You read in these pages nearly five years ago about the dangers of eating genetically modified (GM) foods. Now, you should be even more worried than ever. Entire European countries refuse to buy GM foods. So do 19 countries in Africa filled with starving people. People would rather risk starvation than eat GM foods because they believe these foods are unsafe.

Why?

Genetically modified potatoes can make their own insecticide to protect themselves from pests. Foods can be altered to contain more protein. GM produce stays fresher longer. Cows produce more milk. What's so wrong with this? Most people don't know how foods are genetically modified – and therein lies the danger.

Modifying foods

To "enhance" a food through genetic engineering, a gene or a piece of DNA from one source is pasted into the DNA of another species. Often, a foreign gene from a bacterium is put into a vegetable's DNA. The genetically modified food now contains bacteria.

The new DNA is carried into the new organism, often attached to a virus. In nature, viruses that get into plant and animal cells are usually inactive and remain dormant. But genetic modification can wake them up. This leaves an active virus inside you. The problem with viruses is that once one gets into you, it can never be removed.

There's no going back. Once you've let the genie out of the bottle, you can't put it back. GM foods are already harming us. Here's how:

#1: Causes allergic reactions

In 2001, Grace Booth ate three chicken enchiladas and almost died. Her chest got tight and she could hardly breathe. She was having an allergic reaction to the corn tortillas, made with StarLink corn. StarLink was genetically modified to contain a gene from an insecticide. It was never approved for human consumption. Taco shells and other StarLink products were eventually taken off the market. This didn't help Grace or anyone else who had severe allergic reactions. Last year, a U.S. testing program found more than one percent of all corn samples submitted by farmers contained traces of StarLink.

Food allergies are not limited to recalled GM foods. There's a 50 percent increase in soy allergies throughout Great Britain since GM soy products have been sold there.

Pesticides work differently on foods than in them. For example, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) a naturally occurring bacterium, is sprayed on some crops "as needed." It's considered safe when it's used occasionally. But when it's inserted into vegetable cells, it's always present. Studies show that a constant exposure to Bt can cause pre-allergy immune changes. Even small amounts of Bt in your foods could trigger an allergic reaction that's impossible to identify.

Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, a British scientist who researches genetically altered foods, explains, "There is no known way to predict the allergenic potential of GM foods. Allergic reactions typically occur only some time after the subject is sensitized by initial exposure to the allergen." So, the more you eat GM foods, the more likely you are to develop an allergy.

#2: Contributes to cancers

RbGH is a genetically engineered hormone given to dairy cows so they produce more milk. Traces remain in milk, cheese, and yogurt. Using rbGH increases a hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) by 80 percent. High amounts of IGF-1 are associated with prostate, breast, and lung cancers. Buy only hormone-free dairy products.

GM vegetables could also expose you to high levels of cancerous herbicides. Some vegetables are now being "enhanced" with a gene that resists Roundup. While Roundup is not considered to be carcinogenic, there aren't enough studies to say it's safe. However, three studies produced cancers in the liver, pancreas, and thyroid.

Farmers plant these new enhanced crops and spray them heavily with Roundup to kill weeds without harming the food. But the vegetables have been soaked in this insecticide. Roundup's manufacturer, Monsanto, stands to triple its sales of pesticides throughout the world by planting Roundup Ready crops. This is important, because its patent on Roundup ended in 2000.

#3: Lowers the immune system

Dr. Arpad Pusztai, a scientist in experimental biology, worked with other researchers to create a potato that made its own pesticide. It would be a pest-free potato. The pesticide Dr. Pusztai chose was a lectin he knew — as the world's expert on lectins — was safe to eat. But when he fed potatoes laced with this harmless pesticide to study participants, their immune systems were damaged within 10 days and their white blood cells couldn't fight infections. The lectin wasn't the problem after all. Something in the genetic engineering process was to blame.

A few years later, 22 leading scientists signed a full-page ad in the New York Times stating that genetically engineered foods contribute to immune suppression.

