Modern Poison: Are Genetically Modified Foods Bad?
SignatureMD believes that health is your first wealth, and your diet is one of the most important elements to preserve and promote this, next to what the genetic cards have dealt you in this life.
Our doctors counsel families on a multitude of subjects, and invariably all roads lead back to what a person eats, and how they move their bodies and how stress is managed and happiness cultivated to create the best environment for each person to prosper.
Concierge care is really personalized management, and in its delivery, creates the optimal situation for you to save money and not worry about missing benchmark tests to make sure if anything is awry, your doctor is on top of it immediately. It’s a rejigging of healthcare dollars spent that actually saves you money and gives you peace of mind.
Knowledge is power. There is a real threat in the food banks in the USA, as GMO, or genetically modified foods are now more common than ever.
Seed Company Pioneer Hi-Bred added a gene from Brazil nuts to soybeans to boost the nutrition in soy. These “improved” soybeans were found to trigger anaphylaxis and other allergic responses in humans with a Brazil nut allergy. The project ended in the 1990s.
Then In 1997, The Scottish Crop Research Institute published (sources below) disturbing research showing that ladybugs laid fewer eggs when they fed on aphids that had eaten genetically modified potatoes, and their life expectancy was cut in half. The ladybugs did not eat the potatoes, but had fed on another organism that had, and suffered the ill effects.
GMO engineers may wish to make pest-resistant crops, increase yields, or make fruits firmer so they break down more slowly. Everything comes at a price.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service (sources below), in 2011 approximately 81 to 86 percent of all of the planted acres of corn in the country were genetically modified, as well as 87 to 90 percent of all soybean planted acres.
Other foods that are either directly GM or affected by genetic modification include rice, soybeans, honey, sugar cane, canola, tomatoes, potatoes, flax, papayas, summer squash, animal proteins, vegetable oils, and dairy products. Even many hard cheeses are made with genetically created rennet.
The worst of it is that we may not know what we are eating is modified, as the labeling of genetically modified foods is not currently required by law in the United States unless they contain elements of a highly allergenic food like peanuts.
According to the University of Florida, as much as 60 to 70 percent of consumable products in American food stores contain genetically modified ingredients.
Monsanto, the agricultural biotechnology behemoth is responsible for the Roundup Ready seed, these genetically engineered seeds that are meant to prep crops for another Monsanto product, Roundup Herbicide.
Monsanto promised farmers that use these Round Up Ready seeds that they will not need to till soil to control weeds, but rather only need to spray crops with the company’s pesticide. The company claims increased yields and reduced costs associated with crops. This trickery with nature has led to herbicide-resistant super-weeds. To cure this new problem, Monsanto suggests using more herbicide, which will ultimately compound the issue and lead to more toxic residues of herbicides in our food supply.
Roundup also has been linked to a worldwide decimation of frogs, which naturally control pests without chemicals.
Companies like Monsanto reportedly are buying up the world’s supply of seeds for crops like corn, potatoes, and soybeans. Monsanto is patenting the seeds and suing farmers for piracy if they save them from their harvest to replant the following year. So the farmers must purchase seeds every year, a practice that raises the price to farm such crops. These types of practices are crimping the business of the conscientious small farmer, who just can’t afford to keep up with the huge industrial farming operations. Big Agra affects our health and drives down entrepreneurial small farmers trying to sell a healthy product.
Potential health risks of GM crops include higher levels of pesticides in foods and higher concentrations of allergens.
According to studies (sourced below) Chinese scientists recently found small pieces of rice RNA in the tissues of people who consumed genetically modified rice.
In 2003, a study showed that GM soy altered digestive enzymes in mice.
SignatureMD concierge doctors urge patients to be aware of where their food is sourced from, and avoid canned, bagged and boxed packaged processed foods, and strive for farmer’s Market produce that is certified organic. Also to buy organic grains from crops less likely to be GM, such as quinoa and millet.
A vegan/vegetarian life is proven healthier for all, as it is virtually impossible to know what ranchers feed their livestock unless you know for sure the beef is grass fed, not corn fed.
Better yet, they encourage families fortunate to have a bit of land to plant their annual vegetable gardens and make it part of a family activity. The results are rewarding for the mind and the body.
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Source(s)
I. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199603143341103
II. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/291105.stm
III. http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/biotechcrops/extentofadoptiontable3.htm
IV. http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/gm-foods.php
V. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs084
VI. http://www.newscientist.com/geneticallymodified-superweeds-not-uncommon.html
VII. http://www.sourcewatch.org/Monsanto_and_the_Roundup_Ready_Controversy
VIII. http://www.nytimes.com/saving-seeds-subjects-farmers-to-suits-over-patent.html
IX. http://www.nature.com/cr/journal/v22/n1/full/cr2011158a.html
X. http://www.arizonaadvancedmedicine.com/articles/genetically_modified_foods.html
XI. http://pubresreg.org/index.php?id=68&option=com_content&task=view
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