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Feb / March 2007
LOVE
by Barbara Davies, ND
Astrology and Alchemy
by Marlyna Los
GREEN CLIPPINGS
by Canadian Organic Growers
The Goji Berry
Editorial
Relaxation Yoga
by Sheri Kauhausen
Hidden Additives in Plain View
by Brian Cox
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Hidden Additives in Plain View
by Brian Cox
SURVIVING CANCER AND CHEMO
After his colon operation in 2002 and six months punishment with chemotherapy, Brian Cox learned that according to statistics his chances of being alive and free of any cancer in five years was 50% - and that if the cancer did return to other areas of his body that it would likely not be curable.
Because the medical profession was unable to provide any advice on how to keep in the right half of the statistics other than to “eat healthfully”, he did his own research, formulated a program based on diet, exercise, meditation and self-healing and published/documented this in a 58 page e-book entitled Cancer - Surviving Against the Odds, which can be downloaded free from his website:
www.survivingcancerandchemo.com. (This is not a medical site; no guidance is given on the direction you should take in your treatment - it is entirely up to you and your care team, nor is it a commercial site.) Brian Cox doesn’t sell anything, nor receives any financial or other rewards from any organisation - his e-book merely shares excellent information!
He believes that food additives have a direct affect on his body’s immune system and in the excerpt below he concentrates on his findings. (Brian Cox is in Australia, so some of the brands may be unknown here.)
To help my immune system work effectively and attack any cancer cells that may be in my body, I decided to do every thing I could to keep away from prescription drugs by adopting a sensible diet and this action is what forms the basis of my cancer survival program.
In this section I have looked only at two of the factors which could be contributing to the increasing incidence of cancer in Western civilization - diet and the significant increase in the use of prescription drugs. I believe one additional issue needs to be considered and that is the impact food additives are having on the issue, particularly in regard to the health of children in the community.
Julie Eady (in Australia) has written a comprehensive book on the subject Additive Alert: Your Guide to Safer Shopping which makes compelling reading. As an example, here is what she has to say about artificial colours:
“Many people are aware of the link between well known artificial colours and hyperactivity, but far fewer people are aware that many colours widely used in our foods today are proven or suspected carcinogens (cancer causing). As with MSG and Aspartame, the use of colours in our foods seems to be growing all the time and artificial colours are now found in an amazing array of foods that we eat every day. Many people who try to avoid the most vibrant artificial colours would be shocked to find out how many colours they are unwittingly consuming every day in seemingly natural, uncoloured foods. Some chocolate biscuits are a good example. Most of us would assume that biscuits they are made of chocolate by the use of cocoa, but in fact that lovely chocolate coating is a mixture of Tartrazine (102), Sunset Yellow (110), Allura Red (129), Brilliant Blue (133), and Caramel (150).” (page 46).’
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What began as a personal project to identify better food choices for her family, led onto a much bigger project as she discovered the truth about the serious health concerns associated with many additives used in Australian foods.
The information in Julie Eady’s book confirms a report on the Today-Tonight program on Autralian television in 2002, titled “Bread Linked to Hyperactivity”. It covered a report by author and food-intolerance counsellor Sue Dengate into calcium proprionate, which is shown on the Nutrition Information panel of some types of bread as “Preservative 282”. For six months Ms. Dengate, with the paediatric unit of the Royal Darwin Hospital, studied 27 children showing symptoms of irritability and violence. This is what Ms Dengate said on the program:
“A lot of the parents had no idea what was going on. Some of the children had been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), some of them had suspected ADHD. We had 300 loaves of bread baked, half of which contained the bread preservative, half didn’t and I didn’t know which was which. When the children were ready to do their challenges, I would deliver some bread and they had to eat four slices a day for three days and keep behaviour ratings. When those desperate parents rated their children’s behaviour the results were groundbreaking. It showed that some of the children - it was about 50 per cent of the children - their behaviour became worse on the challenge they did with the preservative in the bread. When the bread was preservative-free the kids improved so much it was really lovely to see.’”
Julie Eady elaborates on this additive in her book when she says:
“Calcium proprionate (282) is appearing more and more commonly in our foods, not just in fresh bread products. All mainstream breadcrumb products contain this additive. So, to avoid it, you need to either make your own breadcrumbs or look for organic varieties. It is also in many prepared frozen foods such as some fish fingers and many products coated with or containing breadcrumbs. Many frozen sausage rolls contain bread crums in the mix. These will contain 282, but it will likely not be declared on the label. If an ingredient label lists breadcrumbs but the breakdown of the breadcrumbs isn’t provided, you would need to ring and check to find out if 282 is in the products. Calcium proprionate 282 is banned in the UK because it’s known to cause skin rashes in bakery workers.”(page 50)
My reason for drawing attention to the subject is this; calcium proprionate is only one of many additives introduced into food products without any explanation of the possible adverse effect on the consumer’s health, yet it is linked to behaviour problems in children, many of whom are diagnosed ADHD. If a child has ADHD symptoms of sufficient severity they may be prescribed long-term use of dexamphetamine or prescription drugs Ritalin or Attenta. I believe we can only despair at the health problems to be faced by these children when they reach adulthood.
If you have children I believe you will gain an understanding of the health dangers of these additives by reading Julie Eady’s book and you can find out more information on
www.additivealert.com.au.
Thank you Brian Cox
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