Sodas are worse for your health than eating sugary junk foods and may even be worse for you than smoking. Soda is proven to be addictive and consumption has been clinically linked to increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, weight gain, kidney disease, heart disease, diabetes, depression, asthma, headaches, ear infections, joint and muscle problems, developmental delays, ADHD, heavy metal toxicity, yeast infections, urinary tract infections, candidiasis, other increased pathogenic activity, increased PMS symptoms, brain damage, liver toxicity, tooth decay, acne, mood swings, decreased fertility in men and women, and so much more!

In other words, drinking soda feeds infections, disrupts the gut microbiome and the metabolic processes, degrades cells, causes chronic illness, exacerbates virtually all chronic illness symptoms, and rapidly ages the body.

This is true for sugary sodas, diet sodas, and most energy drinks.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

The Sugar in Soda

A 20-ounce bottle of Coke contains approximately 65 grams sugar which equates to about or 16 teaspoons of sugar. There are 39 grams of sugar in a 12 oz can of Coke, which is equivalent to about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Most sodas that aren’t artificially sweetened are made with high fructose corn syrup, so the teaspoons of sugar are just equivalents.

The American Heart Association recommends that Americans consume no more than five to nine teaspoons of sugar per day.¹ We contend that nine teaspoons of processed sugar are too much. Even one is too much. We don’t recommend any refined sugar.

A 20 oz soda has 2.5 servings. A standard serving size is eight ounces. There are 100 calories in one eight ounce serving of soda. These calories are void of nutrition. There’s an easy trick to figure out how many teaspoons of sugar a food has: divide the total sugar grams by four.

A 20-ounce bottle has 65 grams of sugar; 65÷4 = 16.25 teaspoons of sugar.

A can of coke has 35 grams of sugar; 35÷4=8.75 teaspoons of sugar.

If you’re trying to stick with the American Heart Association’s recommendations of no more than nine teaspoons of sugar per day you’re pretty much done after a can of soda.

Beverages are the most significant source of added sugars in the American diet.  The average American drinks almost 42 gallons of sweetened beverages a year. That’s about 39 pounds of sugar.²

Our genes are arranged within double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres. Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from deterioration and from fusion with other chromosomes. When chromosomes replicate, the enzymes that duplicate DNA cannot continue their duplication all the way to the end of a chromosome. Consequently, when a chromosome is duplicated it is also shortened. The telomeres act as disposable buffers at the ends of chromosomes, protecting the genes from being shortened. Over time, with cell replication, the telomere ends become progressively shorter.

Telomere length is positively correlated with lifespan, and shorter telomeres are associated with aging and an increased risk of age-related diseases. Sugar-sweetened soda consumption is associated with shorter telomeres. “Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence metabolic disease development through accelerated cell aging.” ³ The good news is that telomere length has been shown to increase with positive dietary and lifestyle changes.

Recommended: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

It’s Not Just the Sugar

Plain sparkling water is slightly acidic. We don’t believe these weak acids acidify the body significantly but the carbonation may cause some damage to the teeth’s enamel even without the sugar (diet sodas have been shown to cause tooth decay). There is also a theory that the phosphate used in some carbonated beverages inhibits calcium absorption. But neither of these issues compares to the damage sugar and artificial sweeteners do to the body.

Artificial colors and flavors in many soft drinks have been shown to cause hyperactivity in children.  Yellow 5 has been associated with irritability, depression, and insomnia. Caramel coloring produces a chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI). The chemical may increase the risks of developing cancer. But, again, these risks are nearly negligible when compared to the health impacts of the sweeteners.

Soda has also shown in studies to have mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, and aluminum.^4,5,6

Diet Soda

Artificial sweeteners increase hunger and make it harder to enjoy healthier foods.

When we consume artificial sweeteners our brain thinks real sugar is coming into the body. We produce insulin to deal with the sugar that’s not there. When the sugar doesn’t arrive the insulin has nothing to store. Elevated insulin causes inflammation and depresses the immune system.⁷ Blood sugar temporarily drops but long-term use of artificial sweeteners raises blood sugar levels overall.⁸ They also alter gut bacteria, disrupt normal serotonin levels, slow metabolism, and they alter how the body responds to insulin and glucose, which can lead to glucose intolerance.^9,10

Studies suggest that drinking diet soda is associated with metabolic syndrome,¹¹ a mix of conditions that includes: high blood sugar, increased blood pressure, and ironically enough, obesity. This can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Artificial sweeteners have been tied to Type 2 diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease, and cancer.^11,13

Soda Addiction

You can definitely compare the intense pleasure I get from a cold can [of soda] to having a cigarette.” – Wouter, People Explain How Soda Addiction Is Ruining Their Life

Recommended: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Soda Facts

Soda May Cause Headaches and Migraines

Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame are listed as top migraine triggers by numerous medical authorities and migraine sufferers.” – Migraine Triggers: Artificial Sweeteners, (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

Caffeine and high fructose corn syrup are also common triggers for migraines.

