Cronobacter Support
06-18-2009, 11:42 AM
Posted from ngrguardiannews.com
By Chukwuma Muanya
Some milk products have been shown to contain toxic levels of dioxins. Milk from two dairy farms in Northern Ireland has been stopped from entering the food chain following test results that show dioxin levels above legal limits, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said in February.
Dioxins are chemicals that get into food from the environment. Health effects from eating the affected products are only likely if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for long periods.
Although breaching regulations, these levels of dioxin are much lower than those found in pork and beef affected by feed contamination last year. The risk to health from either drinking the affected milk or eating products made from the milk is extremely low.
The milk affected was distributed locally in Northern Ireland and also to the Republic of Ireland. The milk from these farms is usually mixed with milk from other farms before sale, so any finished product on the market is likely to be diluted and well within the legal limits for dioxins. The FSA is not calling for a withdrawal of any products from the shops but will continue to test and restrict the milk until it complies with the law.
The Food Standards Agency continues to monitor the situation and is in close contact with government bodies in Northern Ireland. Contamination of the milk is likely to be from dioxin residues in the fat of animals that had previously eaten contaminated feed.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), short-term exposure of humans to high levels of dioxins may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Chronic exposure of animals to dioxins has resulted in several types of cancer. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or TCDD was evaluated by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1997.
Based on animal data and on human epidemiology data, TCDD was classified by IARC as a "known human carcinogen". However, TCDD does not affect genetic material and there is a level of exposure below which cancer risk would be negligible.
Due to the omnipresence of dioxins, all people have background exposure and a certain level of dioxins in the body, leading to the so-called body burden. Current normal background exposure is not expected to affect human health on average. However, due to the high toxic potential of this class of compounds, efforts need to be undertaken to reduce current background exposure.
According to the WHO, the developing fetus is most sensitive to dioxin exposure. The newborn, with rapidly developing organ systems, may also be more vulnerable to certain effects. Some individuals or groups of individuals may be exposed to higher levels of dioxins because of their diets (example, high consumers of fish in certain parts of the world) or their occupations (example, workers in the pulp and paper industry, in incineration plants and at hazardous waste sites, to name just a few).
Milk products have also been associated with chronic allergies. Milk allergy is a food allergy immune adverse reaction to one or more of the proteins in cow's milk. The principal symptoms are gastrointestinal, dermatological and respiratory. These can translate to: skin rash, hives, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and distress. The clinical spectrum extends to diverse disorders: anaphylactic reactions, atopic dermatitis, wheeze, infantile colic, gastroesophageal reflux (GER), oesophagitis, allergic colitis and constipation.
The symptoms may occur within a few minutes after exposure in immediate reactions, or after hours (and in some cases after several days) in delayed reactions. Milk allergy is a food allergy, an adverse immune reaction to a food protein that is normally harmless to the non-allergic individual. Lactose intolerance is a non-allergic food sensitivity, and comes from a lack of production of the enzyme lactase, required to digest the predominant sugar in milk. Lactose intolerance is not actually a disease or malady. Adverse effects of lactose intolerance occur at much higher milk consumption than adverse effects of milk allergy.
Some studies have linked the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in milk to cancer. IGF is widely involved in human carcinogenesis. A significant association between high circulating IGF-I concentrations and an increased risk of lung, colon, prostate and pre-menopausal breast cancer has recently been reported.
Researchers and doctors all agree that diet and cancer are closely linked. And that eating a well balanced diet can help reduce the risk of cancer. What is more difficult to say is exactly which foods are most important in causing or reducing cancer risk. Studies investigating a link between cancer and dairy products have not given clear results. Some research shows an increase in the risk of developing cancer, and some shows a decrease.
Recent research shows that a higher intake of calcium (which is found in diary products) can protect against bowel cancer. But some early research suggests there could be a link between dairy intake and the risk of developing prostate and ovarian cancers. For breast cancer the evidence is conflicting. A link between breast cancer and dairy products has been suggested, possibly because of the type of fats they contain, or contaminants that could be present in these foods. But there is no clear evidence to support this. Another theory is that dairy products might help protect against breast cancer. But again, this needs to be backed up by firm evidence. At the moment the research does not support a strong link between breast cancer risk and intake of milk and dairy products.
Some studies suggest that milk may be contributing to type 1 diabetes and heart disease. According to a new study, the reaction of an infant's immature immune system to a protein found in cow's milk infant formula may explain the suspected link between early consumption of cow's milk and an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes later.
But experts who reviewed the study for say the research is mixed on the suspected link and the new report does not offer conclusive proof of cause and effect. While these experts strongly support breastfeeding, they say those mothers who can not or choose not to breastfeed should not be alarmed by the report.
The protein under study, called beta-lactoglobulin, is found in cow's milk but not human breast milk. It is similar in structure to the human protein glycodelin, writes Marcia F. Goldfarb, author of the new report.
The report was published in the letters section of the Journal of Proteome Research. Goldfarb directs Anatek-EP, a contract protein research laboratory in Portland, Maine.
An infant's immature immune system may destroy the glycodelin in an effort to destroy the look-alike "foreign" protein beta-lactoglobulin, Goldfarb says.
Glycodelin controls the production of the body's T-cells, which help protect against infection. If glycodelin is destroyed, there could be an overproduction of T cells, she says. Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused when T-cells destroy the insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas, Goldfarb writes.
