Gluten Takes a Beating From Fad Dieters and Grain Giants

A baker prepares bread rolls for packing, in the bakery at a supermarket in Canvey Island, U.K. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Grain sellers want to have their gluten-free cake and eat it, too.

As the stretchy protein found in wheat and other grains has become the latest dietary bogeyman, sales at companies like General Mills Inc., Kellogg Co. and Britain’s Warburtons Ltd. have come under pressure. Yet instead of fighting back against what many dietitians contend lacks scientific grounding, they’re boosting output of pricier gluten-free foods while leaving industry groups to defend their traditional products.

Less than 1 percent of Americans have the disorder that requires a gluten-free diet, yet almost one in three now eschews gluten, according to trend watchers NPD Group, influenced by bestselling anti-gluten books and celebrity endorsements. The U.S. market for gluten-free foods will climb from $4.2 billion in 2012 to $6.6 billion by 2017, according to researcher Packaged Facts, as bread bakers, craft-beer makers and eateries from Hooters to Michelin-starred Hakkasan embrace the trend.

“Consumers, rightly or wrongly, have made a connection between gluten-free and healthy,” said Nicholas Fereday, an analyst at Rabobank. “Grain companies are hoping this trend crashes and burns sooner rather than later. But any trend is a marketing opportunity.”

Terrorist Grain

General Mills, the Minneapolis-based maker of Cheerios, has transformed most of its Chex cereal brand into a gluten-free offering by replacing barley malt syrup with molasses. Sales of Chex have jumped by at least 10 percent in each of the past three fiscal years, while the $6 billion breakfast cereal category has remained stagnant. The company makes over 400 gluten-free products, including versions of its Pillsbury cookie dough and Betty Crocker baking mixes.

Wheat flour consumption has fallen to a 22-year low, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s at least partly due to the work of gluten-free advocates like William Davis, author of 2011’s “Wheat Belly,” and David Perlmutter, who released “Grain Brain” this year. Davis calls wheat “the world’s most destructive dietary ingredient,” while Perlmutter says grains are a “terrorist group” that “are silently destroying your brain.”

Related: Obesity Without Other Risks May Lead to Heart Attack

Doug VanDeVelde, a senior vice president at Kellogg’s U.S. Morning Foods unit, counters that grains “can play a key role in a balanced, nutritious diet.” Kellogg, of Battle Creek, Michigan, unveiled gluten-free Rice Krispies in 2011. PepsiCo Inc.’s Doritos Nacho Cheese Tortilla chips went gluten-free the same year.

“We’re responding as we think we should,” said General Mills spokeswoman Kirstie Foster. “There’s a new diet book every week, and most of them really should go without comment.”

General Mills was little changed at $50.46 at the close in New York today, while Kellogg fell less than 1 percent to $62.05.

Flash Trends

Mark Lang, a food marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, says grain producers won’t criticize the anti-gluten authors for fear of fueling sales of their books or offending those with celiac disease who really must avoid gluten. Celiac sufferers produce antibodies to attack gluten, causing damage to the intestines and illness, according to the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research.

“Large companies have learned not to overreact to these flash trends,” Lang said. “There is nothing to gain, and you have everything to lose.”

Grain companies are making the most of the dietary shift. On Amazon.com, gluten-free Rice Krispies cost 29 cents per ounce, versus 17 cents for the original kind. Warburtons’ gluten-free bread is about 5 pounds ($8) per kilogram, more than twice the price of its regular bread.

Loaf Profits

The higher prices reflect the additional costs to produce gluten-free foods, which have “many more” ingredients and are made in smaller batches in separate plants to prevent commingling, a Warburtons spokeswoman said.

“My profit margin is about the same on gluten-free bread, but the dollar profits per loaf are much more,” said Mark Blacker, sales and marketing director of Continental Baker in Reading, England.

The reluctance of grain producers to defend gluten surprises Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.”

“The industry has been flat-footed in their response,” Pollan said. “They should be reminding people that gluten is protein, generally thought of as a healthy nutrient, compared to fats or carbs.”