Soda Messes Up Our Microbiome

Sugar (including dextrose, table sugar, and high fructose corn syrup) and artificial sweeteners have all been shown to disrupt gut bacteria, promote pathogenic activity, and increase the occurrence of yeast infections and urinary tract infections problems.

Soda and Diet Soda Are Making Us Fat

“The rise in soft drink consumption mirrors the national march toward obesity.” – Soda making Americans drink themselves fat

Obviously, sugar causes weight gain, but so does diet soda:

Several studies have proved conclusively that drinking diet soda is associated with weight gain.”

[…]

“Those who drank more than 3 of these drinks per day were more than twice as likely to become obese in the next 7 to 8 years.” – Here’s the Science That Explains Why Drinking Diet Soda Makes You Gain Weight

“And for another 8-year-long study between 1979-1988, participants who started out at a normal weight and drank an average of 21 diet beverages a week faced DOUBLE the risk of becoming overweight or obese by the end of the study, compared to people who avoided diet beverages completely.” – What drinking diet soda does to your body and brain

Soda Causes Diabetes

We all know sugar leads to diabetes and high-fructose corn syrup may even be worse (countries that use HFCS in their food supply had a 20 percent higher prevalence of diabetes than countries that did not use it ¹⁴). And artificial sweeteners fair no better.

A report published by the Washington Post stated that long-term use of foods and drinks containing artificial sweeteners are associated with a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Diet Soda and Sugary Drinks May Lead To Stroke and Dementia

High-fructose corn syrup causes cholesterol and triglycerides levels to rise. High-sugar diets lead to diabetes. High cholesterol, high triglycerides, and diabetes increase the likelihood of strokes and dementia.

But diet soda drinkers have a higher risk of stroke and dementia compared with those who consumed conventionally sweetened soda, according to research published in the American Heart Association’s journal.¹⁵

Soda Vs. Smoking

According to this study, drinking a 20-ounce soda every day ages your cells as much as habitual smoking, an astonishing 4.6 years of aging at the cellular level.

The study, published in the Journal of Public Health, analyzed data from 5,300 Americans, ages 20 to 65: those who reported daily soda slurping were found to have significantly stunted telomeres. Telomeres, the little caps at the end of your chromosomes, are essential in regulating the lifespan of your cells, and shorter telomeres have been linked to shorter life spans, diabetes, and cancer.” – Is Soda Worse Than Cigarettes?

“Research indicates daily consumption of a 20-ounce soda (though the study didn’t say over how long a time period) correlated to nearly five years of increased aging. This is comparable to the effects smoking cigarettes have on aging.” – If You Would Never Smoke a Cigarette but Still Drink Soda, Read This

Soda Makes Us Older

Soda makes us age faster. It influences metabolic disease development through accelerated cell aging. If you’re not off soda yet, hopefully now you’re ready to kick the habit. Once you remove soda from your life your body will begin to feel much better, provided you don’t replace it with another bad habit. Waking up will feel better, going to sleep will be easier, moving will feel better, thinking will be clearer, joints will hurt less, wounds will heal faster, healthy food will taste better, allergies will lessen or disappear, and everything in your body will work better.

Recommended:

• Healthy Sugar Alternatives & More
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Stop Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet
• How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes

It has been two years since the U.S. Department of Agriculture passed the regulations mandating the labeling of genetically mandated ingredients. The finalized regulations that have recently been released leave much to be desired. Just Label It, a prominent organization devoted to mandatory GMO labeling, released a statement expressing their disappointment.

Specifically, we are deeply disappointed that the final rule does not clearly require the disclosure of all genetically engineered ingredients, including highly refined sugars and oils, and new GMO techniques like CRISPR and RNAi. The rule fails to require that foods be disclosed using terms that consumers understand like ‘genetically engineered’ or ‘GMO.’ And it leaves consumers in the dark if they live in rural places with poor cell service or don’t have smart phones.”

