Saturday, February 12, 2011

Greatest Exposure To Pollutants Is From Animal Foods

Many environmental pollutants (PCBs, pesticides, solvents, drugs, endocrine disruptors like bisphenol-A in plastics) are fat soluble and bioaccumulate - they're found in higher concentrations as you ascend the food chain. Food is the primary source of human exposure to these pollutants, and foods of animal origin, including dairy products, contain the highest levels. 1

We all have these pollutants in our bodies. This study found that people with high levels were 38 times! more likely to have diabetes:

A Strong Dose-Response Relation Between Serum Concentrations Of Persistent Organic Pollutants [POPs] And Diabetes: Results From The National Health And Examination Survey 1999–2002, Diabetes Care, 2006

The association was stronger in younger people and obese people. Interestingly, "there was no association between obesity and diabetes among subjects with nondetectable levels of POPs." So you could be obese but if you had low levels of these pollutants, your risk for diabetes was similar to someone who was slender.
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1 Most Unwanted: Persistent Organic Pollutants, Environmental Health Perspectives, 1999

2 comments:

Claudia said...

Tell this to the USDA. They'd rather tell us to "eat less", as if it's our fault, than to tell growers not to use GMOs and pesticides. It's the chemicals that are doing more harm!

Bix said...

You made me think of a growing problem with GMOs, let alone their effect on the environment or on human/animal health... They are having to be grown with more chemicals than when they were first introduced since pests and weeds are becoming resistant.

Most corn and soy grown in this country and fed to livestock are GMOs.