Do You Know What's Hiding in Your Food? By Charles Volcalatte At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

When you visit a fruit stand or a vegetable stall and see all the healthy looking produce, it's hard to imagine that they actually contain insecticides, pesticides and fumigants. Unfortunately, not all of them are organically grown. When you take a bite into a traditionally grown fruit which is loaded with toxic substances, your body has to deal with removing all that unwelcome stuff. If you consume foods that contain these same poisons everyday, the repeated work of detoxifying can take its toll on your liver and kidneys. Your body should be able to handle this if it is fed with organic food, for most Americans however, this is not the case.

It is estimated that majority of Americans consume 13 to 20 different pesticides, insecticides or fumigants daily. Particularly at risk are children and pregnant women. The following is a list of some of the pesticides used on fresh produce and their side effects:

1. Insecticides such as orthene, dursban and thiodan can cause headaches, excessive tearing and salivation, muscle twitching, nausea, diarrhea, possible seizures

2. Fungicides such as captan, azoxystrobin and mancozeb can irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract.

3. Herbicides such as mecoprop and 2,4 ?D Barrage can increase bizarre or aggressive behavior, irritate mucous membranes and skin, can cause headaches, confusion, vomiting and diarrhea.

4. Iprodione can cause cancer in both humans and animals.

5. Phosmet, a carcinogen, can damage the reproductive system and also interferes with hormones.

6. Benomyl and carbaryl, known carcinogens, can cause birth defects; it can damage the nervous system and the brain; can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

7. Hexchlorocyclohexane high exposure can cause blood disorders, dizziness, headaches, seizures and can affect hormones.

8. Paraquat can cause headaches, cracked hands, and burning sensations in the mouth, throat and chest; can make one feel giddy or lethargic, feverish

9. Azinphos can interfere with hormones.

The above is just a partial list of the toxic substances used in farms all over America. Continuous exposure to these through the regular consumption of traditionally grown foods, can cause great harm to your health.

Unfortunately poultry and meat products also contain toxic substances. In some farms, cattle, pigs and chicken are given antibiotics. Being confined in a building makes these animals more prone to diseases thus the necessity for such medication. When people who eat products from these farms take antibiotics to fight infection, they will find that they have become resistant to these medications themselves.

Aside from antibiotics, cattle are also given hormones to fatten them up. The problem with this is that when humans consume meat from hormone fattened cows, they also fatten up. In Europe, cattle is not allowed to be given the hormone rBGH. The bad news is that in the US hormones are used in approximately 90% of livestock.

There is also the debate about how the presence of hormones in food may be responsible for occurrence of early puberty in young girls. Dr.Samuel Epstein, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the university of Illinois Medical Center and founder of Cancer Prevention Coalition, explains that because children normally have low sex hormones, even a small increase can produce harmful effects.

We are constantly exposed to toxins. These substances are present in the water we drink, the food we eat, and the water we drink. We need to do something to reduce the level of toxins that enter our bodies and going organic is the answer. Just imagine how much healthier you would feel without all that poison circulating in your system.

It is your responsibility to educate yourself when it comes to matters that affect your health and your family's health. If you are armed with the right knowledge, you can make informed decisions and you can start get started by eating only organic foods from now on.

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