I needed to disable self sign-ups because I’ve been getting too many spam-type accounts. Thanks.
Drug companies masquerading as food companies
I was cleaning-out my refrigerator just now and came across an old half-used jar of wheat germ. I know it’s high in ‘vitamins and minerals’ but until all of this happened to me, I never thought much about it.
Sure-enough, it contains added vA.
Luckily, I never consumed it regularly, but I’d say I’ve been through a couple of large jars the last couple of years.
Why are food companies allowed (encouraged?) to act as pharmacists, usually on an unsuspecting (or at least trusting) population?
[I’m sure I could Google the evolution of food-borne supplementation, but it probably won’t extinguish my disdain for the current practice.]
Hi @bruce It is beyond despicable. I've been especially disturbed by how heavily Vitamin A-fortified baby formula tends to be. But breast-feeding isn't necessarily the way around it, especially when so many lactating mothers are vegetarians or vegans or otherwise Vitamin A-overloaded themselves. Here's a disturbing link on that topic that someone posted a while back, maybe @lil-chick:
Breastfeeding, retinoids, and postpartum depression: a new theory
The hypothesis proposed for consideration is that breastfeeding protects against PPD by maintaining endogenous retinoids (vitamin A-related compounds) below a threshold concentration. In fact, breast milk is rich in retinoids; pregnant women accumulate retinoids in liver and breast in preparation for lactation; there is increasing evidence that retinoids in higher concentration are associated with cognitive disturbances and mood disorders, including depression and suicide; and prolonged lactation reduces maternal stores of retinoids. Consistent with this hypothesis, it is estimated that an amount of vitamin A is transferred from mother to infant during the first six months of exclusive breastfeeding equivalent to 76% of a dose known to cause acute vitamin A poisoning in an adult. Breastfeeding may thus have evolutionary-adaptive functions for both mother and infant*, transferring vital nutrients to an infant unable to feed itself, yet at the same time providing a natural means of reducing potentially toxic concentrations of retinoids in the mother.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23816449/
*How is that evolutionary-adaptive for the infant, who is being packed to the gills with retinoids?