An issue
that is very prominent in today's society is the increasing amount of cases of
degenerative brain disorders. As the bulk our population ages, we are seeing
more and more people develop these conditions. As disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease become
more prominent, the push for a cure, or even understanding the cause, is
becoming more and more critical. The stress on the health care system is
steadily increasing, as is the demand for personal assistance. A very important
trend that relates to this issue is the
link between these disorders and neurotoxins. In our western culture, we enjoy
our MacDonald's and Diet Cokes, but we are not paying attention to the effect
they really have on us. These "delicious" foods contain toxic
chemicals that are effecting our brain. This issue is not about eating healthy,
it is about eating safe.
Disorders
like Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease are disorders that are
becoming more and more prominent in today's society. These disorders are all
caused by the degeneration of brain cells. The increase in cases of both these
disorders is alarming. The Alzheimer's Society of Toronto estimates that over
500,000 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer's Disease. What's even more
frightening, however that in the last five years alone, 50% more Canadians are
dealing with Alzheimer's and within one generation, the amount of people with
Alzheimer's will double. Although genetics play a role in the disease, only
five to seven per cent of people diagnosed have the inherited form of
Alzheimer's disease. So where are the other ninety-three to ninety five percent
coming from? Alzheimer's is known to appear in patients that have a chemical
imbalance in their brain. Let's take a look at another degenerative disease.
Parkinson's disease is another disorder that is under the degenerative category
that effects an alarming number of Canadians. In Canada, there are upwards of
100,000 people living with Parkinson' disease in 2013. This number is expected
to double by 2016. Although the cause of Parkinson's disease is unknown, it is
known that symptoms start to appear when there is a dopamine deficiency in the
brain. These chemical imbalances and dopamine deficiencies point straight in
the direction of neurotoxins.
The term Neurotoxin is used to describe any
toxic chemical that effects the nervous system. Surprisingly, most of the
toxins that effect us today are found in our food. The most common neurotoxins
that we find in our food are aspartame, monosodium glutamate, sucralose (also known as Splenda), mercury, fluoride,
hydrolyzed vegetable protein, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate and yeast
extract. All of these neurotoxins are found in food. A consistent intake of
these chemicals over a long period of time is what causes chemical imbalance in
the brain. Toxins like aspartame and sucralose are most commonly found in sugar
free food. These types of food are no more healthy for you than the food
containing sugar, as the aspartame or sucralose has a worse effect on the brain
than the sugar does on the body. Chemicals like monosodium glutamate,
hydrolyzed vegetable protien, sodium caseinate and yeast extract are most
commonly found in chips, french fries and even baby food. Mercury and calcium
caseniate are often found in processed or canned fish. The chemicals described above
interact with nerve cells by over stimulating them to death or interrupting
their communication process. This process is harmful to nerve cells because it
can fry them or reduce their functions.
Many people turn a blind eye to this
information because they truly enjoy their fast food dinners or their sugar
free gum. However, this issue is no longer about believing that these chemicals
can harm your brain, it is about taking
actions to help decrease your chances of harming your brain to the point of
Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. The health food industry may seem like a hoax, but
there are many things you can do to improve your chances of staying healthy
without even stepping into a health food store. The process only requires you
to be educated and to make responsible choices. It is important to read the
label on the food that you buy. This is not difficult to spot the toxins that
are in your food, as food companies are required to list all the ingredients on
the food packaging. Eating healthy will not eliminate your chances of
developing degenerative diseases, but it will significantly help. The aging population did not know about the
effects that these chemicals would have on the brain, so they did not have the
opportunity to do things to help themselves. Nonetheless, our generation does,
and we do not want to prove the projections made about our generation come
true.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
This article
gave me a list of the major chemicals that I should be focusing on. This
article also helped me to find other online resources that were related to each
toxin.
Chang, P. (2010, 05 07). Ten
neurotoxins you should avoid. Retrieved from http://energyfanatics.com/2010/05/02/ten-neurotoxins-you-should-avoid/
This article
gave me a more in depth look at how mercury affects the brain cells.
Chang , P. (2011, Sept. 21). How
mercury destroys the brain. Retrieved from http://energyfanatics.com/2010/09/21/how-mercury-destroys-the-brain/
This web page
was vital for understanding how to avoid neurotoxins.
Biofeedback Learning. (2012, Dec.
09). protect your brain from neurotoxins. Retrieved from
http://www.biofeedbacklearning.com/excitotoxins.htm
The following
web page gives me a look at neurotoxicity from the angle of the National
Institute for Neurological Disorders.
