Friday, September 21, 2012

Popcorn Lung

popcorn 235x147 Man Sues over Microwave Popcorn Lung Disease, Wins   A Colorado man won $7.2 million in damages after a federal court determined that his chronic lung condition was caused by a chemical used in microwave popcorn.

The chemical in question, diacetyl, is a natural byproduct of fermentation and is added to many products—in this case popcorn—to add a buttery flavor. What the popcorn packaging never says is that many workers across the United States have been suing in courts since 2004 for the chemical’s link to an obstructive lung disease commonly known as popcorn lung.

Popcorn Lung - Numerous Cases

Wayne Watson, 59, is not the first to win suits in such seemingly bizarre cases. His attorney, Kenneth McClain, has represented many microwave popcorn and flavoring workers, and Dr. Cecile Rose—a witness in Watson’s case and a physician at National Jewish Health—had consulted with the flavorings industry and had found other workers with similar “popcorn lung” conditions.

Meanwhile, jurors held Glister-Mary Lee Corporation (the private-labeling manufacturer of popcorn) in Chester, Illinois liable for 80 percent of the $7,217,961 damages. Supermarket chain King Soopers and parent Kroger Co., were held liable for the remaining 20 percent. The defendants’ attorney claimed that Watson’s history of cleaning carpets with harmful chemicals was to blame for his condition, but the same cannot be said of the other plaintiffs currently in federal court in Iowa and state court in New York.

But aside from the chemical in the microwave popcorn, there is another health issue to consider. No one considers the implications of using a microwave, but using the device could have numerous negative effects on your health. Microwave dangers could leave your food completely void of nutritional value and even cause the food to be health-hazardous.

Diacetyl is found in many products, including but not limited to:
  • Alcohol beverages
  • Milk products
  • Mosquito repellant
  • Margarine
  • Oil-based food products
According to a University of Minnesota in Minneapolis study, diacetyl is also linked to Alzheimer’s plaque build-up by disrupting electrical and chemical signals in the brain.

Additional Sources:
Chicago Tribune
CBS News
Natural News

Monday, September 10, 2012

WHEAT - Perfect Chronic POISON

Modern wheat is a "perfect, chronic poison," according to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who has published a book all about the world's most popular grain.

Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn't the wheat your grandma had: "It's an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the '60s and '70s," he said on "CBS This Morning." "This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there's a new protein in this thing called gliadin. It's not gluten. I'm not addressing people with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease. I'm talking about everybody else because everybody else is susceptible to the gliadin protein that is an opiate. This thing binds into the opiate receptors in your brain and in most people stimulates appetite, such that we consume 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year."




(CBS News) Modern wheat is a "perfect, chronic poison," according to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who has published a book all about the world's most popular grain.

Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn't the wheat your grandma had: "It's an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the '60s and '70s," he said on "CBS This Morning." "This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there's a new protein in this thing called gliadin. It's not gluten. I'm not addressing people with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease. I'm talking about everybody else because everybody else is susceptible to the gliadin protein that is an opiate. This thing binds into the opiate receptors in your brain and in most people stimulates appetite, such that we consume 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year."

Asked if the farming industry could change back to the grain it formerly produced, Davis said it could, but it would not be economically feasible because it yields less per acre. However, Davis said a movement has begun with people turning away from wheat - and dropping substantial weight.
"If three people lost eight pounds, big deal," he said. "But we're seeing hundreds of thousands of people losing 30, 80, 150 pounds. Diabetics become no longer diabetic; people with arthritis having dramatic relief. People losing leg swelling, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and on and on every day."

To avoid these wheat-oriented products, Davis suggests eating "real food," such as avocados, olives, olive oil, meats, and vegetables. "(It's) the stuff that is least likely to have been changed by agribusiness," he said. "Certainly not grains. When I say grains, of course, over 90 percent of all grains we eat will be wheat, it's not barley... or flax. It's going to be wheat.

"It's really a wheat issue."

Some health resources, such as the Mayo Clinic, advocate a more balanced diet that does include wheat. But Davis said on "CTM" they're just offering a poor alternative.

"All that literature says is to replace something bad, white enriched products with something less bad, whole grains, and there's an apparent health benefit - 'Let's eat a whole bunch of less bad things.' So I take...unfiltered cigarettes and replace with Salem filtered cigarettes, you should smoke the Salems. That's the logic of nutrition, it's a deeply flawed logic. What if I take it to the next level, and we say, 'Let's eliminate all grains,' what happens then?

"That's when you see, not improvements in health, that's when you see transformations in health."

Watch Davis' full interview in the video above.
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