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Organic Insider

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Study Links Pesticides in Water to Food Allergies

Just the other week, I wrote about a California farming community that MUST buy bottled water because the tap water is so polluted from pesticides and other contaminants.

Well, the news about the horrid quality of our drinking water continues.

Trying to figure out why food allergies have exploded over the past 20 years, a team of researchers published a study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology which said that there is a relationship between the use of a group of pesticides called dichlorophenols and food allergies.

TIME Magazine explained that the study’s participants who had high levels of dichlorophenols in their bodies were 80% more likely to have food sensitivity than those with lower levels, and the authors believe the exposure to the chemicals may be contributing to a hyper-sensitive immune system that recognizes even common food proteins as foreign.

What these dichlorophenols are doing is killing bacteria in the water, and our bodies do not build up resistance to this and other bacteria, which are considered foreign invaders.

Hence, when these and other organisms enter our bodies, including some food, our immune system is not accustomed to them, treats them as foreign invaders, and has an allergic reaction to them. (And, yes, GMOs are foreign invaders and are not found in nature.)

Some doctors in TIME Magazine have concluded that our lack of exposure to bacteria in urban settings have made our immune systems weaker (people who live on farms or in rural areas have greater exposure to bacteria and apparently have stronger immune systems) and thus we are more likely to have food allergies.

MY TAKE

These dichlorophenols, which are also used to “purify” (ruin) our drinking water, are pesticides that should not be in our bodies, and the fact that they have a relationship with food allergies doesn’t surprise me in the least.

Yet, our water supply is full of these and many other poisonous chemicals.

According to the EPA, we use about 1.1 billion pounds of chemicals per year, 80% of which are used for agricultural purposes.

And what impact has this had on the quality of our public water supply?

With information collected by the USDA Data Pesticide Program, The Pesticide Action Network reports that 59 different pesticide residues have been found in our water supply including:

– 9 known or probable carcinogens

– 20 suspected hormone disruptors

– 7 neurotoxins

– 14 developmental or reproductive toxins

And, the biggest culprit of them all? Atrazine.

According to 2008 data from the USDA Pesticide Data Program, Atrazine, a chemical that is banned in Europe but fully approved in the U.S., has been found in 94% of of our water supply.

The health effects of Atrazine include the following:

– The Pesticide Action Network reports that it has been linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, and cancer.

– The President’s Cancer Panel reported that (PDF) Atrazine “has been shown to affect mammary gland development in animal studies with some findings suggesting multigenerational effects.”

– A new study in Environmental Science reported that women who live in agricultural communities in Illinois experience much great menstrual cycle irregularities than women who live in Vermont, an area where Atrazine is sparingly used.

(Watch this shocking video below called “How Safe is Atrazine?”)

Just as we are sold on the false notion that toxic chemicals are safe when sprayed on our food supply, we are equally sold on the false notion that toxic chemicals are safe when used in our water supply.

The toxicity of our drinking water is a very serious matter, and the fact that it garners no serious discussion among the general public is incomprehensible. Hopefully, this study will get people talking a little bit more.

Additionally, while many people consider GMOs as the most likely reason for the rise in food allergies, we can now add toxic chemicals to that list of possible culprits.

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Living Maxwell

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All Organic Eggs are NOT the Same – Here’s How to Buy the Best

If you walk into the supermarket and are confused about which organic eggs to buy, it is important to understand a few things.

First, not all organic eggs are the same. In fact, there are massive differences in organic eggs, particularly in regards to how the birds were raised.

Second, don’t select a carton of organic eggs simply because it has the nicest, most attractive packaging. That doesn’t tell the whole story.

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Living Maxwell

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Another Reason to Eat Organic – Lower Your Risk of Cancer by Up to 25%

In the latest President’s Cancer Panel report, it was found that 41% of Americans are going to get cancer and 21% of Americans are going to die from cancer.

What makes these numbers even more sobering is that this data was from a decade ago, and I have heard doctors say that they now believe a minimum of 50% of the population will get cancer at some point in their lives.

Given how deeply cancer has permeated our society, it would seem to make sense that people should be doing whatever they can to avoid contracting this deadly disease.

And according to a recent study out of France, as reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, eating as much organic food as possible is an important strategy to accomplish this.

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Organic Insider

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3 Reasons to Eat Organic Food for Your Health – Glyphosate, Atrazine, Chlorpyrifos

If you haven’t noticed by now, organic is under constant attack in the media for one simple reason — healthy, organic food has become a serious threat to the business model of Big Ag and their chemical-laden GMOs.

That is why you will see pieces such as the recent Wall Street Journal op-ed The Organic Industry is Lying to You  and The Boston Globe’s article on agriculture which tells you to “learn to love” GMOs.

While critics will often say that organic is a waste of money and that the nutritional differences between organic and conventional are negligible, here are three reasons why you should completely dismiss their words — glyphosate, atrazine and chlorpyrifos.

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