NIND. (2009, Feb 07). Neurotoxiscity
information page. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/neurotoxicity/neurotoxicity.htm
The page
below gave me a more detailed look at Parkinson's disease (one of the two
diseases I will be referencing in my article.)
Medicine Plus. (2013, May 29). Parkinson's
disease information. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parkinsonsdisease.html
The web page
cited below gave me important statistics on Alzheimer's Disease to add to my
blog entry.
Alzheimer's Society of Toronto.
(2013). What the numbers say. Retrieved from http://www.alzheimertoronto.org/ad_Statistics.htm
The web page
below outlines the frequently asked questions about Parkinsons Disease
Parkinson Society of Canada. (2013).
Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from http://www.parkinsonsociety.ca/frequently-asked-questions.html
Brain
Facts.org is a resource filled page with different pieces of information on
both Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease.
Brain Facts. (2013). Degenerative
disorders. Retrieved from http://www.brainfacts.org/diseases-disorders/degenerative-disorders/
This web page
is filled with information on alternative treatment options for Parkinson's
Parkinsons.org. (2010). Parkinson's
disease alternative medicine. Retrieved from http://www.parkinsons.org/parkinsons-alternative-medicine.html
This web page
is filled with information on alternative treatment options for Alzheimer's
Disease.
alz.org. (2013). Alternative
medicine. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_alternative_treatments.asp
FIRST!!! Paris - That is pretty nifty. I'm surprised that so many neurotics are in our food. It really begs the question...why? Who thought at the Splenda corporation, "You know what we should put in our artificial sweetener? Neurotics! Yeah! That'll pack a punch!" There must be some what of a good reason for an entire corporation to put these chemicals into their food because if you think about it, people could sue very easily especially if this information is available to an every day person such as yourself or myself. Another thing I find pretty interesting, is the fat that all these products are in the diet section! So if you think about it, people have to decide: Do I want to have natural things that are bad for my body, or do I consume chemicals that are bad for my mind. It's really just a "pick your poison" kind of deal. Something I think you might find interesting is that, I work at Tim Horton's, and any time an overweight person comes in, they ask for sweetener (because it's "better for you" and they ask for diet pepsi (because THAT'S really gunna help them lose weight. This is merely just an observation I've made but it's funny because the healthy looking people are the ones who just have sugar in their tea/coffee and regular pepsi.
ReplyDeleteJack Tidd - Flouride is also in the water, much more than you'll receive in your food. The justification for it? Better teeth, yet it is known to be a harmful toxin. Do you think that informing people is a solution? I work at Tim Hortons and everybody orders sweeter, especially the crazy mall employee girls. I bet even if I told them that the sweetener was worse in the long run, they would still avert sugar. Would you say the solution isn't to go all out "health freak" and shop in "Goodness Me" but rather choose more unprocessed food in the grocery store and try to home cook as often as you can?
ReplyDeleteyay for comments on my post! (Lia Turner)
ReplyDeleteParis- One thing that I've come across in my research is that the use of splenda or artifical ingredients is way cheeper than to use regular sugar. It keeps longer, and they get to put a spin on it. Another thing to mention is when some of these additives/false sugars were developed, they didn't know that they would have this kind of effect on the brain... (its kinda like that whole thing where doctors used to encourage smoking..) Also, even though this is a known fact that these additives can cause major health problems I don't think that individuals would have much success in persuing legal action against these big corporations. Although, I'd really like to see someone try. And I think that's really interesting, your observation about Tim Horton's cousomers. I try to be as healthy as possible, but moderation is good, and I think that's what really healthy people understand. A little bit of regular sugar will not have the same effects as artificial sweetener.
Ways, Jack!
ReplyDelete(Lia Turner)
there's actually a really big push to get fouride out of the water in Hamilton.. its a really intense thing because all the city activists are up in arms about the amout of flouride. Like I said to Paris- Everything in moderation. its really not about going crazy with vitamins and health food detox stuff, its about eating food that our grandparents would have baught years ago- the food without all the additives in it.
Leigh- I too am interested and passionate about the fluoride topic and realize the effects can be quite severe. I agree it would be important to get back to the diet of our ancestors and grandparents however it is almost impossible without proper regulation of our government due to the fact that so many chemicals are aloud in our food and water sources today. Inevitably our only option is to grow our own food, this would guarantee that it is 100% organic and hopefully tastes even better. Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteTake care, Leigh
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