17 replies to this topic

[misterE]

Unfortunately it is impossible to avoid all food contamination, but there are certain techniques that are shown to work in reducing your consumption of toxic chemicals. Many chemicals have been released into our environment in the last 100 years. Persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs) such as dioxins have been introduced into the environment after WWII.
These PBTs are extremely dangerous. They have been confirmed as carcinogens and endocrine-disruptors (they alter hormonal function and balances). Dioxin exposure is what is believed to cause the near extinction of the bald-eagle. Studies have consistently shown that the main source of exposure to these PBTs is through the consumption of animal-fats [1].
PBTs are extremely fat-soluble; they are highly attracted to fat. So when pesticides are sprayed on the grass or grain that the animal is eating, these PBTs are taken in on the grain and accumulate in the fat of the animal. Humans then eat the animal that has accumulated all these PBTs in its fat, and now after you eat the animal, all the PBTs are accumulated into your body-fat.
Grains and produce do contain pesticides and PBTs, but they are much less concentrated in them than foods higher on the food chain due to a phenomena known as biomagnification. The food at the top of the food chain is milk. Both human breast milk and cow milk are rich sources of PBTs.
Of all the foods contaminated: fish is the worst offender. Not only is fish the number sources of dioxins but also high levels of heavy-metals and radioactive particles. Predator fish (like tuna, halibut, bass, and shark) are the ones most concentrated in these toxins because they eat other fish that have also concentrated these chemicals in their body. Unfortunately the seas and oceans have become extremely polluted and simply put, all of this pollution collects in the fat of the fish.
So to avoid PBTs it is imperative to eat low on the food-chain, vegetarian and vegan diets, which are naturally low on the food-chain are much less concentrated in these PBTs [2]. And if you want to take an extra step and avoid even more exposure, eat low on the food-chain and eat organic.











[1] http://www.epa.gov/p...ubs/dioxins.htm

[2] Chemosphere. 1997 Mar-Apr;34(5-7):1437-47. Levels of dioxins, dibenzofurans, PCB and DDE congeners in pooled food samples collected in 1995 at supermarkets across the United States. Schecter A, Cramer P, Boggess K.

[niner]

I am shocked, shocked, that you are arguing in favor of veganism! I recommend a diet of nothing but meat and meat byproducts, consumed with a cocktail of vodka and mayonnaise at every meal, or at least at breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

[ProphetofProfit]

So the pyramid is telling me to limit my consumption of babies and young women?

Edited by ProphetofProfit, 22 October 2012 - 04:54 PM.

[misterE]

So the pyramid is telling me to limit my consumption of babies and young women?

The pyramid explains how these chemicals biomagnify up the food chain. The pesticides are sprayed (in low amounts) on the grains; the animals eat pounds and pounds of grains and accumulate these pesticides in their fat. Then humans eat pounds and pounds of meat annually, and accumulate all the toxins the animal has accumulated over its lifespan, and then when the mother breast-feeds her baby, about 50% of the mothers’ dioxin load is transferred into the offspring.

Unfortunately it is impossible to have immunity to all of these chemicals, but eating low on the food-chain and eating organic are the best ways to avoid chemical exposure. The EPA and WHO even admit that 90% of our exposure to these chemicals comes from meat, dairy, eggs and fish.

[TheKidInside]

This was a pleasure to read.

Industrial farming is one of the reasons why I personally eat more of a plant based diet (although I don't automatically recommend it to ALL my clients right off the bat).

Also, interesting to note that for the environment at large, more grains, corn and soy (all GMOd and heavy pesticide'd) is grown primarily to feed the livestock and heavily government subsidized As all problems, it is multi-fold

[Mind]

Lol Niner and PophetofProfit!

My diet is cleaner nowadays because I grow and/or catch about 80% of my food - all organic. Gardening is a good hooby for longevity because not only do you get good low-impact exercise on a regular basis, you get your own organic food, and as a bonus it is also a common hobby in the "blue zones". Of course, you need a little space to grow a decent amount. You also need some minor aptitude in caring for plants and a lot of time. If you are going to grow a lot of your own food, it will become your main hobby.

[Adaptogen]

I live four miles from a superfund site with very high dioxin levels. What can I do to prevent exposure/harm from this?

[niner]

I live four miles from a superfund site with very high dioxin levels. What can I do to prevent exposure/harm from this?

You probably don't need to do anything. Four miles is a long way, and there are only so many ways for whatever toxins are there to get to you. The most likely form of the contamination is in the soil, so it could either get to you by getting into the water table and then into your drinking water, or by being picked up by the wind and blown into your area where you might inhale it or ingest it in some way. Since it's a superfund site, the EPA is probably on top of the water issue, and the wind-blown contaminant problem is easy to deal with- just cover the soil with a layer of clay. If toxins getting blown is a real possibility, that has probably been addressed. Bottom line? Forget about it. Just don't jump the fence and have a picnic there. If you lived next door, then you'd have some reason to be concerned.

