Toxicity : a rejoinder

This is a rejoinder to the previous post.

First and foremost, that aspartame study it turns out is a hoax. Thanks to Chino for pointing that out.

According to the ACHS website, “Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested substances in the U.S. food supply. Numerous authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the FAO/WHO, the European Community, and the American Medical Association have concluded that aspartame is a safe product, except in the rare cases of phenylketonuria.”

For the full article, click here.

But you know, even if a number of studies say aspartame is not bad, i'm still not sold on the stuff. I don't know if I'm plain gullible or just being a cynic. But I goggled "aspartame" and the first 10 links are mostly about how it's bad for our health. Go figure. As for me, I try to stay clear from the stuff. best to err on the side of caution (or paranoia). I have enough health problems as it is.

There is also an update on the Nalgene scare (via Indi. Aren’t we being responsible bloggers here?hehehe). A new study concludes that Nalgene bottles do not cause brain damage. Well, that’s great news, right?

"Marti Lindsey, the assistant director at the UA's Center for toxicology, said students should consider different factors when reading about the Nalgene water bottle studies. The length of time water is left in a container, the amount of BPA ingested, and the use of animals instead of humans can influence whether BPA is a genuine threat, Lindsey said."

Read whole article here.

Anyway, all this news about chemicals and toxicity in everyday objects made me rethink my commitment to organic products. Sure, I bitch and whine about how expensive the stuff are but when you think about it, it’s a great investment. So far, we manage to afford organic rice, sugar and eggs in our diet. Susanna, Isis’s former executive director who also believes in organic produce advices that, at the very least, we should buy organically grown carrots and potatoes.

Since these vegetables have very thin skins and are grown under ground, they are apt to absorb most of the chemicals that seep onto the ground. Since they’re also mass produced, they tend to be subjected to all sorts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. I’ve grown suspicious about those beautifully presented carrots and potatoes at Rustan’s and other big supermarkets.

This morning, Buddy and I along with our little girl made the short trip to the Philippine Lung Center. On Sunday mornings, its parking lot is converted into one big market. There are a number of stalls who sell organic vegetables, breads and other stuff. Since I didn’t know what next week’s menu looks like (Nemia, our trusted househelp is in charge of that) I bought carrots and potatoes (what else?), ginger and onions (see the pattern?). We also bought eggs and two loaves of bread.

I must say the organic stuff is cheaper there than those sold at my suking organic store. Maybe it’s because their farm is in nearby Tagaytay while Green Daisy’s farm is in Isabela, some 10 hours bus ride from Manila.

We also bought a number of herbal plants (basil, sage, mint) and other plants (bougainvillea and copperleaves).


my herbal garden starter kit: mint, sage, basil


i just find white bougainvilleas so elegant. these will replace the dead plants in our small veranda

We will definitely make this a Sunday routine; maybe two Sundays a month, that's regular enough :)