Striving4Zen

The Obama administration is looking to restrict the use of antibiotics in livestock.

The principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs testified that feeding antibiotics to livestock to encourage rapid growth must stop, and that farmers should only be able to use the drugs with the supervision of a veterinarian. The reason behind this recommendation is that the rampant use of antibiotics has strongly influenced the development of bacteria immune to many treatments, rendering common antibiotics useless in fighting infections.

This point of view has long been accepted by the medical community. According to estimates by the Union of Concerned Scientists, chickens, pigs, and cattle receive 70% of antibiotics used in the United States. While the American Medical Association backs the proposed restriction, it is no surprise that meat producers are opposed to it.

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Labels: antibiotics, eating healthy, good news, hormones, meat, toxins

Conventional cattle ranchers and pig and chicken farmers routinely feed their animals a steady diet of antibiotics to prevent illness and help them grow fatter faster. But as consumers become more obsessed [or just aware] with what they eat, including an insatiable hunger for meat and chicken raised naturally, without drugs, more producers are promoting their products as antibiotic free.

But is there truth in advertising?

Even producers who have eliminated antibiotics may be using other bacteria-killing compounds in the anti-microbial family, which have a murky definition under the law. Although not all anti-microbials are defined as antibiotics by the Food and Drug Administration, their use opens up a minefield of issues.

Among them:

-- Anti-microbials are not listed on labels.

-- They work the same way as antibiotics.

-- Many people consider them to be harmful to the environment.

"The only way to know if a producer is using anti-microbials is to call the manufacturer and ask them," said Urvashi Rangan, a scientist for the nonprofit Consumers Union.

"A manufacturer doesn't have to list it on the label even if they're making an antibiotic-free claim. And as far as we're concerned, if you're using a drug to kill a parasite or a micro-organism and you're making a 'no antibiotics' claim, you're being misleading."

While scientists debate the pros and cons of using any bacteria-killing drug in food animals, most agree that the only difference between antibiotics and anti-microbials is purely one of semantics.

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Labels: antibiotics, eating healthy, hormones, meat, toxins

We reported a few weeks back about how Yoplait was going growth-hormone free. Well now Dannon's following suit, reports Civil Eats. Dannon, which controls around one third of the country's dairy market, cites consumer demand as the reason behind the change. The company says it will go rbGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone)-free by the end of the year.

There are various health and animal rights issues surrounding the use of rbGH on dairy cows. The hormones have been linked to increased rates of infections in cattle, necessitating greater antibiotic use. And some studies have shown that rbGH raises levels of a hormone in cow's milk; higher than normal levels of IGF-1 in humans may raise the risk of breast cancer. Others say no significant difference has been shown between milk from rBST-treated and milk from non-rBST-treated cows.

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Labels: antibiotics, cows, Dairy, Dannon, health trend, rbGH, synthetic growth hormone, Yoplait

Yoplait, one of the largest yogurt manufacturers in the U.S., has announced that it will now only use milk products from cows that have not been treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone, or rbGH, reports Civil Eats. All of Yoplait's dairy products will be rbGH-free by August of this year. Yoplait says it's the first major yogurt manufacturer to go rbGH-free, though companies like Stonyfield, Nancy's, Cascade Fresh and Brown Cow have been using rbGH-free milk for years.

The use of rbGH has been linked to increased rates of infections in dairy cows, necessitating greater antibiotic use and furthering cycles of antibiotic-resistant disease. Some studies have shown that rbGH raises the level of a hormone called IGF-1 in cows's milk; higher than normal levels of IGF-1 in humans may raise the risk of breast cancer, though the link is far from clear.

Consumer demand has forced major grocery chains like Wal-Mart and Safeway to phase out the hormones in their own dairy products - some 70% of consumers say they are concerned about consuming synthetic growth hormones.

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Labels: antibiotics, Dairy, hormones, milk, rbGH, synthetic growth hormone, Yoplait

Here are some other, healthier options for preventing or treating ailments that are commonly mis-prescribed with antibiotics:

Ear infections -- Avoiding pasteurized milk is one of the best proactive solutions to prevent ear infections. If your child does develop an ear infection, a simple solution is to put a few drops of breast milk in the ear canal every few hours. This usually works to clear up the infection within 24 to 48 hours and is far safer, less expensive and a better solution than putting the child on antibiotics.

Simple wounds -- As a natural antimicrobial remedy for wounds, try raw honey instead, which is a natural antimicrobial that works wonders when applied topically.

Common cold and flu – The most helpful remedy for reducing cold transmission is to wash your hands frequently with plain soap and water. Remember that antibacterial soaps are completely unnecessary here as well and cause far more harm than good. Simple zinc lozenges can help speed up your recovery from a cold, if you do get one, by almost half. But perhaps one of the best tricks I ever found for treating colds and flu’s is simply putting a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in your ears.

Sinus infections – Drink hot liquids such as tea or chicken soup, and apply warm compresses to your face. Irrigating your sinuses using a nettie pot filled with a saline solution can also speed up your recovery.

If for some reason you do have to take an antibiotic, always make sure to supplement with probiotics: There is a common confusion that one should wait until finished with the antibiotic to start taking probiotics. Even though the antibiotic is killing the good bacteria, that is exactly when you need it the most. So I would triple the dose of probiotics, as it will tend to prevent the common diarrhea complication many have with the antibiotic.

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Labels: antibiotics, Holistic Health, living holistically, natural health, natural therapy, Probiotics

Amid growing concern over drug-resistant superbugs and non-healing wounds that endanger diabetes patients, nature's original antibiotic - honey - is making a comeback.
More than 4,000 years after Egyptians began applying honey to wounds, Derma Sciences Inc., began selling the first honey-based dressing this fall after it was approved by the FDA.
Called Medihoney, it is made from a highly absorbent seaweed-based material, saturated with manuka honey, a particularly potent type that experts say kills germs and speeds healing. Manuka honey comes from hives of bees that collect nectar from manuka and jelly bushes in Australia and New Zealand.

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Labels: antibiotics, honey, manuka honey, natural therapy

The problem is that all shrimp have not swum in the ocean – most are farm raised. This means that they since they are larvae, shrimp are placed in pools and confined for months until they are large enough to be sold. And just like conventional chickens, they are given antibiotics to ward off disease before they are taken away as tasteless versions of themselves (again, just like chickens their flavor is muted by the lack of exposure to their natural habitat).
And it gets worse ... 90% of shrimp sold in the US come from Southeast Asia or Latin America where environmental regulations leave much to be desired. The issue is so hot that even Wal-Mart announced this year that they would only buy their yearly 50 million pounds of shrimp from farms that are certified as environmentally sound by the Global Aquaculture Alliance or the Aquaculture Certification Council.
So short of kissing your shrimp cocktail goodbye what is one to do? Look for wild or domestic shrimp. If shopping, markets will usually list the country of origin next to their seafood. But if you’re eating out or at a party ... you’re pretty much on your own. However, just like restaurants advertise free-range chickens they are starting to do the same with seafood…ever seen “line caught” or “wild” on a menu? I’m sure you’ll start paying attention.

Labels: antibiotics, fish oil, shrimp, toxins