Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Almonds may be dangerous to your health

It seems strange that a cancer causing chemical is being sprayed on a
cancer fighting food, but that's what the U.S. Department of
Agriculture has ordered on all almonds beginning September 1, 2007.

The order requires almonds be pasteurized by quick-steaming or
spraying with propylene oxide (PPO), a known carcinogen. In fact PPO
is so bad that the National Hot Rod and American Motorcycle Racing
Associations have banned its use, because it is so dangerous.

Even after the process, growers can label their almonds as "raw." Raw
almonds are normally rich in flavonoids, which are known for their
antioxidant activity. Antioxidants have been proven to fight against
cancer and heart disease.
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/2006/54/i14/abs/jf0603937.html

Dr. Robert Verkerk of the Health Freedom Foundation said that "even
with a few seconds exposure to steam, some of the vitamins and enzymes
will be degraded from their original state. Obviously this happens
every time we cook foods, but it does mean that a truly raw nut will
be likely to have a slightly different profile to one which is steam
pasteurized."
http://www.healthfreedom.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=275&Itemid=

Almonds sprayed with PPO can't be exported to the European Union.

Carbon dioxide treatment that is increasingly used in grain may be
less damaging than steam.
http://asae.frymulti.com/abstract.asp?aid=23553&t=2.

If you are in the United States, you can protest this action by
expressing your opposition to your Congressman. Go to
http://www.house.gov/ to find your Congressman.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

FDA Guidance about Natural Health Care Remedies

The FDA is issuing a "Guidance" that implies that natural health care products and alternative therapies can be "Medicine." This creates the risk that any non-physician who uses them could be held to be practicing medicine without a license. These practices could be considered "Medicine" and any products intended for such use could be considered untested drugs and therefore could be forbidden.

The FDA is accepting comments about this "Guidance" until May 29, 2007. You can make comments about "Docket: 2006D-0480 - Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration" by going to: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/comments/commentdocket.cfm

This is the comment I sent to the FDA in regards to Docket 2006D-0480: "I assert my fundamental right to control my own health and health care. I want Complementary and Alternative Modalities ("CAM") to be freely available and not described under FDA guidelines as medicine. The FDA should not be involved nor regulate non-drug alternatives to health care. No effort should be made to classify alternative health care products as drugs. I favor a market approach to regulate their sale. Prescriptions should never be required."

More information about this proposal is available at HealthFreedomUSA.org: http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc