Children’s Vitamins Full of Aspartame, GMOs & Harmful Chemicals

This original article title was "Top Children’s Vitamins Full of Aspartame, GMOs and Harmful Chemicals", however I removed the word "top" as it only applies name brand recognition, sales but certainly not quality as you will read in the article below.

I am certainly happy that we are seeing more and more articles on the dangers of Aspartame, GMO ingredients and toxins found in food grade supplements. But it is interesting? amazing? when showing parents comparative ratings of children's nutritional supplements and these parents will choose the easy path of continuing to feed their children low quality supplements,...even when the science compared higher quality products are just a few dollars a month more.  I have seen exceptional results with providing optimal supplementation to children, including my own daughter. Some of the parents I know now that have children labeled "ADD" or "ADHD" swear by the benefits of a high quality daily nutritional supplement and an Omega 3 supplement. In fact, I say "if parents knew what I know they would have their kids on these two supplements." Anyway enjoy this article, this is a good one from Arjun Walia of Collective-Evolution.com

How often are parents aware of the ingredients contained in the multivitamin that they feed their children? We often believe what we hear without ever questioning what mass marketing and media has to say about a product. In this case they have led thousands of parents to purchase multivitamins because they believe it has significant nutritional value. But do these vitamins truly provide nutritional benefit? If so, at what cost?

If we look at the Flintstones vitamin, (one of the top multivitamins in the United States) it contains a number of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), aspartame, aluminum, petroleum-derived artificial colors and more. All of these ingredients are not optimal for health and can be very toxic. You can view the entire list of ingredients here.

Lets take a closer look at some of these ingredients.

Aspartame

Aspartame is known to damage the brain at any dose by leaving traces of Methanol in the blood. It makes you wonder why Aspartame has been approved as “safe” and is found in thousands of food products; not to mention children’s vitamins. It’s also linked to Lymphoma and Leukemia. You can read more about that here and here (sources provided at the bottom). It’s basically a synthetic combination of the amino acids aspartic acid and I-phenylalanine. It’s known to convert into toxic methanol and formaldehyde in the body. Hopefully this motivates you to further your research. If you are looking for specific studies, you can check out these ones published in the US National Library of Medicine through the collective-evolution link at the top of this article:

Consumption of artificial sweetener and risk of lymphoma and leukaemia
Effect of chronic exposure to aspartame
Long-term consumption of aspartame and brain antioxidant defense status
Aspartame-induces impairment of spatial cognition and insulin sensitivity
Synergistic interactions between food additives in a developmental neurotoxicity test
Multipotential carcinogenic effects of aspartame

Sorbitol

Sorbitol is a synthetic sugar substitute which is classified as a sugar alcohol. The ingestion of higher amounts have been linked to gastrointestinal disturbances from abdominal pain to more serious conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. You can view some studies related to Sorbitol through the collective-evolution link at the top of this article:

Sorbitol intolerance in adults
Sorbitol intolerance: an unappreciated cause of functional gastrointestinal complaints
Sorbitol used as an osmotic cathartic has caused severe hypernatremia (elevation of sodium in the blood) in children

Hydrogenated Soybean Oil

Anything marketed to children that contains hydrogenated soybean oil is irresponsible. They are semi-synthetic fatty acids that incorporate themselves into our tissues. They’ve been linked to dozens of harmful health effects, from coronary artery disease to cancer and fatty liver disease. You can view a number of links to studies conducted here.

Ferrous Fumarate

This is quite remarkable that Ferrous Fumarate is an ingredient here. There is a clear warning on the Flintstone’s web site concerning this chemical. It’s used as an iron supplement. When consuming iron that comes naturally in food, it’s impossible to inject toxic amounts that can cause death. But when taking Ferrous Fumarate, fatal levels of toxicity can be reached.

Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6. Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control centre immediately.

Studies have been conducted that show ferrous fumarate doesn’t even affect iron status in children, you can read that study here. Below are links to a few more studies, through the collective-evolution link at the top of this article:

Ferrous fumarate increases clinical disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease patients
Ferrous fumarate deteriorated plasma antioxidant status in patients with Crohn disease
Ferrous fumarate has been demonstrated to be toxic to newborn foals

Cupric Oxide

According the European Union’s Dangerous Substance Directive, Cupric Oxide is listed as a hazardous substance. It’s classified as both harmful and dangerous to the environment. It is used as a pigment in ceramics and as a chemical in the production of rayon fabric and dry cell batteries. It is indeed a mineral, but should this really be a nutrient in a children’s vitamin?

Brief Summary of Bayer Pharmaceuticals

Most pharmaceutical companies, like Bayer, the developer of the Flintstones vitamins, do not have the best track record. Bayer is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in 1863. In 1925, it became part of IG Farben, a German chemical industry conglomerate. This chemical company had board members that were responsible for the creation of the Federal Reserve, like Paul Warburg (2), who sat on the board of the Federal Reserve as well as I.G Farben. It was a corporation well connected with the Rockefeller’s, and the second largest shareholder in Standard Oil. The investment was part of a pattern of reciprocal investments between the U.S. and Germany during the Nazi years (3). It’s well known that IG Farben was closely connected with the Nazi’s. They held the patent for the pesticide Zyklon B, the chemical used in gas chambers. Some of IG Farben’s directors were accused as war criminals, while others continued on with the agenda we see taking form today. We can see a conflict of interest through the companies shareholders when it comes to the creation of pharmaceutical products.

I think it’s time for us to examine what we choose to feed our children. All it takes is a little investigation and stepping into our own awareness of what is going on around us. Many of us live a robotic life style, we are all here doing the same thing. We’ve been programmed to grow up, work and spend most of our hours doing just that. While we participate in a 9-5, eat sleep watch TV, participate in a number of activities for entrainment purposes type of reality, there are those working behind the scenes manipulating the consciousness of the human race. All we have to do is notice, after that we can begin making better choices in our own lives. The world is indeed waking up, something new is desired, the current Earth paradigm is one many people don’t resonate with any more. A lot of us feel that it’s time to move on, grow and explore our infinite potentiality.

Sources:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/top-us-brand-childrens-vitamins-contains-aspartame-gmos-other-hazardous-chemicals

(1) http://labeling.bayercare.com/omr/online/flintstones-complete.pdf

(2) http://www.federalreserve.gov/bios/boardmembership.htm

(3) http://web.mit.edu/thistle/www/v13/3/oil.html

http://www.flintstonesvitamins.com/en/products/complete-chewable-vitamins/



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Preventing Illness and Disease with Vitamin C

A good article, from tvgreenmedinfo.com educating us on the importance of Vitamin C as told by Dr Linus Pauling who work is still alive at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University where they do Micronutrient Research for Optimum Health. I take a daily dose of 2,125 mg of Vitamin C. I take Vitamin C at this amount to help with connective tissue health at my joints and for general anti-oxidant protection from free radical damage.

I like the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) as they know that a quality nutritional supplement is key to optimal health. In fact LPI recommends "Avoid gimmicky marketing and high-priced supplements; buy U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) grade supplements when possible. A “USP Verified” mark on the label ensures quality, purity, and potency of the supplement."

Linus Pauling discusses the vital importance of vitamin C in human health and disease, and why scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) is the most prevalent health problem of our time, underlying even heart disease as the #1 killer in the developed world.

Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century. Pauling was one of the founders of the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology.

For his scientific work, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. In 1962, for his peace activism, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This makes him the only person to be awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes. He is one of only four individuals to have won more than one Nobel Prize (the others being Marie Curie, John Bardeen, and Frederick Sanger). Pauling is one of only two people to be awarded Nobel Prizes in different fields (Chemistry and Peace), the other being Marie Curie (Chemistry and Physics).




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The Best Power Foods for Women

The Best Power Foods for Women By SHAPE magazine - Healthy Living by Stephanie Clarke, R.D., and Willow Jarosh, R.D. saying the best foods for women of any age. I was glad to see Avocados and Potatoes get some good press.

You grind in the gym every day to look and feel your best, but if your diet doesn't include these 12 power foods, you're doing yourself and your health a disservice!

To strengthen bones:
Parmesan cheese Calcium is key for preventing osteoporosis (especially in your 20s). Yogurt and nonfat milk help, but who wants them three times a day? Work Parmesan cheese into your diet; its 340 mg of calcium per ounce - compared to about 200 mg in cheddar or Swiss - goes a long way toward your 1000 mg/day quota.

To boost immunity:
Apples Smart and sweet, apples are rich in quercetin, an antioxidant that can bolster your body's disease-fighting abilities. In one study from Appalachian State University, just 5 percent of people who ate more quercetin came down with a respiratory infection over a two-week period, compared to 45 percent of those who didn't.

To build your iron stores:
Lentils Low-calorie lentils pack about 30 percent of your daily iron per cup cooked. About 12 percent of young women have low iron stores - at the extreme, that leads to anemia. But one study found that even women who were iron deficient (not anemic) had poorer performances on skill tests than those with normal levels.

To fight wrinkles:
Broccoli "A cup of broccoli has 100 percent of your vitamin C-crucial for production of collagen, which gives skin elasticity," says Tammy Lakatos Shames, R.D. It's also rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. This vitamin assists in cell turnover, so old skin cells are replaced with fresh (read: younger-looking) ones.

To get healthy carbs:
Potatoes contain a fat-fighting compound called resistant starch that can help keep weight in check. One medium spud with the skin will run you just around 100 calories, and with more potassium than bananas, potatoes also help fight heart disease by keeping blood pressure low.

To up your intake of folate:
Spinach This leafy green is high in vitamin K and also contains calcium and magnesium - a combo that may help slow the breakdown of bone that occurs as you get older - as well as folate, a B vitamin that helps prevent birth defects. And it packs just 7 calories per cup raw!

To stress less:
Dark chocolate European researchers found that people who ate an ounce and a half of dark chocolate - about 200 calories worth-every day for two weeks produced less of the stress hormone cortisol and reported feeling less frazzled. Cortisol causes a temporary rise in blood pressure; consistently high levels up your risk for depression, obesity, heart disease and more.

To fight cancer:
Mushrooms One study showed that women who ate just one third of an ounce of raw mushrooms a day (that's about one button mushroom) had a 64 percent reduction in breast cancer risk. Other research suggests that mushrooms reduce the effects of aromatase, a protein that helps produce estrogen - a major factor in some breast cancers.

To fight heart disease:
Sardines These pungent little fish are good sources of omega-3 acids, which decrease inflammation that can lead to blocked arteries. They also prevent blood clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes, and keep blood vessels smooth and supple. Three ounces of sardines have about 1.3 grams of omega-3s (you need about 1 gram a day).

To help flatten your belly:
Avocados Avocados are high in monounsaturated fat, which has been shown to help you drop weight, including from your troublesome middle. In one study, people who got the most monos (about 23 percent of their daily calories) had about 5 pounds less belly fat than those who ate a high-carb, lower-fat diet.

To protect your eyes:
Bell peppers Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts are leading causes of vision loss, but foods rich in lutein, zeaxanthin, and vitamin C, like bell peppers, can keep eyes sharp. A cup of sliced red, yellow and orange peppers contains nearly twice your daily vitamin C, plus 116 micrograms (mcg) of lutein, and 562 mcg of zeaxanthin.

To boost energy:
Whole-grain pasta Whole-grain pasta is loaded with B vitamins, which help your body convert food into energy. And unlike processed grain products that lack fiber, whole grains are more filling than their refined counterparts. In other words, you'll feel satisfied with fewer calories.

