Beauty Micro-Beads: Contaminating the Food Supply

If it's hot in natural health news, Dr. Ginger is on the case.

In this edition of "Healthy Steps with Dr. Ginger," she discusses what's happening in the world of natural health.

Micro-Beads Contaminating the Food Supply

If you've ever used a traditional exfoliating beauty product, you know how wonderful it can make your skin feel... from the heels of your feet to your face.

Unfortunately, most of these products use synthetic micro-beads made of plastic to achieve that exfoliating effect.

While something so small may seem harmless, those beads are actually quite dangerous to the food chain and food supply.

Why?

For one, they get washed down the drain and enter the water supply. Fish and other wildlife ingest the beads via water, and become contaminated.

Just how contaminated you may ask?

Recent tests of the Great Lakes found 17,000 bits of microbeads per square kilometer in Lake Michigan and up to 1.1 million bits per square kilometer in Lake Ontario.

This is not to even mention the fact that plastic is a hormone disruptor and can lead to cell overgrowth and even cancer.

As a consumer, what can you do to protect yourself? For starters, look for the two biggest ingredient offenders: polyethelyne or polypropylene. If your product contains those ingredients, stay away.

You can also turn to natural ingredients, such as apricot seeds, oatmeal, walnut hulls, sea salt and honey and sugar.

And, you can enlist your legislators to be on your side. The Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, recently signed a bill into law banning the manufacture and sale of micro-beads. By 2018 the law will be fully in place.

USDA Considering a Deal with China to Process U.S. Chickens and Send Back for Human Consumption

If you know anything about China and food safety, it's that the country is sketchy at best when it comes to regulation and safe practices.

That's why it is so concerning to learn that the USDA is actually considering an export/import deal with China where they would ship U.S.-grown chickens over to China for processing (cutting, packaging, etc.) and have them send the meat back for human consumption.

What's more? There are no plans as of now to have a U.S. inspector on site to monitor the process, nor is there any regulation surrounding labeling. So, basically, you could be eating chicken processed overseas and not even know it.

If that's not enough to scare you, remember that just last year, KFC halted its chicken supply from China due to the astronomical amount of antibiotics used.

While these negotiations are still in the beginning stages, it might not be long before you have to worry about where your chicken has been.