The 10 Worst Toxins Hidden in Vitamins, Supplements and Health Foods

You may be doing your body more harm than good by taking certain supplements, despite being labeled ‘natural’ or ‘healthy’. When something is sold as an herb, vitamin, superfood or supplement, we tend to this is automatically safe. And while the natural products industry has a truly remarkable safety record — especially in contrast to the massive number of deaths caused by pharmaceuticals — it still suffers from a lot of hidden toxins that are routinely used throughout the industry. For example, there are high levels of lead and arsenic routinely found in various food, supplement and herbal products from China. At levels of 1ppm or lower, this isn’t necessarily a problem. But when lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium get to high saturation levels (or are present in inorganic forms), it makes the products potentially a source of heavy metals poisoning for consumers. To find out which supplements and vitamins might secretly carry health risks, click this link and read the list.

FDA Puts Industry Profit Over Public Health ? Agency Defends Controversial Food Additive

The Cornucopia Institute has formally requested that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remove the common additive carrageenan from the US food supply. Recently, The Cornucopia Institute released a new report, Carrageenan: How a ?Natural? Food Additive Is Making Us Sick, which compiles scientific studies pointing to harm from consuming the food additive. Scientists have raised concern about its safety for decades, based on research linking food-grade carrageenan in the diet of laboratory animals to gastrointestinal disease, including colon tumors. Carrageenan is a highly processed additive extracted from red seaweed. The controversial material contributes no nutritional value or flavor, but is added to affect the texture of a wide range of foods and beverages. ?The organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm recently joined companies like Eden Foods in committing to remove carrageenan from all its products. Check out the shopping guide on Cornucopia?s website to find carrageenan-free alternatives for many products.

At Inauguration, Pope Francis Appeals for Protection of Poor & the Environment

Pope Francis issued an appeal for the protection of the weak, the poor and the world environment at a special Mass marking his inauguration as the new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. During the homily, he told a crowd of up to 200,000 gathered in front of the Vatican: ?I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God?s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.? As a public figure whose words reach millions, it is uplifting to see that he recognizes the importance of being good stewards of the land.