HEALTH October 7 – 13, 2010 The Epoch Times 11 Carbon nanotubes may cause cancer Genetically engineered salmon eat ﬁve times as much as wild salmon and have fewer predators. If they escape from a ﬁsh farm, it could harm the ecosystem. roar greipsland/afp/getty images Has the FDA already decided about genetically engineered salmon? By MARTHA ROSENBERG The day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held hearings about whether AquAdvantage Salmon (AAS) should be approved, it held hearings about how the genetically engineered (GE) salmon should be labelled, even though it said it had not yet decided about approval. Unfortunately, its invited speakers didn’t get the memo. Presenting to the Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (VMAC) on Monday, Yonathan Zohar, from the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland, extolled the “promise” of aquaculture and bashed Greenpeace and other groups that are against growing “ﬁsh in cages.” Alison Van Eenennaam, with the Department of Animal Science at University of CaliforniaDavis, declared during labelling hearings that GE salmon “poses no additional risk,” criticized the New York Times’ AAS coverage, and laughed at peanut-allergy labels. She also served on the veterinary committee advising the FDA the previous day. AAS was created by inserting the coding sequence from a Chinook salmon growth-hormone gene, under control of an ocean-pout gene, into wild Atlantic salmon. The resulting ﬁsh grows twice as fast as wild Atlantic salmon, reaching its full size in 18 months instead of three years. Though the ﬁsh, all female, are 95 to 99 percent sterile, Bostonbased Aqua Bounty Technologies (ABT), its developer, says eggs will be grown on Prince Edward Island in Canada and adults in Panama because the respective marine environments discourage survival of escapees. The FDA has approved GE crops, genetically modiﬁed bovine growth hormone (BGH) used in milk and, last year, a goat with human genes to create a bloodclotting drug. AAS is the ﬁrst GE animal whose ﬂesh will actually be eaten. Because the AAS is aﬀected by a “transformation event” and the injected DNA “imparts traits” to the animal, the salmon’s application is actually being treated as a “new animal drug approval,” hence a vet committee. Some say the public health orientation of the new top two at FDA, commissioner Margaret Hamburg and deputy commissioner Joshua Sharfstein, will spell a harsher climate for genetically engineered foods. The public is also becoming less GE friendly and rejected BGH in milk in 2006, 13 years after it received FDA approval. But FDA staﬀers who spoke at the hearings read right out of ABT’s playbook, creating distinctions between “risk,” “hazard,” and “harm” that made the ﬁsh appear safer (Bit.ly/bEJZlr). Ice is only a risk if you slip on it, they pointed out. FDA staﬀers also said the AAS had minimal impact on the “human environment” until the advisory committee asked what other environment [would be affected], whereupon the term was dropped. FDA’s Eric Silberhorn itemized ABT’s redundant safety systems to prevent the escape of GE salmon—screens, ﬂoor drains, chemical containment, chlorine, nets—as written in the sponsor’s environmental assessment, prepared for the FDA, and bringing to mind BP. Why does the government present industry data on behalf of industry, some in the audience asked, and why is industry called the “sponsor” instead of “applicant”? AAS were also said to be less “ﬁt” if they escape though no one quoted the part of ABT’s environmental assessment report that says the salmon eat ﬁve times as much as wild salmon and have less fear of predators. (See “Jurassic Park.”) The risk of bootleg AAS surfacing in unregulated Asian operations, even returning as imports like a “transgenic shrimp” Silberhorn says is reported in U.S. food, would be handled with the labelling, control, and inspection given any U.S. drug, said staﬀers. Of course other nations, like Canada and Panama, are “sovereign” and not bound by our laws, added FDA’s Larisa Rudenko. Next week: Part 2, more on genetically engineered salmon. Martha Rosenberg is a journalist who lives in Chicago. How lectins aﬀect health By W. GIFFORD-JONES, M.D. “Are you aware that lectins can affect your health?” I asked a group of friends. I wasn’t referring to the hormone leptin or an Irish Leprechaun. No one knew I was talking about a type of protein in food that can trigger faulty digestion and other chronic problems. In 1988, one hospital advertised a “healthy eating” lunch for its staﬀ. One item contained red kidney beans, and 31 staﬀ enjoyed this dish. But at 3 p.m. one of the surgeons vomited while operating. During the next four hours, 10 more staﬀ suﬀered severe vomiting and diarrhea. What had caused this reaction? Studies found no pathogenic bacteria in the food. But the red kidney beans contained a high concentration of one type of lectin that adversely affects some people. It’s been said that good health begins with sound digestion. But Lucretius, the Roman philosopher-poet, added another pertinent point. “One man’s food is another man’s poison,” he said. For instance, one type of lectin, ricin, present in castor beans, is so potent that a minute amount causes death. It has been used in espionage as a murder weapon. Depending on one’s genetic makeup, other types of lectins either initiate or aggravate problems such as Crohn’s disease, irritable Nightshade vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes are very high in lectins and have been known to trigger symptoms of arthritis. photos.com bowel syndrome, arthritis, lupus, ﬁbromyalgia, skin problems, food intolerances, and allergies. Studies show that dietary lectins also increase polyamine production in the intestines, causing halitosis. Some lectins enter the general circulation of the body and attach themselves to the bladder, nerves, and other tissues, which, in susceptible people, results in an inﬂammatory response. Moreover, almost everyone has antibodies to some dietary lectins. So many food allergies are actually immune-system reactions to lectins. Today there’s a trend to eat lessprocessed grains, which are more nutritious, but unfortunately they contain more lectins. Nightshade vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes are very high in lectins and have been known to trigger symptoms of arthritis. The genetic modiﬁcation of food has also changed lectin content. Today’s epidemic of obesity is the result of