‘Wheat Belly’

This isn’t the first time grain makers have been dragged through the mud. Fifteen years ago, diets that limited carbohydrates sent sales of white bread and pasta plummeting. Out of that crisis rose industry associations like the Whole Grains Council, which encourages consumers to eat more brown rice and whole wheat bread and counts General Mills and PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay snack unit among its members.

Cynthia Harriman, the group’s executive director, said her initial reaction to “Wheat Belly” was that it was “such nonsense.” Once she realized “this was not going away,” Harriman used the council’s website to point consumers toward gluten-free grains such as rice and corn.

The Wheat Foods Council, an association of producers formed in 1972, faced a more direct threat, says president Judi Adams, and it lacks the funding for an ad campaign like “Got Milk?,” which cost over $20 million. The council spent $433,000 for public relations in 2011, according to its U.S. tax return. Adams said she’s working with dietitians, who she says are more credible than celebrities backing gluten-free diets.

“We know that consumers are confused,” she said. “Some don’t have a clue what gluten actually is.”

Bread Smoothies

Amid the confusion, one company has stood up for gluten -- Canada Bread, a baker that Toronto-based parent Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is considering selling. It unveiled a YouTube ad last year where a comedian impersonates a smoothie shop owner, stuffing wads of bread into unsuspecting customers’ drinks to remind them of the nutritional benefits of grains.

The ad has been viewed over 860,000 times. “Even our competitors were talking about it,” said Richard Lan, president of Canada Bread. “If we put out a social media ad based on scientific facts, how many hits would we get?”

The company also helped found the Healthy Grains Institute, an advocacy group committed to “tackling the inevitable myths” found in books like “Wheat Belly.” The HGI’s website attributes the rise of gluten-free to “celebrities and those who promote fad diets” and argues gluten-free foods can lead to weight gain.

“We whispered last year,” said Canada Bread chief Lan. “We will not continue to whisper.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Boyle in London atmboyle20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri atcperri@bloomberg.net

Huge GMO News

Ocean RobbinsOct 19, 2013

It hasn't been a good week for Monsanto and the rest of the biotech industry.

Just three days ago, Mexico bannedgenetically engineered corn. Citing the risk of imminent harm to the environment, a Mexican judge ruled that, effective immediately, no genetically engineered corn can be planted in the country. This means that companies like Monsanto will no longer be allowed to plant or sell their corn within the country's borders.

At the same time, the County Council for the island of Kauaipassed a law that mandates farms to disclose pesticide use and the presence of genetically modified crops. The bill also requires a 500-foot buffer zone near medical facilities, schools and homes -- among other locations.

And the big island of Hawaii County Council gave preliminary approvalto a bill that prohibits open air cultivation, propagation, development or testing of genetically engineered crops or plants. The bill, which still needs further confirmation to become law, would also prohibit biotech companies from operating on the Big Island.

But perhaps the biggest bombshell of all is now unfolding in Washington state. The mail-in ballot state's voters are already weighing in on Initiative 522, which would mandate the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Knowing full well that 93 percent of the American public supports GMO labeling, and that if one state passes it, many others are likely to follow, entrenched agribusiness interests are pulling out all the stops to try to squelch yet another state labeling effort.

This time, however, things aren't going quite as planned. On Wednesday, Washington state Attorney General Bob Feguson filed a lawsuit against the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). The GMA, a lobby for the junk food industry, has been by far the largest donor to efforts to defeat the labeling initiative. The lawsuit alleged that the GMA illegally collected and spent more than $7 million while shielding the identity of its contributors.

The source of the money has now been exposed, and it turns out to be Pepsico, Coca-Cola, NestleUSA, General Mills and a few other junk food companies. The lawsuitrevealed that GMA leadership held a series of secret meetings to plot how to perpetrate a money laundering scheme and illegally hide member donations from Washington state voters, in direct violation of campaign disclosure laws.

Unlike the junk food companies that feared consumer backlash, Monsanto hasn't even bothered to hide the more than $4 million the company has given to the "no" campaign. In fact, GMA, Monsanto and a handful of other corporate donors have now broken a state record by pouring more than $17 million into their effort to stop Washington's GMO labeling ballot initiative.

