WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID CANNED FOODS ESPECIALLY CANNED TOMATOES

Many people are shocked when I tell them that canned tomatoes are bad. After all, tomatoes are a vegetable (or technically fruit), so how can they be bad? Well, it has more to do with the packaging than the actual food.
Bisphenol-A, A Harmful Chemical
Most of us know that BPA is harmful. BPA, shortened from bisphenol-a is a chemical used to coat the lining of cans and most plastic products. BPA can leach into foods and drinks by way of plastic containers, Tupperware, bottles, and cans.
Children are most susceptible to the effects of BPA chemicals. Below are just a few of the detected health problems resulting from BPA exposure
*.hormonal disruption
*.reproductive harm
*.increased risk of certain cancers
*.malformation of organs in children
*.risk of miscarriage
*.sperm defects
*.increased risk of mental disabilities in babies.
BPA exposure is widespread, mostly because BPA is in most plastics and we use so much of it, especially around our food. A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control found detectable levels of BPA in 93% of 2517 urine samples from people older than 6 years old.

 I got this revealing report from ww.consumer.reports.org.  It states that "The chemical Bisphenol A, which has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners, has been restricted in Canada and some U.S. states and municipalities because of potential health effects. The Food and Drug Administration will soon decide what it considers a safe level of exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), which some studies have linked to reproductive abnormalities and a heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease.
Now Consumer Reports' latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods we tested contain some BPA. The canned organic foods we tested did not always have lower BPA levels than nonorganic brands of similar foods analyzed. We even found the chemical in some products in cans that were labeled "BPA-free."

The debate revolves around just what is a safe level of the chemical to ingest and whether it should be in contact with food. Federal guidelines currently put the daily upper limit of safe exposure at 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight. But that level is based on experiments done in the 1980s rather than hundreds of more recent animal and laboratory studies indicating serious health risks could result from much lower doses of BPA."

The post further states that ." The chemical was first marketed in the 1940s as a plastic component and by the 1960s was used in almost all can linings to extend shelf life. Now it is one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world; at least 7 billion pounds are produced annually for use in countless products, including dental sealants, PVC water pipes, medical equipment, etc The full post you can find at www.consumerreports.org

Why Are Canned TOMATOES So bad?

It’s true that most cans have BPA lining, unless it is labelled otherwise,I’m focusing on canned tomatoes because since tomatoes are too acidic, it draws out more of the BPA into the food from the lining. So, canned tomatoes have an especially high risk of leaching BPA into the tomatoes because of the acidity. This is not to say that other canned goods do not also pose BPA exposure risks (they most certainly do), but tomatoes are one of the worst offenders.
 

According to North Porland mom Michelle Schwegmann "Avoiding processed food for me is No. 1," she says. "I look at sodium levels, too. And now I have to worry about BPA in cans, and there's not a lot of information out there and you don't know whom to trust. It's frustrating."
Bisphenol-A is an industrial chemical that has been present in many canned goods since the 1960s to help protect the integrity of cans and prevent microbial contamination of food. It also has been used in hard plastic bottles and in household products such as food storage containers.

In the last decade, there has been growing consumer awareness about the health risks that BPA can pose, particularly to fetuses, infants and young children. A growing number of health officials are concerned about the role that BPA may play in childhood brain development and behavior problems, and some studies on animals have shown a possible link between BPA exposure and an increased risk of cancer later in life.





Sara O'Leary, a healthy eating specialist and a registered dietitian at Whole Foods Market in Vancouver, says that while she hasn't received many customer inquiries about BPA-free packaging, she likes to point out specific brands when she conducts store tours or talks with customers about making healthier food choices.

As a food advocate, Levin promotes moving away from the traditional American diet that's loaded with meat and processed food, because eating more fruit and vegetables can significantly cut the risk of serious conditions like cancer and heart disease.

5 reasons why you should avoid Canned food; All because they are harmful

In this section of Seattle Organic Restaurants I'm going to talk about hams of canned food. No logical, reasonable person would suggest that canned foods and canned fruits and vegetables are as good or better than fresh foods, vegetables, and fruits. It is obvious that fresh is good and retains most of its nutrients. This much, almost no one argues with. But the big question is how bad canned products are, really? Well the answer might surprise you or not.

1. Bisphenol or BPA

The most worrisome of all, among canned foods that can harm you, is plastic contaminants in our canned goods. Most canned food these days have a plastic coating inside the can to supposedly keep the food, vegetables, and fruits – fresh. Well, it may keep them more fresh that otherwise without it being stored up inside a metal object, but this comes at the expense of harming you. The inner plastic lining is poisonous at small measures, although FDA tells us that the small amounts should not worry us too much. Well this plastic coating is Bisphenol or BPA for short and it is harmful, first because humans are not suppose to eat plastic material made from crude oil and second because FDA should be honest and tell people the truth rather than serve the interests of big corporations that give it large sums of money through back channel donations and hidden funds through partner organizations.
BPA kills rats in laboratories even at smaller portions, like 1,000 times less than what an average American consumes per meal. I hope soon FDA would do a U-turn on this and come clean and tell people about the harm to humans caused by BPA like they do periodically about drugs which they have claimed for decades to be safe, only to tell us now that they were not safe. I just hope it does not take decades before they try to protect the public against BPA. BPA is a toxic chemical that causes hormone imbalances and wide variety of health issues ranging from hypertension, aggression, obesity to cancer and heart disease. Based on FDA 17% of the American diet comes from canned foods yet there are no regulation or safety standards regarding the amount of BPA in canned foods. A study by Environmental Working Group shows that more than 50% of cans with brand names have toxic BPA in them.

