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Fortified Foods May Be Dangerous
U.S.News & World Report ^ | June 24, 2014 | Amir Khan

Posted on 06/25/2014 9:48:46 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom

Many cereals, snack bars and other foods tout that they’re fortified with vitamins and minerals, but it turns out, adding that into food may be dangerous, according to a new report by the Environmental Working Group. The organization found that nearly half of kids 8 or younger consume potentially dangerous levels of vitamin A, zinc and niacin due to over-fortification.

The researchers fortified 1,550 cereals and 1,000 snack bars and found that 114 had 30 percent or more of the adult daily value for some vitamins and minerals, which can cause liver damage, skeletal abnormalities, hair loss and more in kids.

"Heavily fortified foods may sound like a good thing, but it when it comes to children and pregnant women, excessive exposure to high nutrient levels could actually cause short or long-term health problems," Renee Sharp, EWG's research director and co-author of the report, said in a statement. "Manufacturers use vitamin and mineral fortification to sell their products, adding amounts in excess of what people need and more than might be prudent for young children to consume."


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: cereal; fortifiedfood; vitamins
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To: Gunpowder green

JERF - Just Eat Real Food

Eggs, meat, fish, poultry, veggies, fruits, seeds, nuts, and good fats.


21 posted on 06/25/2014 10:15:26 AM PDT by KosmicKitty (WARNING: Hormonally crazed woman ahead!!)
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To: ConservingFreedom
Anyone tempted to take this "report" at face value should visit the "Environmental Working Group's" website, above, and read their list of "Successes" under "About Us".

They're quite up-front about who and what they are, and where they think "we" should be going.

Are you sure you want to go there?

22 posted on 06/25/2014 10:16:49 AM PDT by NorthMountain
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To: ConservingFreedom

They MAY be dangerous and they MAY NOT be dangerous.

I won’t be dumping my iodized salt out anytime soon.


23 posted on 06/25/2014 10:21:23 AM PDT by Organic Panic
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To: Jack Hammer

Birth is a terminal illness


24 posted on 06/25/2014 10:22:31 AM PDT by Organic Panic
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To: ConservingFreedom

Clearly we must outlaw fortified foods, unless fortified with cannabis.


25 posted on 06/25/2014 10:30:52 AM PDT by married21 ( As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

I’m one of those who “preach” about refined flour.

Suit yourself, but in my house, we don’t eat processed garbage


26 posted on 06/25/2014 10:35:29 AM PDT by surroundedbyblue (Bitter clinger & creepy-ass cracker)
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To: OLDCU

Staffed entirely by former Gore and Clinton staffers. They put out press releases constantly that are aimed at spreading FUD. My understanding is that they pay for studies to show whatever conclusion they seek.


27 posted on 06/25/2014 10:38:49 AM PDT by reformedliberal
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To: OLDCU

radical anti-capitalists. dark money operation funded by soros


28 posted on 06/25/2014 10:45:28 AM PDT by Tradcon (Tradcon)
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To: willywill
,(funded i’m sure by big pharma), which apparently show that taking supplements is either worthless or bad

Help me out here. Why would big pharma, manufacturer of supplements, be against the use of supplements?

29 posted on 06/25/2014 10:45:28 AM PDT by Sparklite
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To: NorthMountain

and this:

EWG Director
Drummond Pike: Drummond Pike is a Principal with Equilibrium Capital, an impact investments firm concentrating on sustainability investments in water, land, and energy. Pike founded and served until 2010 as chief executive officer of Tides Network, a collaborative group of social justice organizations, including Tides Foundation, Tides Center, Tides Shared Spaces, and Thoreau Center for Sustainability. He pioneered a national structure of fully-staffed donor-advised funds in philanthropy, and has supported grassroots and public interest organizations through environmental and social change philanthropy since 1970. Prior to founding Tides in 1976, Drummond served as executive director of the Shalan Foundation, an organization dedicated to economic change and environmental sustainability. He co-founded and served as associate director for the Youth Project in Washington, D.C. He also co-founded Working Assets/Credo Mobile, a telecommunications company dedicated to progressive philanthropy and political activism. Pike serves on the boards of Tides Canada Foundation, Island Press, and the Democracy Alliance.
He graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and earned a Masters of Political Science from the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University.
TIDES FOUNDATION! DEMOCRACY ALLIANCE! Hellooooooo Georgy Soros.


30 posted on 06/25/2014 10:45:28 AM PDT by Tradcon (Tradcon)
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To: Sparklite

“Help me out here. Why would big pharma, manufacturer of supplements, be against the use of supplements? “

usually the term supplements is taken to mean something supposedly natural, like vitamins or herbs. these are not manufactured by what we would consider big pharma.
there is what many believe a well funded effort by big pharma and the conventional medical community to discredit the use of so called natural supplements.
now, regarding my previous post, its not necessary to believe one way or the other, there are two facts we know.
one, studies are always being published showing the dangers or uselessness of supplements (vitamins), but, two, the fda requires and/or ignores supplements being added to foods.

my point was, you can’t have it both ways, they’re either useful or not, and if not, why are they adding them to foods.


31 posted on 06/25/2014 11:27:23 AM PDT by willywill
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To: willywill
studies are always being published showing the dangers or uselessness of supplements (vitamins)

I've been taking supplements for about forty years. Vitamin C supplement is helpful to me, studies be damned, and as for the rest, it's a cheap enough peace of mind.

32 posted on 06/25/2014 12:44:50 PM PDT by Sparklite
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To: willywill
there is what many believe a well funded effort by big pharma and the conventional medical community to discredit the use of so called natural supplements.

That's because the evidence is clear that vitamin/mineral supplements are of no use in preventing chronic disease, and can sometimes be harmful.

one, studies are always being published showing the dangers or uselessness of supplements (vitamins)

Yes, the scientific evidence shows that for most people, supplements are useless and can be dangerous.

but, two, the fda requires and/or ignores supplements being added to foods.

Sounds like the problem rests with the FDA, not big pharma...or little pharma....or mid-sized pharma.

33 posted on 06/25/2014 12:46:16 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: Mase

“Sounds like the problem rests with the FDA, not big pharma...or little pharma....or mid-sized pharma.”

does the fda run big pharma, or does big pharma run the fda?


34 posted on 06/25/2014 3:34:34 PM PDT by willywill
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To: willywill
Really? And as Exhibit A you'll offer the fact that because of the FDA, it only costs, on average, $800 million, and takes 13 years to bring a new drug to market? Yeah, those two must be in bed together....right? Sure.

The relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA is probably the most adversarial in all of industry. If you're going to indict an industry on a pro-capitalism site like FR, you should probably know a little bit about that industry, don't you think?

35 posted on 06/25/2014 5:02:47 PM PDT by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: ConservingFreedom

Just got back from a couple weeks in the Netherlands. where people seem to eat a diet of french fries (with mayonnaise), chocolate, and breaded, deep-fried mashed potato and gravy balls. Saw no fat people.


36 posted on 06/25/2014 5:16:04 PM PDT by Trailerpark Badass (There should be a whole lot more going on than throwing bleach, said one woman.)
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