Voting is already underway in Washington, and the final ballots will be cast on November 5. The "yes" side is ahead in the most recent polls, but supporters of the right to know fear that a barrage of heavily funded and misleading ads could sour voters to the initiative.

They remember that just last year, California's Proposition 37 was well ahead in the polls until Monsanto and its allies spent more than $46 million on their campaign in the Golden State.

All this label fighting and money laundering leads to some very significant questions. Why are Monsanto and the junk food industry willing to spend many tens of millions of dollars every year trying to keep you in the dark about your food? What doesn't big food want you to know? And what are they afraid might happen if you did?

Monsanto tells us that their products are about the best thing to come along since sliced bread. For years they've been promising that GMOs would reduce pesticide use,increase yields, reduce water consumption, and offer foods that are more tasty and more nutritious.

I wish they were right.

But in the 20 years since GMO crops first came on the market, studies have found that they have led to higher pesticide use, and no meaningful improvement in flavor,nutrition, yield or waterrequirements. Instead, what they've created are plants that are engineered to withstand massivedosing of toxic herbicides, and plants that function as living pesticide factories. Monsanto's Bt. corn, for example, is actuallyregistered with the EPA as a pesticide.

With concern about GMOs growing fast, and with the public being pummeled with vast amounts of misinformation, there is a tremendous need for clear, accurate and reliable information about GMOs. In response, the 100,000+ member Food Revolution Network and the Institute for Responsible Technology are co-sponsoring a free online GMO Mini-Summit. From October 25-27, some of the top GMO experts on the planet will be providing insights and clear calls to action in this teleseminar that is also being broadcast without charge on the Internet. Monsanto probably isn't too happy about the prospect of tens of thousands of people getting informed and mobilized. But if you love life, safe food, and the truth, then you might want to check it out.

And if you want to lend a hand to getting out the vote in the state of Washington, you can sign up to volunteer here.

Nobody knows what's going to happen in Washington between now and November 5. But from Mexico, to Hawaii and to the 64 nations that already have GMO labeling, this tide just might be turning.

Maybe we, the people, do get a say in what we know, and what we eat, after all.

Toxic fluoride causes disease

Sodium fluoride, a waste byproduct of the aluminum industry, is touted by most mainstream health bureaucracies as one of the greatest public health achievements ever discovered. The American Dental Association praises the medication of the public through fluoridated municipal water supplies, claiming that it has done wonders to prevent tooth decay. It’s found in almost all toothpastes except for the “all natural” ones.

A simple investigation beyond the glaringly false rhetoric, however, reveals the dirty reality behind fluoride and the incredible harm it inflicts upon those who ingest it.

Contrary to popular belief, fluoride is not a natural substance; it is the byproduct of the aluminum and nuclear industries’ use of fluorine gas. The Merck Index lists fluoride’s primary use as rat and cockroach poison and it is a known carcinogen. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the FDA was somehow convinced that the poison allegedly helped protect teeth.

Fluoride used in Nazi death camps

The first known instances of deliberate water fluoridation were in Nazi Germany ghettos and prison camps. Sodium fluoride was added to the human inmates’ water to sterilize them and to cause them to become docile, subservient subjects willing to comply with orders.

Charles Perkins, a research chemist, wrote a letter to the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research in 1954 about fluoride. In it, he stated that repeated ingestion of low doses of fluoride over a long period of time will destroy the areas of the human brain that trigger resistance to tyranny and unlawful coercion and control.

Conditions caused by fluoride ingestion

Fluoride ingestion is responsible for causing thyroid dysfunction. The National Research Council (NRC) warns that ingestion of .01 – .03 mg/kg/day of fluoride, which is easily achieved by drinking fluoridated water, can severely inhibit proper thyroid function.

Other problems caused by fluoride include dental fluorosis, a disease of the teeth, weakening of bones and bone loss, bone cancer, kidney problems, and hormone disruption.

