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Chemical Used on Crops could Make You Fat
Sherry Baker
Natural News
Monday, Dec 08, 2008
Many people who eat organic food and use natural
products are trying to avoid pesticides that are linked to cancer
and other diseases. Now Japanese researchers say there is another
advantage to "going green" and avoiding toxins and chemical
additives in the environment. A common pollutant has been found
to have a potent effect on gene activity and could be contributing
to the obesity epidemic.
According to an article published in the December issue of the
journal Bioscience, the chemical tributyltin affects sensitive
receptors in the cells of a host of animals, ranging from water
fleas to people. What's more, tributyltin has an impact at extremely
low levels -- a thousand times lower than pollutants that are
known to interfere with the sexual development of wildlife species,
for example. The chemical is known to be damaging to the liver
as well as the nervous and immune systems in mammals . But what
has just been recognized is that tributyltin also has powerful
effects on the cellular components known as retinoid X receptors
(RXRs) in a range of species. That's important because RXRs can
move into the nuclei of cells and turn on genes that cause the
growth of fat storage cells and regulate whole body metabolism.
This raises a disturbing possibility: The pollutant could be harming
humans by causing slowed metabolism and weight gain.
Scientists Taisen Iguchi and Yoshinao Katsu of the Graduate University
for Advanced Studies in Japan, who wrote the BioScience article,
point out that effects of tributyltin on RXR-like nuclear receptors
could be widespread throughout the animal kingdom, including the
human species. And they note that the enormous rise in obesity
over the past four decades coincides with the increased use of
industrial chemicals over the same period.
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
Several other ubiquitous pollutants with strong biological effects,
including environmental estrogens such as bisphenol A and nonylphenol,
also have been found to stimulate the growth of fat storage cells
in mice. In a statement to the mediam Iguchi and Katsu said it
is "plausible and provocative" to associate the obesity
epidemic to chemical triggers found in our modern, polluted environment.
Unfortunately, it isn't easy to avoid tributyltin -- it is frequently
used as a preservative in paints for boats, wood and textiles
and it is also used as a pesticide on high-value food crops. And
if you are expecting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
to make sure you are protected from this potentially dangerous
chemical , think again.
A new report just released by the National Research Council warns
the EPA's process of generating risk assessments of the adverse
effects posed by harmful chemicals found in the environment is
bogged down. The EPA is rarely able to connect available scientific
data with the information officials need for an accurate risk
assessment. The reports states the EPA is struggling to keep up
with demands for hazard and dose-response information and doesn't
have enough resources to adequately cope.
The risk assessment for trichloroethylene is an example cited
by the report. A chemical used to remove grease from metal parts
and an ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction
fluids, and spot removers, trichloroethylene has been associated
with cancer, heart problems and liver and lung damage for decades.
However, although a risk assessment for trichloroethylene has
been under development since the 1980s, official EPA risk management
decisions about the chemical is not expected until 2010.
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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