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

Last year, it was discovered processed meats and cheese speed up the growth of lung cancer tumors. And now, new research in BMC Cancer found children who consume cured meats, like hotdogs and bacon, were 74% more likely to develop leukemia. It’s believed nitrites, which build up in cured and smoked meats, amplify cancer-risk. Conversely, researchers suggest the potent antioxidants in vegetables and soy foods may help protect against cancer; Reuters reports.

Not surprising, Dr. Fuhrman considers processed meat, like luncheon meat, as one of the worst meat options available and discourages eating them, especially expectant mothers. Women who eat hotdogs while pregnant put their child at risk for brain tumors later in life.

And other research has shown diets high in saturated fat, i.e. meat, increase the progression of prostate cancer, while eating lots of fruits and vegetables stomps breast cancer risk!

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The Office of the Inspector General, which audits various branches of the government, has warned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to closely monitor genetically modified (GM) foods coming from foreign countries. Meaning, the U.S. may block GM crops, animals and rice imported from countries such as China, India and Brazil, where research on genetically modified foods has intensified; via NewScientist.

But just last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration praised genetically modified animals. And will NOT require meat from GM animals to be labeled for consumers. I guess there’s a double-standard. American-made food monstrosities are exempt.

We love futzing with nature. Do we really need food coloring made from crushed beetles and pigs engineered to produce omega-3 fatty acids! Yuck.

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In a swift and harsh act of justice, China has sentenced 2 men involved with the milk-melamine crisis to death and another man to life in prison. With 6 fatalities and 300,000 babies suffering kidney disease from ingesting baby formula tainted with melamine, a pesticide, China sought an abrupt and decisive end to a national embarrassment and has since taken steps to improve food safety; via BusinessWeek.

Initially China encouraged citizens to breast feed in order to avoid tainted formula and the United States Food and Drug Administration urged consumers not to buy Chinese-made baby formula. And recently research discovered exposure to melamine can cause painful kidney stones.

In 2007, the U.S. quarantined 6,000 hogs contaminated with melamine and cyanuric acid, an ingredient in bleach and herbicides.

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Your rubber ducky may be more dangerous than you think. According to a new study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine a chemical called 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), commonly used in rubber products, may heighten cancer risk. Researchers examined data on plant workers from 1955 to 1984 and 1971 to 1984 and determined those exposed to fumes during the manufacturing process were twice as likely to develop colon cancer and 4 times as likely to get bone marrow cancer; Reuters reports.

Great, another chemical to worry about! If you recall, Bisphenol-A (BPA) was all over the news last year. BPA is used to make hard plastic and has been linked to learning impairments and depression and prostate cancer and breast cancer.

So, be mindful of your environment, especially if you have kids!

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A new study in the European Heart Journal claims patients with implantable heart defibrillators are at greater risk of ventricular arrhythmia, a potentially fatal heart rhythm, when exposed to air pollution. Of the 211 participants observed for 33 months, researchers determined 73 patients had rapid abnormal heart rhythm due to pollution; Reuters investigates.

In related in news, researchers from South Korea may have figured out how to remove dangerous metals, like lead, from people’s blood. Appearing in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, scientists claim magnetic fields can fish out harmful metals from the bloodstream. High lead levels can cause anemia and brain damage; via Reuters.

And chemical contaminants, specifically pesticides, are actually causing fewer male births in both animals and humans.

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A new report in the Journal of Environmental Quality claims crops grown in fertilizer made with livestock manure actually absorb the antibiotics injected into cattle. Researchers point out that an alarming 70% of antibiotics produced in the United States are fed to livestock and 90% of those antibiotics are excreted in farm animal urine and feces. Putting vegetables at risk, even those grown on organic farms, exacerbating the fear over antibiotic-resistant bacteria; Environmental Health News investigates.

It gets worse! Last week it was discovered many pharmaceuticals, like cholesterol-lowering medications, painkillers and tranquilizers, are polluting our drinking water. Eek!

Also, in humans, antibiotics are over-used and misused. According to Dr. Fuhrman, doctors are too quick to prescribe antibiotics for conditions that will resolve on their own, like ear infections.

Via TreeHugger.

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For the second time, U.S. health regulators have denied approval for the use of Gardasil in women, ages 27 to 45. Officials want more long term clinical data. Merck’s Gardasil is said to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer. Following the denial Merck’s shares dropped 79 cents. Merck is also pushing Gardasil for use among men; Reuters reports.

Now, Gardasil is no wonder drug! The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received 7,802 instances of people suffering an adverse reaction to Gardasil and the vaccine only protects against 4 of the 100 strains of HPV. It also killed a 17-year old girl from New York. Not to mention, this spring the FDA ordered Merck clean up a manufacturing plant where Gardasil is produced.

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Ever since the days of those prehistoric 1980s cell phones everyone wonders if mobile phones are cooking our heads with cancer. The research is conflicted. Some studies say they boost cancer risk, like brain cancer, but now, new research in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute claims regular cell phone usage does not increase a person’s risk of getting eye cancer. After studying 1,600 people for about a decade, scientists detected no link between cell phones and cancer; Reuters reports.

Actually, a year ago I asked Dr. Fuhrman for his thoughts on mobile phones and cancer risk. And he admitted it’s hard to say. “The bottom line is we don’t know,” he explained, “Cancer causation is a 20 to 50 year process. So we have to follow young people for more than 20 to 30 years to really have answers here.” Good idea! Currently the largest study on cell phones and cancer was only 10 years.

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Chinese milk products tainted with melamine, a chemical used in making plastic, ignited a frenzy this fall, sickening thousands of children and contaminating foods like green beans, candy and baby formula. And now, a new study in International Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine claims melamine exposure alone is enough to cause kidney stones and the greater the exposure, the larger the stones. Scientists compared various urine samples from children who consumed tainted milk; via Reuters.

The hubbub over melamine prompted the FDA to open an office in Beijing, China to sure up food safety regulation and imports to the United States.

Via The New York Times.

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Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth. Apparently food producers have been grinding up bugs to make food colorings for years! Beetles are a source of carmine or cochineal extract, which makes red, pink, orange and purple. And there’s been very little restriction on its use. A spokes person for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has lobbied to get carmine banned, said there is no way to tell how many products contain the dyes, it can be anything red. The FDA has decided to act now, due to reports of allergic reactions, requiring manufacturers to list carmine or cochineal in the ingredients; The Palm Beach Post reports.

Sounds yummy! There’s actually a big obsession with cramming bug parts into our food. Recently, Greenpeace unveiled a series of advertisements, featuring green onions shaped like spiders, scorpion carrots and peapod grasshoppers, to raise awareness for genetically modified ingredients in food.

Not to mention, a previous experiment showed rats fed genetically engineered corn developed signs of liver and kidney toxicity after 3 months. The corn contained a compound to repel insects.

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In 2003, the town of Pueblo, Colorado passed a municipal law making work environments and public places smoke-free. Since that time, heart attacks have dropped by more than 40%. The CDC tracked hospitalizations for heart attacks and found in the 18 months before the ban there were 399 hospital admissions in Pueblo, but in a year and a half following the ban, heart attack admissions dropped to 237, a 41% decline; Reuters investigates.

Refreshing to hear, because just a year ago a report revealed the U.S. Congress was not doing enough to curb smoking. Saying many states are failing to take anti-smoking action, but meanwhile cigarette companies continue to spend billions to market tobacco products.

Promoting smoke-free initiatives can also save billions. This summer research by the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education showed that California saved $86 billion in healthcare costs, by investing a scant $1.8 billion in anti-smoking programs.

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