by Sherry Baker
July 7 2009
(NaturalNews) According to a new study by scientists at Rhode Island Hospital,
millions of Americans could be at risk of serious and even fatal diseases
because of chemicals used to fertilizer and to preserve food. Scientists have
found a strong link between increasing levels of nitrates and nitrites in our
food supply and increasing death rates from Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and
Parkinson's disease.
The research, just published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease,
investigated trends in death rates due to diseases associated with advancing
age. They found convincing parallels between age adjusted rises in mortality
from certain illnesses -- Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's, and diabetes -- and the steadily increasing human exposure to
nitrates, nitrites and
nitrosamines through processed and preserved foods as well as
fertilizers.
Suzanne de la Monte, MD, MPH, of Rhode Island Hospital, and her research team
suggest that the exposure to these
chemicals is playing a direct role in the cause, development and effects of
the pandemic of these diseases. "Because of the similar trending in nearly all
age groups within each
disease category, this indicates that these overall trends are not due to an
aging population. This relatively short time interval for such dramatic
increases in death rates associated with these diseases is more consistent with
exposure-related causes rather than genetic changes," Dr. de la Monte explained
in a statement to the media. "Moreover, the strikingly higher and climbing
mortality rates in older age brackets suggest that aging and/or longer durations
of exposure have greater impacts on progression and severity of these diseases."
Nitrites and
nitrates belong to a class of chemicals called nitrosamines that are created
by a chemical reaction between nitrites or other proteins. They've long been
shown to be harmful to both humans and animals. In fact, more than 90 percent of
nitrosamines have been shown in tests to be carcinogens. However, they are
allowed to be freely added to the US
food supply. In fact, if you pick up a processed
food package such as luncheon
meat or bacon, certain beers and some cheese products, you are likely to
find that they contain these chemicals. In addition, exposure to nitrates and
nitrites are widely found in fertilizers, pesticides and cosmetics. Exposure
also occurs through the manufacturing and processing of rubber and latex
products.
Nitrosamines are problematic because they become reactive at the cellular level
and that means they can alter gene expression and cause
DNA damage. The new research suggests that the cellular alterations that
occur as a result of nitrosamine exposure create a process much like accelerated
aging in the body and that could spur on the development of Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's and
Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
"All of these diseases are associated with increased insulin resistance and
DNA damage. Their prevalence rates have all increased radically over the
past several decades and show no sign of plateau. Because there has been a
relatively short time interval associated with the dramatic shift in disease
incidence and prevalence rates, we believe this is due to exposure-related
rather than genetic etiologies," Dr. de la Monte stated.
For the study, the researchers graphed and analyzed mortality rates and compared
them with increasing age for each disease. Next the scientists looked at the
growth of the US population and the annual use and consumption of
nitrite-containing fertilizers, annual sales at popular
fast food chains (which carry nitrate and nitrate containing
foods), sales for a major meat processing company, and consumption of grain
(often fertilized with nitrates). For a control, the research team also looked
at statistics on the consumption of watermelon and cantaloupe -- foods that not
typically associated with nitrate or nitrite exposure.
The results show that while nitrogen-containing
fertilizer consumption increased by 230 percent between 1955 and 2005, its
usage doubled between 1960 and 1980 -- and that's the time period just before
the insulin-resistant epidemics of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's Disease began. What's more, the investigators also found fast
food chain and the meat processing company sales increased more than eight fold
from 1970 to 2005, and grain consumption increased five-fold. That means the US
population has been exposed to dramatic increase in foods loaded with nitrates
and nitrites.
Bottom line: the researchers think the increased prevalence rates of
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and
diabetes cannot be explained on the basis of gene mutations and, instead,
are examples of toxin exposure-related disease. "If this hypothesis is
correct, potential solutions include eliminating the use of nitrites and
nitrates in food processing, preservation and agriculture; taking steps to
prevent the formation of nitrosamines and employing safe and effective measures
to detoxify food and
water before human consumption," Dr. de la Monte, who is a professor of
pathology and lab
medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said in a
press statement.
For more information:
http://www.lifespan.org/news/2009/0...
http://www.naturalnews.com/z026566_disease_nitrates_diabetes.html