Sunday, June 5, 2011

Peanut Clinical Trial & Heathy Eating...Why I Blog About Both!

In my last post, I shared a Top 10 list of reasons why GMO food should be labeled.  Bottom line...so that we, the consumer, can make educated decisions on the type of foods we want to purchase to feed our families. I hope you all have had a chance to read through the list. I've been blogging for months now about the hazards of eating GMO foods, and if I haven't been convincing enough, hopefully that last post helped tip the scales in my favor.

It also helps explain why I continue to mix subjects in my blog. I've often wondered if I should have separate blogs. One for healthy eating/living and another for our journey in the peanut clinical trial. However, when I come across the link between the two, for instance:

There’s already plenty of evidence that the Bt-toxin produced in GM corn and cotton plants is toxic to humans and mammals and triggers immune system responses. The fact that it flows through our blood supply, and that is passes through the placenta into fetuses, may help explain the rise in many disorders in the US since Bt crop varieties were first introduced in 1996.

In government-sponsored research in Italy, mice fed Monsanto’s Bt corn showed a wide range of immune responses. Their elevated IgE and IgG antibodies, for example, are typically associated with allergies and infections. The mice had an increase in cytokines, which are associated with “allergic and inflammatory responses.” The specific cytokines (interleukins) that were elevated are also higher in humans who suffer from a wide range of disorders, from arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, to MS and cancer.


Or this:

The young mice in the study also had elevated T cells (gamma delta), which are increased in people with asthma, and in children with food allergies, juvenile arthritis, and connective tissue diseases. The Bt corn that was fed to these mice, MON 810, produced the same Bt-toxin that was found in the blood of women and fetuses.

When rats were fed another of Monsanto’s Bt corn varieties called MON 863, their immune systems were also activated, showing higher numbers of basophils, lymphocytes, and white blood cells. These can indicate possible allergies, infections, toxins, and various disease states including cancer. There were also signs of toxicity in the liver and kidneys.

I think that I'm on the right track in keeping you guys up to date with what's going on in the world of food allergies and how the food we eat might very well be the root cause of those food allergies.

By the way, I took both of those excerpts from this article, Dangerous Toxins from Genetically Modified Plants Found in Women and Fetuses, written by Jeffrey Smith and published on the Institute of Responsible Technology website.  There's a lot of good information in the article, and I encourage you to read it in it's entirety.  In the meantime, I'll continue to research and report on both.

3 comments:

Laura said...

Have you noticed how resistant people (even mom's) are to hearing about this stuff? It's like they feel "ignorance is bliss". I've posted a few things on facebook and gotten no responses what-so-ever. I want everybody to read "The Unhealthy truth" but no one commented. We are being fed these toxins because WE are allowing it and WE are paying for it and eating it. Frustrating. very very.

Lisa said...

Yes. I don't agree with everything in The Unhealthy Truth, but I do think that we are getting the run-around from the FDA and food companies. I have just started buying local as much as possible and doing my part locally and trying to educate myself first and foremost.

Mom with a Mission said...

Thanks for your comments. I find in talking with people there is little middle ground on the subject. Either it's the "ignorance is bliss" mentality that Laura mentioned or the person has done their research and feel "fervently" about GMO foods like amiyawilliams mentions. Personally, I can get so worked up about it, I can hardly contain my frustrations. I'm a real killjoy to those that would rather bury their head and not think about it. I can just see those eyes rolling now.