Dr Mercola: Top 10 Articles of 2013

January 01, 2014 

Story at-a-glance

• Dr. Mercola shares the 10 most-read articles of 2013
• The year’s most captivating articles covered some of the most cutting-edge advances in natural health, like how to use intermittent fasting to live longer and a ketogenic diet for cancer recovery
• Other articles that made the top 10 contained empowering health information, such as how to gain insights into your health by looking in the toilet and the top foods you should avoid eating, plus much more

By Dr. Mercola

Happy New Year! Today, we embark on a new year and a fresh start in our continued journey toward better health and happier lives. But before we leave 2013 behind, let’s revisit the top 10 articles of the past year, based on number of page views.

These are the articles that captivated you most, and they cover some of the most cutting-edge advances in natural health -- like how to use intermittent fasting to live longer and a ketogenic diet for cancer recovery.

There are some classics in there, too, including how to gain insights into your health by looking in the toilet and the top foods you should avoid eating, plus much more.

If you haven’t yet read these top 10 articles, you’re in for a treat. And be sure to stay tuned to the newsletter for more empowering health wisdom as 2014 unfolds.

10. What You Can Learn About Your Health by Analyzing the Color and Smell of Your Urine

Urine can reveal important information about your body’s waste elimination process, providing clues about your overall health status.

Your urine changes color depending on what foods you eat, what medications and supplements you take, how much water you drink, how active you are, and the time of the day.

But some diseases can also change the color and other characteristics of your urine, so it’s important to be alert and informed.

With so many variables, you can’t always be sure of what’s causing any particular urine characteristic, short of laboratory testing. However, urine’s character gives you some clues to potential problems that may be developing, giving you time to do something about it.

9. The Unsavory Truth of the McRib and Other Fake Foods, and Why Russia Banned US-Raised Meat

Over the past couple of years, we’ve learned the unsavory truth about “pink slime,” reconstituted meat, and how the use of meat glue cheats you out of your hard-earned money at the grocery store and threatens your health.

We’ve also learned that fast-food fare, such as McDonald’s hamburgers, contain so many chemicals and so few real food ingredients that a burger fails to show signs of decomposition after more than a decade...

The famous McDonald’s McRib also came under closer scrutiny, and turned out to be something less than mouthwatering. Meanwhile, Russia banned US meat supplies after discovering it contains ractopamine.

This is a beta-agonist drug that increases protein synthesis, thereby making the animal more muscular and, consequently, reducing the fat content of the meat.

8. Why Conventional Medicine Won’t Allow Cancer to Be Cured

Over the last 100 years, a number of natural cancer treatments have been developed and used successfully to treat patients in the US and other countries.

All have been vehemently discounted, silenced, and pushed under the rug by the medical monopoly, with physicians and researchers attacked, smeared, sent to prison, and professionally ruined for daring to defy the medical establishment.

A fascinating documentary exposes the corruption of the cancer industry and the extreme measures they will undertake to discredit, imprison, and professionally destroy any physician who treats cancer patients naturally.

7. The Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet and Its Role in Cancer Treatment

Dr. Thomas Seyfried is one of the leading pioneer academic researchers in promoting how to treat cancer nutritionally. His work confirms that sugar is the primary fuel for cancer, and that by restricting sugar and providing an alternate fuel, namely fat, you can dramatically reduce the rate of growth of cancer.

A ketogenic diet, which calls for minimizing sugar and other carbohydrates and replacing them with healthy fats and moderate amounts of high-quality protein, can offer hope against cancer, both for prevention and treatment. When combined with calorie restriction, the end result will put your body in a metabolic state that is inhospitable to cancer cells.

Download Interview Transcript

6. 10 American Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries

Americans are slowly waking up to the sad fact that much of the food sold in the US is far inferior to the same foods sold in other nations. In fact, many of the foods you eat are BANNED in other countries. This includes farm-raised salmon, Hawaiian (GMO) papaya, artificial food dyes, arsenic-laced chicken, ractopamine-tainted meat, bromate-containing drinks and bread, olestra, carcinogenic preservatives, and rBGH-laced milk. Seeing how the overall health of Americans is so much lower than that of populations in other industrialized countries, you can’t help but wonder whether toxic foods such as these might play a role in our skyrocketing disease rates.