Related: Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease – It’s More Complicated Than You Think

Labeling Options

Companies have until 2022 to implement these regulations. There are a few GMO labeling options.

Companies can use clear wording to state the presence of genetically modified ingredients on their packaging. Instead of “G.M.O.’’ and “genetically engineered,” they can say “bioengineered” or “BE.”

Companies can use an electronic digital link like a QR code that consumers can read with a cell phone app that will inform the consumer of the ingredients. Such a link must be accompanied by the statement “Scan here for more food information,” or equivalent language.

The amended Act requires that the use of an electronic or digital link to disclose BE food must be accompanied by the statement, ‘Scan here for more food information’ or equivalent language’ – deemed too hard for shoppers. Regulated entities that choose this option are required to include a statement on the package that instructs consumers on how to receive a text message.”

Companies can use a friendly-looking symbol (and the symbol can also be black and white):

Additionally, a phone number or a web address to get more information are options for smaller manufacturers or for small packages.

There is also the “text message” option:

The NPRM proposed text message as an additional disclosure option if the Secretary were to determine that shoppers would not have sufficient access to digital or electronic disclosure. Food manufacturers and retailers that commented on this option were generally supportive of this option. Thus, AMS is adopting the text message option in § 66.108. Regulated entities that choose this option are required to include a statement on the package that instructs consumers on how to receive a text message.

Related: How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

There are companies like Campbell’s, Mars, Danone, Kellogg’s, Coca-Cola, and Unilever that will be labeling GMOs, regardless of the lax new regulations. Many international corporations, especially those that do business in Europe, already provide those labels. But there are many corporations that haven’t made that same commitment.

Confusing Regulations With Loopholes

The new labeling system seems designed to frustrate all but the most bureaucratic-loving individuals. Companies have to sort through a myriad of expensive and time-consuming labeling conditions. Consumers aren’t offered a simple way to identify GMO ingredients. Some ingredients won’t even be labeled, including high fructose corn syrup, refined sugar beets, certain oils (like canola), and other refined products.

According to the labeling guidelines:

Thus, based on the available scientific evidence, refined beet and cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, degummed refined vegetable oils, and various other refined ingredients are unlikely to require BE food disclosure because the conditions of processing serve effectively to degrade or eliminate the DNA that was initially present in the raw agricultural commodity.”

While that may be true from a scientific standpoint, it only makes the new regulations problematic in the eyes of consumers. When corn is an ingredient it’s almost always a GMO, and informed shoppers will know that. How much faith will they have in non-organic products containing corn that are not marked BE? This also ignores the possibility of customers choosing non-GMO products for environmental reasons. The refined product may not have any engineered DNA left in the final product but the corn (or beets) will still have been grown with the increased pesticides and other environmentally harmful practices associated with genetically modified crops.

And there are other exclusions.

Incidental additives will not require labeling.

Such an item will only trigger disclosure when it is used as an ingredient that is included on the ingredient list, not when used as an incidental additive.”​

To-Go foods are exempt.

Salads, soups, and other ready-to-eat items prepared by grocery stores are exempt from the disclosure requirements.”​

Meat and dairy from animals fed GMOs are exempt.

The amended Act prohibits a food derived from an animal from being considered a bioengineered food solely because the animal consumed feed produced from, containing, or consisting of a bioengineered substance.”​

Companies will be allowed to use the same equipment on GMO and non-GMO crops.

Gene-edited foods like CRISPR will be exempt.

Businesses with annual sales are less than $2.5m are also exempt.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Foods like cheese or yogurt that are made with bioengineered yeasts or rennet are not exempt.

Nothing New

Sixty-four countries worldwide have managed to implement GMO labeling. But the new GMO labeling for the U.S. does the opposite of what it should do. These regulations are not convenient or clear. If anything they’ll probably make grocery shopping even harder for many people.

Sources:

• National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard – USDA
• Government lays out the rules for labeling for genetically modified foods – CNBC
• The USDA’s Final Rule for GMO Labeling Stinks – Reason
• Statement from Just Label It on USDA’s Final Rule for Nationwide Disclosures of GMO Foods – Just Label It

Most of the food safety inspections have been stopped during the federal government shutdown. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says he is trying to figure out what the most essential inspections are and continue those inspections. To achieve this the FDA is said to have to force furloughed workers to work without being paid.

