Article - Abnormalities Alzheimers Antimutagenic Antioxidants Bacteria Bioavaila Página 1 de 6

Why We Need Supplements Part II:

Hidden Dangers in the Food Supply
March 2001

by Kimberly Pryor
Part I of Why We Need Supplements examined farming and environmental factors that contribute to
mineral deficient soils, and the role these play in diseases such as cancer. Part I also examined the
variables of nutrient bioavailability, including sources, forms, and amounts of nutrients required for
health, as well as at nutrient losses due to cooking, freezing and canning of fresh foods.

Food irradiation subjects foods to gamma rays from nuclear materials, electrons from electron guns,
and x-rays. By 1988, irradiated foods were already being sold in more than twenty countries. Red
meat, chicken, and vegetables have since appeared on the shelves of some U.S. supermarkets.(26)

Spices are among the first foods to be irradiated, and have been widely available for years. In
addition, pharmaceutical companies are now regularly sterilizing drugs with ionizing radiation.(27)
Because irradiated foods served in restaurants and in schools are not labeled on the menu, no one
knows for certain how much has entered the market.

In theory, food irradiation can preserve foods, kill parasites and some bacteria, inhibit sprouting, and
delay ripening. There are, however, as many studies indicating the dangers of irradiated food as there
are studies proclaiming its safety. Irradiation of food decreases the content of antioxidants such as
vitamins A, E, C, and K, probably due to the free radicals generated.(28-29) Individuals who consume
raw fruits and vegetables to derive the highest vitamin content possible will essentially be consuming
the nutritional equivalent of a blanched or canned vegetable.

Animal studies supporting food irradiation have been methodologically flawed, conducted using
animals fed both irradiated food and vitamins shown to be depleted after irradiation. One group of
researchers purposely fed mice vitamins and irradiated food separately, since irradiation destroys fat
soluble vitamins even when additional amounts of those vitamins are added to foods prior to
undergoing irradiation.(28,30-32) Furthermore, animals consuming irradiated food have experienced
chromosomal abnormalities and detrimental changes in the kidney and blood vessels.(33-35)

In humans, a 1970's study looked at the effects of feeding irradiated and unirradiated foods to
malnourished children in India. Five children were fed unirradiated wheat, five freshly irradiated wheat,

http://www.vrp.com/art/502.asp?c=1084362720722&k=/det/1281.asp&m=/vrpwebsty... 12/05/2004
Article - Abnormalities Alzheimers Antimutagenic Antioxidants Bacteria Bioavaila Página 2 de 6

and five ate irradiated wheat stored for 12 weeks. Children who had eaten freshly irradiated wheat
had unusually high rates of chromosomal and cellular abnormalities in their blood after six weeks: 1.8
percent and 3.8 percent respectively. These changes were non-existent in the control group. At six
weeks, the group fed stored irradiated wheat experienced 0.6 percent chromosomal abnormalities and
0.8 percent cellular abnormalities. The researchers fail to point out that the small 0.8 percent
incidence of abnormalities is identical to the percentage experienced during the fourth week in the
subjects fed freshly irradiated wheat. This could indicate that longer feeding of stored irradiated wheat,
such as exposure over years or a lifetime, could generate additional mutations.(36)

A larger study of 70 healthy subjects was conducted in China. Subjects receiving irradiated foods
stored for an extended period, as well as the control group (who ate unirradiated wheat), showed
increases in chromosomal abnormalities, which were increased slightly in the irradiated food group.
(37)

The gradually increased availability of irradiated food--much of it poorly labeled or disguised in meals
offered in restaurants, airplanes, and schools--suggests that supplements may become even more
necessary to replace nutrients depleted in the food supply or to guard against potential health risks.

Genetically Modified Food

In 1998, 30 million acres of the corn, cotton, and potatoes planted in the United States were
genetically engineered to produce a naturally-occurring pesticide toxic only to target insects. These
crops now have entered the food supply.(38)

Despite the assertion that genetically modified foods are safe, very little research exists on their risks
and benefits. One researcher pointed out in the June 2000 issue of Science that the majority of
citations on Internet databases, such as Medline, were opinions and comments about genetically
modified food. These citations, he said, 'were not based on experimental data.'(39)

One concern revolves around an investigation by Dr. Pusztai, a respected researcher at the Rowett
Research Institute in Scotland. Pusztai focused on the safety of potatoes engineered to express a
naturally-occurring insecticide, lectin, normally found in the snowdrop plant. Rats fed the genetically
modified potatoes experienced significant reductions in the weights of the intestine, pancreas,
kidneys, liver, lungs, and brain. Immunity was reduced in the animals treated with the genetically
engineered potatoes, intestinal infections increased.(40)

