persistent organic pollutants

67 videos

Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Linda

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemical substances that persist in the environment and bio-accumulate through the food web. POPs may be linked to a range of health concerns, including endometriosis, gum disease, fibrosis, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular mortality. Those eating plant-based diets may be significantly less polluted with industrial toxins than omnivores.

Fish may be the biggest source of POPs for consumers along with milk. Farmed Atlantic salmon, the kind of salmon most commonly found in restaurants and supermarkets, may be the single largest food source of POPs. Perflurochemicals, which may enter the body mostly through meat and fish, may be linked to thyroid disease risk. It can take the body as long as 10 years to get rid of about one-half of certain ingested POPs such as dioxins and PCBs.

All Videos for Persistent Organic Pollutants

Cancer Risk from Arsenic in Rice and Seaweed

Cancer Risk from Arsenic in Rice & Seaweed

A half-cup of cooked rice a day may carry a hundred times the acceptable cancer risk of arsenic. What about Maine coast seaweed?

Where Does the Arsenic in Chicken Come From?

What was the National Chicken Council’s response to public health authorities calling for the industry to stop feeding arsenic-based drugs to poultry?

How Our Gut Bacteria Can Use Eggs to Accelerate Cancer

The reason egg consumption is associated with elevated cancer risk may be the TMAO, considered the “smoking gun” of microbiome-disease interactions.

Best Food to Counter the Effects of Air Pollution

There is a food that offers the best of both worlds—significantly improving our ability to detox carcinogens, like diesel fumes, and decreasing inflammation in our airways, all the while improving our respiratory defenses against infections.

Best Foods to Reduce Stroke Risk

What are the protective components of dietary patterns and foods associated with lower risk of cerebrovascular disease (stroke)?

Animal Protein, Pregnancy, and Childhood Obesity

Animal Protein, Pregnancy, & Childhood Obesity

What pregnant women eat may even affect the health of their grandchildren.

Could Lactose Explain the Milk & Parkinson’s Disease Link?

Neurotoxin contamination of the dairy supply doesn’t explain why the association between Parkinson’s disease and skim milk consumption is as strong as the association with whole milk.