Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Amy Worden of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Pennsylvania will soon announce a plan demanding a further reduction in mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants over the next decade. This move will make Pennsylvania the fifth state to enact guidelines stricter than those imposed by the federal government. The hope is to cutback emissions by 10%:

The Pennsylvania proposal would require the state's 36 coal-fired plants to reduce emissions by 80 percent in four years and 90 percent by 2015. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a 70 percent cap on emissions by 2018, although full compliance is not expected until years later.

Mercury emissions pollute water supplies, leading to increased levels of mercury in aquatic animals like fish. Consuming contaminated fish can pose catastrophic health risks for humans beings, especially young children and fetuses, as we have discussed in detail on DiseaseProof. In the following posts Dr. Fuhrman shares his opinions on the topic: Fishing For The Truth, Toxic Chemicals in Seafood, Is Organic Food Safer, and Dr. Fuhrman Discusses DHA for Children.

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Associated Press writer Randall Chase reports that an FDA panel is making official its concerns about the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid, which is also known as C-8:

A group of scientific advisers to the Environmental Protection Agency voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a recommendation that a chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant products should be considered a likely carcinogen.

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The Chicago Tribune claims that the cost of eating McDonalds is higher than once thought. John Schmeltzer reports:

Correcting a labeling error, the hamburger giant acknowledged Wednesday that the trans fat content in an order of its large fries is one-third higher than previously stated, containing 8 grams of the heart-endangering fat instead of the 6 grams listed on brochures and McDonald's Web site.

Trans fatty acids are the result of food producers adding hydrogen molecules to unsaturated fats, thereby turning these oils into harder, more saturated fats. These hardened fats have extended shelf life and are commonly used to fry potatoes in fast food restaurants.

McDonalds' researchers are reportedly trying to find healthier alternatives that won't compromise taste. In his book Eat to Live Dr. Fuhrman recommends avoiding the situation entirely:

In a press release in 1990, McDonald's announced, "McDonald's French fries to be cooked in cholesterol-free 100 percent vegetable oil." The switch was to partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Now all the fast food giants--McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's, and Hardee's, as well as almost every brand of French fries in the freezer case of your supermarket--are just as bad for you heart as if they were fried in pig fat.

Trans fats do not exist in nature. They are laboratory-designed and have adverse health consequences. They interfere with the body's production of beneficial fatty acids and promote heart disease.1 As trans fatty acids offer no benefits and only clear adverse metabolic consequences, when you see the words partially hydrogenated on the side of the box, consider it poisonous and throw it in the trash.

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You can listen online as Dr. Fuhrman discusses recent news about the FDA investigating deaths that may have been related to ADHD drugs. He will be a guest a little after 8pm ET (5pm Pacific) on Thursday, February 9--in about two hours from this writing.

Click here for more of Dr. Fuhrman's thoughts and anecdotes about treating ADHD with diet.

UPDATE: Gardiner Harris of The New York Times explains the new concerns about the effect some prescription stimulants may have on heart disease.

The votes came after F.D.A. medical officers described reports of 25 sudden deaths among people taking stimulants — the deaths were mostly children — and a preliminary analysis of millions of health records that suggested stimulants might increase the risks of strokes and serious arrhythmias in children and adults. The reports of sudden deaths never exceeded one in a million for any stimulant drug, although the F.D.A. usually receives reports of only a fraction of drug problems.

The preliminary analysis suggested that the stimulants might increase heart risks more than twofold. Such an increase may not be significant in children, whose heart risks are low, but could cause concern in adults, panel members said.

One of the drugs, Ritalin, has been marketed since 1955, and dozens of studies have shown it to be safe and effective. But no studies have been of sufficient duration or included enough participants to evaluate stimulants' long-term effects on the heart.

But the drugs' soaring popularity and increasing use in adults, panel members said, mean that the F.D.A. should study them more closely and warn patients and doctors about the potential risks to the heart.

Arthur A. Levin, director of the Center for Medical Consumers in New York City and a member of the panel, said that patients assumed that stimulants were safe, but that that confidence was misplaced.

"For us to sit around and talk about it, and for us to not make a very strong warning about the uncertainty of these drugs and their possible risks, would be unethical," Mr. Levin said.

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