What is the RDA of ant poison?

I learned a new word yesterday. Azodicarbonamide*.
Let's start from the beginning and sound it out, Azo-di-carbon-amide.

Azocarbonamide is banned in the UK and Australia, in Singapore you can get 15 years in prison and a fine of $450,000†. EU classification: harmful.

According to chemindustry.ru, "Generally azodicarbonamide is prepared in industry by condensation of hydrazine sulfate with urea under high temperature and pressure. This reaction results in hydrazoformamide which is oxidized with sodium hypochlorite and centrifuged to yield a slurry containing end product. The slurry is washed to remove impurities and dried to obtain the azodicarbonamide powder." Urea** is food now?

Azodicarbonimide is a foaming agent used in plastic blow-molding and according to mbm.net.au†, "Flour treatment and bleaching agent in baked goods, breads, rice, chewing gum, flour, grains. The US FDA require further testing. Banned in Australia. Avoid it." (I added spaces to most of the mbm.net.au quotes, so it's not a strictly verbatim.) From the NOAA.gov website, "Reacts with hot water to give nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and ammonia." Thanks to its nitrogen-ammonia pedigree, it's used as a component in explosives•••.

Some recognizable names are Panera bagels, Wal-Mart Bakery (where my brother spotted it and got me interested) breads and Subway sandwiches. The last one irritates the heck out of me, I love Subway. Ironically, I also found it listed in the ingredients for Nature's Own, 100% Whole Wheat (bread).

It brings on asthma if ingested or inhaled. It's one of the few things that can kill the AIDs virus, if used correctly††, if not, it could kill you. The safety warnings tell workers not to inhale it, get it in their eyes or touch it with their skin, if they do, they're supposed to wash vigorously.

Some other favorites from the mbm.net.au list are:
Shellac, used as a glazing agent, chocolate, confectionary, in "orange fizzy drinks," orange skin(s), medications... Derived from the (East) Indian Lac insect. "Vegans generally avoid the product as there are still lice in the raw product..." In the first cleaning process, after the second, I suppose it's reduced to "trace protein."

Montanic acidesters - A wax obtained by solvent extraction of lignite (brown coal), used as a coating for citrus fruits. So discard that orange peel or lemon rind, don't use it for flavoring. Irony of timing, I was eating an orange last night when my Dad started reading this list.

Cystein monohydrochloride and L-cysteine hydrochloridemonohydrate are flour treatment agents derived from animal hair, chicken feathers, and if from China, human hair. A known neurotoxin.

Potassium bromate - "Large quantities can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, kidney damage and failure. The WHO in 1993 said that this ingredient is no longer acceptable for use as it is a possible carcinogen. Typically used in flour products."

Aspartame - "an artificial sweetener found in most diet soft drinks, diet foods, etc. originally developed as ant poison. 92 known side effects including migraine headaches, allergy and brain tumors."

Sacchrine - An artificial sweetener derived from toluene (a known carcinogen). You've heard of its cousin, tri-nitro-toluene or TNT. Interferes with normal blood coagulation (scabbing over), blood sugar levels and digestive function. Was once banned in the US in 1977 but is now back with a warning label. Banned in France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Israel, Peru and Taiwan, depending on the usage. Upon reading this, my Dad informed me that toluene is classically the harmful/solvent/narcotic ingredient in modeling glue.

Sucralose aka trichlorogalactosucrose - You'll find it branded under the name, "Splenda." "In animal test before being accepted in Australia, they showed detrimental effects to the thalamus glands, liver and kidney enlargement, and renal mineralisation."

Renal mineralization (U.S.A. spelling), otherwise known as kidney stones. I think I'll just use honey.

Triethylacetate or citrate - Commercially produced from citric acid. Used in whipping cream, as a thickener, vegetable gum for flavoring and sports drinks and in (packaged) egg white liquid or dried. "Part becomes alcohol in the body."

The rather important list goes on and covers a variety of chemical additives found in processed foods.
Maybe it's time we scrutinized food additives with the same careful lens that herbs are receiving. I mean, how many of these everyday additives have "adverse effects" (see: bullets, snakebites and high voltage power lines) when used alone, much less when combined with common medications? Do these additives cause the rash of allergies (esp. wheat) that we've been seeing?