#4: Causes antibiotic resistance

Fifty thousand people worldwide die every day from old and new infectious diseases. One reason is antibiotic resistance.

Bacteria are constantly mutating to escape being destroyed by antibiotics. As these bacteria mutate, the antibiotic no longer works against them.

Dr. Ho found that genes transferred from one species to another have increased antibiotic resistance. Other scientists found that genetically altered bacteria can transfer their antibiotic resistance to our digestive systems.

#5: Activates and creates viruses

The Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV), used in almost all GM foods, can activate sleeping viruses. A severe viral infection from CaMV damaged the stomach linings of Dr. Pusztai's laboratory rats.

The CaMV can also create new superviruses that are more infectious than the original. Dr. Joseph Cummins, a professor of genetics, is worried. "The widely used cauliflower mosaic virus is a potentially dangerous gene. It's very similar to the hepatitis B virus, and is related to the HIV virus."

How nutritious are GM foods?

Animals eat to live. They choose foods that nourish them. Amazingly, they refuse to eat GM foods!

Farmers in the Midwest watched cows walk past fields of genetically altered corn and eat non-GM corn right down to the ground, cornstalk and all.

A farmer in the Netherlands put two piles of corn in his mouse-infested barn. One was genetically engineered. The other wasn't. The mice ate every bit of the non-GM rice, but they didn't touch the GM pile.

A soybean farmer in Illinois had to fight off soybean-loving geese every year until he planted a small area with GM soybeans. The geese ate every bit of the non-GM soybeans and left the altered ones alone.

Studies proved these animals knew what they were doing. The nutritional value of GM foods is lower in soy, tomatoes, and other altered foods. Dr. Marc Lappe, an expert on soy, found that the beneficial phytoestrogens in soy that protect against heart disease and cancer were 12-14 percent lower in GM soybeans than traditional ones.

Don't just sit there — do something!

Big agribusinesses are altering our food and seeds. We need to take action. Here are a few suggestions:

Call Kraft Foods at 800-323-0768. Tell them you will no longer buy their foods with GM ingredients. I discovered their Boca Burgers sold in health food stores are GMO free. Those sold in supermarkets are not!

Read the fine print on the labels of all products you buy. Whenever possible, buy those marked organic or GMO-free.

Contact manufacturers for more information if any label is unclear.

Get more information and share it. Genetically engineered foods affect more than your health. They irrevocably harm our environment. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I have millions of words for you in a fast-paced film called "The Future of Food." This film is so important that it's being released to the public on video this month. It's fascinating and scientifically sound. It will answer a lot of your questions about GM foods. Please get a copy of this film and show it to your friends and family. It's only $20 (plus S&H) from Lily Films (415-383-0553).

The FDA doesn't require testing on GM foods for safety. The manufacturer just needs to say their product is safe. Richard Lacey, MD, microbiologist, and professor of food safety at Leeds University says, "The fact is, it's virtually impossible to even conceive of a testing procedure to assess the health effects of genetically engineered foods."

Cummins, Ronnie. "Frankencorn fight: cautionary tales," BioDemocracy News, #37, January 2002.

Gina L. Nick, PhD, ND. "Assessing individual susceptibility to endocrine disruption caused by the ingestion of genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Part 1," Townsend Letter for Doctors, December 2003.

Ho, R. Mae-Wan, PhD. "Horizontal gene transfer: The hidden hazards of genetic engineering," Institute of Science in Society and Department of Biological Sciences, Open University, UK.

Verzola, Roberto. The Genetic Engineering Debate, [email protected].

Watts, Meriel and Ronald Mcfarlane. "Glyphosate (Roundup)," Pesticide Action Network, [email protected]. 1999.

Health On A Shoestring: Lower Your Blood Pressure Without Spending a Fortune

If your blood pressure is high and your doctor has put you on medications, you could be taking them for the rest of your life. They're not only expensive, they can have side effects like fatigue, nausea, headaches, abdominal cramping, congestive heart failure, depression, and poor memory. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs should be taken only when all else fails.

Fortunately, there are several ways you can safely lower your blood pressure without spending your life's savings on drugs — even if your hypertension is genetic. Read about them, discuss them with your doctor, and give them a three-month trial. Then have your doctor monitor you and tell you how to get off your medications safely.

Lower sodium while increasing potassium

Reducing sodium lowers blood pressure in some people, but not everyone. One reason could be a sodium/potassium imbalance. You may need less sodium and more potassium. You don't need a lot of salt to be healthy because your body conserves it so well. You do, however, need a lot of potassium.

In more than 100 people with high blood pressure, a diet low in sodium and high in potassium worked better than just lowering salt intake. We know from past studies that when our potassium is low, our blood pressure tends to rise.

There's more sodium in foods than you might think. Cow's milk and cheese may not taste salty, but they're high in sodium. Keep your dairy intake low. Read labels on all processed and canned foods. They tend to be high, as well. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, tofu, and rice, on the other hand, are high in potassium. Eat more of them.

Get enough magnesium

Don't just add potassium-rich foods, though. You need sufficient magnesium before potassium can be raised. Low magnesium is a hidden risk for high blood pressure. The reason is connected to your need for potassium. Even a mild magnesium deficiency causes your body to excrete more potassium.

Fortunately, many foods that are high in potassium are also high in magnesium. They include nuts, green, leafy vegetables, and beans. Eat some of them every day.

Consider increasing your magnesium supplementation as well. There's no fixed amount of magnesium that each of us needs. It can vary from 200 mg/day to 1,000 mg/day. Your body knows how to keep you from taking too much magnesium. It's called "bowel tolerance." Take as much magnesium as your bowels can tolerate. Add 100 mg of magnesium to your nutritional supplements, and increase it by 100 mg every few days until your stools are soft, but not uncomfortably loose.

If you suspect you need more magnesium but can't tolerate it, try Magna-Calm, a powdered magnesium that is particularly well tolerated. You can get it from Longevity Science (800-933-9440).

Drink black tea

Tea is the beverage of choice for most of the world, and for good reason. It is high in antioxidants and it fights hypertension. When more than 200 women over the age of 70 drank a single cup of black tea a day, they lowered their blood pressure. Drinking two or three cups lowered it even more. The caffeine content of tea has nothing to do with its blood pressure-lowering ability. Drink either regular or decaffeinated tea.

Don't drink soft water

Drinking hard water is associated with lower blood pressure, possibly because it contains more magnesium. Soft water, often high in toxins like cadmium and lead, contributes to high blood pressure. If you have a water softener, buy bottled water for cooking and drinking.

Try a vegetarian diet

If all else fails, a vegetarian diet will often work. Vegetarians have one-third to one-half less hypertension than non-vegetarians. When you look at the list of foods high in potassium, you can see why. I'm not suggesting you stop eating meat forever. But if your blood pressure stays high after trying everything else, you may want to go on a vegetarian diet temporarily. You could conceivably lower your blood pressure five to 10 mm Hg if you stop eating animal products.

Fish have beneficial essential fats that can help lower blood pressure. You can include fish in an otherwise vegetarian diet. Last month, I talked about ways to eat fish without building up pesticide and mercury residues in your body. Please re-read that article if you're going to include fish in your blood-pressure-lowering program.

Give this diet a three-month trial. Need help? Read The New Becoming Vegetarian book (Melina and Davis, 2003). It contains simple and tasty meatless recipes along with lots of helpful information to make this diet work.

For more information on natural solutions to hypertension, pick up The High Blood Pressure Solution by Richard D. Moore, MD, PhD (Healing Arts Press, 2001). It's packed with more detailed information not only for you, but for your doctor as well.

Hodgson, J.M., et al. "Tea intake is inversely related to blood pressure in older women," J Nutr, 2003 September;133(9):2883-6.

Melina, Vesanto, MS, RD and Brenda Davis, RD. The New Becoming Vegetarian, Healthy Living Publications, 2003.

