Strawberry Fields Forever

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <hsiresearch

HSI e-Alert - Strawberry Fields Forever

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 07:00:00 -0500

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - Strawberry Fields Forever

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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December 13, 2005

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

Vanessa Bogenholm remembers the exact moment she decided to make the

change from conventional farming to organic farming. One day, while

preparing to inject a gas pesticide into the soil on her 65-acre berry

farm, she dressed herself in protective clothing and put her dog in

the car so he wouldn't inhale the chemical fumes.

 

Suddenly she thought to herself: This is an insane way to make food.

 

If only more farmers experienced that moment of enlightenment we might

live on a far healthier planet.

 

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What does a berry need?

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Farmers who change from conventional to organic don't have an easy go

of it. Since the day Vanessa put harmful pesticides, herbicides and

fertilizer in her past and converted her berry farm to organic, her

harvests are smaller and the demands of plant management are much more

difficult.

 

On the plus side, she no longer has to handle methyl bromide, the soil

fumigant and pesticide she was using on the day she decided to make

the change. Farm workers who inhale methyl bromide are at risk of

developing convulsions, impaired cognitive function, neurological

damage and even coma and death.

 

I found Vanessa's story in a recent Associated Press article that

illustrates how farm hands aren't the only ones who suffer from methyl

bromide exposure. People who live in the vicinity of farms where

methyl bromide is used have reported flu-like symptoms, headaches,

nervousness and vision problems.

 

On a global scale, this gas has also been shown to contribute to ozone

layer depletion; a drawback that prompted the Montreal Protocol, an

international treaty that banned the use of methyl bromide as of this

year. But the U.S. government has been granted exemptions from the

treaty, citing " market disruption " that would economically harm

farmers who depend on methyl bromide to control parasites, root rot

and weeds.

 

The U.S. hopes to continue exemptions from the treaty throughout most

of the decade. By one estimate, more than 10,000 tons of methyl

bromide will be used on U.S. farms this year.

 

This poison gas is just one of many toxic agents we might come into

contact with at any given time without ever knowing it. According to

HSI Panelist and First Lady of Nutrition Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D.,

C.N.S., more than 80,000 pesticides, pollutants and chemicals are

currently in use worldwide. And the combined effect on our health can

be devastating.

 

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Unexpected side effect

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This past September, HSI presented a teleconference with Dr.

Gittleman, and those who participated came away with a better

understanding of environmental toxins and how they compromise our

efforts to stay healthy, even interfering with attempts to lose weight.

 

Here's how Dr. Gittleman explained the idea of " fattening toxins " in a

recent e-mail she sent me:

 

" In compelling research published in the Journal of Alternative and

Complementary Medicine in 2002, Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton correlated

the rise in the use of synthetic chemicals from 1930-2000, with a

matching rise in the number of overweight and obese adults in the

United States. Baillie-Hamilton concluded that growth hormones and

pesticides in the food supply are fattening to both animals and

humans. As found in 'Fast Track,' animal studies with pesticides more

than support this theory.

 

" In addition, a recent 2004 U.S. symposium entitled 'Obesity:

Developmental Origins and Environmental Influences' concluded that

environmental toxins - particularly estrogen-like chemicals from

plastics in food and drink packaging - play a role in obesity.

Furthermore, perchlorate, a rocket fuel component that inhibits the

production of thyroid hormone by blocking the reuptake of iodine, is

the latest explosive toxin found in our water supply. This is just one

of thousands of 'fattening toxins' contributing to the battle of the

bulge.

 

" Over the past 60 years, our diets, lifestyles and environment have

undergone a petrochemical revolution, placing a huge burden on our

body's detoxification organs. Our GI tracts are sluggish and

constipated without enough fiber rich foods; we are lacking critical

nutrients needed for the liver's detox pathways; and the liver's detox

enzymes are being inhibited by common medications, excess sugar,

caffeine and trans fats. "

 

 

 

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....and another thing

 

Widespread antibiotic use in the 20th century saved untold lives. But

now it appears there may be a high price to pay.

 

A new study, recently published in the American Journal of

Epidemiology, set out to look for an association between non-Hodgkin's

lymphoma (NHL) and the use of common medications. Cases of NHL are on

the rise, especially in the U.S. where it's most frequently diagnosed

in older people. About four percent of cancer deaths are attributable

to NHL.

 

Researchers in Sweden recruited more than 6,000 subjects in Sweden and

Denmark; about half were NHL patients. When the subjects' lifetime

medication use was examined, researchers found a clear link between

NHL risk and the use of antibiotics more than 10 times during adulthood.

 

In addition, regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

(NSAIDs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen) was " marginally

associated " with a higher risk of NHL.

 

The study has an important caveat: Researchers can't conclude that

antibiotic or NSAID use may actually cause NHL; it's possible that a

patient's unique susceptibility to infections or inflammation

(prompting antibiotic and NSAIDs use) might be the root cause.

Nevertheless, most of the medications examined were not associated

with NHL risk.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

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Sources:

 

" U.S. Wins Exemption from Pesticide Ban " Associated Press, 11/28/05,

cnn.com

" Medication Use and Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma " American Journal

of Epidemiology, Vol. 162, No. 10, September 2005, aje.oxfordjournals.org

 

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