Proponents of genetically engineered food maintain that the foreign DNA injected into the transgenic
plants is harmless. Yet, studies indicate that foreign DNA is incorporated into animals through oral
ingestion and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Researchers found that fragments of foreign
DNA fed to mice passed through the intestinal wall and took up residence in the peripheral white
blood cells, in B cells, T cells, and macrophages from the spleen, and in liver cells. Even more
shocking was the finding that food-ingested foreign DNA can become linked to mouse DNA.
Furthermore, when foreign DNA is fed to pregnant mice it can be detected in some cells in various
organs of the fetuses and of newborn animals.(41-43)

Research does not exist to conclusively determine the human health risk of long-term consumption of
genetically modified food. No one can predict for certain the health impacts of these man-made foods.
Consequently, if their presence increases in the diet, antimutagenic supplements such as Calcium
glucarate (found in VRP's CelMend) may offer nutritional support. Calcium glucarate helps enzymes
bind to and eliminate potentially mutagenic compounds before those compounds can damage DNA
and cells.

Tainted Meat

Surprising studies have emerged that suggest mad cow disease, technically known as bovine
spongiform encephalopathy may be far more prevalent than previously thought. In fact, researchers
have discovered that the human equivalent of mad cow disease, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
(CJD) may already exist in nearly everyone's bodies.

http://www.vrp.com/art/502.asp?c=1084362720722&k=/det/1281.asp&m=/vrpwebsty... 12/05/2004
Article - Abnormalities Alzheimers Antimutagenic Antioxidants Bacteria Bioavaila Página 3 de 6

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a subacute spongiform encephalopathy (SSE) characterized by a

variety of neurologic signs, including dementia and muscle twitching. Many researchers believe an
abnormal protein called a prion is responsible for this ultimately fatal condition. Once an abnormal
prion comes in contact with a normal protein in a nerve cell, it forces the healthy protein to mutate.
This destructive process eventually turns the brain into a spongy mass.

While prions cannot be killed by heat, radiation, or disinfectants, researchers have reduced infectivity
of the disease by 99.5 percent with guanidine hydrochloride and guanidine thiocyanate.(44-45)
Researchers have yet to investigate whether the guanidine found in the herb goat's rue (in VRP's
GluControl) can accomplish the same inhibition, but the possibility is an intriguing one.

The diet is, in all likelihood, the major pathway CJD uses to jump from host to host. In one study of 26
CJD patients, researchers noted an increased consumption of roast pork, ham, hot dogs, roast lamb,
pork chops, smoked pork, scrapple, rare meat, raw oysters and clams, and liver.(46) Recently, chronic
wasting disease, a condition identical to mad cow disease, has been found in deer in Colorado and
Wyoming and on game ranches in Montana and Oklahoma. A little girl who consumed venison and
two young hunters who prepared and handled a deer carcass all contracted CJD. According to
researchers, CJD also has been transmitted by contaminated EEG electrodes and neurosurgical
instruments.(47)

The theory that CJD is transmitted via the food chain was further confirmed in 1996, when a new
variant of CJD (nvCJD) was reported in adolescents and young adults in Great Britain, an age group
not normally affected with the original form of CJD. Researchers have demonstrated that the
transmissible agent responsible for new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is identical to that in bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease.(48)

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta maintains that the old form of the disease, known as
sporadic or chronic CJD, occurs in only one out of one million people annually. Scientific evidence
suggests, however, that many physicians are misdiagnosing CJD as Alzheimer's. One University of
Pittsburgh study of 54 deceased subjects diagnosed with dementia revealed that three of the subjects
actually had CJD. In a 1989 study at Yale University, researchers performed postmortem
examinations of 46 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Six of the patients actually had CJD.(49-51)
These studies suggest that 6-to-12 Alzheimer's patients out of every 100 may actually have CJD. With
4 million Alzheimer's patients in the United States, 250,000 to 500,000 Alzheimer's patients may in
reality have mad cow disease.

In one region of Slovakia, the CJD incidence is more than 1,000 fold that of the so-called 'typical'
incidence and some of the afflicted individuals are as young as 30 years old.45 In St. Paul, Minnesota,
neurologists performed autopsies on four deceased patients diagnosed during life with a slowly
progressive dementia. The autopsies revealed the patients actually had CJD.(52) In 1998,
researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland published a case study of a 53-
year-old man who died of sporadic CJD. Four and one half years later, this then 55-year-old widow
died from CJD. Neither patient had a family history of neurologic disease.(53) Similar evidence from
Japan and Australia indicates CJD may emerge as a hidden epidemic.

Other researchers made an even more startling discovery when studying healthy volunteers ages 20--
30, 40--50, and 61--71 with no family history of dementia. Amazingly, a CJD-like agent appeared in
most of the blood samples from all the age groups. When the samples containing this CJD-like agent
were injected into hamsters, the animals developed CJD neuropathology. Surprisingly, the healthy
individuals without any family history of dementia yielded more positive takes than those from subjects
whose relatives had Alzheimer's.