Moore, Richard D., MD, PhD. The High Blood Pressure Solution, Healing Arts Press, 2001.

Nowson, C.A., et al. "Decreasing dietary sodium while following a self-selected, potassium-rich diet reduces blood pressure," J Nutr, December 2003.

Werbach, Melvyn R., MD. Textbook of Nutritional Medicine, Third Line Press, 1999.

An Instant Cure for Grief That Costs Almost Nothing

I still found myself bursting into tears daily two-and-a-half months after my mother died. The profound sadness that welled up inside me took me by surprise. It wouldn't leave me. It didn't lessen. So this is part of the natural grieving process, I told myself. It will eventually pass. But it remained, unchanged, until a friend reminded me of a particular homeopathic remedy. I took one dose and my intense grief vanished. I'm still sad at times, of course, but not overcome with sadness and tears.

This friend, Cathie-Ann Lippman, is a psychiatrist in Los Angeles who works with complementary medicine. We occasionally consult with one another over difficult cases and her insights have been extraordinarily helpful to me. In the past, Cathie-Ann has been right on the money. This time was no exception. Her advice? Take "Ignatia 30C."

"Ignatia is for acute grieving," she reminded me. "Use the 30C potency and take three or four pellets. If you need to, you can repeat it once or twice daily."

What is homeopathy?

In Greek, homeopathy means "similar" and "disease." This means that a substance causing a negative symptom in a healthy person can help heal a sick person with the same symptoms. In other words, "like cures like."

The trick is to take the right remedy at the right time. Dana Ullman, MPH, is a homeopath, author of nine books on homeopathy, and friend. He told me, "When you hit the right remedy, the results are substantial." This time I found it amazing. I took one dose of Ignatia 30C and my intense emotional reactions disappeared. It was like turning off a water faucet.

When to reach for Ignatia

There are a number of remedies for grief. Ignatia is most fitting for the first stage of a new heartache. Use it when there's been a recent death or breakup, or when you move and miss your close friends.

Here are some signs that Ignatia is appropriate: When you hold in your emotions and don't break down in front of other people. Frequent sighing. A lump in your throat. Uncontrollable crying and extreme sadness.

Ignatia doesn't work as well for old, chronic grieving. Natrum mur 30C would be more appropriate. You can take it by itself or with Ignatia.

Where to find Ignatia

Most health food stores sell homeopathic remedies. There are many potencies for each homeopathic remedy, and it's generally thought that 30c potency is most appropriate for new grief. Your local health food store can usually order it if it's not in stock.

You can also call Homeopathic Educational Services (HES), Dana Ullman's company, and order it by phone. The company cannot make recommendations, but it does have a large selection of books on homeopathy, as well as a huge selection of remedies. The phone number is 800-359-9051, and the website, packed with good information, is www.homeopathic.com. A two-gram vial of this remedy — all you need — costs around $6.00 (shipping is extra, of course).

Nutrition Detective

Reduce Iron — Reduce Heart Disease and Cancer

Your risk for many chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer, is increased if your diet is high in iron. The good news is it's easy to reduce your iron levels.

Iron is a potent oxidizer. Remember, antioxidants are protective nutrients that cancel out iron's dangerous effects.

A study examined the iron intake of older participants in the Framingham Heart Study and looked at their risk for disease. People who took supplements containing iron had higher levels of stored iron. Postmenopausal women, and men of all ages, don't need supplemental iron. Please, make sure that your multi has NO added iron (Vitality Plus is iron-free). Only children and menstruating women who have monthly blood loss may need supplemental iron.

High iron was also affected by eating meat more than four times a week, along with eating three or more pieces of fruit daily. Meat is naturally high in iron, and fruit contains good quantities of vitamin C. What does vitamin C have to do with too much stored iron? Well, it increases iron absorption. If you eat less fruit and choose fish over red meat half the time, chances are you won't have too much iron. Donating blood is a great way to lower your iron levels, plus you're helping those who need blood.

