Pesticides

Be weary of what you eat !
In the US each year over 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides are sprayed or added to food crops. That is roughly 10 pounds of pesticides for each man, woman, and child. Although the pesticides are designed to act against insects and other organisms, experts estimate that only 2% of the pesticide actually serves its purpose, while over 98% of the pesticide is absorbed into the air, water, soil, or food supply. Most pesticides in use are synthetic chemicals of questionable safety. The majority long-term health risks include increased risk of cancer, birth defects and many chronic diseases, while the majority health risks of acute intoxication include vomiting, diarrhoea, blurred vision, tremors, convulsions, and nerve damage.

The health problems of the farmer provide an illustrative example of the problem with agricultural chemicals. The lifestyle of the farmer is generally a healthy one, in that a farmer eats fresh food, breaths clean air, works hard, and doesn’t have as high a level of such unhealthy habits as cigarette smoking and alcohol use as city dwellers. Despite this lifestyle, it has be shown in several studies that farmers are at a greater risk for several cancers including lymphomas, leukemias, and cancers of the stomach, prostate, brain and skin.

Large studies of farmers in Europe, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and the US have demonstrated that the greater the exposure to agricultural chemicals the greater the risk for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, because the evidence for the cancer-causing capabilities of pesticides in animals is inadequate, the formal opinion of many ‘experts’ is that they pose no significant risk for the public or the farmer, an apparently untenable position.

The history of pesticide use in the US is riddled with pesticides that were once widely used and then later banned due to health risks. Perhaps the best known example is DDT. Widely used from the early 1940’s to 1973, DDT was largely responsible for increasing farm productivity in the US. In 1962, Rachel Carson’s, classic Silent Spring detailed the full range of DDT’s hazards, including its persistence in the food chain and its deadly effects, but it was 10 years later before the Federal Government banned the use of this deadly compound. Unfortunately, although DDT has been banned for nearly 20 years, it is still found in the soil and root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes. According to studies performed by the National Resources Defense Counsil, a public interest environmental group, 17% of the carrots they analysed contained detectable levels of DDT.

Widespread environmental contamination has occurred with the halogenated hydrocarbons, DDT,DDE, PCB, PCP, dieldrin, and chlordane. These molecules persist for long periods in the environment, are hard to detoxify and accumulate in fat cells. Many of these chemicals mimic estrogen in the body and are thought to be a major factor in the growing epidemic of estrogen-related health problems such as PMS, breast cancer, and low sperm count.

 
Pesticides in use today

The majority of pesticides currently used in the US are probably less toxic than DDT and other banned pesticides including aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, and heptachlor. However, many pesticides banned from use in the US are shipped to other countries such as Mexico which then in turn sends contaminated food back to the US. Although over 600 pesticides are currently used in the US, most experts are most concerned about relatively few of these. The Environmental Protection Agency has identified has identified 64 pesticides as potential cancer-causing compounds, while the National Research Council found that 80% of US cancer risk from pesticides is due to 13 pesticides used widely on 15 important food crops. The pesticides are: linuron, permethrin, chlordimeform, zineb, captafol, captan, maneb, mancozeb, folpet, chlorothalonil, metiram, benomyl, and O-phenylphenol. They are found in many crops, but the greatest concern are the following (in order of decreasing importance):

- tomatoes
- beef
- potatoes
- oranges
- lettuce
- apples
- peaches
- pork
- wheat
- soybeans
- beans
- carrots
- chicken
- corn
- grapes

 
When shopping at the supermarket try to obtain organically grown fruit and vegetables, or attend your local organic food market. Check that the fruit and vegetables purchased are certified organic, organic trust ltd. IRL.-OIB 3 –EU

ICIM Medics Approach

If you feel that this article relates to you and you would like to be tested for pesticide exposure please make an appointment to see one of ICIM Medics Natural Medical Practitioners.

Some tests may be prescribed depending upon your individual case such as the ICIM Toxicity Assessment and/or ICIM Blood Analysis. The results from these can be used by one of our Natural Medical Practitioners who will help you with your individualised treatment plan. This may include dietary, nutritional and/or botanical advice.

This article is not meant to be used for treatment but for information purposes only. If you feel that this approach is appropriate for you please contact ICIM Medics on 045 844 819 or www.icim.ie e-mail : info@icim.ie  Appointments can be arranged for you.

Tags: Agricultural Chemicals, Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticides