6 ms·

I am; they've added it to our enriched flour breads since the 80's and it blocks iodine receptors. Look up iodine deficiency, said to affect 70% of Americans, a

I am; they've added it to our enriched flour breads since the 80's and it blocks iodine receptors. Look up iodine deficiency, said to affect 70% of Americans, and this is alarming. The deficiency has been linked to thyroid problems and cancer, especially breast and prostate cancer, as iodine helps regulate hormones. I have NO trust for our "food system" or "safety regulators." It's all about how to make a buck. You can hardly find any food without unnecessary and harmful additives. Soy lecithin - an allergen is everywhere as is whey (dairy - why do I need this in my chicken apple sausage??), maltodextrin (gluten), MSG (migraine central). It's pitiful. Yes; bromine is one of many scary elements we over-use.

barsonme 12y ago
Whey is used as an emulsifier in processed meats[1]. Personally the biggest issue I've noticed with these "bad ingredient" trends is that, 1.) Most issues seem to come from overuse (e.g. drinking too much soda), and 2.) They're easy scapegoats for many issues which have arose in the last ~20 or so years. There's certainly an argument to be made for the recent occurrence of some of these issues being due to increased scrutiny or increased intake of said product. Anecdotally, I know my father is allergic to wheat and corn. My younger brother is (potentially -- last I heard he's testing it) allergic as well. I've had no negative side effects, but I do eat much less processed food and grains than they both do/did. But, again, that's very anecdotal and in no way is it a representation of a larger population. [1] http://www.usdec.org/files/pdfs/6meat.pdf http://www.usdec.org/files/pdfs/6meat.pdf
- mlichtenstern 12y ago
  In general, there are too many unnecessary additives in our food supply. I went to Boston Market the other night hoping to find a simple meal for my daughter, who has food sensitivities like her dad, and could not find one single dish without allergens. The chicken had maltodextrin (wheat), veggies had soy lecithin...it was a crying shame. I know how to cook from scratch and cannot understand why there is so much garbage in prepared foods. Simple foods like potato salad and bread in a typical grocery store have ridiculous ingredients.
jandrewrogers 12y ago
I am only responding to this to point out that your post is completely inconsistent with elementary chemistry and biomedical science, lest someone else actually take it seriously. Fact: Bromine is an essential element in mammalian biology. We need to consume it. Fact: Bromine does not preferentially crowd out iodine. It does tend to concentrate in the same tissues as iodine for the obvious chemistry reason but it does not materially impede iodine absorption. Which has actually been measured in mammals in biomedical studies. Fact: Some populations, like the Japanese, consume relatively huge quantities of bromine from natural dietary sources while still having (modestly) lower levels of thyroid disease than cultures that consume much less. This is an expected demographic result given the aforementioned biomedical research that would predict this, given that bromine does not crowd out iodine. If we biologically require both iodine and bromine, which we do, it is pretty reasonable to assume that evolution makes sure the ions get to where they need to go. Human biology is full of superficially conflicting ion requirements: iodine and bromine, sodium and potassium, calcium and magnesium, etc. As an added bonus, ions like bromine (and iodine) tend to be promptly excreted if you consume more than your body actually requires, so they don't stay in your system long in any case if they are not serving a purpose. There is nothing intrinsically dangerous about bromine.
- pyre 12y ago
  > There is nothing intrinsically dangerous about bromine. ... other than coming into contact with pure Bromine... :P
- mlichtenstern 12y ago
  "Bromine has no necessary function in the body. Substantial exposure to it can cause iodine deficiency, which will ultimately wreak havoc with the thyroid and every tissue in the body." http://www.bodybio.com/content.aspx?page=bromine-bullies-iodine http://www.bodybio.com/content.aspx?page=bromine-bullies-iod...
  - shabble 12y ago
    There is a recent paper suggesting it may in fact be essential as a trace element: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24906154 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24906154 Although exactly where modern diet/exposure lies on the necessary/harm spectrum is substantially different question.
userbinator 12y ago
> MSG (migraine central). Certain individuals may be more sensitive to glutamates than the majority but there's no evidence to show that they are harmful in the amounts that are regularly consumed - and those in Asia average a far higher daily intake of it than in the West, yet no specific health issues have ever been identified due to this. (Personally, I find it has a pleasant stimulating effect, like caffeine but milder.)
- mlichtenstern 12y ago
  I would not say "no evidence." There certainly is...
  - CountSessine 12y ago
    No, at this point, in 2014, there really isn't any good evidence that MSG consumption is harmful. Of course, if one's knowledge of biochemistry and medical science was restricted to what they read in blog articles on terrible food supplement websites like bodybio.com, they might think otherwise ...
    - mlichtenstern 12y ago
      Perhaps if one's knowledge of biochemistry is restricted to the opinion of their peers and they made assumptions about the extent of the research & sources that inform others' views based on miniscule data, they would remain ignorant to such contrary evidence. Is it any wonder that average lifespan of doctors is significantly shorter than the general population?
      - CountSessine 12y ago
        Random crackpot is random. I showed this comment to everyone here. We all had a good laugh. Thank you.
        mlichtenstern 12y ago

barsonme 12y ago

Whey is used as an emulsifier in processed meats[1]. Personally the biggest issue I've noticed with these "bad ingredient" trends is that, 1.) Most issues seem to come from overuse (e.g. drinking too much soda), and 2.) They're easy scapegoats for many issues which have arose in the last ~20 or so years. There's certainly an argument to be made for the recent occurrence of some of these issues being due to increased scrutiny or increased intake of said product. Anecdotally, I know my father is allergic to wheat and corn. My younger brother is (potentially -- last I heard he's testing it) allergic as well. I've had no negative side effects, but I do eat much less processed food and grains than they both do/did. But, again, that's very anecdotal and in no way is it a representation of a larger population. [1] http://www.usdec.org/files/pdfs/6meat.pdf http://www.usdec.org/files/pdfs/6meat.pdf

mlichtenstern 12y ago
In general, there are too many unnecessary additives in our food supply. I went to Boston Market the other night hoping to find a simple meal for my daughter, who has food sensitivities like her dad, and could not find one single dish without allergens. The chicken had maltodextrin (wheat), veggies had soy lecithin...it was a crying shame. I know how to cook from scratch and cannot understand why there is so much garbage in prepared foods. Simple foods like potato salad and bread in a typical grocery store have ridiculous ingredients.

jandrewrogers 12y ago

I am only responding to this to point out that your post is completely inconsistent with elementary chemistry and biomedical science, lest someone else actually take it seriously. Fact: Bromine is an essential element in mammalian biology. We need to consume it. Fact: Bromine does not preferentially crowd out iodine. It does tend to concentrate in the same tissues as iodine for the obvious chemistry reason but it does not materially impede iodine absorption. Which has actually been measured in mammals in biomedical studies. Fact: Some populations, like the Japanese, consume relatively huge quantities of bromine from natural dietary sources while still having (modestly) lower levels of thyroid disease than cultures that consume much less. This is an expected demographic result given the aforementioned biomedical research that would predict this, given that bromine does not crowd out iodine. If we biologically require both iodine and bromine, which we do, it is pretty reasonable to assume that evolution makes sure the ions get to where they need to go. Human biology is full of superficially conflicting ion requirements: iodine and bromine, sodium and potassium, calcium and magnesium, etc. As an added bonus, ions like bromine (and iodine) tend to be promptly excreted if you consume more than your body actually requires, so they don't stay in your system long in any case if they are not serving a purpose. There is nothing intrinsically dangerous about bromine.

pyre 12y ago
> There is nothing intrinsically dangerous about bromine. ... other than coming into contact with pure Bromine... :P
mlichtenstern 12y ago
"Bromine has no necessary function in the body. Substantial exposure to it can cause iodine deficiency, which will ultimately wreak havoc with the thyroid and every tissue in the body." http://www.bodybio.com/content.aspx?page=bromine-bullies-iodine http://www.bodybio.com/content.aspx?page=bromine-bullies-iod...
- shabble 12y ago
  There is a recent paper suggesting it may in fact be essential as a trace element: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24906154 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24906154 Although exactly where modern diet/exposure lies on the necessary/harm spectrum is substantially different question.

userbinator 12y ago

> MSG (migraine central). Certain individuals may be more sensitive to glutamates than the majority but there's no evidence to show that they are harmful in the amounts that are regularly consumed - and those in Asia average a far higher daily intake of it than in the West, yet no specific health issues have ever been identified due to this. (Personally, I find it has a pleasant stimulating effect, like caffeine but milder.)

mlichtenstern 12y ago
I would not say "no evidence." There certainly is...
- CountSessine 12y ago
  No, at this point, in 2014, there really isn't any good evidence that MSG consumption is harmful. Of course, if one's knowledge of biochemistry and medical science was restricted to what they read in blog articles on terrible food supplement websites like bodybio.com, they might think otherwise ...
  - mlichtenstern 12y ago
    Perhaps if one's knowledge of biochemistry is restricted to the opinion of their peers and they made assumptions about the extent of the research & sources that inform others' views based on miniscule data, they would remain ignorant to such contrary evidence. Is it any wonder that average lifespan of doctors is significantly shorter than the general population?
    - CountSessine 12y ago
      Random crackpot is random. I showed this comment to everyone here. We all had a good laugh. Thank you.
      - mlichtenstern 12y ago