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Sugar Destroys Your Health

This article, "146 Reasons Sugar Can Destroy Your Health", was published over a year ago on Sign Of The Times and was drawn from the book "Suicide By Sugar", authored by Nancy Appleton, PhD. When people get PET/CT scans to determine existence of cancer, they are given a sugary drink, followed by a radioactive IV solution. Why? Well, the layman's answer is that the sugary drink is rapidly absorbed by cancer cells and the radioactive IV helps "light up" concentrations of sugar, hence cancer spots, through the imagery. You don't need to get in the head by Thor's Hammer to figure out that Cancer feeds off sugar.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases).
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you lose.
7. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar may make eyes more vulnerable to age-related macular degeneration.
14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause premature aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity.
23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
32. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
33. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
34. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
35. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
36. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
37. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
38. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E (alpha-Tocopherol) in the blood.
39. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
40. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
41. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.
42. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non-enzymatically to protein).
43. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
44. Sugar causes food allergies.
45. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
46. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
47. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
48. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
49. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
50. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
51. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
52. Sugar can cause cataracts.
53. Sugar can cause emphysema.
54. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
55. Sugar can promote an elevation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL).
56. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body.
57. Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function.
58. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.
59. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
60. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
61. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
62. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
63. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
64. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.
65. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
66. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
67. Sugar can make the tendons more brittle.
68. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine.
69. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.
70. Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders.
71. Sugar can cause depression.
72. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
73. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
74. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout.
75. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
76. Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low-sugar diets.
77. A diet high in refined sugar reduces learning capacity.
78. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body's ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
79. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
80. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.
81. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become under active and others become overactive.
82. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
83. Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress.
84. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.
85. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold-increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
86. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents.
87. Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
88. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
89. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men. 90. Sugar combines with and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.
91. Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer.
92. Sugar is an addictive substance.
93. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
94. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
95. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
96. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.
97. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
98. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
99. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
100. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.
101. I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.
102. High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer.
103. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
104. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.
105. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
106. In Intensive Care Units, limiting sugar saves lives.
107. Sugar may induce cell death.
108. Sugar can increase the amount of food that you eat.
109. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior.
110. Sugar can lead to prostrate cancer.
111. Sugar dehydrates newborns.
112. Sugar can cause low birth weight babies.
113. Greater consumption of refined sugar is associated with a worse outcome of schizophrenia.
114. Sugar can raise homocysteine levels in the blood stream.
115. Sweet food items increase the risk of breast cancer.
116. Sugar is a risk factor in cancer of the small intestine.
117. Sugar may cause laryngeal cancer.
118. Sugar induces salt and water retention.
119. Sugar may contribute to mild memory loss.
120. The more sodas a 10 year old child consumes, the less milk.
121. Sugar can increase the total amount of food consumed.
122. Exposing a newborn to sugar results in a heightened preference for sucrose relative to water at 6 months and 2 years of age.
123. Sugar causes constipation.
124. Sugar causes varicose veins.
125. Sugar can cause brain decay in prediabetic and diabetic women.
126. Sugar can increase the risk of stomach cancer.
127. Sugar can cause metabolic syndrome.
128. Sugar ingestion by pregnant women increases neural tube defects in embryos.
129. Sugar can be a factor in asthma.
130. The higher the sugar consumption the more chances of getting irritable bowel syndrome.
131. Sugar can affect the brain's ability to deal with rewards and consequences.
132. Sugar can cause cancer of the rectum.
133. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer.
134. Sugar can cause renal (kidney) cell carcinoma.
135. Sugar can cause liver tumors.
136. Sugar can increase inflammatory markers in the blood stream of overweight people.
137. Sugar can lower Vitamin E levels in the blood stream.
138. Sugar can increase your appetite for all food.
139. Sugar plays a role in the etiology and the continuation of acne.
140. Too much sugar can kill your sex life.
141. Sugar saps school performance in children.
142. Sugar can cause fatigue, moodiness, nervousness and depression.
143. Sugar is common choice of obese individuals.
144. A linear decrease in the intake of many essential nutrients is associated with increasing total sugar intake.
145. High fructose consumption has been linked to liver disease.
146. Sugar adds to the risk of bladder cancer.

Go to the link if you want to see the research spanning 146 articles where the author drew her data and analysis.




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Toxins in Children's Supplements

The #1 Children’s Vitamin Brand in the US contains ingredients that most parents would never intentionally expose their children to, so why aren’t more opting for healthier alternatives?

Kids vitamins are supposed to be healthy, right? Well then, what’s going on with Flintstones Vitamins, which proudly claims to be “Pediatricians’ #1 Choice”?

MyAchingKnees comment: Flintstones may be the brand most often recommended by Pediatricians, but it is far from being the highest rated Children's supplement. In the Canadian published Comparative Guide to Children's Nutritional's, comparing U.S. and Canadian children's supplements, the Flintstones rated 2.3 out of 16. That's at the lower spectrum of children's supplements, but also on that list are Centrum, Herbalife, One A Day, Nature's Sunshine and a host of others which are all commonly available anywhere.

Produced by the global pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, this wildly success brand features a shocking list of unhealthy ingredients, including:

Aspartame Cupric Oxide Coal tar artificial coloring agents (FDC Blue #2, Red #40, Yellow #6) Zinc Oxide Sorbitol Ferrous Fumarate Hydrogenated Oil (Soybean) GMO Corn starch

On Bayer Health Science’s Flintstones product page designed for healthcare professionals they lead into the product description with the following tidbit of information:

82% of kids aren’t eating all of their veggies. Without enough vegetables, kids may not be getting all of the nutrients they need.