Many communities have succeeded in removing fluoride from their water supplies through local campaigns and ballot measures. Since medical professionals and organizations are increasingly becoming opposed to fluoride use, the momentum is stronger than ever to rid the nation’s water supplies of toxic fluoride.

Report: Tap water contains “probable human carcinogens” in all tests

 

The Environmental Working Group has released a report analyzing water samples from 43 states and 201 municipal water systems. In every single test, the EWG found “probable human carcinogens.” This means your tap water is probably contaminated with carcinogens that can be absorbed through the skin, lungs or stomach.

Water Treatment Actually Creating New Contaminants

According to the report, the primary danger in the municipal water systems tested isn’t contaminants from animals or bacteria. Instead, it is that chlorine and other chemicals used for water treatment react with particles already in the water, producing dangerous byproducts. Frighteningly, these byproducts aren’t regulated at all by the FDA. Like mercury and ionizing radiation, the safe amount of these toxic disinfection byproducts is NONE.

One of the most dangerous of these disinfection byproducts is chloramine, made by combining chlorine and ammonia. Unlike chlorine, chloramine is very difficult to remove. It also stays in water systems longer than chlorine (more on chloramine later in this article).

Additional dangerous disinfection byproducts include:

• Trihalomethanes, found to cause cancer and release free radicals into the body.
• Volatile Organic Compounds, which can lead to central nervous system damage as well as skin irritation.
• Haloacetic Acids, which can cause liver disease and is a probable human carcinogen.

Contamination Risks Especially Dangerous During Pregnancy

The report also contains a section detailing the dangers of contaminated water as it relates to pregnant women. Several studies in the past year have shown the danger to pregnant women and their fetuses created by water with excessive contaminants. Some of these studies cited include:

• A study in 2012 where Australian scientists found that women who consumed water contaminated with only 25 parts per billion of chloromine put their newborns at risk to be at the bottom 10% of birth weights. The newborns were also at risk for other health problems.
• Another 2012 study, this time in Canada, showed that exposure to more than 100 parts per billion of trihalomethanes in water was also associated with underweight newborns.
• Researchers in Taiwan conducted a study that linked stillbirths to trihalomethane levels as low as 20 parts per billion.
• A 2008 study from the University of North Carolina, where researchers found that exposure to 80 parts per billion of trihalomethane during the third trimester of pregnancy doubled the risk of delivering a child small for gestational age.
• A British study from 2005 where a link was found between stillbirths and 60 parts per billion of trihalomethane.

Trihalomethane isn’t the only hazardous chemical highlighted in the report. Other chemicals, including the family of haloacetic acids, are identified as causing birth defects, brain damage, liver damage, kidney failure, blindness, and reproductive issues in lab tests.

A More Dangerous Chlorine Substitute

In an attempt to decrease contamination, many water utilities have switched from using chlorine to chloramines (compounds made from ammonia gases and chlorine) for water treatment. Unfortunately, making this switch has only shifted the problem (and possibly made it worse). Chloramines are extremely toxic to fish and also toxic to kidney dialysis patients. they have also found to have numerous dangerous chemical byproducts created when chloramine interacts with other water contaminants. From the report:

“Nitrosamines, which are currently unregulated, form when water is disinfected with chloramine. The U.S. government says some chemicals in the nitrosamine family are “reasonably anticipated” to be human carcinogens.

According to professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley David Sedlak, “[Nitrosamines are] about a thousand times more carcinogenic than the disinfection byproducts that we’d been worried about with regular old chlorine.”

By switching to chloramination, we’ve reduced trihalomethane levels, but we have also exposed millions of people to unregulated carcinogenic byproducts.

How to Protect Your Water

Much like protecting your home from the dangers of fluoridated water, you can take steps to avoid dangerous water contaminants.

• If possible, find a spring near you. The Find a Spring database can help you locate one in your area where you can gather spring water. Simply load up your car with 10 gallon jugs, drive to the spring, and fill up (often for free).
• If you can afford it, install a whole house water filtration system. If possible, find one that has three separate stages of purification (removing sediment, heavy metals/chlorine, and other contaminants like pesticides, hormones, drug residues and more).
• If you don’t have the funds for a whole house filtration system, at least install a filter on your shower, as that is the most significant source of contamination (due to absorption in both skin and lungs).

