As consumers have grown increasingly worried about the potential harm from BPA in plastic water bottles and canned food, food manufacturers have mounted a massive campaign aimed at convincing us that we're over-reacting. See for example this article from the industry-funded International Food and Information Council: Science and the BPA Controversy
But it's getting harder and harder to claim that consumers have nothing to fear from "normal" BPA exposure. New data out of Italy links BPA from foods to changes in testosterone levels. These are not lab rats being given huge doses of BPA. These are humans, simply going about their normal lives and eating their usual diet.
The study also found that BPA residues in the Italian men are slightly
higher than those found in corresponding American populations. But
given that canned tomatoes are one of the foods with the highest BPA
levels, perhaps this just reflects a higher consumption of canned
tomato products.
Unfortunately, the industry is doing more than
spinning the bad news to the public. They're also engaged in serious
lobbying to weaken regulations that would improve safety but cost them
money. See "Industry opposes BPA ban (of course)"
What can you do? See these tips for Steering Clear of BPA and BPA: Which foods are safe?
And to give your entire diet a cancer-beating overhaul, see this terrific Diet and Cancer Prevention slideshow on Self.com
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The size and scope of the current salmonella-tainted egg recall is overwhelming. But the detail that staggers me is that the half billion eggs involved all came from just two farms: Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa
See Also: Don't Panic: What You Need to Know About the Recent Egg Recall
The FDA is still investigating to determine what caused the outbreak. It may have been contaminated feed, poor hygiene practices, or just plain bad luck. But look at what happens when you have a single "farm" distributing hundreds of millions of eggs across dozens of states.
As anyone who has seen the movie Food, Inc., will vividly recall, these massive chicken
factories are a nightmare for the chickens, the workers, and the
environment. I can't tell you how glad I am that I can buy eggs from a local farmer,
whose chickens run in front of my car when I stop to pick up eggs.
Find your local egg producers at LocalHarvest.com
It's
not a guarantee that the eggs are salmonella free. Salmonella
contamination can happen on small farms. It can happen on clean farms.
It can happen on organic farms. But if farmers were running human-scale
(rather than factory scale) operations, the impact of an outbreak would
be small and quickly contained.
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How ironic. Iodized salt was introduced in the 1920s as a way to prevent iodine deficiency. It worked! But now, the American Thyroid Association is worried that if the sodium police get their way and people really start cutting back on salt, thyroid problems and birth defects could be an unintended consequence.
Your body needs iodine in order to produce thyroid hormone. Iodine deficiency is especially dangerous (and especially common) during pregnancy, when it can cause problems with the infant's neural development and lead to mental retardation. Some researchers are investigating whether low iodine levels during pregnancy might increase the risk of ADHD.
Sodium is intake up but iodine intake is down
Iodized salt is the primary source of iodine in the American diet. But even though average salt consumption is twice the recommended level, iodine intake has actually declined about 50% over the last 30 years. How can that be? Well, we used to cook at home, using iodized salt. Today, most of the salt we consume comes from packaged and processed foods--which are not necessarily made with iodized salt.
As long as we're bossing around the food industry and requiring them to reduce the sodium in their products, perhaps we ought to require them to use iodized salt.
Alternate sources of iodine
In the meantime, if you don't use iodized salt at home (or you don't cook much), be sure you have an alternate source of iodine. Seafood and edible seaweeds, such as wakame, are particularly rich
in iodine. You also get some iodine from vegetables, depending on the
iodine content of the soil in which it is grown. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, iodine is added to feed for dairy cows in the U.S., which makes dairy products a fairly good source of iodine.
Even though iodine intake has declined, most people are still getting the recommended amount. But if you are pregnant (or planning on it) a multivitamin with the daily recommended amount of iodine (150 mcg) would be a good back-up.
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