References: 1. Lorson BA, Melgar-Quinonez HR, Taylor CA. Correlates of fruit and vegetable intakes in US children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109(3):474-478.

The implication? That Flintstones vitamins somehow fill this nutritional void. But let’s look a little closer at some of these presumably healthy ingredients….

The Toxins:

ASPARTAME

Aspartame is a synthetic combination of the amino acids aspartic acid and l-phenylalanine, and is known to convert into highly toxic methanol and formaldehyde in the body. Aspartame has been linked to over 40 adverse health effects in the biomedical literature, and has been shown to exhibit both neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity [1] What business does a chemical like this have doing in a children’s vitamin, especially when non-toxic, non-synthetic non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia already exist?

CUPRIC OXIDE

Next, let’s look closer at Cupric Oxide, 2mg of which is included in each serving of Flinstone’s Complete chewable vitamins as a presumably ’nutritional’ source of ‘copper,’ supplying “100% of the Daily Value (Ages 4+), according to Flintstones Vitamins Web site’s Nutritional Info.

But what is Cupric Oxide? A nutrient or a chemical?

According to the European Union’s Dangerous Substance Directive, one of the main EU laws concerning chemical safety, Cupric Oxide is listed as a Hazardous substance, classified as both ”Harmful (XN)” and “Dangerous for the environment” (N). Consider that it has industrial applications as a pigment in ceramics, and as a chemical in the production of rayon fabric and dry cell batteries. In may be technically correct to call it a mineral, but should it be listed as a nutrient in a children’s vitamin? We think not.

COAL TAR ARTIFICIAL COLORING AGENTS

A well-known side effect of using synthetic dyes is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. For direct access to study abstracts on this topic view our Food Coloring research page. There is also indication that the neurotoxicity of artificial food coloring agents increase when combined with aspartame, making the combination of ingredients in Flintstones even more concerning.

ZINC OXIDE

Each serving of Flinstones Complete Chewable vitamins contain 12 mg of zinc oxide, which the manufacturer claims delivers 75% of the Daily Value to children 2 & 3 years of age. Widely used as a sun protection factor (SPF) in sunscreens, The EU’s Dangerous Substance Directive classifies it as an environmental Hazard, “Dangerous for the environment (N).” How it can be dangerous to the environment, but not for humans ingesting it, escapes me. One thing is for sure, if one is to ingest supplemental zinc, or market it for use by children, it makes much more sense using a form that is organically bound (i.e. ‘chelated’) to an amino acid like glycine, as it will be more bioavailable and less toxic.

SORBITOL

Sorbitol is a synthetic sugar substitute which is classified as a sugar alcohol. It can be argued that it has no place in the human diet, much less in a child’s. The ingestion of higher amounts have been linked to gastrointestinal disturbances from abdominal pain to more serious conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.

FERROUS FUMARATE

The one clear warning on the Flinstone’s Web site concerns this chemical. While it is impossible to die from consuming iron from food, e.g. spinach, ferrous fumarate is an industrial mineral and not found in nature as food. In fact, ferrous fumarate is so toxic that accidental overdose of products containing this form is “a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6.” The manufacturer further warns:

Keep this product out of reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately.

HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL

Finding hydrogenated oil in anything marketed to children is absolutely unacceptable. These semi-synthetic fatty acids incorporate into our tissues and have been linked to over a dozen adverse health effects, from coronary artery disease to cancer, violent behavior to fatty liver disease.

GMO CORN STARCH

While it can be argued that the amount of GMO corn starch in this product is negligible, even irrelevant, we disagree. It is important to hold accountable brands that refuse to label their products honestly, especially when they contain ingredients that have been produced through genetic modification. The ‘vitamin C’ listed as ascorbic acid in Flintstones is likely also produced from GMO corn. Let’s remember that Bayer’s Ag-biotech division, Bayer CropScience, poured $381,600 of cash into defeating the proposition 37 GMO labeling bill in California. Parents have a right to protect their children against the well-known dangers of genetically modified foods and the agrichemicals that contaminate them, don’t they? GMO corn starch is GMO, plain and simple. We’d appreciate it if Bayer would label their “vitamins” accordingly.

In summary, Bayer’s Flintstone’s vitamin brand is far from a natural product, and the consumer should be aware of the unintended, adverse health effects that may occur as a result of using it.

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