Health News Blog

Not long ago we discussed the problems related to fluoride use in humans in our ezine/newsletter edition. I have been alarmed by advocates of fluoridation who now are campaigning to extend the process to supplies of bottled water. Now we are seeing more research that raises serious issues of adverse effects on health caused by fluoride.

Scientists report a link between dental fluorosis and periodontal disease in the June 2007 Indian Journal of Dental Research. (1)
 
Dental fluorosis - white spotted, yellow, brown stained and/or pitted teeth - is a visual manifestation of fluoride overdose during childhood. Dental fluorosis afflicts from 1/3 to 1/2 of U.S. schoolchildren, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. (2)
 
Inhabitants of the Davangere district of India were studied where natural water fluoride levels ranged from 1.5 to 3.0 parts-per-million (ppm) which is similar to fluoride levels allowed in U.S. water supplies (up to 4 ppm). The sample consisted of 1,029 subjects between 15 and 74-years-old.
 
As the degree of dental fluorosis increased, periodontitis (advanced gum infection) increased. "The results suggest that there is a strong association of occurrence of periodontal disease in high-fluoride areas," write Vandana and Reddy.

It appears that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and related industry are attempting to sneak banned conventional ingredients into organic beer, sausage, and processed food. Do I care? Absolutely! Why? For two reasons basically: (1) it represents a serious breach of important principles and practices and (2) it is a laxness in applying standards that can spread more widely than the US.

The USDA has announced a controversial proposal, with absolutely no input from consumers, to allow 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the USDA Organic" seal. Most of the ingredients are food colorings derived from plants that are supposedly not "commercially available" in organic form. But at least three of the proposed ingredients, apparently backed by beer companies, including Anheuser-Busch, and pork and food processors, represent a serious threat to organic standards, and have raised the concerns of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), as well as a number of smaller organic companies and organic certifiers.

A coalition of consumer, environmental and animal welfare organizations announced on May 3 the submission of more than 145,000 comments to the Food and Drug Administration from consumers who oppose the Agency’s proposed plan to introduce food from cloned animals into the U.S. food supply.

The Center for Food Safety, Consumers Union, Food and Water Watch, The Humane Society of the United States, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, Citizens for Health, the Consumer Federation of America and the Organic Consumers Association joined together to send a strong, unified message to the FDA that the public opposes the introduction of cloned animals in food. Today is the last day of a public comment period that began in January in response to FDA’s proposal to allow products from cloned animals in the food supply unlabeled. Members of the meat and dairy industries, and several nonprofit organizations urged the Agency to take time to consider comments from the widest possible sample of Americans in consideration of the untested nature of cloning technology.

A new website has just launched that offers a unique self-help experience. The site is www.growerz.com and if you need to quit smoking (and if you smoke, then you do!) or you need help in dealing with depression then I highly recommend that you go and take a good look at their excellent programs. They offer customized programs that effect changes by combining proven science from psychology and the latest technology in computing and the internet.

After yet another very low activity month in terms of posting to this site I am pleased to say that the May edition of the Health Gazette Ezine has been published on time today. Subscribers should already be able to find it in their mail boxes.

This month's edition presents a main article by Dr Jenny Tylee addressing the dangers of mercury toxicity. People tend to be not too concerned about mercury, perhaps thinking that it is rarely if ever encountered. In reality however, many people consume it in their regular diet. Some people even allow their doctor to inject them with it and do the same to their children! Read the article to learn the main sources of mercury, what risks it poses and how to best deal with avoiding or removing mercury.