Fwd: Sodium Benzoate

[Guest guest]

This is an interesting piece.Don Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health Expert links additive to cell damage By Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Published: 27 May 2007 A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA. The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of

the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's. The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children. Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces. Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from

sale. Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria. He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether. "The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA -

Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing." The Food Standards Agency (FSA) backs the use of sodium benzoate in the UK and it has been approved by the European Union but last night, MPs called for it to investigate urgently. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chair of Parliament's all-party environment group said: "Many additives are relatively new and their long-term impact cannot be certain. This preservative clearly needs to be investigated further by the FSA." A review of sodium benzoate by the World Health Organisation in 2000 concluded that it was safe, but it noted that the available science supporting its safety was "limited". Professor Piper, whose work has been funded by a government research council, said tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration were out of date. "The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and

they are complete safe," he said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago." He advised parents to think carefully about buying drinks with preservatives until the quantities in products were proved safe by new tests. "My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said. Coca-Cola and Britvic's Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they entrusted the safety of additives to the Government. Suzi What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. health/ http://suziesgoats.wholefoodfarmacy.com/ http://360./suziesgoats

Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Travel.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for posting the dangers of sodium benzoate. That preservative is also in most of

those so called healthy fruit juice concoctions that claim to cure everything

from hangnails to cancer – the drinks like Xango,

Ningxia, etc. (can’t think of all of them right

now – there have been so many popping up lately). I have a different article about the

dangers of benzoates contributing to ADHD.

I will post that if I can dig it up.

When I see these people selling Xango,

etc. at health fairs, I always tell them I would never drink anything like that

because of the benzoates in the drink, and they will say “Oh, but it’s

just a little amount.” As if

that makes it ok!!

Carol

[Guest guest]

Speaking of additives - Has anyone else seen ads for Diet Coke with

Vitamins and Minerals?

SERIOUSLY?

>

> Thanks for posting the dangers of sodium benzoate. That

preservative is

> also in most of those so called healthy fruit juice concoctions

that claim

> to cure everything from hangnails to cancer - the drinks like Xango,

> Ningxia, etc. (can't think of all of them right now - there have

been so

> many popping up lately). I have a different article about the

dangers of

> benzoates contributing to ADHD. I will post that if I can dig it

up.

>

> When I see these people selling Xango, etc. at health fairs, I

always tell

> them I would never drink anything like that because of the

benzoates in the

> drink, and they will say " Oh, but it's just a little amount. " As

if that

> makes it ok!!

>

> Carol

>