Study: Soft Drink Ingredient Sodium Benzoate May Lead to Cirrhosis, Parkinson's

New findings regarding the dangers to health by soft drinks has caused fear in the UK and is sure to cause concern in other parts of the world, according to a report published in the Irish Independent.

According to recent research, carried out by Sheffield University in the UK, a preservative that is commonly found in soft drinks can cause essential parts of human DNA to stop working, leading to serious health problems.

The health problems most commonly thought to arise from this preservative are not what most would associated with drinking a soda or fruit juice, but more with the aging process and excessive alcohol consumption.

Many of us know today that too much soda should be avoided as it can lead to dental problems. But the new research reveals that the preservative commonly found in soft drinks can also lead to cirrhosis and Parkinson's.

The head expert that worked on the study, Peter Piper, took a close look at this common preservative, known as E211, otherwise called sodium benzoate. Piper told the Independent that "these chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it, they knock it out altogether. The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously."

Sodium benzoate or E211 has been used in soft drinks for many years. This isn't the first time this commonly used preservative has been the subject of controversy. Last year it was causing fear over its potential to cause cancer if it was combined with vitamin C. It was found that when E211 was combined with Vitamin C, a carcinogenic was created, called benzene.

Last year the Food Standards Agency in the UK investigated a number of soft drinks that had this combination and found four to have unsafe levels of benzene. As a result these four drinks were taken from store shelves.

Many may be wondering what the purpose of E211 is and why it is so commonly used. The reason E211 is used is that is keeps the soft drinks fresh by not allowing mould and other harmful bacteria to grow. E211 isn't just found in soft drinks, it can be found in other food products such as salad dressing.

Both the food agencies in the US and Europe have sodium benzoate as an approved safe to use substance. However, Piper was quick to point out that the test carried out by these two food agencies were old and now inaccurate.

Piper said, "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago. We are feeding vast amounts of them to children inadvertently. Is this a completely safe process?"

The UK Food Standards agency, when questioned about the research said that E211 was safe, "Sodium benzoate and benzoic acid are approved for food use. Food additives are only permitted for use after a long and careful process of evaluation." (ANI)

Many foods contain E211 or other preservatives that are thought to be harmful to human health. For example E102 has been linked to thyroid tumours. E110 can have side effects that include tumours of the kidney, hives and throwing up. The preservative E407 have been recently researched and thought to cause cancer. These are just a few of the many E preservatives that we often consume on a daily basis without thinking about them. It maybe time to take a closer look at what you are eating.

Source

Posted by Vitamin Z on May 31, 2007 12:49 PM Permalink

http://www.unsymmetrical.com/2007/05/study_soft_drink_ingredient_so.php

Sotong pembunuh manusia

Oleh DEWI ABDUL RAHMAN

Pencemaran laut punca sotong kering dan ikan bilis mengandungi toksik.

HATIJAH mengingatkan bahawa hormon dalam badan boleh terjejas akibat pengambilan makanan tercemar.

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MAKANAN laut sememangnya digemari ramai. Sama ada kering mahupun basah, ia pasti menjanjikan sajian yang melambai selera.

Sotong dan udang kering, begitu juga ikan bilis merupakan hidangan atau bahan masakan popular bagi hampir semua etnik diMalaysia.

Bagaimanapun, Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP) minggu lepas mendakwa, sotong kering yang dijual di pasaran dicemari kandungan kadmium yang tinggi hingga boleh menyebabkan kanser payu dara dan prostat.

Kadmium adalah metallohormone beracun yang bertindak sebagai estrogen serta androgen yang mampu menyebabkan kanser payu dara dan prostat.

Penemuan terbaru itu berdasarkan kajian ke atas enam sampel sotong kering yang dijual di pasaran di Pulau Pinang sejak sebulan lalu.

Paling mengejutkan, satu sampel mempunyai paras kadmium 4.33 ppm (bahagian persejuta), iaitu empat kali ganda daripada kadar yang dibenarkan Peraturan Makanan 1985.

Selain sotong kering, tiram, ikan bilis dan udang juga mengandungi kadmium namun jumlahnya lebih rendah.

Tahukah anda bahawa semua ini disebabkan pencemaran laut yang turut memberi kesan buruk secara global?

Sebenarnya, masih ramai yang tidak tahu bahawa makanan yang menjadi kegemaran mereka selama ini dapat mengancam nyawa.

Namun jangan salah faham kerana kehadiran kadmium dalam sotong kering bukan disebabkan kaedah pengawetan.

Kadmium

Puncanya akibat kenaifan manusia sendiri yang memandang enteng aspek penjagaan ekosistem marin.

Tanpa disedari, hakikatnya kita telah menghadam banyak sisa toksik dan racun di dalam badan apabila menjamah pelbagai jenis hidupan laut yang tercemar.

Pembuang sampah sarap, sisa industri dan minyak dikenal pasti sebagai angkara utama manusia yang mengganggu dan seterusnya membunuh habitat serta hidupan marin.

IKAN bilis juga mempunyai kadar kadmium yang tidak boleh dipandang mudah.

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Menurut pegawai penyelidik CAP, Hatijah Hashim, perbuatan manusia mencemarkan laut hanya akan mengundang kemudaratan kepada kehidupan manusia sendiri.

“Hidupan laut yang tercemar sememangnya mengandungi kadmium, tidak terkecuali sotong,” ujarnya.

Ini bermakna kandungan kadmium sudah wujud dalam sotong basah ketika ia hidup lagi di habitatnya lagi.

“Kadmium dalam sotong kering itu bukan hadir disebabkan kaedah pengawetan, sebaliknya ia sudah wujud ketika kewujudannya sebagai sotong basah lagi,” ujarnya.

Tambahnya: “Makanan yang mengandungi kadmium ibarat tiada khasiatnya langsung.

“Puncanya ialah sikap manusia yang enggan menjaga kebersihan laut. Akibatnya, badan kita akan menerima makanan yang tidak bersih sekali gus mengganggu sistem hormon di dalam badan.”

Walau bagaimanapun hujahnya, kesan yang diperoleh bergantung kepada tahap imunisasi tubuh individu.

Bagi mengelakkan kesan berpanjangan, pengguna dinasihatkan supaya mengambil bahan makanan tersebut dalam kuantiti yang kecil atau lebih baik mengelak daripada memakannya.

Kadmium merupakan sejenis logam berat yang berbahaya kerana elemen ini berisiko tinggi terhadap pembuluh darah.

Ia memberi kesan terhadap kesihatan manusia untuk jangka masa panjang khususnya hati dan ginjal.

Kesan pengambilan logam toksik yang berlebihan ini boleh mendedahkan seseorang kepada kanser payu dara, kanser prostat serta penyakit buah pinggang.

Kesan jangka pendek pula boleh dilihat melalui tanda-tanda seperti demam, sakit kepala, berpeluh berlebihan, otot menggigil dan keresahan.

Kadmium juga terhasil daripada pembakaran bahan buangan dari rumah atau industri, pembakaran arang batu dan minyak.

Asap kenderaan, penghasilan bateri dan cat, industri pemprosesan logam, pengangkutan dan pembuangan sampah turut menjadi punca material beracun itu.

Bahan makanan kering yang diimport dari negara-negara luar khususnya, tidak banyak dipantau atau diuji terlebih dahulu sebelum dipasarkan.

Kajian rambang perlu dilakukan bagi mengesahkan kuantiti kandungan kadmium di dalam makanan yang telah diawet kerana dikhuatiri melebihi had yang dibenarkan.

http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2009&dt=1004&pub=Kosmo&sec=Rencana_Utama&pg=ru_02.htm