many factors. But lectins have been shown to block certain digestive hormones, which leads to an increase in both appetite and obesity. How can people who are suﬀering from intestinal food intolerance, joint troubles, arthritis, and chronic inﬂammatory conditions decrease the eﬀects of lectins? Purchasing organic sprouted-grain bread (with no added gluten) is the safest way to get the nutritional beneﬁts of grain with decreased amounts of lectins because sprouting destroys lectins. And since lectins are water soluble, soaking beans and rinsing them several times before cooking removes much of the lectin. Lectins are found in 30 percent of our food, such as fruits, vegetables, seafood, and especially grains, beans, and seeds. They are not destroyed by stomach acid or enzymes, making them resistant to digestion. Obviously, if you know a certain food is causing problems, avoid it. Dr. Giﬀord-Jones is a medical journalist with a practice in Toronto. (VOA News)—A Japanese professor says his former university is trying to suppress his research showing that carbon nanotubes, a material used in everything from skis to cables, may cause cancer. Put simply, carbon nanotubes are carbon atoms rolled into microscopic tubes. The tiny needlelike cylinders have strong electrical properties, and they are often used in transistors or copper wire. But they look much like asbestos fibre, and former Shinshu University professor Shozo Koyama says carbon nanotubes pose similar health risks. Asbestos is linked to a number of deadly lung diseases. Koyama says his research shows that two types of carbon nanotube fibres may cause cancer. He reached that conclusion after mice he injected with those carbon fibres developed cancer. Studies done in Europe and the United States have also indicated a similar hazard, although the severity of the risk is still being studied. Koyama says he unveiled his study a few years ago, but Shinshu University refused to acknowledge the findings. His lawyer, Jiro Yamane, told journalists that this is partly because the university has close ties with a company that produces carbon nanotubes. Yamane says public universities in Japan have become increasingly tied to industry, since the Japanese government passed a law six years ago encouraging their schools to become more financially independent. Yamane said a tight budget cut government funding and universities have tried to fill that void by forming close ties with various industries. The carbon nanotubes in question were developed by another Shinshu University professor. But that professor and the university dismiss Koyama’s findings. Last year, the university cut Koyama’s access to his research facilities. A few months ago, the university fired the professor, citing issues with “sexual and power harassment.” This points to a dangerous trend in Japan, said Yamane, adding that universities are too focused on promoting and nurturing industry at all costs. Koyama says companies that make carbon nanotubes have a responsibility to stop producing what he says are harmful products. Eating ﬁsh reduces prostate cancer death risk causality—in this case, that eating ﬁsh causes a reduced risk of prostate cancer. However, if the link does turn out to be causal, how might eating ﬁsh exert its protective eﬀect? Some species of ﬁsh (oily ﬁsh, such as mackerel, herring, sardines, trout, and salmon) contain an abundance of omega-3 fats, principally in the form of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). As the authors of the review point out, these fats have anti-inﬂammatory eﬀects. Inﬂammation is a potential underlying factor in the development of cancer, along with other pathogenic processes such as cell proliferation and angiogenesis, the production of new blood vessels that can feed cancer cells. The authors also point to research that has found that in animal studies, omega-3 fats reduce the progression of cancer cells. We don’t have all the answers regarding omega-3 fats and cancer, including prostate cancer. However, the fact that omega-3 fats have known anti-inﬂammatory eﬀects helps explain their links with not just a reduced risk of cancer but also a reduced risk of other conditions, including heart disease and dementia. Another nutritional tactic worth considering to quell inﬂammation is to cut back on carbohydrates, which tend to disrupt blood sugar and insulin levels. By DR. JOHN BRIFFA Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in the Western world. Many of these cancers are slowgrowing and are not fatal. Many men will die from prostate cancer that never showed itself when they were alive. However, prostate cancer does kill with enough frequency to take this condition very seriously. Some men may want to do what they can to reduce the risk of developing this condition and ultimately succumbing to it. A study published on Sept. 15 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition assessed the relationship between one dietary factor—eating ﬁsh—and prostate cancer risk. There has been previous evidence linking higher ﬁsh consumption with lower prostate cancer risk. This latest study was a meta-analysis, a collection of available data from more than one study. This review of the evidence did not ﬁnd an association between ﬁsh consumption and risk of prostate cancer. However, it did ﬁnd that higher ﬁsh consumption was associated with a reduced risk of death from prostate cancer. Overall, the protective eﬀect associated with ﬁsh consumption was 63 percent (a lot). This ﬁnding is interesting and potentially relevant, as one could argue that where prostate cancer is concerned, it is more important to reduce Dr. John Briﬀa is a London-based physithe risk of death rather than reduce the cian and author with an interest in nutriincidence of this cancer. tion and natural medicine. His website As mentioned above, a signiﬁcant is Drbriﬀa.com. percentage of men will get the disease but not die from it. The suggestion 66 St. is that higher ﬁsh Autobody Ltd. consumption might Specialized protect against more in ﬁxing Europe, By Experienced aggressive tumours, North America, Licensed Mechanics Japanese and other which are more likely name brand cars. to prove fatal. ~ Free estimate, Now, epidemio- ~ Providing complimentary car logical studies of this for use during service, nature can only re~ Buying and selling used cars, ally be used to judge associations between ~ New and used tires. things. 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