[Adaptogen]

Great, thanks a lot! So would you say that local pasture raised meats are probably okay too?

[niner]

Great, thanks a lot! So would you say that local pasture raised meats are probably okay too?

As long as the pasture isn't real close, they're probably ok. From the Wikipedia article on dioxins:

Dioxins are neither volatile nor water soluble, and therefore exposure of human beings depends on direct eating of soil or production of dust which carries the chemical. Contamination of ground water or breathing vapour of the chemical are not likely to cause a significant exposure.

So I guess you don't have to worry about drinking water. That Wikipedia article is interesting reading. The evidence of harm from dioxins in humans is actually pretty thin. It's mostly extrapolated from animals, where there is a huge amount of variation. Our exposure to dioxins has decreased by a factor of ten in the last thirty years or so. A group of fishermen who had a long term exposure to low levels of dioxins showed a decrease, rather than the expected increase in cancer.

[Mind]

I am shocked, shocked, that you are arguing in favor of veganism! I recommend a diet of nothing but meat and meat byproducts, consumed with a cocktail of vodka and mayonnaise at every meal, or at least at breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Don't forget your supper of Jimmy Neutron fries!

[misterE]

What can I do to prevent exposure/harm from this?

Well since 90% of our exposure to these chemicals comes from animal-fat, I would suggest eating less animal-fats. Eat low on the food chain! That right there will remove the largest contributor of dioxins to your body. Check your water supply and possibly get a high-quality water-filter. Wearing a protective mask on your face would help prevent too much inhalation of these chemicals... but If you are really concerned, I would move.

[misterE]

So would you say that local pasture raised meats are probably okay too?

They might be a little better, but these chemicals are literally everywhere; they're in the water, they're in the soil, they're in the air. All parts of the world have detectable amounts of dioxins, so there is no place unaffected by these nasty chemicals; which have a very long half-life and take hundreds of years to decompose. So, even if the meat is grass fed and organic, rest assure there will be much more dioxins in the meat than in the potatoes or some other grain.



Plants uptake (small amounts of) dioxins thru the soil and the water used to grow them. Plants (and the dioxins they collected) are then fed to animals for months and months, all the while these chemicals are accumulating in the fat of the animal.



Americans eat (as of 2007) 201 pounds of meat and an astronomical 33 pounds of cheese every single year. These foods are extremely high in animal-fat, and as a result, due to biomagnification, these foods are loaded with dioxins. Perhaps this helps explains why androgen levels and sperm counts have drastically fallen in the last 50 years or so.



Stay away from these chemicals: eat low on the food-chain, eat organic, drink clean water.

[BeastMODE]

So i have been a mcdougall vegan for the past 2 months and started becoming either anemic/copper deficient. Brusing started accuring more easily and small wounds started not healing very well at all. eventually i chipped a tooth for seemingly no reason at all. Im just wondering how you have not experinced any illness while on your vegan crusade. It hit me very quickly reguarless of my usage of chronometer. Ive been smashing on chicken niggets for the past few days. Stopped my intake of nuts and have had a huge craving for dark chocolate. Im going to guess it was a combo of the phytic acid and the zinc supplement i would consuming that lead to the issues but since ive taken up meat again im feeling much better and my ailments are starting to recede. I would love to continue a vegan lifestyle but it seems as though its just not going to work. i went from being a raw food vegan to a mcdougall diet and at first i felt great but after a while im guessing a depletaion of nutrients from meat hit me and then i was worse off then i had started. Just wondering if you had any suggestions for my experince.

Thanks,
Beastmode!!

[misterE]

[Next]

Lol Niner and PophetofProfit!

My diet is cleaner nowadays because I grow and/or catch about 80% of my food - all organic. Gardening is a good hooby for longevity because not only do you get good low-impact exercise on a regular basis, you get your own organic food, and as a bonus it is also a common hobby in the "blue zones". Of course, you need a little space to grow a decent amount. You also need some minor aptitude in caring for plants and a lot of time. If you are going to grow a lot of your own food, it will become your main hobby.

Mind,

I have been looking into doing this myself. I live in Illinois and thus we share a similar climate. What do you grow and what would you recommend for a beginner? I usually grow tomatoes, basil, and jalapenos so not much that can actually provide for an entire meal...

[evolvedhuman2012]

you probably wanna add gmos to the avoid list also. many had testified to sickness consuming that stuff... many sources warned against them... but i often see many i encounter who are ignorant of the risks and i'm not also in the mood to risk an argument...

[kurdishfella]

I think using too many chemicals can have a positive effect, by the shear amount of different chemicals they will eventually destroy each other thus render each other not healthy but nor unhealthy.

Edited by kurdishfella, 25 November 2022 - 01:32 AM.