5. Intermittent Fasting Finally Becoming Mainstream Health Recommendation

Two health books released in 2013 revealed how intermittent fasting can help you normalize your weight, prevent many chronic diseases, and increase longevity. The “8-hour diet” is a type of scheduled eating plan where you simply restrict your normal daily eating to an eight-hour window of time, without cutting calories. Research has shown that this simple lifestyle tweak can significantly modify body composition, including reduce fat mass. Research has also shown that intermittent fasting quickly improves insulin’s ability to manage blood sugar and that fluctuations in food consumption appear to be required for optimal metabolic function.

4. The Many Health Benefits of Avocado

Avocados, which are actually classified as a fruit, are rich in monounsaturated fat that is easily burned for energy. They also provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients, including potassium, vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid. Previous research has found avocado can help optimize cholesterol levels within as little as one week, and contains compounds that appear to inhibit and destroy oral cancer cells along with those that protect against liver damage.

Interestingly, the way you peel an avocado matters, as the greatest concentration of antioxidants is in the dark green fruit closest to the peel. To preserve the most nutrients, you basically want to peel the avocado with your hands, as you would a banana.

3. Ketogenic Diet May Be Key to Cancer Recovery

Current conventional cancer treatment typically involves chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is a cytotoxic poison, and radiation is devastating to the human body. More often than not, the treatment is what eventually kills the patient. Even more astounding, in terms of treatment, is that natural strategies may be effective. For instance, cancer may respond to diet alone.

The ketogenic diet can have a dramatic (and rapid) effect on cancer. All of your body’s cells are fueled by glucose. This includes cancer cells. However, cancer cells have one built-in fatal flaw – they do not have the metabolic flexibility of your regular cells and cannot adapt to use ketone bodies for fuel as all your other cells can. So, when you alter your diet and become what’s known as “fat-adapted,” your body starts using fat for fuel rather than carbs. When you switch out the carbs for healthy fats, you starve the cancer out, as you’re no longer supplying the necessary fuel – glucose – for their growth.

Total Video Length: 25:29

2. What You See in the Toilet Can Give You Valuable Insights Into Your Health

The shape, size, color, and other fecal features can tell you a great deal about your overall health, how your gastrointestinal tract is functioning, and even give you clues about serious disease processes that could be occurring, like infections, digestive problems, and even cancer.

If you know what to look for, you may be able to detect health problems early enough to stop them in their tracks, including serious diseases like celiac disease, hepatitis, urinary tract infections and stones, malabsorption disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, cancer, and others. So if you’re one to poop and scoot quickly out of the bathroom without looking in the toilet, then you might want to slow down and look down.

1. The 9 Foods You Should Never Eat

Many foods have been heavily promoted as being healthy when they are nothing more than pernicious junk foods. In the featured article are nine staple foods that are far less “good for you” than you’ve been led to believe. These include some surprises – like canned tomatoes, vegetable oil, and non-organic potatoes – as well as a section on how to identify truly healthy food to nourish your body.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/01/top-10-articles-of-2013.aspx

New Concerns about Beta Argonist Growth-Promoting Drug

Slaughterhouse Observations Raise New Concerns about Growth-Promoting Drug

5 November 2013

Story at-a-glance

• Zilmax is class of non-hormone drugs recently used in animals to promote growth. It, and others like it are fed to cattle in the weeks prior to slaughter to increase weight by as much as 30 pounds of lean meat per cow
• Tyson Foods has announced it will stop buying Zilmax-fed cattle for slaughter as of September due to concerns about Zilmax potentially causing health or behavioral problems for some cattle
• Zilmax is already banned for use in horses due to severe side effects, including muscle tremors and rapid heart rates that can last as long as two weeks after stopping the drug
• Before beta-agonsists like Zilmax were approved, scientists worried that this class of drug could result in increased cardiovascular risk for consumers
• Merck is actively working on getting Zilmax back on the US and Canadian markets

By Dr. Mercola

One of the reasons I stress the importance of only eating organic, grass-fed beef is because animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are given unnatural inferior feed loaded with antibiotics (i.e. grains instead of grass, and most of it genetically engineered at that), along with a variety of veterinary drugs.  

