More Food Safety Issues

The great irony of human progress: we can send monkeys into orbit, but we still can't drink the water. Bottled water has been consumer's drink of choice for decades despite its high price and the protests of municipal water supplies that its safe to drink the water. But, consumers remain skeptical. And that's probably a good thing. According to a recent report in Environmental Health News, the chromium levels in the drinking water may lead to cancer. But they're waiting for conclusive results on exactly how much is sure to give you cancer before they do anything about it.

And the tragic part is, its no surprise. At least a few times a year, you find out that something you enjoy pretty frequently is probably going to kill you. The aspartame in diet Coke gives you Alzheimer's. The peanut butter that you had on your sandwich last week? Probably had salmonella in it. Think fish is safe? Read this article about ciguatera, the nearly undetectable and indestructible toxin that's probably lurking in it.

And that's just the stuff that's probably going to kill you. What about the pesticides that are sprayed on our foods? The effects aren't as dramatic as salmonella or ciguatera, but they are especially dangerous during fetal development and childhood. Plus, the long term effects of ingesting most pesticides just hasn't been studied (neither was DDT for a long while). Much less the conglomerate effect of ingesting the cocktail of pesticides that are found on these fruits and vegetables:

Strawberries. They grow close to the ground which means that they absorb more pesticides than other fruits. And the Organic Trade Association allows more than 300 pesticides to be used on them. Plus, they're also subject to absorb chemicals in the soil. If you live in the right climate, you're better off growing your own.

Peaches. Theses tasty fruits contain more pesticides than even strawberries. Lots of them are needed just to grow them. Plus, their skin is more absorbent than most fruits. As a matter of fact, their pesticide content is so high that the dangers of ingesting them outweigh their health benefits.

Apples. Because they are grown in the mid-west where they don't belong they have no natural defenses against pests. So they are treated with lots of pesticides that seep into the peel. You can peel them, but you'll lose a lot of their natural flavor and health benefits in the process.

Sweet Bell Peppers. Yikes. A sample of one of these contained 64 different types of pesticides. Enough said.

The list goes on and on. Check out the guide at www.foodnews.org to know which produce to look out for and which ones are ok. But fresh food and water aren't the only things that you have to look out for.

Recent studies have just shown the detrimental effects of Red Bull, everyone's favorite energy drink. According to a study at the Cardiovascular Research Centre in Australia, it makes your blood "sticky". Like patients who have cardiovascular disease. Which leads them to believe that it could raise your risk for stroke or other cardiovascular problems. Great. Another thing I really love.