2. Imported Canned Food

Imported Canned Food is even worse than American Canned Food. In many countries where canned food is cheaper than Europe, Canada and USA, American food corporations are more and more importing to make higher profits, the canned food is even less nutritious than their counterparts in Europe and North America. First the foods are picked when they are not ripe and have 80% less nutrients than a fully ripe fruits and vegetables. Second, the facilities are not as hygienic and inspected on a regular basis as their counterparts in Europe and North America and hence have the cause of a few incidences of outbreaks in the last 20 years, like the famous incident regarding canned green beans from Brazil or the salmonella outbreak from sprouts from Columbia. Less than 2% of canned foods are inspected by FDA or Home Land security or any other organization (e.g. EPA for environmental monitoring). So I would avoid canned food if at all possible. Instead I would recommend, at the least, try glass jars instead of cans for stored foods.

3. Leaking. Aluminum leaks

Just as Aluminum pots and pans leak, so do aluminum cans. In fact, what most people are unaware of is that most often foods are put into aluminum cans, then seals, and then cooked, supposedly retain the freshness. Well, it will certainly retain the aluminum free radicals hanging around after heating and contaminating the contents.
Over a period of time Aluminum accumulation in body can cause memory problem like Alzheimer’s. More than 5,000 million pounds of aluminum is used every year for making food cans. Aluminum cans have several advantages for the producer including light weight, compact packaging and lower price. Most canned foods like soups, vegetables, chicken or beef broth and tomato sauces are made of aluminum because it’s more economical.
Some believe that the plastic lining of the aluminum cans are supposed to prevent corrosion and contaminating food with aluminum. But the reality is that most of the time these plastic liners can’t completely protect food against aluminum since cans leak aluminum when heated and while they are sealed - they will contaminate food.

4. Preservatives

The lovely, no so friendly, preservatives. They are referred to in a dozen different names, and every few months, a new name is established for the same few ingredients that are mixed up to come up with friendly-sounding names. But, the fact is that if it smells like manure, looks like manure, tastes like manure – it is most certainly manure.
These preservatives are kept in state of non-compounding to other molecules with the, yes you guessed it, SALT. Extensive amount of sodium (salt) is used to keep the preservatives in canned food from rotting so that it can keep the food from rotting. Lovely. FDA responds to all this by simply issued a statement, “… there has been no proof that these preservatives would cause major damage to human cells or that they are harmful to mass public”. My interpretation of this is this, “… these preservatives are not drastically harmful towards healthy people, but they may be harmful to pregnant women, babies, children, elderly, or anyone that is suffering from a chronic disease”. That’s just my interpretation.

5. Low level food quality

Let’s be honest with ourselves and admit that if the fruits and vegetables and other ingredients are of high quality, they will be sold fresh and for the highest price possible for a maximum of profit by the distributors.

Now if the quality of the ingredients are not that great or the fruits and vegetables look old and stale or not so healthy, then they will be hidden from the eyes of supermarket shoppers and be forced into a can along with other such low quality food, cooked up in a mass oven while still inside the can and then shipped all over the world and sold may be one or two years later from when they were picked and were prepared. Don’t expect the ingredients inside your canned foods to be of high quality. If you do, then you could buy the London Bridge and thinking that it is the Tower of London Bridge – and the two cannot be more different than one another.

Solution

The reality is that your can of pinto beans, tuna or vegetable juice could put your health at risk. 17% of the American diet comes from canned food, is it worth it to contaminate your daily grains, protein or vegetables with aluminum and BPA? FDA has approved aluminum food packaging but as explained there is health risk associated with canned food.

So what should you do?

Completely eliminate canned foods and if you are looking for your favorite tomato sauce use the ones in glass jars. Don’t consume vegetables or grains in cans, simply buy fresh ones. The risk of developing many chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, nervous system disorder and Alzheimer’s goes down by consuming fresh foods that do not have any pa - See more at: http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-foods/avoid-canned-food/#sthash.spYHoBju.dpuf

It is necessary to read labels properly,  as for the dangers in canned tomatoes, you may not discover this unless your body is sensitive enough to notice it.  It is advisable however to always go for fresh whole foods for you and your family, it is one secret to maintaining a healthy body




Source:  www.oregonlive.com
              www.consumerreports.org