There are important things we are not doing.” – FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb

FDA inspectors are not testing products for salmonella, E. coli, listeria, etc. If companies find contamination issues the FDA will still publically announce the recalls. The FDA is still checking foreign food, but there is virtually no inspections of domestic food production.

We’re doing everything we can to try to maintain our basic consumer protection role. That’s our focus.” – Gottlieb said in interview to NBC

https://twitter.com/SGottliebFDA/status/1083055700593516545

Some of FDA’s work, such as drug approvals, inspections of drug-producing facilities, and regulating tobacco products, are paid for by user fees. They’re not greatly affected by the shutdown. But much of the budget is specifically appropriated by Congress, and it’s on hold. About 7,000 of the agency’s 17,000 employees, or 41 percent of staff, are furloughed.” – NBC

Gottlieb plans to call in about 10% of the FDA’s inspection workforce to re-start the inspections of the “high-risk domestic facilities.” Gottlieb estimates that the FDA employs about 5,000 inspectors and normally does about 160 inspections a month.

It’s something we currently aren’t doing. I think it’s the right thing to do for public safety.”

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, reported that nutritious wild greens are growing abundantly in poor urban areas of San Francisco. The researchers, led by Philip Stark, foraged for edible wild greens in disadvantaged neighborhoods classified as “urban food deserts”. Six of the “weeds” were tested for nutrition content including chickweed (Stellaria media), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), dock (Rumex crispus), mallow (Malva sylvestris), nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) and oxalis (Oxalis pescaprae). Nutritionally speaking, all of these plants compare favorably to kale.

The wild greens boasted more dietary fibre, protein, vitamin A, sodium, calcium, iron and vitamin K, and provided more energy. Kale’s vitamin C content outshone the species tested, but the researchers suspect other greens such [as] wild mustard (Hirschfeldia incana) and wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) might rival it.” – Cocmos Magazine

Researchers have documented 52 different species in San Francisco, most of which are drought tolerant. Other abundant edible weeds include cat’s ear (Hypochaeris radicata), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), plantain (Plantago lanceolate), sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), wild lettuce (Lactuca ludoviciana) and wild onions (Allium spp).

Many of these edible weeds are available year-round. If you’re interested in free food including some that are much more nutritious than most store-bought produce start studying edible weeds in the videos below and also check out FallingFruit.org

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is rolling back the Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by Former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The plan to deregulate the school lunch program was first brought up in a press conference in May of 2017. Sonny Perdue, the Agriculture Secretary at that time, said the decision was not an attempt to reduce nutritional standards.

We’re not winding back any standards at all. We are just slowing down the process.”

“This is not reducing the nutritional standards whatsoever.”

Perdue said that children would be more likely to avoid nutritious foods altogether if they weren’t given more options. And if that’s not dumb enough for you, he also said:

I wouldn’t be as big as I am today without chocolate milk.”

The former Georgia governor was joined by Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts at an elementary school in Leesburg, VA. who also gave us a ridiculous quote:

Try eating a biscuit made with whole grains. It just doesn’t work!”

The Trump administration says they are trying to reduce “unnecessary regulatory burdens” across the federal government.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama initiated the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act as part of her campaign against obesity. The program made some minor improvements in school lunches but it also had some misguided rules as well, and while overall it was not making school lunches healthy, it was a pretty big step in the right direction. Now we are taking a step back to give more control to big business to dictate what our kids eat. But if any of these people knew what they were doing they would know that the fat is not the problem with chocolate milk, it’s the sugar, and the milk itself.

The Trump administration is putting politics before children’s health in ways worse than were expected.” – The Center for Science in the Public Interest

Last week the news told us to throw out your romaine lettuce. Food-safety investigators traced the recent romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak to growing fields in California, but regulators still say it’s unsafe to eat the leafy green in 10 states including New York. As a result of this, the FDA is interested in creating a new labeling standard that would require companies to show where their lettuce comes from. Let’s take a look at Food Poisoning and its link to factory farming, and then we’ll go over supplements that can kill food born pathogens.