Many of these drugs are administered for prophylactic purposes to prevent illness, and others are given as growth promoters. 

Zilmax (Zilpaterol) is one such drug. It’s a beta-adrenergic agonist, also known as beta-agonist; a class of non-hormone drugs used in animals to promote growth. It, and others like it are fed to cattle in the weeks prior to slaughter to increase weight by as much as 30 pounds of lean meat per cow. Beta-agonist drugs, as a class, have been used in US cattle production since 2003.  

While 26 countries currently allow beta-agonists in food production, America’s use of such drugs, which also includes the beta-agonist ractopamine, for promotion of growth and lean-meat yield has created challenges in the global market, including current trade barriers in Russia¹. Now, Zilmax is also causing trouble on our own turf. As reported in the featured article²:

“Zilmax became the focus of attention in the livestock industry after Tyson Foods Inc said on August 7 that it will stop buying Zilmax-fed cattle for slaughter beginning next month. Tyson, the biggest US meat processor, said it was concerned about Zilmax potentially causing health or behavioral problems for some cattle.

Merck's Animal Health unit announced on August 16 that it would halt US and Canadian sales of Zilmax, pending additional company research and review.”

Merck has no plans on discontinuing the product, however; recently telling Reuters³ that it is in fact pushing to bring the drug back to market both in the US and Canada. The company says it stands behind the safety of the drug and is working on developing a quality control program to ensure its proper use.  

Zilmax Causes Serious Side Effects in Horses, So Why Use It In Cattle? 

Zilmax is already banned for use in horses due to severe side effects, including muscle tremors and rapid heart rates that can last as long as two weeks after stopping the drug⁴. It’s not a major stretch to imagine similar problems might occur in cattle. According to a 2008 veterinary case report⁵ involving three horses that were given Zilmax:

“Within 90 minutes the horses had muscular tremors which began in the skeletal muscles of the neck, shoulder, and foreleg and spread throughout the visible skeletal muscles. Intermittent visible muscular tremors continued for up to 1 week after the initial dose of zilpaterol.

They also all had certain changes to their blood chemistry, such as elevated BUN, creatinine, and glucose and mild hyponatremia and hypochloremia... Liver and kidney changes were also noted.” 

Ractopamine, another beta-agonist, is yet another drug used in the US, even though it’s been banned in 160 other countries due to its potential health hazards. The researchers also noted that Zilmax is about 125 times more potent than ractopamine, saying this may be why side effects were overlooked in connection with ractopamine studies.  

In an email to Reuters, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated it had received “a very small number of reports of lameness or lying down” in cattle that had been fed Zilmax⁶. According to a Wall Street Journal⁷ report:

“A growing number of cattle arriving for slaughter at US meatpacking plants have recently shown unusual signs of distress. Some walked stiffly, while others had trouble moving or simply lay down, their tongues hanging from their mouths. Some even sat down in strange positions, looking more like dogs than cows.”

Since the animals’ diet in general was unchanged, livestock scientists started suspecting the suddenly odd behavior might be associated with the addition of the beta-agonist drug, which has only recently become widely used among cattle ranchers.

 

Is it Really Safe to Listen to “Experts” that Were Wrong Before? 

Not surprisingly, conflicts of interest are rampant among supporters of the drug, who oftentimes have direct ties to the drug companies manufacturing it.

For example, Richard Raymond⁸, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) chief responsible for promoting Zilmax is not only a paid food safety and public health consultant for Elanco⁹, the Animal Health branch of Eli Lilly that produces two ractopamine products; he was also the chair of the US Codex Policy Committee, which provides guidance to US delegations on the Codex Alimentarius Commission.  

Raymond has also been a defender of rbST/rbGH milk^{10, 11}—another Elanco product¹². This artificial growth hormone has been banned in Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand due to cancer risks and other health concerns. Although it isn’t generally well-known, rbST is connected to the beef industry, in that rbST also increases muscle area and reduces fat thickness―basically what Zilmax does—as described in a 2001 study¹³. 