Based on this report, it’s very unlikely the water in your area is safe. The chemicals used to make you water safer are actually much more dangerous than what they’re attempted to protect you from.

How to improve your vision, Naturally!

Contrary to popular belief, your vision doesn’t have to decline over time. With regular exercise of the muscles that control your eye movements and visual acuity, you can reduce eyestrain and maintain or even improve your vision. Utilization of a few acupressure points can also help your vision by encouraging healthy blood flow to your eyes.

The six muscles that control your eye movements are as follows:

Lateral rectus - Primarily moves your eye outward, away from your nose.

Medial rectus - Primarily moves your eye inward, toward your nose.

Superior rectus - Primarily moves your eye upward.

Inferior rectus - Primarily moves your eye downward.

Superior oblique - Primarily rotates the top of your eye toward your nose.

Inferior oblique – Primarily rotates the top of your eye away from your nose.

Perhaps the single greatest reason why people in today’s society suffer from chronic eyestrain and deteriorating vision is the amount of time that is spent staring at computer monitors and television screens.

Your eyes are designed to move regularly. Frequent movement of your eyes is what promotes optimal blood flow and nerve tone to your eyes and the six muscles that control your eye movements.

What follows are several simple eye exercises that you can do on a regular basis to keep your eyes and vision as healthy as possible:

1. Look as far to your right as possible for 3-5 seconds, then as far to your left as possible for 3-5 seconds. Rest for a few seconds, then repeat this sequence several times.

2. Look as far up as possible for 3-5 seconds, then look as far down as possible for 3-5 seconds. Rest for a few seconds, then repeat this sequence several times.

3. Slowly roll your eyes in a circle, first clockwise, then counter-clockwise. Rest for a few seconds, then repeat this sequence several times. Be sure to roll slowly – it should take at least 3 seconds for you to roll your eyes in a full circle.

4. Hold a pen in front of you, about an arm’s length away. Focus your vision on the tip of your pen for 3-5 seconds, then shift the focus of your vision to an object that is farther away for 3-5 seconds. The greater the distance between your pen and the distant object, the better. If you are indoors, look out a window to find a distant object to focus your vision on. Repeat this sequence of going back and forth between your pen and a distant object several times.

Just for interest’s sake, this exercise is used by some professional baseball players to optimize visual acuity, which is essential for the hand-eye coordination that is needed to play pro ball.

Please note that all of these exercises should be done with your eyes, not your head and neck. With this in mind, keep your head and neck still while you take your eyes through the movements described above.

FDA Withdrawals Approval of Arsenic In Chicken Feed!

Under threat of a lawsuit, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to a nearly four-year-old petition, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the vast majority of arsenic-containing compounds used as feed additives for chickens, turkeys and hogs. A lawsuit filed by Center for Food Safety (CFS), the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and seven other U.S. food safety, agriculture, public health and environmental groups compelled the FDA to respond. The FDA will withdraw three of the four arsenicals and all drug approvals associated with them. Of the 101 drug approvals for arsenic-based animal drugs, 98 will be withdrawn.

“The withdrawal of these harmful feed additives is a major victory for consumers and the health of our food system,” said Paige Tomaselli, senior attorney with Center for Food Safety. “It is unfortunate that legal pressure from outside groups was necessary to spur action by FDA, yet in the end, we are pleased that FDA listened to our scientific objections and is now working to rid arsenic from our meat supply.”

Arsenic is added to poultry feed for the purposes of inducing faster weight gain on less feed, and creating the perceived appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens, turkeys and hogs. A 2006 IATP report estimated that more than 70 percent of all U.S. chickens raised for meat are fed arsenic, and testing of supermarket bought and fast food chicken found that much of it contained some level of arsenic.

“The actions by FDA and industry confirm what we’ve been saying for seven years, the use of arsenic in animal feed is not necessary and poses needless risk to public health,” said Ben Lilliston, vice president for program at IATP. “The FDA’s response is long overdue to reduce exposure to arsenic and should launch a more comprehensive evaluation of health risks associated with animal feed produced by the pharmaceutical industry.”