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azodicarbonamide

† http://www.mbm.net.au/health/900-1520.htm

†† http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102223560.html

** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urea

††† http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/19157

The fact that this stuff (Azodicarbonamide) has its own explosives profile should tell you something.
***http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADD019191

One gram of azodicarbonamide being decomposed releases about 230 mL of gaseous products.
http://chemindustry.ru/Azodicarbonamide.php

The famous 599 ingredients found in cigarettes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_additives_in_cigarettes

The quotes are for review purposes only but the opinion? Get your own. Read the information in context for yourself. It's important to be an educated consumer and know what you're eating. It's those little compromises that'll come back us in ways we never expected.

The Machine.

The fuel cell craze seems to have run out of air sooner than the Y2K scare. GM went from leading an oddball charge into the unknown to carping for handouts. So what are the average citizens of the world doing to help?

This guy created a wicked little HHO (hydrogen+oxygen) torch, then he applied it to his car, which now gets great mileage.


This company retrofits diesel trucks to run on propane, getting an average of 40-60 mpg and running more smoothly than OEM.


This Japanese company makes a strictly HHO car that promises fantastic numbers.


Here's another one, in Japanese.


Here's a feisty lil Camaro in Bahrain.


Okay, it doesn't have anything to do with the others but it's pretty cool.

This is a more environmentally responsible machining tool from KMT, a 90,000 PSI Waterjet that's outshining plasma lasers and it's made in America. My brother helped to design it.

2009

So, it's a new year and a brand new chance to make the same old mistakes- or not. Personally, I'd like to see this year become the year that the rock and roll came home.
Right or wrong, the U.S. has a brand new president, the corporate world has seen the effects of short-sighted investor-driven greed and hopefully, the alternative energy market will blossom in the face of upcoming gas taxes.
I think this will be a year of polarization between American car buffs and the new imports, though Mahindra's truck (2009/2010, they're not sure) may have some help from their Jeep and tractor ties.

The pic is an embedded link (not copied) directly to Mahindra & Mahindra's website, click to see the whole thing.

If Obama keeps going after Pakistan*, friendly relations with India, Mahindra's native land, might not be such a terrible thing. Though it would show surprising... strategery.
The threat of China and Wal-Mart has been so overblown that we're not paying attention to Russia's newly instated federal breeding holiday††, a definite sign that they're gearing up for something.
At least N. Korea is vowing nuclear arms reduction, but time will tell. It's been noted that N. Korean editorials refrain from criticizing Obama†.

The entertainment industry may peak and reach a point of recreation or die, Youtube and mp3raid are the new cassette and radio, we just have to capitalize on it.
Apple stores are such a hit that Mac won't even be attending the Macworld Expo after this Jan 6-2009 event. [http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/12/16macworld.html] I guess 3.5 million a week are as much of an audience as they want... tsch, lightweights.
Microsoft isn't having any help from their own camp either, the overwhelming motto from help sites seems to be, 'friends, don't let friends Vista.' Don Reisinger of Cnet, predicts March or April for a Windows 7 announcement.**

In short, much calamity, "wars and rumors of wars" may dominate the commerce-driven news but let us not forget to mind our own business and have a Happy New Year.


* http://www.newsweek.com/id/177614/page/2

† http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-01-01-voa7.cfm

†† http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6990802.stm

** http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10130064-17.html









This is my opinion and only my opinion, it's a blog. All rights reserved. Seriously, ask.

The flap over gum goop

Paralysis, numbness, tingling, muscular weakness, copper deficiency, bone marrow failure and subsequently, anemia... what can these symptoms have in common? According to a study* by the University of Texas, Colorado U. and the Mayo clinic: Polident and Fixodent. More specifically, zinc poisoning.

Thusfar, doctors are being diplomatic, counseling users to follow use directions and apply in moderation but, quoting the U.T. study via MSNBC•, "Based on patients' denture cream use, the researchers estimate that they were exposed to at least 330 mg of zinc daily, far more than the recommended daily allowance of 8 mg for women and 11 mg for men. The National Academy of Sciences stated in 2001 that the largest daily tolerable zinc intake is 40 mg." That's a lot of over-gooping.

You can buy a subscription to Neurology* and read the study in its original context (the abstract is free) and entirety or you can catch the highlights from MSNBC†. I found this company response†† interesting, "The amount of zinc an average denture adhesive user would ingest from daily usage of Fixodent is less than the amount of zinc in a daily multi-vitamin; less than 6 oysters (fried or raw); comparable to 6 oz. beef tenderloin." (Scroll down to the bottom; it's in answer to a doctor's report.) These seem to be the closest that either company will come to releasing numbers of their own and there are none yet from the FDA, to my knowledge.

