Toxic Infant Formulas, Jack3d Deaths and the Seafood Fraud Report

Hi Everybody,

Here are a few new tidbits for you…

PESTICIDE IN INFANT FORMULA LABELED AS A NUTRIENT- USDA-certified infant formula manufacturers are evidently being allowed to not only use a chemical pesticide in their formulas, but to advertise it as a healthy mineral.

Copper Sulfate is being labeled as a healthy, organic nutrient in infant formulas, even though it is considered a pesticide and algaecide in other products. The chemical is used in Rooto brand ‘Root Killer’, Crystal Blue septic cleaner and Seed Ranch fungicide/mildew cleaner as well as tree stump remover.

Additionally, the adequacy of an infant formula is not decided by its ability to produce health in the infants taking it, as you would think, but instead is based solely on whether or not the formula contains minimum amounts of 29 nutrients considered mandatory. Additionally, it does not even matter if those nutrients are in forms that the body can absorb – the only thing that matters is that they are in there.  The goal of these formulas seems not to be giving the infant optimal amounts of needed nutrients, but simply to keep children alive and growing at a pace deemed acceptable by pediatric growth guidelines.

 JACK3D DEATHS- Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) is a stimulant in Jack3d (a pre-workout dietary supplement) that has now been linked to several deaths. In 2011, DMAA was found in the toxicology reports of two soldiers’ deaths. It was also sound in the body of a British woman, Claire Squires, who died while running the London Marathon in 2012. Jack3d has now been banned in England.

Products containing DMAA are commonly marketed as workout boosters. The FDA has not decided on the safety of the products, but in general we are not very fond of these type products and think you should avoid them in general.

This goes for stimulant type weight loss products and energy drinks as well. There have simply been too many deaths surrounding these products to safely recommend them. Often the deaths have occurred because the products were misused, but the potential is still there.

THE NATIONAL SEAFOOD FRAUD REPORT- Over the past several years, Oceana (a non-profit international ocean conservation and advocacy organization) has tested over 1,000 fish samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states. Testing revealed that around 33% of the seafood was mislabeled. Additionally, sushi restaurants had mislabeled their fish around 74% of the time.

The consequences of these findings range from simply irritating to possibly harmful. First, you may be paying too much for a less expensive type of fish. Second, some fish are listed as “do not eat” for sensitive groups like pregnant women and children due to its high mercury content. Additionally, escolar, which causes diarrhea in some consumers, was substituted for white tuna 84% of the time.

In general, if you are considered to be in a “sensitive” group – like pregnant women, children and maybe the elderly – you may want to skip fish when eating out.

Hope this helps,

Dr Matt and Dr Robin

mattandrobin@yahoo.com (email)

This week’s bit of Useless Information:  The scent that lingers after a nice rain is called ‘petrichor’.

This email is courtesy of Matthew Barnes, D.C. and Robin Barnes, D.C.  Neither this nor any of our emails are intended to be medical advice and should not be taken as such.  They are opinion and are for informational purposes only.  None of the nutrients discussed here are meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.

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