 In the FDA’s response to the petition, the agency acknowledged that recent scientific reports on arsenical compounds in animal feed challenged previous assumptions of safety. In particular, concern arose over the ability of organic arsenic (which is non-carcinogenic) to transform into inorganic arsenic (known to be carcinogenic) in the environment or animal tissue.

The FDA ordered the additive manufacturers to provide additional information related to whether inorganic arsenic can be detected in the edible tissues of animals administered their particular arsenic-based new animal drugs; whether organic arsenic converts to inorganic arsenic in vivo; and whether and to what extent the behavior of one arsenic-based animal drug is applicable to other arsenic-based animal drugs. After receiving the FDA’s letter, Zoetis requested the FDA withdraw approval of roxarsone and carbarsone on Sept. 19, and Fleming Laboratories, Inc. requested that the FDA withdrawal approval of arsanilic acid on Sept. 26. The FDA will be issuing Federal Register Notices and initiating formal withdrawal.

The 2009 petition presented abundant science to the FDA that organic arsenic compounds—like those added to animal feed—are directly toxic to animals and humans, but also that they convert to cancer-causing, inorganic arsenic inside of chickens, in manure-treated soil and in humans.

First approved as animal feed additives in the 1940s, arsenic-containing compounds remained legal for use in U.S. chicken, turkey and swine production. They were never approved as safe for animal feed in the European Union, Japan and many other countries.

Why You Need to be Eating Red Bell Peppers

Weight Maintenance

If you are trying to lose weight without sacrificing nutrition, red bell peppers can be beneficial. Each medium pepper provides 1.18 grams of protein, 2.5 grams of fiber and 5 grams of natural sugar, with only 37 calories. Whether you have red bell peppers in a breakfast omelet, on a salad at lunch or with other sauteed vegetables at dinner, they can contribute flavor to a variety of foods without adding an abundance of calories, fat or cholesterol.

Antioxidants

A medium red bell pepper is rich in antioxidants, providing 154 milligrams of vitamin C, nearly twice your recommended daily intake of 75 to 90 milligrams, and about 25 percent of your daily requirement for vitamin A, with 187 micrograms. It also provides 55 micrograms of folate and 1.88 milligrams of vitamin E, giving you about 10 percent of your daily needs for those nutrients. Getting enough antioxidants each day can benefit your immune system and help keep your cells healthy.

B Vitamins

A red bell pepper contains B vitamins that are essential for growth and development. It has .064 milligram of thiamin, .1 milligram of riboflavin and 1.16 milligrams of niacin, giving you small amounts of these vitamins to supplement your diet. It also provides 1.17 milligrams of vitamin B-6, nearly all of the 1.3 to 1.7 milligrams of B-6 that you need each day. An adequate intake of vitamin B-6 helps your body make neurotransmitters and may reduce breast cancer risk factors, according to a 2012 study published in "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention."

Minerals

A large red bell pepper provides 1.3 milligrams of manganese, a mineral that helps develop strong bones and connective tissues. The Institute of Medicine recommends that women get 1.8 milligrams of manganese per day, while men need 2.3 milligrams; a red bell pepper gives you 55 to 75 percent of your daily value for that nutrient, which may help prevent osteoporosis, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. It also provides 8 milligrams of calcium, half a milligram of iron, 14 milligrams of magnesium, 31 milligrams of phosphorus, 251 milligrams of potassium and .3 milligrams of zinc, supplementing your diet with small amounts of these minerals.

Anti-Inflammatory

Sweet bell peppers, as well as spicy chile peppers, are filled with the phytochemical capsaicin, which packs an impressive punch against inflammation. Capsaicin reduces levels of substance P, the compound in the body that triggers inflammation and pain impulses from the central nervous system. It is also thought that this pain-relieving phytochemical triggers the body to release endorphins, nature’s own opiates. Red peppers are also filled with salicylates, which are aspirin-like compounds.