In an August 2, 2013 article¹⁴ penned for Facts About Beef, Raymond states he believes beta-agonists can help improve global food security, seeing how the drugs lead to six to seven pounds of additional meat per pig and 30 pounds of additional meat per market cow.

He also claims there’s no published data showing that beta-agonists have an effect on animal welfare―despite the fact that such studies do indeed exist, such as the one referenced above, published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science in 2008¹⁵.  

Do Beta-Agonists in Meat Pose Human Health Hazards? 

According to an article published in the Journal of Animal Science in 1998¹⁶, there’s data on “human intoxication following consumption of liver or meat from cattle treated with beta-agonists.” (In the case of the beta-agonist clenbuterol, pharmacological effects might be expected after consuming 100-200 grams of contaminated product.) The authors write:

“The use of highly active beta-agonists as growth promoters is not appropriate because of the potential hazard for human and animal health, as was recently concluded at the scientific Conference on Growth Promotion in Meat Production (Nov. 1995, Brussels).”

Similarly, before it was approved, scientists worried that beta-adrenergic agonists illegally used could result in increased cardiovascular risk for consumers¹⁷. Today we don’t have to worry about eating illegally treated meat, since these drugs are approved and widely used, but should we be concerned about cardiovascular health risks from non-organic meat products? As for Richard Raymond, with regards to such questions of safety, he writes, in part:

“It is... estimated that over 700 million pigs have been supplemented with beta-agonists since its approval 14 years ago. I am not an Ag Economist, but I can do the simple math that says if each of those 700 million pigs produced an additional 6 pounds because of beta-agonist supplementation, that would be over 4 billion additional pounds of pork, or put another way, an additional 16 billion four ounce servings of protein.

As the former Undersecretary for Food Safety at USDA, I also know that in those billions of servings of pork and beef, not one single incident of a foodborne illness or side effect in a human has been reported. That should make us feel confident as far as human safety goes.”

My question is, since beta-agonist drugs do not affect biology in the way a pathogen like, say, salmonella or E-coli might, just how would you know that a meat product contaminated with drug residue has affected your health? Especially if we’re discussing about side effects like weight gain, or even heart- and muscle-related problems similar to those experienced by horses?  

Barring an acute reaction, how would you actually pin beta-agonist side effects to any particular piece of meat in your diet? This is why you need to perform scientific studies to assess effects and risks. Clearly, to say that lack of foodborne illness reports¹⁸ is a statement about the drug’s safety for use in food animals is ludicrous, and I think he really should know better. But, for a lazy reader, such a comment just might put them at ease. 

It may be worth noting that, in humans, beta-agonists are used to treat asthma, among other things. Interestingly enough, stubborn weight gain is a common complaint among asthma patients using Advair (a beta-agonist drug)—so much so that the manufacturer has added weight gain to the post-marketing side effects. Other adverse reactions to beta-agonist drugs include increased heart rate, insomnia, headaches, and essential tremor. As you can see, these are eerily similar to those experienced by horses, and it appears, some cows. 

According to Randox Food Diagnostics¹⁹, which has created tests for Zilmax residue in beef, use of beta-agonists prior to slaughter is of particular concern “as this poses a risk to the consumer and may result in consumer toxicity.” Research findings to this effect include:

• A 2003 study in Analytica Chimica Acta²⁰: Residue behaviour of Zilmax in urine, plasma, muscle, liver, kidney and retina of cattle and pig was assessed. Two heifers and 16 pigs were treated with Zilmax and slaughtered after withdrawal times varying from 1 to 10 days. The drug was detectable at each point of time examined in all matrices except plasma after a withdrawal period of 10 days. It’s worth noting that in the US, the recommended market window is three to 10 days after discontinuing Zilmax²¹
• A 2006 study²² on residues of Zilmax in sheep found detectable levels in liver and muscle tissues up to nine days after discontinuation of the drug

 

What Should You do if You Don’t Want Drugs and Chemicals in Your Food? 

