Sulfites and sulfur dioxide

Earthdayplans Directory Research

*** g94 8/8 pp. 19-20 Guam’s Mystery Diseases ***

The Mystery Deepens

Among major questions being researched are the following: (1) Why is it that 98 percent of the victims of ALS and PD in the Mariana Islands are pure Chamorro and the remaining few are long-term Filipino residents? (2) Why are the only other areas of high incidence located at other places at the same longitude? (3) Why should a number of victims in the Mariana Islands have both ALS and PD, whereas patients elsewhere have only one or the other? (4) How does concentrated aluminum find its way into the central nervous system of these victims? (5) Why is little zinc found in the brain cells where there is a high level of aluminum? Environmental studies in the high incidence areas of the western Pacific showed high levels of aluminum, manganese, and iron but low amounts of calcium, magnesium, and zinc in the soil and water.

Trying to Unravel the Mystery

For many years researchers in Guam, Japan, and Canada have tried to unravel the facts about these mystery diseases. In several theories advanced by these research teams, different agents are cited: a rare genetic factor, a slow virus infection, and chronic trace metal poisoning.

A pharmacologist has claimed that as little as two to three milligrams of aluminum in the brain cells can disrupt the brain’s normal function. Aside from the soil and water, aluminum compounds in large quantities have been added to baking powders, cake and pancake mixes, self-rising flour, frozen dough, some antacids, deodorants, and hemorrhoid preparations. Also contributing are aluminum wraps and cookware, for aluminum is leached out, especially when acidic or alkaline foods are cooked in them.

Dr. Kwang-Ming Chen, a neurologist and authority on these rare diseases, stated: “Extensive studies conducted by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke (NINCDS) over [the] past 30 years have not quite unravelled the mystery of the remarkably high incidence and the cause of these most devastating and elusive diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) known to mankind.” However, he indicated that chronic trace metal poisoning has far more credence than a rare genetic factor or a slow virus infection. Research is still continuing. Until an answer is found, all that one can do is try to cope with the problems and be of the greatest assistance possible to the afflicted.

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Allergic to Food?

A major allergy study in South Africa revealed that among the asthmatic children tested, 43 percent “reacted adversely to sulphur dioxide,” reports The Star of Johannesburg. Sulfur dioxide is widely used as a food preservative in South Africa. For instance, sulfites and sulfur dioxide are sprayed on vegetables and fresh fruits in salad bars and some supermarkets to inhibit browning. Sulfites and sulfur dioxide are also used in other foods, such as flour dough, soft drinks, wine, and beer. The study has caused increased pressure for stricter food labeling laws.

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Preservative Danger

● A preservative commonly found in wine, beer, tomato catsup, artificial orange beverages, and other foods “can cause a life-threatening reaction in people sensitive to it, particularly asthmatics,” reports The Globe and Mail of Canada. Speaking to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Dr. William H. Yang, an allergy specialist, said that metabisulfite and other forms of sulfite thus used can cause severe reactions within half an hour after ingestion—sometimes within seconds or minutes. Care must also be exercised away from home, as restaurants use it on salads to keep them looking fresh. People who get headaches after drinking wine or eating in restaurants may actually be reacting to the sulfite preservatives, said Dr. Yang, rather than to the food or the wine.