Why Our Food is Dangerous to Our Health

The National Marine Fisheries Service lists China as supplying 70 percent of America's tilapia. China and Thailand are the largest suppliers of imported shrimp. After traveling over two thousand miles throughout Mainland China and spending five days on the Yangtze River, I have become alarmed at the condition of our imported seafood from Asia.

The waterways of China and Hong Kong are so polluted with industrial chemicals, farm effluents, and human waste that seafood exporters must rely on antibiotic treatment just to keep the fish alive. I witnessed several bloated and decaying bodies, both human and animal, floating down the Yangtze. The Yangtze River empties into the waterways from which much of the exported seafood is fished. Seafood from Asian Fish Farms is no healthier than seafood caught in the wild. Thai and Chinese fishponds are notoriously filthy and pumped full of antibiotics. The FDA discovered the presence of the powerful antibiotic, chloramphenicol, in the imported Asian shrimp. Studies link the antibiotic chloramphenicol, a carcinogen, to anemia and leukemia, especially in children. In a recently published article, CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews quotes food safety expert Caroline Smith DeWaal, "Chloramphenciol is a serious problem in the human food supply," she said. "It's like taking a drug that's not prescribed."

Thailand Travel

Catfish imports from China are another serious concern for the presence of antibiotics. Flouoroquinolone antibiotics, which the FDA has banned for use in food, are showing up in tests conducted on catfish imported from China. "Aside from the threats to health, the imports have also been a threat to the economy of the Mississippi Delta, which provides more than three-fourths of the catfish eaten in the United States," emphasized a report aired on National Public Radio. An influx of cheap imports from Asia is putting the American catfish farmers out of business.

Since only about one percent of our imported seafood is monitored by the FDA, most of the contaminated seafood ends up on our dinner tables.

Our imported fruits and vegetables are not fairing any better. According to an Associated Press analysis of FDA records, border inspectors consistently reject Mexican peppers and chilies. Ten percent of the rejected peppers and chilies were infected with salmonella. Since the FDA inspects less than one percent of all foreign food entering the country, ten percent of one percent is alarming. Mexican imports are disturbing sources of concern, not only from salmonella and E. coli, but also from the heavy pesticides the Mexican Agricultural Industry use in growing produce. It is referred to as "the circle of poison." Chemical companies sell Mexican Agrifarms pesticides that are banned in this county. There are no regulations in the United States for the exportation of banned or unregistered pesticides. Little, if any, oversight exists for the use of these pesticides on the fruits and vegetables grown by the Mexican agricultural farms. With fifty percent of the imported fruits and vegetables in the United States coming from Mexico, we have an intolerable problem of polluted food.

Because the FDA is underfunded and undermanned, it rests on the consumer to force change.

First, don't buy any fresh or frozen seafood from Asia. Support your local fisheries and fishermen. Fish farms in the United States typically use clean water, no antibiotics and no chemicals. If your local grocery store only carries Asian imports, request fish and seafood from the United States, or safer imports from Canada, Australia and New Zealand, for example. World trade is not going away. Just make sure you buy the safer imports.

Second, limit any fruits and vegetables from Mexico to reduce pesticide ingestion. Buy locally, if possible. Shop your local farmers and farm markets. Buy organic fruits and vegetables. Plant your own garden.

You are the author of your own health. Protect your well being with wholesome safe foods. Don't permit the source of a food to become a danger to your health.

Sandy Powers
http://www.organicforhealthsite.com

Why Our Food is Dangerous to Our Health

health Tourism in Thailand

Private healthcare in the West is notoriously expensive, for some, prohibitively so. Commonplace healing items like dentistry or health check ups are high-priced, while surgical operation and major operations can fully bankrupt many individuals. Thus, the rapidly-growing convention of traveling over international borders to secure healthcare.

Many have found their solutions in Thailand, spurring a trend in "health tourism" within the country. Why Thailand? Because the Thai healing profession is one of the most developed in the region. Thailand's hospitals and clinics are world class. Investments in equipment and administration standards are so high that major hospitals are "internationally accredited".

Bangkok Tour

The following are some "ball park" cost comparisons. The cost of surgical operation can be one-tenth of what it is in the United States or Western Europe, and sometimes even less. A heart-valve transfer that would cost 0,000 or more in the Us, for example, goes for ,000 and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. Similarly, a metal-free dental bridge worth ,500 in the Us costs nearby 0. A knee transfer in Thailand with six days of corporeal therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the Us. Lasik eye surgical operation worth ,700 in the Us is available for nearby 0. In the Us cataract surgical operation for one eye runs nearby ,000, but at a prestigious International hospital in Thailand cataract surgical operation can be performed on both eyes for nearby ,500. Cosmetic surgical operation savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost ,000 in the Us runs about ,200. A acceptable dental cleaning and checkup runs nearby .00.

Tourists are drawn to Thailand for many reasons - tropical beauty, remarkable beaches, and a enthralling culture. Now however, health is yet an additional one theorize that lures visitors to the kingdom. Thailand has come to be the spa capital of Asia. The country abounds in health clubs and spas, and offers an anticipated number of sporting activities, all from golfing to scuba diving, and from biking to cave exploring.

Thai Airlines features what is known as Royal Orchid Holidays. healing checkups, has come to be so important, Royal Orchid Holidays has added healing checkups to its holder tours. It's an unusual theme for a holder tour, perhaps, but a very practical one, giving travelers the occasion to have a farranging healing checkup while they are in Thailand for business or pleasure. Ability healthcare combined with a tourism holiday at a low price attracts patients from all over the world.

On the healing side, an Internet search of the International hospitals in Bangkok will supply all the information necessary with regard to healing procedures available and the associated costs. While the list is long, to start, your search should contain the popular Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok Hospital, Samitivej Hospital, and Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital. They are all internationally accredited hospitals.

On the tourism side, Thailand is known as The Land of Smiles. It is often referred to as the most exotic country in Southeast Asia. In Bangkok a visit to the Grand Palace is a must see. Trips to a floating shop or to the Bridge on the River Kwai, or other popular destinations, are de facto arranged and inexpensive, even with a personal driver. A short flight or overnight train trip and you can be enjoying the pristine beaches in the Southern Islands or the Northern mountains with its waterfalls, elephants bathing in mountain streams, and Hill Tribe villages.

Consider health Tourism in Thailand. You will easily see that you can have a healing procedure, and a remarkable holiday, all at less cost that you would have paid for the healing policy alone in the West.

health Tourism in Thailand