As the US agriculture industry now stands, antibiotics, pesticides, genetically engineered ingredients, hormones and countless other drugs are fair game in your food. So if you purchase your food from a typical supermarket, you are taking your chances that it’s teeming with chemicals and drugs -- even those that have been banned in other countries. So please, do your health a favor and support the small family farms in your area. You’ll receive nutritious food from a source that you can trust, and you’ll be supporting the honest work of a real family farm. 

It all boils down to this: if you want to optimize your health, you must return to the basics of healthy food choices. Put your focus on WHOLE organic foods -- foods that have not been processed or altered from their original state, but rather grown or raised as nature intended, without the use of chemical additives, drugs, hormones, pesticides and fertilizers. 

It’s as simple as that! 

It is not nearly as daunting a task as it may seem to find a local farmer that can supply your family with healthy, humanely raised animal products and produce. At LocalHarvest.org, for instance, you can enter your zip code and find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, all with the click of a button. Once you make the switch from supermarket to local farmer, the choice will seem natural, and you can have peace of mind that the food you’re feeding your family is as safe as possible.

We have to stop supporting our current CAFO practices for meat production.   If you'd like to read more about what the damage to the organs that are well-known in processing facilities, please read Harper's article, "The Way of All Flesh".

[-] Sources and References

• ¹ Mycattle.com
• ² Reuters August 26, 2013
• ³ Reuters October 29, 2013
• ⁴ Horse Science News 2013
• ⁵ Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 2008: 28(4); 238-243 (PDF)
• ⁶ Raw Story August 18, 2013
• ⁷ Wall Street Journal August 19, 2013
• ⁸ APCOworldwide.com, Richard Raymond
• ⁹ Heritageradionetwork.com October 14, 2012
• ¹⁰ Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST): A Safety Assessment (PDF)
• ¹¹ A PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE TO ELANCO’S “RECOMBINANT BOVINE SOMATOTROPIN (rbST): A SAFETY ASSESSMENT” (PDF)
• ¹² Indystar.com August 20, 2008
• ¹³ Journal of Animal Science 2001: 79:108-114 (PDF)
• ¹⁴ Factsaboutbeef.com August 2, 2013
• ¹⁵ See ref 3
• ¹⁶ Journal of Animal Science February 1998; 76(1):195-207.
• ¹⁷ Toxicology 2003 May 3;187(2-3):91-9
• ¹⁸ CDC.gov Multistate Foodborne Outbreak Investigations
• ¹⁹ Randox Food Diagnostics
• ²⁰ Analytica Chimica Acta September 23, 2003: 493(1);63–67
• ²¹ Hubbardfeeds.com Zilmax November 2010 (PDF)
• ²² J Agric Food Chem. June 14, 2006: 14;54 (12):4155-61

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/11/05/zilmax-side-effects.aspx?

10 American Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries

July 10, 2013                    

Story at-a-glance

• Many foods sold in the US are banned in other countries due to harmful additives, growth promoters, genetically engineered ingredients or other dangerous practices
• This includes farm-raised salmon, Hawaiian (GMO) papaya, artificial food dyes, arsenic-laced chicken, ractopamine-tainted meat, bromate-containing drinks and bread, olestra, carcinogenic preservatives, and rBGH-laced milk
• To avoid potentially hazardous foods and harmful ingredients permitted in the US food supply, ditching processed foods entirely is your best option
• Also swap out your regular meat sources to organic, grass-fed/pasture-raised versions of beef and poultry. The same goes for dairy products and animal by-products such

By Dr. Mercola

Americans are slowly waking up to the sad fact that much of the food sold in the US is far inferior to the same foods sold in other nations. In fact, many of the foods you eat are BANNED in other countries.  

Here, I’ll review 10 American foods that are banned elsewhere, which were featured in a recent MSN article.¹ 

Seeing how the overall health of Americans is so much lower than other industrialized countries, you can’t help but wonder whether toxic foods such as these might play a role in our skyrocketing disease rates.