Not sure whether the folks at P&G (Fixodent), meant the net amount from an average multivitamin or the absorbed amount, as some sewer workers have been able to read the name from them later. Sorry, hope you weren't eating.

From the original report's abstract, published in Neurology, a medical journal, "Results: Zinc concentrations ranging from about 17,000 to 34,000 µg/g were identified in Fixodent and Poli-Grip denture creams. Serum zinc levels improved in three patients following cessation of denture cream use. Copper supplementation resulted in mild neurologic improvement in two patients who stopped using denture cream. No alternative source of excess zinc ingestion or explanation for hypocupremia was identified.

Conclusion: Denture cream contains zinc, and chronic excessive use may result in hypocupremia and serious neurologic disease. "
"From the Departments of Neurology (S.P.N., L.A.L, G.I.W., J.R.T.) and Clinical Sciences (L.S.H., J.R.), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; the Department of Pathology (P.J.B.), University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (M.F.B., J.A.B.), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN."
Seems like an impressive set of checks and balances.

I did find an interesting paper on the effect of copper deficiency in mice.**
"Dietary copper deficiency (CuD) leads to cardiomyopathy in experimental animal models (1–5). Copper depletion–induced cardiomyopathy is characterized by concentric cardiac hypertrophy such as occurs in the pressure overloaded heart (4, 6). Although CuD heart hypertrophy may be initially an adaptive response to a stress stimulus, which normalizes wall tension, further progression leads to impaired cardiac muscle function and heart failure (7)." You can download a PDF to read the rest for yourself. The damage can be repaired by reintroduction of dietary copper (don't tell the lawyers).

*Original study
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/71/9/639

†Highlights, free.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26564090/

††Corporate reply
http://bmartinmd.com/2008/08/zinc-in-excess-denture-cream-m.html

**Dietary Copper Restriction-Induced Changes in Myocardial Gene Expression and the Effect of Copper Repletion
http://www.ebmonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/229/7/616
http://www.ebmonline.org/cgi/reprint/229/7/616

Several law firms are also making a case of their own
www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Denture-Cream-Zinc-Poisoning&title=Denture%20Cream%20Zinc%20Poisoning

http://www.schmidtandclark.com/Dentures/

http://neuropathy-zinc-toxicity-dental-cream.com

Dietary copper sources
http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/diet_nutrition/copper.htm
www.dietbites.com/Diet-Articles-8/copper.html

FYI, any info quoted here is for review purposes only and meant to point the way to highly qualified professionals. I am not now, nor was I ever a doctor, lawyer or denture product consumer.

Mood music - Mandelgroove by The Blue Man Group

Psst, hey professor Prius...

When talking about pollution, industrial waste and automotive exhaust are generally what's pictured, at least by the media but what over a million people in Taiwan vowed to do might be the most effective environmental change yet.

They became herbivores.

Stay with me. According to the Union of NoMeatNoHeat*, that will reduce Taiwan's carbon emissions by 1.5 million tons, provided they stick to said oath.
In a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N.†, "Global meat production is projected to more than double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 million tonnes in 2050, while milk output is set to climb from 580 to 1043 million tonnes." 18% more CO2 than the automotive sector.
But that's not the worst of it, because "...the livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure."
Not only that, according to the National Resources Defense Council••, "In 1996 the Centers for Disease Control established a link between spontaneous abortions and high nitrate levels in Indiana drinking water wells located close to feedlots."
"High levels of nitrates in drinking water also increase the risk of methemoglobinemia, or "blue-baby syndrome," which can kill infants."
The (undated) NRDC report says that 70 percent of antibiotics in the US go to agriculture, at a rate of about 24 million tons per year. Producing a rise in resistant bacteria.
Hydrogen sulfide emissions wafting from large hog farms killed 19 people in 1998, according to the National Institute of Health.
I could go on but I encourage you to follow the links and read the rest for yourself.

As a side note, the most common chemical fertilizer, such as were (allegedly) used in the OKC bombing are nitrate based and often end up blowing on the wind, since "modern farming" offers no topsoil retention. Thus, the timing of the dustbowl.
A 2008 UN report encourages a return to "Conservation Agriculture," as a more environmentally responsible method.

Thai resolution
*http://english.rti.org.tw/Content/GetSingleNews.aspx?ContentID=59093

Food and Agriculture Org. of the U.N.
† http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html

National Resources Defense Counsel
•• http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/ffarms.asp

Mood music - The little man by Alan Jackson