Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Arsenic Consuption in our Water and Apple Juice

Arsenic is a semi-metal element that is odorless and tasteless. It was once a popular poison for assassins and unhappy widows. There has been a lot of debate lately on how harmful is the little bits of arsenic we get in water and apple juice. According to the Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) that there are non-cancer effects which includes "thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting; diarrhea; numbness in hands and feet; partial paralysis; and blindness." But Arsenic has also been linked to several including bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver and prostate.
I am not sure about you but reading this makes me concern. Then why are we letting juice companies tell us that the little bits of arsenic we are feeding not just ourselves but also our children is okay? It's not. In an interview with Fox News, Michael Taylor (FDA's deputy commissioner for foods) said "We continue to think that apple juice is generally safe based on the fact that the vast majority of samples are very low. But we want to minimize these exposures as much as possible."
Currently the FDA uses 23 parts per billion as a guide to judge whether apple juice is contaminated. Consumer Reports published an article recently about arsenic in apple juice. They tested several popular brands of apple juice to find there were higher levels of arsenic. "Five samples of apple juice and four of grape juice had total arsenic levels exceeding the 10 ppb federal limit for bottled and drinking water. Levels in the apple juices ranged from 1.1 to 13.9 ppb, and grape-juice levels were even higher, 5.9 to 24.7 ppb. Most of the total arsenic in our samples was inorganic, our tests showed." Consumer groups also stated that the FDA's level is too high and isn't enforced with enough urgency.
Not too long ago popular TV Doctor, Dr. Oz did a program that did similar testings. He was criticized and the FDA responded saying that most of the arsenic were organic so they were harmless. Since then the FDA now has new research that says that arsenic was really inorganic and that makes them harmful now. Doesn't this make you concerned? Sometimes I question if the FDA is concerned about the people or are they concerned about making the big corporations happy?

Free Workshop on Water Detox hosted by Dr. Trent Iverson at Bandana Chiropractic and Wellness Center at 11:15 AM. Call 651-354-8343 to reserve a seat today.

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