By Chukwuma Muanya
Some milk products have been shown to contain toxic levels of dioxins. Milk from two dairy farms in Northern Ireland has been stopped from entering the food chain following test results that show dioxin levels above legal limits, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said in February.
Dioxins are chemicals that get into food from the environment. Health effects from eating the affected products are only likely if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for long periods.
Although breaching regulations, these levels of dioxin are much lower than those found in pork and beef affected by feed contamination last year. The risk to health from either drinking the affected milk or eating products made from the milk is extremely low.
The milk affected was distributed locally in Northern Ireland and also to the Republic of Ireland. The milk from these farms is usually mixed with milk from other farms before sale, so any finished product on the market is likely to be diluted and well within the legal limits for dioxins. The FSA is not calling for a withdrawal of any products from the shops but will continue to test and restrict the milk until it complies with the law.
The Food Standards Agency continues to monitor the situation and is in close contact with government bodies in Northern Ireland. Contamination of the milk is likely to be from dioxin residues in the fat of animals that had previously eaten contaminated feed.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), short-term exposure of humans to high levels of dioxins may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Chronic exposure of animals to dioxins has resulted in several types of cancer. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or TCDD was evaluated by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1997.
Based on animal data and on human epidemiology data, TCDD was classified by IARC as a "known human carcinogen". However, TCDD does not affect genetic material and there is a level of exposure below which cancer risk would be negligible.
Due to the omnipresence of dioxins, all people have background exposure and a certain level of dioxins in the body, leading to the so-called body burden. Current normal background exposure is not expected to affect human health on average. However, due to the high toxic potential of this class of compounds, efforts need to be undertaken to reduce current background exposure.
According to the WHO, the developing fetus is most sensitive to dioxin exposure. The newborn, with rapidly developing organ systems, may also be more vulnerable to certain effects. Some individuals or groups of individuals may be exposed to higher levels of dioxins because of their diets (example, high consumers of fish in certain parts of the world) or their occupations (example, workers in the pulp and paper industry, in incineration plants and at hazardous waste sites, to name just a few).
Milk products have also been associated with chronic allergies. Milk allergy is a food allergy immune adverse reaction to one or more of the proteins in cow's milk. The principal symptoms are gastrointestinal, dermatological and respiratory. These can translate to: skin rash, hives, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and distress. The clinical spectrum extends to diverse disorders: anaphylactic reactions, atopic dermatitis, wheeze, infantile colic, gastroesophageal reflux (GER), oesophagitis, allergic colitis and constipation.
The symptoms may occur within a few minutes after exposure in immediate reactions, or after hours (and in some cases after several days) in delayed reactions. Milk allergy is a food allergy, an adverse immune reaction to a food protein that is normally harmless to the non-allergic individual. Lactose intolerance is a non-allergic food sensitivity, and comes from a lack of production of the enzyme lactase, required to digest the predominant sugar in milk. Lactose intolerance is not actually a disease or malady. Adverse effects of lactose intolerance occur at much higher milk consumption than adverse effects of milk allergy.
Some studies have linked the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in milk to cancer. IGF is widely involved in human carcinogenesis. A significant association between high circulating IGF-I concentrations and an increased risk of lung, colon, prostate and pre-menopausal breast cancer has recently been reported.
Researchers and doctors all agree that diet and cancer are closely linked. And that eating a well balanced diet can help reduce the risk of cancer. What is more difficult to say is exactly which foods are most important in causing or reducing cancer risk. Studies investigating a link between cancer and dairy products have not given clear results. Some research shows an increase in the risk of developing cancer, and some shows a decrease.
Recent research shows that a higher intake of calcium (which is found in diary products) can protect against bowel cancer. But some early research suggests there could be a link between dairy intake and the risk of developing prostate and ovarian cancers. For breast cancer the evidence is conflicting. A link between breast cancer and dairy products has been suggested, possibly because of the type of fats they contain, or contaminants that could be present in these foods. But there is no clear evidence to support this. Another theory is that dairy products might help protect against breast cancer. But again, this needs to be backed up by firm evidence. At the moment the research does not support a strong link between breast cancer risk and intake of milk and dairy products.
Some studies suggest that milk may be contributing to type 1 diabetes and heart disease. According to a new study, the reaction of an infant's immature immune system to a protein found in cow's milk infant formula may explain the suspected link between early consumption of cow's milk and an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes later.
But experts who reviewed the study for say the research is mixed on the suspected link and the new report does not offer conclusive proof of cause and effect. While these experts strongly support breastfeeding, they say those mothers who can not or choose not to breastfeed should not be alarmed by the report.
The protein under study, called beta-lactoglobulin, is found in cow's milk but not human breast milk. It is similar in structure to the human protein glycodelin, writes Marcia F. Goldfarb, author of the new report.
The report was published in the letters section of the Journal of Proteome Research. Goldfarb directs Anatek-EP, a contract protein research laboratory in Portland, Maine.
An infant's immature immune system may destroy the glycodelin in an effort to destroy the look-alike "foreign" protein beta-lactoglobulin, Goldfarb says.
Glycodelin controls the production of the body's T-cells, which help protect against infection. If glycodelin is destroyed, there could be an overproduction of T cells, she says. Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused when T-cells destroy the insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas, Goldfarb writes.