#1: Farm-Raised Salmon

If you want to maximize health benefits from fish, you want to steer clear of farmed fish, particularly farmed salmon fed dangerous chemicals. Wild salmon gets its bright pinkish-red color from natural carotenoids in their diet. Farmed salmon, on the other hand, are raised on a wholly unnatural diet of grains (including genetically engineered varieties), plus a concoction of antibiotics and other drugs and chemicals not shown to be safe for humans. 

This diet leaves the fish with unappetizing grayish flesh so to compensate, they’re fed synthetic astaxanthin made from petrochemicals, which has not been approved for human consumption and has well known toxicities. According to the featured article, some studies suggest it can potentially damage your eyesight. More details are available in yesterday’s article.

Where it's banned: Australia and New Zealand

How can you tell whether a salmon is wild or farm-raised? The flesh of wild sockeye salmon is bright red, courtesy of its natural astaxanthin content. It’s also very lean, so the fat marks, those white stripes you see in the meat, are very thin. If the fish is pale pink with wide fat marks, the salmon is farmed.  

Avoid Atlantic salmon, as typically salmon labeled "Atlantic Salmon" currently comes from fish farms. The two designations you want to look for are: “Alaskan salmon,” and “sockeye salmon,” as Alaskan sockeye is not allowed to be farmed. Please realize that the vast majority of all salmon sold in restaurants is farm raised. 

So canned salmon labeled "Alaskan Salmon" is a good bet, and if you find sockeye salmon, it's bound to be wild. Again, you can tell sockeye salmon from other salmon by its color; its flesh is bright red opposed to pink, courtesy of its superior astaxanthin content. Sockeye salmon actually has one of the highest concentrations of astaxanthin of any food.

#2: Genetically Engineered Papaya

Most Hawaiian papaya is now genetically engineered to be resistant to ringspot virus. Mounting research now shows that animals fed genetically engineered foods, such as corn and soy, suffer a wide range of maladies, including intestinal damage, multiple-organ damage, massive tumors, birth defects, premature death, and near complete sterility by the third generation of offspring. Unfortunately, the gigantic human lab experiment is only about 10 years old, so we are likely decades away from tabulating the human casualties.

Where it's banned: The European Union

Unfortunately, it’s clear that the US government is not in a position to make reasonable and responsible decisions related to genetically engineered foods at this point, when you consider the fact that the Obama administration has placed former Monsanto attorney and Vice President, Michael Taylor, in charge of US food safety, and serious conflicts of interest even reign supreme within the US Supreme Court! That’s right. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is also a former Monsanto attorney, but refuses to acknowledge any conflict of interest.

#3: Ractopamine-Tainted Meat

The beta agonist drug ractopamine (a repartitioning agent that increases protein synthesis) was recruited for livestock use when researchers found that the drug, used in asthma, made mice more muscular. This reduces the overall fat content of the meat.  

Ractopamine is currently used in about 45 percent of US pigs, 30 percent of ration-fed cattle, and an unknown percentage of turkeys are pumped full of this drug in the days leading up to slaughter. Up to 20 percent of ractopamine remains in the meat you buy from the supermarket, according to veterinarian Michael W. Fox. 

Since 1998, more than 1,700 people have been "poisoned" from eating pigs fed the drug, and ractopamine is banned from use in food animals in no less than 160 different countries due to its harmful health effects! Effective February 11, 2013, Russia issued a ban on US meat imports, slated to last until the US agrees to certify that the meat is ractopamine-free. At present, the US does not even test for the presence of this drug in meats sold. In animals, ractopamine is linked to reductions in reproductive function, increase of mastitis in dairy herds, and increased death and disability. It’s also known to affect the human cardiovascular system, and is thought to be responsible for hyperactivity, and may cause chromosomal abnormalities and behavioral changes.

Where it's banned: 160 countries across Europe, Russia, mainland China and Republic of China (Taiwan)

#4: Flame Retardant Drinks

If you live in the US and drink Mountain Dew and some other citrus-flavored sodas and sports drinks, then you are also getting a dose of a synthetic chemical called brominated vegetable oil (BVO), which was originally patented by chemical companies as a flame retardant. 

