
loyolaxavvierretard
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This post is a sequel to the post "An Essay on the Water you Drink" that I posted yesterday. It is now redundant
TLDR - This is merely information regarding the fact that no matter what you do you will never really escape the contaminants. This is not doomposting, just mere referencing current literature
Why This Post ?
The Issue of Contamination in the Food You Eat
What is the point of this post seriously ?
My next post will be titled "An Essay on the Air you Breathe"
@2025cel @menas @Volksstaffel @Wombles @JohnBaza
TLDR - This is merely information regarding the fact that no matter what you do you will never really escape the contaminants. This is not doomposting, just mere referencing current literature
Why This Post ?
- A user @vidit read the entire post quite thoroughly and presented an argument that brought down my point completely. He argued that since we can still compensate our calcium and magnesium demands with dietary sources we should opt for RO Filters. This is because a lot of foods like milk, meat and other sources are quite close in terms of abundance and bioavailability it does not really pose a significant threat. His argument turned out to be correct.
- At first I agreed, I had made a mistake in not checking this stuff. But then I remembered something else. And that has what compelled me to make this post. In this post I will argue that even if you use RO Filters and compensate with a healthy diet. You cannot really escape the contaminants. They may be removed by the RO Filter, but they will still be present in food and removing them is not that simple.
Before We Begin
- I would like to mention a hole in @vidit's argument. He never really discussed the fact that drinking RO Filter water is moderately correlated with risk of cardiovascular diseases in the long run. That is something a diet cannot compensate for. But that is not really important so we move on.
Introduction
- The food that the overwhelming majority of people eat is bought from a supermarket, online or from a local seller. The overwhelming majority will never source food directly from a farmer. This is a very important point to keep in mind
- This post applies to you regardless of whether you are vegan, vegetarian, carnivore or whatever diet you follow.
- The aim of this post will be to argue that regardless of the purity of your water you will never get rid of the contaminants unless and only unless you are rich, have plenty of time on your hands and are actually committed enough to follow through with the solutions which I may or may not post in the future. The aim of this post is to argue that the food you ingest is moderately likely to lead to bad health outcomes
The Issue of Contamination in the Food You Eat
- The first contaminant that I would like to discuss are microplastics. Microplastics are tiny particles less than 5 millimetres in size and are a major contaminant in the food system. They are found in seafood and agricultural produce, meat and processed foods and beverages too. They pervade every single place on this planet from the peaks of Everest to the deeper trenches of the ocean. They are also present in the air but that is a post for another day. (Study Referenced)
- The second major contaminant that I would like to discuss are Polyfluoroalkyl substances or colloquially termed as PFAS. They are quite infamous due to being linked with different types of cancer. PFAS have infiltrated our food system and are quite ubiquitous. If you are eating any type of food you can very likely be certain that you are ingesting PFAS. The levels of PFAS are also quite above the safe exposure limit which is why they are such a concern. (Study Referenced) (Study Referenced).
- The third major type of contaminant I would like to discuss are heavy metals. Heavy metals like arsenic, lead and cadmium mainly enter the food chain through contaminated soil, water and air. They are also present in all types of food ranging from dairy to agricultural produce. Ingestion of excess metals can lead to kidney failure, increased risk of neurological disorders and increased risk of cancer. (Study Referenced) (Study Referenced)
- The fourth and final major contaminant I would like to mention are pesticides or more technically speaking pesticide residues. These are mainly found in agricultural produce. They are mainly spread due to spraying them directly on to the crops. Although this is not a major concern as compared to the trinity listed above because many countries have taken efforts to curb it's dangers. However it is ever present in developing countries where the law has still not caught up with the times. I will simply reference the WHO sheet for anyone interested in more reading. It has comprehensive information on the topic. (Reference sheet).
But Why Are These Dangerous ?
- Microplastics are such a big issue because we literally cannot study them effectively. Researchers cannot find a group with 0 microplastic exposure which means no double blind study can be conducted. It gets worse when you realise that the microplastics have been found in every single important human organ and that includes your brain. The only study that was done was the one where they found that patients with dementia have significantly more microplastics in their brain than those not diagnosed with the condition. Granted the relationship was not causal but still that does not spell well for us either. (Study Referenced)
- PFAS just like microplastics are very ubiquitous in our surroundings. They are present everywhere including our food and are called "Forever Chemicals" since they are synthetic compounds. They have a plethora of risks ranging from increased risks of kidney and testicular cancer to developmental issues to cardiovascular concerns. (Study Referenced) (Study Referenced)
- Heavy metals like mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic have well studied and researched adverse health effects. Exposure to lead and mercury can lead to cognitive impairments in adults and children alike. They are well studied neurotoxicants. The CDC has good data on how neurotoxic they are. Other than that heavy metals also have various risks like increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.The International Agency for Cancer Research classifies heavy metals as a Group 1 carcinogen since it is linked to so many types of cancer. (Study Referenced)
- For pesticides and residues I have already shared the WHO sheet. It serves as a good guideline for the adverse health effects.
But Can't we Avoid it Like Water ?
- You can try but it would simply not do much. You see unlike water there is nothing you can individually do to avoid these contaminants in your food. These contaminants enter the food chain and get embedded in a way such that there is simply no effective option of removal. If there was then he would become billionaire overnight.
- The only sort of people who can still mitigate these things to some extent are the very rich people and I mean it in the true sense of the word. To avoid these contaminants you would have to have a controlled farm that supplies produce and meat and is shielded away from the world, and this food would be supplied to you directly to your door. This is quite impossible to achieve for people who are not richie rich
- You can try washing your vegetables, you can try buying without plastic bags, heck you can even try buying directly from a farmer ( I know I am sort of contradicting myself from earlier ), but as I have pointed out, these things enter the food chain very early and embed in a way that is simply not easy to get rid off.
What is the point of this post seriously ?
- I argued in the first post that you cannot remove contaminants from water without introducing deficiencies which are harmful too .
- vidit (praise that lad) argued that you can actually do it by just supplementing with a good and healthy diet. No contamination in the water and you no longer have deficiencies
- But now I argue that even if you follow the above point you are not really off the leash here. I argue through this post about how every type of food is riddled with contaminants, why they are dangerous and why you really cannot get rid of them in a meaningful way.
- My argument is very simple. Regardless of whether you use RO Filter or eat healthy food or follow all the health guidelines, you will never get rid of the contaminants unless you are richie rich. This does not mean that you are doomed, rather I am informing you about what you are ingesting. You can use this information to mope around or advocate for better laws regarding regulation.
Please disregard my previous post, it is now redundant and incomplete. I will keep it up though to serve it as a lesson to never argue incomplete things.My next post will be titled "An Essay on the Air you Breathe"
@2025cel @menas @Volksstaffel @Wombles @JohnBaza
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