• E. Coli

• Salmonella

• Campylobacter

• How Factory Farming Is Poisoning Our Vegetables

• How To Avoid Food Poisoning

• Supplements For Food Poisoning

E. Coli, Salmonella, and Other Foodborne Illnesses

The foodborne agents causing death the majority of deaths are Salmonella (31%), Listeria (28%), Toxoplasma (21%), Norwalklike Virus (7%), Campylobacter (6%), and STEC E. coli (4%) (Meade 1999).”

For most of these agents, the clinical case fatality rate from foodborne infection is less than 1% but note that for Listeria and Toxoplasma the clinical case fatality rate is 20%. Note also that these averages obscure strong relationships between important factors, such as age and co-morbidity, and disease risk. – John M. Gay

Not all E. coli is bad. You probably have more than one kind of E. coli in your gut right now. It’s a normal part of our healthy bacteria, and they help us digest food, amongst other things. E. coli O157:H7, on the other hand, is pathogenic and can cause bloody diarrhea, sometimes cause kidney failure, and even death.

Recommended: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

E. coli cause disease when the bacteria produces a toxin called Shiga toxin. These bacteria are called “Shiga toxin-producing E. coli,” or STEC for short. O157 is the most common STEC identified in the U.S.

When you hear news reports about outbreaks of E. coli infections, they are usually talking about E. coli O157.” – CDC

The CDC estimates that STEC causes 265,000 illness, 3,600 hospitalizations, and 30 deaths yearly in the U.S.

E. coli O157:H7 is believed to have evolved from E. coli O55:H7. That strain is also resistant to antibiotics and acidity and can be pathogenic, but O157 is more antibiotic resistant, more able to resist acidity, and more likely to make us sick. Antibiotic resistance allows the bacteria to not just survive, but to thrive in an environment where antibiotics are being administered. The reason for this is when you wipe out competing microbes, the few survivors can proliferate. Factory farming is likely to blame for much the E. coli in our lettuce, and it’s possible that the O157 variant wouldn’t even exist without factory farming.

E. Coli O157:H7 doesn’t always make us sick, but people with weaker immune systems are much more susceptible.

And there’s also the well-known bacteria, salmonella, which is said to be the most common cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. There are actually more than 2,000 different types of salmonella bacteria and these bacteria can cause several types of infection. Most often, these bacteria cause gastroenteritis, but they can also cause typhoid fever, a more serious infection.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium subtype DT104 appears to be the most likely Salmonella to give us serious trouble, It’s drug-resistant and becoming more and more widespread both in the U.S. and internationally. Again, we have factory farming to blame.

The CDC says that Salmonella is responsible for approximately 1.2 million illnesses a year in the United States, with 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths. Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. The illness typically runs for 4 to 7 days, and most recover without treatment. Stomach acid tends to destroy Salmonella. One must consume a large amount of the bacteria for an infection to develop unless people have a deficiency of stomach acid. This makes those on acid-indigestion medications more susceptible.

We also have factory farming to thank for many of the Campylobacter outbreaks. Though it’s not commonly reported, Campylobacter bacteria infects an estimated 2.4 million people yearly, making it one of the most common foodborne illnesses, according to the CDC. It’s generally mild and often unnoticed but it can occasionally kill those with weak immune systems. Campylobacter lives in the intestinal tract of birds and can be transmitted from bird to bird through common drinking water and feces contact.

Norovirus, Toxoplasmosis, and Listeria round out the five most common culprits of food poisoning in America. Noroviruses and Toxoplasmosis aren’t infections that can be tied to factory farming. Listeria doesn’t have a mutated cousin that we can blame factory farming for, but just like with other foodborne infections, poor food handling, and poor animal welfare standards do play a large part, and factory farming is often responsible for contaminating produce with Listeria.

When medical researchers at the University of Minnesota took more than 1,000 food samples from multiple retail markets, they found evidence of fecal contamination in 69% of the pork and beef and 92% of the poultry samples. Nine out of ten chicken carcasses in the store may be contaminated with fecal matter. And half of the poultry samples were contaminated with the UTI-causing E. coli bacteria.” – Dr. Michael Greger

How Factory Farming Is Poisoning Our Vegetables

We believe that raw fruits, vegetables, and herbs are absolutely critical to achieving great health, especially when one is attempting to heal from disease. But the CDC reports that around half of all foodborne illnesses are actually caused by raw produce. How does this happen?

Cattle, pig, and poultry factories dump millions of gallons of putrefying waste into massive open-air cesspools, which leak and contaminate nearby water sources used for irrigating crops. That’s one of the most common ways that a deadly fecal pathogen like Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 can end up contaminating our spinach.

