Even Healthy Foods Contain Poison

Health experts love to preach about the goodness of a plant based diet but almost never do you hear them talk about the bad side.   Not all foods are in their edible state, and some do carry natural occurring toxins.  These toxins are NOT the byproduct of pesticides by ARE the plants’ natural defenses.   They occur in both organic and conventional grown foods.    If you use a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix, or even a juicer, be wary NOT to exploit the “power of bio availability” by grinding everything into pieces thinking you are gaining some health benefit.  You may be gaining some “poison” instead.  The seeds from oranges or cherries, for instance, contain cyanide.

Here’s a partial list of the potential toxicities in some of the more common foods:

1)  CELERY - Very low in calories and rich in Vitamin K, celery should be eaten fresh.  Prolong storage and extreme cold temperature can induce psoralens in celery.  “Psoralens are chemicals that damage DNA and cause blistering skin inflammations…Psoralens are absorbed through the skin during handling, or by being ingested with the vegetable, either raw or cooked.  They lie dormant in skin cells until they’re struck by ultraviolet rays in sunlight, which causes them to bind to and damage DNA and important cell proteins, according to “On Food and Cooking” by Harold Mc Gee.

2)  BRAZIL NUTS - Nuts are generally healthy, but more than a few pieces of Brazil nuts per day can be hazardous.    Brazil nuts are EXTREMELY HIGH in selenium, radium, and barium.  Selenium is a trace mineral, which means we need very little of this.    Too much selenium will induce selenosis, ie. make your hair or nails fall out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A37112-2003Dec28&notFound=true

“The Brazil nut tree absorbs radium from the soil and concentrates it in the meat of the nut. Research into the radiation risks of consuming the nuts is scarce. A report published in the journal Health Physics in 1968 noted the high level of radioactivity, concluding that “it is to be expected that individuals who regularly eat Brazil nuts for many years will eventually build up elevated radium body burdens.” The Food and Drug Administration has no recommendation on Brazil nut consumption other than warning of a possible allergic reaction, as with other nuts. “

3)  POTATOES - Potatoes with either sprouting roots or green pigments should be discarded because they contain solanine and/or chaconine.  According to Wilkipedia, “Solanine poisoning is primarily displayed by gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, heart arrhythmia, headache and dizziness. Hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils and hypothermia have been reported in more severe cases.In large quantities, solanine poisoning can cause death. One study suggests that doses of 2 to 5 mg per kilogram of body weight can cause toxic symptoms, and doses of 3 to 6 mg per kilogram of body weight can be fatal.”

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/steroid.html

“…the concentration of these glycoalkaloids is highest in potato sprouts and green potato skins, and tomato vines and green tomatoes. Care should be taken to prevent the exposure of potatoes to sunlight. These alkaloids are not destroyed by cooking or drying at high temperatures. New potato varieties can not be introduced unless they contain less than 20 mg glycoalkaloids/100 g.”

http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/datastorefiles/234-182.pdf

4)  FAVA BEANS - Favism occurs when the blood cells get destroyed after consuming fava beans.  Fortunately, this does not occur in everyone but in a small population, mainly in people of southern Mediterranean decent.

http://www.g6pd.org/favism/english/index.mv?pgid=intro

5)  PARSLEY - Like celery, parsley should be eaten as fresh as possible because of psoralens.

6)  PEARS, CHERRIES, PLUM, APPLES, BITTER ALMOND, APRICOT KERNELS OR SEEDS - All of these contain cyanide and should never be grinded into pieces with a Vitamix.  Bitter almond is illegal in the US, but I have purchased them by accident from a store, so be wary.   Also be wary of herbal supplements containing one of these ingredients.

7)  ALOE VERA - Aloe vera is often used as a first aid ointment but sometimes people blend some aloe vera in their smoothies.    Because there is very little evidence on the benefits of eating aloe vera, it is best not to imbibe in aloe vera.    They do  contain “…saponin-like glycosides that break down to anthraquinones (Fuller and McClintock 1986 p280)”

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/php/plants.php?action=faqs&num=7

8)  TOMATOES - DO NOT EAT or JUICE the leaves, stems or blossoms of tomatoes because they contain solanine.

http://www.tomatoesareevil.com/tomatohealth.htm

9)  APRICOTS - Unripe apricots (green) contain cyanide releasing “amygdalin” or “prunasin” glycosides.

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/php/plants.php?action=faqs&num=9

10)  RICE - According to “On Food & Cooking”, “Raw rice almost always carries dormant spores of the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which produces powerful gastrointestinal toxins.  The spores can tolerate high temperatures, and some survive cooking.  If cooked rice is left for a few hours at room temperature, the spores germinate, bacteria multiply, and toxins accumulate.”

How the Govt. and the Food Industry Got You Fat

You were “tricked” all along…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXAZ_7JO7EA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEAJTgosdo0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6ksPAEGLgk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqcrQixAKJc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUQOjGq3wRE&feature=related

Even the American Medical Association recently recommended changes in food policy.

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/06/18/ama-prescribes-sustainable-food-chain/

“More than 240 hospitals have signed the HCWH Healthy Food in Healthcare Pledge, which promote sustainable food systems in their facilities. U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) has introduced a “Blueprint for Health,” legislation that calls for incentives to prevent chronic diseases, including investments in healthy and sustainable local and regional food systems.”

Tropicana OJ Made with Spoiled Oranges

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/02/22/qa_with_alissa_hamilton/

“…it’s put in huge storage tanks where it can be kept for upwards of a year. It gets stripped of flavor-providing chemicals, which are volatile. When it’s ready for packaging, companies such as Tropicana hire flavor companies such as Firmenich to engineer flavor packs to make it taste fresh. People think not-from-concentrate is a fresher product, but it also sits in storage for quite a long time.”

“Hamilton traces the history of the drink, first processed in the United States in the early 1900s as a canned juice that was said to taste like “battery acid.”

“The Food Industry Has Hijacked Our Brains”

This is according to former FDA commissioner David Kessler, MD.  These are the four things that make us eat more:

The Fat
The Flavor
The Sugar
The Temperature

Sugar is the biggest culprit but when fat is added, people get hooked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq6Ov_uCxGc

http://theendofovereating.com/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124084009832659309.html

Salmonella & the Supermarket

If you buy any poultry, meat, fish,  or prepared foods from the local supermarket, you will want to know about this “lurky” salmonella outbreak.    It’s real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w9bJlUOEXs&feature=PlayList&p=B68880BC4D9667A9&index=0&playnext=1

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