We all love bread, at least most of us do. But what would you think if I told you that eating your favorite sandwich or hoagie could be the cause of you getting cancer or thyroid disease?
Well, it’s true, there’s a cancer causing daemon disguised as a little-known flour additive called Potassium bromate.
For years major food companies have been loading bread products with this harmful additive. Potassium bromate apparently strengthens the dough and allows it to rise higher, it also gives the finished bread an appealing whiter color. But who would ever think that the price of being a little whiter and fluffier would be disease and cancer?
Potassium bromate is just one of many Bromines
- Bromines are common endocrine disruptors and can be found in a number of places in your everyday world, including pesticides, plastics (used to make computer), bakery goods, soda, medications, fire retardants, and bromine-based hot tub and swimming pool treatments.
- Soft drinks including Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Sun Drop, Squirt, Fresca and other citrus-flavored sodas have bromines in the form of brominated vegetable oils.
- Medications such as Atrovent Inhaler, Atrovent Nasal Spray, Pro-Banthine, and anesthesia agents
- Pesticides such as methyl bromide, which is mainly used on strawberries
- Fire retardants used in carpets, fabrics, upholstery, and mattresses
Here are some interesting facts about Potassium bromate
– It’s banned as a food additive in a number of countries, including The European Union, United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Peru, India, and Columbia.
– The state of California requires food with potassium bromate to carry a warning label.
– In laboratory tests, animals exposed to potassium bromate increased the incidence of both benign and malignant tumors in the thyroid and peritoneum.
– In studies of human cell cultures, potassium bromate has been seen to have a genotoxic effect, meaning it causes damage to the cell’s DNA.
– According to the “Toxicity and carcinogenicity of potassium bromate–a new renal carcinogen” study in the US National Library of Medicine, states that Potassium bromate induces renal cell tumors, mesotheliomas of the peritoneum, and follicular cell tumors of the thyroid.
–Disrupts Thyroid Function, exposure to bromine negatively impacts the thyroid gland and causes hormonal issues. Bromine competes with iodine, a necessary nutrient that supports the health of the thyroid.
– In 1999, the International Agency on Research for Cancer declared that potassium bromate was a possible human carcinogen, meaning that it can cause cancer.
Not surprisingly, the FDA says that Potassium bromate is perfectly safe. They claim that potassium bromate is fully converted into potassium bromide a similar yet non-carcinogenic chemical during the baking process.
However, testing in the UK and India has proven that this is not the case, that there’s still remaining potassium bromate after the baking process.
The rise of Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism, also known as under-active thyroid disease, is now a common disorder. It’s a disease where the thyroid gland cannot produce enough thyroid hormones.
The hormones secreted by the thyroid travel through your bloodstream and affect nearly every part of your body, from your heart and brain to your muscles and skin.
When you ingest or absorb bromine, it displaces iodine, and this iodine deficiency leads to an increased risk of cancer of the breast, thyroid, ovary, and prostate. Interestingly they are the very same cancers that we see at alarmingly high rates today.
With this carcinogen additive in our food sources, it’s obvious why Synthroid, a prescription drug for treating hypothyroidism is the top-selling Pharmaceutical in the US, as it has been for several years.
So if you value your health avoid this substance, read the ingredients of everything you buy, especially bread and sodas. If you see “bromated flour”, “potassium bromate” or “bromated vegetable oil in the ingredients avoid them like a plague. I personally eat organic and primarily shop at Trader Joes to avoid harmful additives like Potassium bromate and its associated forms.
