Today's health news is brought to you by Aflatoxin! The definition of this follows, thanks to medterms.com....
Aflatoxin: A toxin produced by mould that can damage the liver and may lead to liver cancer. Aflatoxins cause cancer in some animals.
The fungi that produce aflatoxin grow on crops such as peanuts (especially) and wheat, corn, beans and rice. Aflatoxin is a problem particularly in undeveloped and developing countries.
Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring mycotoxin produced by two types of mould: Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Aspergillus flavus is common and widespread in nature and is most often found when certain grains are grown under stressful conditions such as drought. The mould occurs in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains undergoing microbiological deterioration and invades all types of organic substrates whenever and wherever the conditions are favorable for its growth. Favorable conditions include high moisture content and high temperature. At least 13 different types of aflatoxin are produced in nature with aflatoxin B1 considered as the most toxic. While the presence of Aspergillus flavus does not always indicate harmful levels of aflatoxin it does mean that the potential for aflatoxin production is present.
I have a couple of links for you if you wish to read more about this lovely toxin -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin and
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap41.html
I had heard about peanuts growing this mould when stockpiled waiting for processing. Seems like it's in many of our foods - nuts, grains, beans - that have been harvested and left in storage. What's the answer? Again, know the source of our food, know how fresh it is, preferably grow our own.
Dr Hulda Clark, in her book The Cure for all Cancers, says that she found aflatoxin in ALL commercial breads, but in no home-made bread.
So many people, when you talk about modern food production and distribution, or any "modern technology", say, "You can't go back". I say, we have to! Back to the days when food production was local, when each community was self-sustaining, when people ate fresh whole food that hadn't been denatured, processed and packaged in plastic.
2 comments:
What an inspirint post, Nicola! I thought this toxin was only in peanuts but my goodness! I TOTALLY agree with you. WE HAVE TO GO BACK! The movement is starting, isn't it? Slow but sure. Thanks for this info!
This article makes me glad that I make our own bread.
In our Little House reading, Pa Ingalls has just told Laura that she might see a day when people cease to ride around in covered wagons. What would he have made of some of our modern food production methods, I wonder.
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