Fleming D.J., K.L. Tucker, P.F. Jacques, G.E. Dallal, P.W. Wilson, and R.J. Wood. "Dietary factors associated with the risk of high iron stores in the elderly Framingham Heart Study cohort," Amer J Clin Nutr, 2002, December 76(6).

Your Hidden Risk for Bone Lose

A recent study in the Netherlands found that frail, older women — but not frail, older men — with even marginally low levels of vitamin B12 are at higher risk for osteoporosis. The authors suggest that low B12 may be associated with bone density, and I think they're right. But was it the B12 itself that prevented bone loss or something else? I think it may have been something else.

Vitamin B12 is found primarily in animal products including eggs. But this B vitamin is also made in our intestines if we have good digestion and no chronic bowel problems. Good digestion begins with sufficient hydrochloric acid (HCl) — the same acid that helps you digest proteins. The acid you need also to break down and utilize calcium and magnesium to help form strong, dense bones. Insufficient HCl leads to a colon with fermenting food particles — hardly an environment conducive to manufacturing B12.

In time, we may find that there's a more direct connection between healthy bones and vitamin B12. Until then, work on strengthening your digestion by chewing well and eating when you're calm. Eat a balanced diet with eggs and/or other animal proteins. And take a multivitamin. All of them contain some additional vitamin B12.

Dhonukshe-Rutten, R.A., et al. "Vitamin B12 status is associated with bone mineral content and bone mineral density in frail elderly women, but not in men," Division of Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.

Ask Dr. Nan

Q: Do you represent a company that has natural supplements? I'm looking for a good source of calcium, zinc picolinate, and magnesium — can you help? — D.M., Kenosha, WI

A: The Women's Preferred line of supplements is sold through Women's Health Letter. I'm greatly involved in every formulation we offer. I consult with the formulators who design the supplements. I've been to the manufacturing plant where Women's Preferred supplements are made. They manufacture some of the highest quality supplements available for the health industry and medical doctors.

The supplements in the Women's Preferred line contain the balance I believe is most effective and protective. Their quality couldn't be any better. For those reasons, I've agreed to endorse them. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I am compensated for that endorsement. But you've probably noticed that I also suggest supplements from other good companies.

To answer your other question, all zinc picolinate products contain zinc attached to picolinic acid, which acts as a well-absorbed carrier. Calcium and magnesium are best utilized when they are attached (or bound) to easily absorbed carriers. I like these two minerals either in citrate, aspartate, malate, or amino acid chelate form. All of them get into the system better than calcium carbonate or magnesium oxide, which are cheap and poorly-absorbed forms of the mineral.

There are many good supplements on the market, and even more that are mediocre or a waste of money in my opinion. The Women's Preferred brand is one of the best — but it's not the only good one.

Q: What can I take to get rid of irritable bowel? I have frequent attacks that keep me housebound much of the time. Metamucil, which is all my doctor prescribes, no longer helps. — E.M., address withheld

A: The first thing to do is to replenish the friendly bacteria in your intestines that are being washed out. Take large amounts of probiotics (friendly bacteria). How much should you take? Two or three times as much as it says on the bottle, at least for a week or two. Then continue taking the suggested amount as long as you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

I like TheraDophilus from ProThera (888-488-2488). It has a way of sticking to the intestinal walls. Culturelle, Natren, and Dr. Ohhira's Probiotics 12 Plus are brands you can find in health food stores that are excellent quality. Stick with these brands. I've checked them out thoroughly and find they work best.

In fact, I'll be demystifying the subject of probiotics in a few months. I'm onto some very interesting information you'll want to read. It will help you choose the best brand for any particular type of digestive problem.

One of the biggest triggers for IBS is sugar. Stop eating all refined sugars and refined carbohydrates completely. This means eliminating all foods with white flour. IBS can be a sign of a food sensitivity. I've had numerous patients whose IBS symptoms lessened greatly when they stopped eating dairy. Or wheat.

If this isn't enough, look for an acupuncturist, naturopath, or other health care practitioner who uses integrative medicine for another point of view on your condition. You may have other problems that contribute to your IBS.