The researchers hypothesized that this CJD-like agent might actually be a less virulent form that can
protect against the disease. Alternatively, the researchers suggested, 'If a CJD-like variant can cause
some cases of Alzheimer's, it could function by a hit and run mechanism…or it could continuously and
subliminally damage neurons by a persistent low-level infection.' Since the sporadic form of the
disease usually manifests itself in the elderly, the researchers suggested CJD may occur when
immunity is reduced during aging or because of genetic susceptibility.(54-55)

Conclusion

http://www.vrp.com/art/502.asp?c=1084362720722&k=/det/1281.asp&m=/vrpwebsty... 12/05/2004
Article - Abnormalities Alzheimers Antimutagenic Antioxidants Bacteria Bioavaila Página 4 de 6

The human body remains in a state of immunological balance. Supplements shown to enhance the
body's immune defenses may therefore become a key factor in warding off both hidden epidemics
such as CJD and more widely recognized conditions. The depletion of nutrients in the soil and the loss
of vitamins, minerals and amino acids during cooking, food processing, and freezing, suggests that
supplements can not only help us meet dietary nutritional needs, but also offer the doses shown in
clinical studies to offer the most benefit to our health.

References:
26. Mudgett R. Electromagnetic energy and food processing. J Microw Power Electromagn Energy.
1988;23(4):225-30.

27. Basly JP, Duroux JL, Bernard M. The effect of gamma radiation on the degradation of salbutamol.
J Pharm Biomed Anal. 1997;15(8):1137-41.

28. Radomski JL, Deichmann WB, Austin BS, MacDonald WE, Bernal E. A study of the possible
carcinogenicity of irradiated foods. Toxicology and Applied Pharma. 1965;7:122-27.

29. Dodd NJ. Free radicals and food irradiation. Biochem Soc Sym. 1995;61:247-58.

30. Irradiation in the Processing and Handling of Food. Federal Register. April 1986, p. 13376.

31. Hickman JR, McLean LA, Ley FJ. Rat feeding studies on wheat treated with gamma radiation.
Food and Cosmetic Toxicology. 1964;2(2):175-80.

32. Radomski JL, et al. Chronic toxicity studies in irradiated beef stew and evaporated milk.
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 1965;7(1):113-21.

33. Levina AI, Ivanov AE. [Renal pathomorphology of rats fed irradiated food products over a long
period]. Biul Eksp Biol Med. 1978;85(2):230-2.

34. Vijayalaxmi. Immune response in rats given irradiated wheat. Br J Nutr. 1978;40(3):535-41.

35. Vijayalaxmi. Genetic effects of feeding irradiated wheat to mice. Can J Genet Cytol. 1976;18
(2):231-8.

36. Bhaskaram C, Sadasivan G. Effects of Feeding Irradiated Wheat to Malnourished Children.

American J of Clin Nutr. 1975;28(2):130-35.

37. Shanghai Institute of Radiation Medicine and Shanghai Institute of Nuclear Research. Safety
evaluation of 35 kinds of irradiated human foods. Chinese Medical Journal. 1987;100(9):715-18.

38. Schmidt CW. Natural born killers. Environ Health Perspect. 1998;106(9):A432-7.

39. Domingo JL. Health risks of GM foods: many opinions but few data. Science. 2000;288
(5472):1748-9.

40. Ewen SW, Pusztai A. Effect of diets containing genetically modified potatoes expressing
Galanthus nivalis lectin on rat small intestine. Lancet. 1999;354(9187):1353-4.

41. Doerfler W, Schubbert R. Uptake of foreign DNA from the environment: the gastrointestinal tract
and the placenta as portals of entry. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 1998;110(2):40-4.

42. Schubbert R, Renz D, Schmitz B, Doerfler W. Foreign (M13) DNA ingested by mice reaches
peripheral leukocytes, spleen, and liver via the intestinal wall mucosa and can be covalently linked to
mouse DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997;94(3):961-6.

43. Schubbert R, Hohlweg U, Renz D, Doerfler W. On the fate of orally ingested foreign DNA in mice:

http://www.vrp.com/art/502.asp?c=1084362720722&k=/det/1281.asp&m=/vrpwebsty... 12/05/2004
Article - Abnormalities Alzheimers Antimutagenic Antioxidants Bacteria Bioavaila Página 5 de 6

chromosomal association and placental transmission to the fetus. Mol Gen Genet. 1998;259(6):569-
76.

44. Weihl CC, Roos RP. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, new variant creutzfeldt-jakob disease, and bovine
spongiform encephalopathy. Neurol Clin. 1999;17(4):835-59.