BVO has been shown to bioaccumulate in human tissue and breast milk, and animal studies have found it causes reproductive and behavioral problems in large doses. Bromine is a central nervous system depressant, and a common endocrine disruptor. It’s part of the halide family, a group of elements that includes fluorine, chlorine and iodine.  

When ingested, bromine competes for the same receptors that are used to capture iodine. This can lead to iodine deficiency, which can have a very detrimental impact on your health. Bromine toxicity can manifest as skin rashes, acne, loss of appetite, fatigue, and cardiac arrhythmias. According to the featured article:

"The FDA has flip-flopped on BVO's safety originally classifying it as 'generally recognized as safe' but reversing that call now defining it as an 'interim food additive' a category reserved for possibly questionable substances used in food."

Where it's banned: Europe and Japan

#5: Processed Foods Containing Artificial Food Colors and Dyes

More than 3,000 food additives -- preservatives, flavorings, colors and other ingredients -- are added to US foods, including infant foods and foods targeted to young children. Meanwhile, many of these are banned in other countries, based on research showing toxicity and hazardous health effects, especially with respect to adverse effects on children’s behavior. For example, as reported in the featured article:

“Boxed Mac & Cheese, cheddar flavored crackers, Jell-O and many kids' cereals contain red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6 and/or blue 2, the most popularly-used dyes in the United States. Research has shown this rainbow of additives can cause behavioral problems as well as cancer, birth defects and other health problems in laboratory animals. Red 40 and yellow 6 are also suspected of causing an allergy-like hypersensitivity reaction in children. The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports that some dyes are also "contaminated with known carcinogens.”

In countries where these food colors and dyes are banned, food companies like Kraft employ natural colorants instead, such as paprika extract, beetroot, and annatto. The food blogger and activist Vani Hari, better known as “Food Babe,” recently launched a Change.org petition² asking Kraft to remove artificial dyes from American Mac & Cheese to protect American children from the well-known dangers of these dyes.

Where it's banned: Norway and Austria. In 2009, the British government advised companies to stop using food dyes by the end of that year. The European Union also requires a warning notice on most foods containing dyes.

#6: Arsenic-Laced Chicken

Arsenic-based drugs are approved for use in animal feed in the US because they make animals grow quicker and make the meat appear pinker (i.e. "fresher"). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated these products are safe because they contain organic arsenic, which is less toxic than the other inorganic form, which is a known carcinogen.  

The problem is, scientific reports surfaced stating that the organic arsenic could transform into inorganic arsenic, which has been found in elevated levels in supermarket chickens. The inorganic arsenic also contaminates manure where it can eventually migrate into drinking water and may also be causing heightened arsenic levels in US rice. 

In 2011, Pfizer announced it would voluntarily stop marketing its arsenic-based feed additive Roxarsone, but there are still several others on the market. Several environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the FDA calling for their removal from the market. In the European Union, meanwhile, arsenic-based compounds have never been approved as safe for animal feed.

Where it's banned: The European Union

#7: Bread with Potassium Bromate

You might not be aware of this, but nearly every time you eat bread in a restaurant or consume a hamburger or hotdog bun you are consuming bromide, as it is commonly used in flours. The use of potassium bromate as an additive to commercial breads and baked goods has been a huge contributor to bromide overload in Western cultures.  

Bromated flour is “enriched” with potassium bromate. Commercial baking companies claim it makes the dough more elastic and better able to stand up to bread hooks. However, Pepperidge Farm and other successful companies manage to use only unbromated flour without any of these so-called “structural problems.” Studies have linked potassium bromate to kidney and nervous system damage, thyroid problems, gastrointestinal discomfort, and cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies potassium bromate as a possible carcinogen.

Where it's banned: Canada, China and the EU

#8: Olestra/Olean

Olestra, aka Olean, created by Procter & Gamble, is a calorie- and cholesterol-free fat substitute used in fat-free snacks like chips and French fries. Three years ago, Time Magazine³ named it one of the worst 50 inventions ever, but that hasn’t stopped food companies from using it to satisfy people’s mistaken belief that a fat-free snack is a healthier snack. According to the featured article:

“Not only did a 2011 study from Purdue University conclude rats fed potato chips made with Olean gained weight, there have been several reports of adverse intestinal reactions to the fake fat including diarrhea, cramps and leaky bowels. And because it interferes with the absorption of fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K, the FDA requires these vitamins be added to any product made with Olean or olestra.”