Produce farmers weren’t required to test their irrigation water for pathogens like E. coli or Salmonella. But in 2011, after several high-profile disease outbreaks, Congress ordered a program requiring produce growers to begin testing their water under rules crafted by the Obama administration’s Food and Drug Administration. The program was just about to go into effect when Trump’s FDA, responding to pressure from the farm industry, delayed the water-testing rules for at least four more years. This decision was made six months ago.

On November 26th, the FDA announced that it had traced an E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce back to growing regions in parts of central and northern California. A previous outbreak was traced back to Yuma farms in California, which were voluntarily testing their water for pathogens. Most of California’s farmers are now testing for pathogens in their water sources. It’s likely that the most recent contamination comes from a farm or farms that have been testing their water.

Villaneva and Gary Waugaman said the monthly testing is not foolproof; it minimizes, but doesn’t eliminate, the risks. Also, pathogens from livestock and other animals can get into crops from wind, dust and other means.” – Dirty Farm Water Is making Us Sick

It appears that even when the water is clean, local animals may be picking up pathogens from animal farms and depositing them into the produce farms.

How To Avoid Food Poisoning

Smaller farms are usually a safer bet but by no means is this a guarantee against foodborne pathogens. We recommend getting to know your local farmers at your local farmer’s markets. Ask questions.

Take steps to avoid cross-contamination. This is likely to be one of the biggest reasons people get sick from food pathogens. For example, researchers at the University of Arizona found more fecal bacteria in household kitchens than they found swabbing the toilets. The bacteria was found in dish towels, rags, sponges, and on the sink drains and cutting boards.

Many of the experts are recommending that everyone be sure to cook all of their vegetables and herbs. This may increase safety but it ignores long-term health. We don’t have an easy answer for this issue. We advise, first and foremost, to stay healthy! A healthy gut has a wide array of bacteria that can make it very difficult for pathogens to take over. A healthy gut provides the entire body with beneficial bacteria that work as part of our immune system, which limits pathogenic activity throughout the entire body. Strong stomach acid makes it very hard for salmonella and many other pathogens to even get to the gut. You need a healthy digestive system to fend off pathogens. And the way one develops a robust, healthy digestive system is, in large part, by eating a lot of raw fresh vegetables and herbs. Therein lies the catch. It’s almost as is Big Pharma designed factory farms. That’s not the case, but it is too convenient that the government entities telling us how to eat are basically bought off by the drug companies while they make recommendations that don’t take our long-term health into consideration.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Supplements For Food Poisoning

I recommend 100% pure cranberry juice to have on hand at all times. For anything kidney related, real unadulterated cranberry juice is a godsend. Cranberry juice can help alleviate UTIs, cramping, and diarrhea.

My favorite antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, and antiviral supplement is Berberine. Many studies show how potent this herb is, and there have even been a few studies regarding its efficacy on foodborne pathogens, and it looks promising. I have taken it, personally, when I had minor food poisoning and it seemed to get rid of it quickly. I took ten of the 500mg capsules. My friend, who also ate at the same restaurant and suffered the same gastroenteritis did not opt for the naturopathic approach and did not fare so well. But, I also had a healthier gut to begin with.

Other options, which should be in every natural-based medicine cabinet, include activated charcoal (I recommend this Intestinal Detox which has activated charcoal in it), oil of oregano, and a mushroom complex (the first one on that list is my favorite). It’s also a good idea to take a probiotic before and after eating at restaurants or anytime you could catch a foodborne pathogen. Activated charcoal is also used in hospitals for food poisoning. It will attach to toxins and allow your body to flush them out easily. oil of oregano and the mushroom complex are strong antimicrobials, though Berberine is even stronger. A probiotic can help digest food and make it much more difficult for pathogens to colonize.

Takeaways

The most important thing we can do is stay healthy (or get healthy), and vote with our wallets. Get to know your local farmer’s markets, get to know the farmers, and START GROWING YOUR OWN FOOD! If you don’t have any space for a garden, start growing sprouts.

