level of selenium.
The research team also found that participants with a high (0.44% of total fatty acids) fat tissue content of DHA had a 41% lower risk of having a first heart attack than did those with a low (0.10% of total fatty acids) fat tissue level of DHA. This risk assessment was arrived after adjusting for all other known risk factors including toenail mercury level. The researchers point out that the main sources of mercury are occupational exposure (dentists), exposure to silver-mercury amalgam in dental fillings, and fish consumption. They conclude that the health benefit of fish consumption is significantly diminished if the fish is high in mercury. They also confirm the cardioprotective effect of fish oils (DHA).
The second study was part of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study begun in 1986 as a cooperative venture between the Harvard School of Public Health, the Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. The study involved 33,737 male health professionals who had toenail clippings analyzed for mercury in 1987. After 5 years of follow-up 470 participants had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease. The researchers observed that dentists, who are habitually exposed to mercury, had toenail mercury levels (0.91 mcg/gram) that were twice as high as the levels found in non-dentists (0.45 mcg/gram). They also found a direct relationship between fish consumption and mercury level with participants consuming an average of 357 grams (3/4 lb) of fish per week having a level of 0.75 mcg/gram while those who consuming 145 grams (1/3 lb) per week had a level of 0.29 mcg/gram. After adjusting for age, smoking and other risk factors for heart disease the researchers conclude that there is no clear association between total mercury exposure and the risk of coronary heart disease, but that a weak relation cannot be ruled out.
Editor's comment: The two studies clearly do not agree as to whether high mercury levels are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. I am inclined to believe that they are. Furthermore, there is compelling evidence of significant associations between high mercury levels and Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, congestive heart failure, kidney damage, hearing loss, and high blood pressure. So definitely, mercury, from whatever source, is a very bad actor and should be avoided. The joint European/Israeli/US study clearly confirms that DHA (fish oil) is protective against a first heart attack, so regular consumption of low-mercury-level fish is still a healthy option. An alternative approach to obtaining DHA (and EPA) on a regular basis is to supplement with 1 gram/day of a high quality, molecular distilled, non-rancid fish oil containing a minimum of 220 mg EPA and 220 mg DHA. Reliable sources of such fish oils can be found at www.consumerlab.com/results/omega3.asp and at www.coromega.com.
Dr. Deb's Comment: Also Essential Balance from Omega and Fish Oil Concentrate from Thorne Research
To be on the safe side it is best to eat fish and shellfish with an average mercury content of less than 0.10 ppm. Unfortunately, there are not too many species left that fulfill this requirement. King crab, scallops, catfish, salmon (fresh, frozen and canned), oysters, shrimp, clams, saltwater perch, flounder, and sole are all good choices. Salmon is my favourite because of its combination of a low mercury content with a high level of beneficial EPA and DHA. The following fish species should be avoided: tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel, shark, grouper, tuna, American lobster, halibut, pollock, sablefish, and Dungeness and blue crab. Limited sampling of the following also indicated high mercury levels: red snapper, marlin, orange roughy, saltwater bass. Atlantic cod, haddock, mahi mahi, and ocean perch have mercury levels around 0.18 ppm, so should be eaten in moderation. For more on mercury content of fish see FDA REPORT
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Not all antioxidants are created equal! What most people don't realize is that there are some antioxidants to do one function, one to do another..many are there to make the "powerhouses work better" or "rejeuvenate" ones that have been used. NETWORK SYNERGY has it all done for you. Have a look! NETWORK SYNERGY
A University of Washington study analyzed pesticide breakdown products (metabolites) in pre-school aged children and found that children eating organic fruits and vegetables had concentrations of pesticide metabolites six times lower than children eating conventional produce. The study compared metabolite concentrations of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides (a class of insecticides that disrupt the nervous system) in the urine of 39 urban and suburban children aged 2 to 4 years. The researchers' findings point to a relatively simple way for parents to reduce their children's chemical loads--serve organic produce.
The authors focused on children's dietary pesticide exposure because children are at greater risk for two reasons: they eat more food relative to body mass, and they eat foods higher in pesticide residues--such as juices, fresh fruits and vegetables. An earlier study cited by the authors looked at pesticide metabolites in the urine of 96 urban and suburban children and found OP pesticides in the urine of all children but one. The parents of the child with no pesticide metabolites reported buying exclusively organic produce.
Researchers recruited children for the study outside of conventional and organic grocery stores in the Seattle metropolitan region and asked parents to record all food consumed in a three-day period prior to collecting their child's urine over the next 24 hours. Based on the food diaries, the study assigned the children into groups consuming at least 75% organic or at least 75% conventional fruits and vegetables. Parents were also asked about household pesticide use in their homes and on gardens, lawns and pets. Although the authors found that parents of children eating conventional diets were more likely to report some home pesticide use, they did not find significant differences in concentrations of pesticide metabolites based on this use.
Because many of the OP pesticides break down into identical metabolites, the study did not provide information on the specific pesticides children were exposed to. However, the study did determine that some children were at risk for consuming more OP pesticides than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers "safe" as a daily dose. The researchers concluded that organic fruits and vegetables can reduce exposure levels from above to below EPA chronic reference doses, "thereby shifting exposures from a range of uncertain risk to a range of negligible risk."
These findings confirm what is already known about pesticide residues on conventional produce. Consumers Union analyzed U.S. Department of Agriculture residue data for all pesticides for 1999 and 2000 and warned parents of small children to limit or avoid conventionally grown foods known to have high residues such as cantaloupes, green beans (canned or frozen), pears, strawberries, tomatoes (Mexican grown) and winter squash. The Seattle study, which reflects children's food diaries, adds apples to that list.
Susan Kegley, staff scientist at Pesticide Action Network states, "We have been concerned for a long time about continuous exposure to organochlorine pesticides because they persist in our bodies for years. This study reveals that we are continuously exposed to OP pesticides, not because they linger in our bodies, but because we are persistently being exposed through the food we eat every day." The study's main conclusion--eating organic fruits and vegetables can significantly reduce children's pesticide loads--is information that parents can act on to reduce their children's risk. A secondary conclusion--that small children may be exceeding "safe" levels of pesticide exposure--is information that regulators should act on and, at the very least, reduce uses of these pesticides on food crops.
Related News:Organophosphorus pesticide exposure or urban and suburban pre-school children with organic and conventional diets, Cynthia L. Curl, Richard A. Fenske, Kai Elgethun, Environmental Health Perspectives, October 13, 2002, National Institute of Environmental Sciences.
EHP OnlineDo You Know What You're Eating? February 1999, Consumers Union of United States Inc.
Consumer's Union February 1999Pesticide residues in conventional, IPM-grown and organic foods: Insights from three U.S. data sets, Food Additives and Contaminants, May 2002
Consumer's Union, May 2002 PANNA
PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's
produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a non-profit and
non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to
pesticides worldwide. You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for
our work and all contributions are tax deductible in the United States.
Hope you enjoyed this Newsletter! Until next time!
Warmly,How
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