45. Manuelidis L, Sklaviadis T, Akowitz A, Fritch W. Viral particles are required for infection in
neurodegenerative Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995;92(11):5124-8.

46. Davanipour Z, Alter M, Sobel E, Asher DM, Gajdusek DC. A case-control study of Creutzfeldt-
Jakob disease. Dietary risk factors. Am J Epidemiol. 1985;122(3):443-51.

47. Brown P. The risk of blood-borne Creutzfeldt--Jakob disease. Dev Biol Stand. 2000;102:53-9.

48. Ironside JW. Neuropathological findings in new variant CJD and experimental transmission of
BSE. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 1998;21(2):91-5.

49. Boller F, Lopez OL, Moossy J. Diagnosis of dementia: clinicopathologic correlations. Neurology.
1989;39(1):76-9.

50. Manuelidis L, Manuelidis EE. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and dementias. Microb Pathog. 1989;7
(3):157-64.

51. Manuelidis L, Murdoch G, Manuelidis EE. Potential involvement of retroviral elements in human
dementias. Ciba Found Symp. 1988;135:117-34.

52. Mendez MF, Selwood A, Frey WH 2nd. Clinical characteristics of chronic Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 1994;7(4):206-8.

53. Brown P, Cervenakova L, McShane L, Goldfarb LG, Bishop K, Bastian F, Kirkpatrick J, Piccardo
P, Ghetti B, Gajdusek DC. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in a husband and wife. Neurology. 1998;50
(3):684-8.

54. Manuelidis EE, de Figueiredo JM, Kim JH, Fritch WW, Manuelidis L. Transmission studies from
blood of Alzheimer disease patients and healthy relatives. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988;85
(13):4898-901.

55. Manuelidis EE, Manuelidis L. A transmissible Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease-like agent is prevalent in

the human population. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993;90(16):7724-8.

The information in this article is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be
obtained from a medical professional, and has not been approved by the U.S. FDA.

Copyright 2001 by Vitamin Research Products, Inc. (VRP) The use of information found in Vitamin
Research News for commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission from VRP.

Related Products: (Click on links below to view product(s))

1841-Adv Essential Minerals 180 cap

9011-BetaCarotene 20,000IU 120cap
1760-C Plus,Vit C formula, 90 cap
1930-C-Mend, 60 cap
7451-Calcium/Magnesium, 200 mg 100 cap
7462-Calcium/Magnesium, 500 gm
3031-E Vit d-Alpha 300IU 90cap
3011-E Vit d-Alpha pwdr 50gm
3004-E Vit dl-Alpha 250IU 100cap

http://www.vrp.com/art/502.asp?c=1084362720722&k=/det/1281.asp&m=/vrpwebsty... 12/05/2004
Article - Abnormalities Alzheimers Antimutagenic Antioxidants Bacteria Bioavaila Página 6 de 6

1871-Essential Minerals 90 cap

3203-Extend Core 90cap
3204-Extend Core Pwdr 300gm
3200-Extend One 60cap
3226-Extend Plus 360cap
3225-Extend Plus Pwdr 300gm
3430-Extend Prenatal 90cap
3234-Extend Ultra 360cap
3233-Extend Ultra Pwdr 300gm
2119-Extension B-Plex 180cap
1141-Folic Acid/Vit B12 120cap
1980-GluControl, 120cap
9046-Lutein 20mg 60softgels
3332-Optimum 18 270cap
3333-Optimum 18 300gm pwdr
3310-Optimum 6 180cap
3251-Optimum D 270cap
3340-Optimum Silver 180cap
7822-Selenium Caps 100mcg 120cap
7800-Selenium, Sodium Selenite 2oz
3101-Tocotrienols 30 softgels

The information in this article is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be
obtained from a medical professional, and has not been approved by the U.S. FDA.

Copyright 2004 by Vitamin Research Products, Inc. The Vitamin Research News is intended solely for
individual, non-commercial use. All other uses are prohibited without written permission from VRP. The
Vitamin Research News is protected by U.S. and international copyright laws and may not be
reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast in any form, or by any means
whether now known or hereinafter devised, without prior written permission from VRP.

Requests for permission to reproduce all or part of the material or information contained in the Vitamin
Research News should be directed by U.S. Post to Robert Watson at Vitamin Research Products 3579
Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701, or by fax to Robert Watson at 775.884.1336 or via e-mail to
Robert Watson, at VRP

Home Products Company Consultations Health Concerns Library Help

E-mail Us Free Catalog Newsletter Privacy Policy

Vitamin Research Products 800-877-2447 Carson City, NV 89701

http://www.vrp.com/art/502.asp?c=1084362720722&k=/det/1281.asp&m=/vrpwebsty... 12/05/2004