Sources:

• Is it safe to eat romaine lettuce yet? Here are latest details about E. coli outbreak – lohud.
• CDC Acknowledges Role of Farms in Antibiotic Resistance – Food Safety news
• Epidemic Salmonella typhimurium DT 104—a truly international multiresistant clone – Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
• A beef-associated outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 in The Netherlands with implications for national and international policy – NCBI
• Campylobacter, E.Coli and Salmonella – Heal Ed
• You Won’t Believe How Much Poultry Farm Waste is Allowed in the Chesapeake – Without Penalty – One Green Planet
• Chickens – Farm Sanctuary
• Reduction of fecal coliform, coliform and heterotrophic plate count bacteria in the household kitchen and bathroom by disinfection with hypochlorite cleaners – NCBI
• Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs – Federal Registry
• Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption; Extension of Compliance Dates for Subpart E – Federal Registry
• 5 people died from eating lettuce, but Trump’s FDA still won’t make farms test water for bacteria – Real News

Glyphosate isn’t the only harmful herbicide in the water supply. An investigation from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that atrazine, a Syngenta product used on corn, sugarcane, and lawns, is in the tap water of over 30 million people in the U.S. 76 millions pounds of atrazine were sprayed in 2014, making it the second most commonly used herbicide (after glyphosate) in the United States. Several studies have identified the chemical as an endocrine disruptor, and it has also been linked to cancer and birth defects. The new EWG study is only a snapshot of how hard it is to avoid atrazine.

EWG’s Tap Water Database, which aggregates water testing data from utilities nationwide, shows that nearly 30 million Americans in 28 states have some level of atrazine in their tap water. Environmental Protection Agency data for 2017 show late-spring and early-summer spikes of atrazine in drinking water commonly are three to seven times higher than the federal legal limit, but these exceedances are not reported to people in the affected communities…”

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate

Previous Litigation and Discovery

Syngenta is aware of the problems with atrazine and water contamination. In 2012, Syngenta was sued by 23 cities and towns in the Midwest. These municipalities alleged that Syngenta knew about but didn’t inform their communities about atrazine and its potential for groundwater contamination. Syngenta settled that class-action suit for 105 million dollars, enough to properly filter the atrazine from the towns water sources. The company did not admit any fault and maintains that atrazine is safe.

Related: Why Romaine Lettuce and Spinach Keep Trying To Kill Us, and What We Can Do About It

Even if that is the case, many areas where the herbicide is used (the most commonly treated crop is corn) are still drinking far more than the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended maximum amount of 3.4 parts per billion of atrazine in surface water. Atrazine doesn’t break down readily in water. According to the chemical’s toxicological profile issued by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,

Atrazine tends to persist in surface and groundwater, with a moderate tendency to bind to sediments. Slow or no biodegradation occurs in surface water or groundwater environments, respectively…Depending on the availability of sunlight, oxygen, microorganisms, and plants, the half-life of atrazine in water tends to be longer than 6 months; in some cases, no degradation of atrazine has been observed in aquatic systems.”

There are some serious issues linked to atrazine and many questions surround its health and environmental implications.

Municipalities in states like Nebraska and Wisconsin shut down wells during peak atrazine season, typically in the spring. Multiple studies have linked it to disrupted growth, behavior, immune function, and gonadal development in fish and amphibians. A study from the University of Kentucky found a high likelihood of a connection between atrazine exposure and premature births. The Centers for Disease Control lists congestion of heart, lungs, and kidneys, low blood pressure, muscle spasms, weight loss, and damage to adrenal glands as potential side effects of atrazine exposure above the maximum contaminant level for short periods of time. Use of the herbicide was banned in the European Union in 2004.

Related: What’s the Best Water for Detoxifying and For Drinking?

Atrazine Needs to Be Examined

Atrazine, while effective at killing, weeds, has not been definitively proven to be safe for the environment or public health. Syngenta has thrown millions at the EPA and succeeded in having it declared otherwise. Yet the company was unable to prove the same thing to the European Union in 2004.

This news makes me sad for the farmers. To make a profit on the nutritionally-deficient crops they grow, they spray them in large quantities of harmful chemicals that then leach into their water supply. Make a living to live what kind of life?

Sources:

• A Hormone-Disrupting Weed Killer May Be In Your Tap Water. Here’s What to Do About It – Environmental Working Group
• A Valuable Reputation – The New Yorker
• Atrazine – Living History Farm
• ‘Strict’ pesticide rules fail to erase threat to Wisconsin’s drinking water – Channel 3000
• Atrazine Exposure in Public Drinking Water and Preterm Birth – NCBI
• Potential for Human Exposure – ATSDR
• Community Water – CDC.gov