Where it's banned: The UK and Canada

#9: Preservatives BHA and BHT

BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are commonly used preservatives that can be found in breakfast cereal, nut mixes, chewing gum, butter spread, meat, dehydrated potatoes, and beer, just to name a few. BHA is known to cause cancer in rats, and may be a cancer-causing agent in humans as well. In fact, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, National Toxicology Program's 2011 Report on Carcinogens, BHA "is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” It may also trigger allergic reactions and hyperactivity, while BHT can cause organ system toxicity.

Where it's banned: The UK doesn't allow BHA in infant foods. BHA and BHT are also banned in parts of the European Union and Japan.

#10: Milk and Dairy Products Laced with rBGH

Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is the largest selling dairy animal drug in America. RBGH is a synthetic version of natural bovine somatotropin (BST), a hormone produced in cows' pituitary glands. Monsanto developed the recombinant version from genetically engineered E. coli bacteria and markets it under the brand name "Posilac."  

It’s injected into cows to increase milk production, but it is banned in at least 30 other nations because of its dangers to human health, which include an increased risk for colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer by promoting conversion of normal tissue cells into cancerous ones. Non-organic dairy farms frequently have rBGH-injected cows that suffer at least 16 different adverse health conditions, including very high rates of mastitis that contaminate milk with pus and antibiotics.

"According to the American Cancer Society, the increased use of antibiotics to treat this type of rBGH-induced inflammation 'does promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but the extent to which these are transmitted to humans is unclear,'" the featured article states.

Many have tried to inform the public of the risks of using this hormone in dairy cows, but their attempts have been met with overwhelming opposition by the powerful dairy and pharmaceutical industries, and their government liaisons. In 1997, two Fox-affiliate investigative journalists, Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, attempted to air a program exposing the truth about the dangers of rBGH. Lawyers for Monsanto, a major advertiser with the Florida network, sent letters promising "dire consequences" if the story aired. 

Despite decades of evidence about the dangers of rBGH, the FDA still maintains it's safe for human consumption and ignores scientific evidence to the contrary. In 1999, the United Nations Safety Agency ruled unanimously not to endorse or set safety standards for rBGH milk, which has effectively resulted in an international ban on US milk.⁴ The Cancer Prevention Coalition, trying for years to get the use of rBGH by the dairy industry banned, resubmitted a petition to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, in January 2010.⁵ Although the FDA stubbornly sticks to its position that milk from rBGH-treated cows is no different than milk from untreated cows, this is just plain false and is not supported by science. The only way to avoid rBGH is to look for products labeled as “rBGH-free” or “No rBGH.”

Where it's banned: Australia, New Zealand, Israel, EU and Canada

Take Control of Your Health with REAL Food

There are many other examples where the US federal regulatory agencies have sold out to industry at the expense of your health, while other countries have chosen to embrace the precautionary principle in order to protect their citizens. If you want to avoid these questionable foods and other potentially harmful ingredients permitted in the US food supply, then ditching processed foods entirely is your best option. About 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is spent on processed foods, so there is massive room for improvement in this area for most people.  

Next, you’ll want to swap out your regular meat sources to organic, grass-fed/pasture-raised versions of beef and poultry. The same goes for dairy products and animal by-products such as eggs. 

Swapping your processed-food diet for one that focuses on fresh whole foods is a necessity if you value your health. For a step-by-step guide to make this a reality in your own life, whether you live in the US or elsewhere, simply follow the advice in my optimized nutrition plan, starting with the beginner plan first.

[-] Sources and References

• ¹ MSN.com, 10 things Americans eat that are banned elsewhere
• ² Change.org Kraft Petition
• ³ Time Magazine May 27, 2010
• ⁴ Cancer Prevention Coalition, Why is American Milk Banned in Europe?
• ⁵ Business Wire April 2, 2010

 
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/10/banned-foods.aspx?