The Science Thread

[ElderGnome]

I only eat chocolate (cocoa) as a supplement. CocoaVia, in fact. It's the only chocolate ConsumerLabs didn't find saturated with poisonous heavy metals in a recent test, so I do as Ray Kurzweil does and take my cocoa supplement once per day in the morning or before cardio. 35mg of caffeine per packet.

I love me the unsweetened CocoVia in coffee.

(Here - https://www.cocoavia.com/)

 

[azarhal]

Isn't ricin poison in castor beans?

Yes, but the process to extract the oil denature the ricin protein. At least that is what Wikipedia says.

That thing is used in so many things.

 

[Thrasher]

Thanks for the heads up!

http://www.naturalnews.com/045545_cacao_powder_cadmium_lab_testing_results.html#

Cadmium is persistent in cacao and coffee products, by the way. Both tend to bio-accumulate cadmium, concentrating it in the plant at much higher levels than what is found in the soil. There is no nutritive benefit to cadmium -- it is a toxic heavy metal linked to kidney damage, cardiovascular disease, skin disorders and more. Fortunately, cadmium tolerance in humans is much higher than lead tolerance, which is why California Prop 65 allows more than 800% more cadmium than lead.

However, Natural News has just learned that the EU is banning cacao products with high cadmium levels starting in 2019. Many of the products listed here will be illegal to sell in the EU once this regulation takes effect. We'll be reporting more details on this shortly, including quoting the new EU regulation.

People who also drink coffee, eat sunflower seeds or smoke cigarettes should be especially cautious about consuming cacao powder because all these items tend to have high cadmium.

Damn. That's me…

As You Sow has conducted independent laboratory testing of 50 chocolate products for lead and cadmium. We found that 35 of the chocolate products contain lead and/or cadmium. Many of those chocolates had levels of lead and/or cadmium above the safe harbor threshold of California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). Based on these results, we have filed notices with 18 manufacturers, including Trader Joe’s, Hershey’s, Mondelēz, Lindt, Whole Foods, Kroger, Godiva, See’s Candies, Mars, Theo Chocolate, Equal Exchange, Ghirardelli, Earth Circle Organics, and more,for failing to provide the legally required warning to consumers that the products contain cadmium or lead, or both

.

http://www.asyousow.org/our-work/environmental-health/toxic-enforcement/lead-and-cadmium-in-food/
​

 

[ElderGnome]

I'm a member of ConsumerLabs and will freely share information to anyone that asks. They do supplement testing.

 

[Thrasher]

Thanks for the offer!

 

[pibbur who]

Yes, but the process to extract the oil denature the ricin protein. At least that is what Wikipedia says.

That thing is used in so many things.

I think we can be pretty sure about that, otherwise we would see a notable number of acute deaths after eating those products.

We don't see that, do we? Do we? DO WE? *shivers*

pibbur who doesn't eat much chocolate these days, and for some reason just now started thinking about Botox.

 

[Ursusdraconis]

Fun fact about ricine

The structure consists of 2 separate peptidechains, chain A and B.
Chain A is it highly toxic, it shuts down the ribozomes, without them your body cannot produce enzyms and other peptides.
However, Chain A cannot pass the cell membrane, so on its own it is not toxic because ribozomes are inside your cells. Chain A is common in other plants like Barley.
chain B on the other hand is not toxic, but can pass the cell membrane , taking chain A with it.
Both chains by itself do nothing, together… You die

 

[Ursusdraconis]

And no, i am not a terrorist, just a chemist

 

[Thrasher]

How do you know some bi chains don't leak through the denaturing process? I'd rather avoid, as I have no trust in food manufacturers. Regulate the fuck out of them.

 

[ElderGnome]

Oh come on, the US food supply has been doing just fantastic lately with all the listeria deaths.

 

[Ursusdraconis]

Like most other peptides the structures lose their specific spatial structure and become irriversibly denaturated, a couple of minutes at 100 Celsius or more will do the trick.
Like boiling an egg, the structure changes and they lose their specific functions.

 

[Thrasher]

And if they "accidentally" don't heat it quite long enough becasue of being rushed or cost saving measures? What happens then?

 

[Ursusdraconis]

Hmm then i guess you are screwed.

Another fun fact. Once Chain A is inside your cells there is nothing that can be done. No antidote, no chance, but it takes a couple of days to die. All processes in your body slowly shut down, not the best way to die.

 

[Ursusdraconis]

Last fun fact.

The beans of the castor tree that contain the ricine are very tough to crack. You can eat them safely as long as you don't break them, they will pass safely through your body, at least i think I read that somewhere.... It might not be the best idea to test it!!

 

[Thrasher]

Hmm, not fun. Considering the number of poisonings by food manufacturers in the US, and the weakened Food and Drug Administration, I am steering myself away from known vulnerabilities.

 

[Ursusdraconis]

Ok so next we'll talk about cyanide in almonds...

( don't worry you need to eat several kilo's to get any effect)

 

[Thrasher]

That's me again. I am eating myself to death.

 

[azarhal]

That's me again. I am eating myself to death.

Only if it is bitter almonds…

Also, don't eat too much rice…because arsenic.

 

[Eye]

And skip any rice too, Thrasher.
I make my own chocolate milk with cacao powder and rice milk. (i can not tolerate dairy).
Recently I learned rice contains arsenic.

Ha! You beat me by two minutes, azarhal.

 

[Thrasher]

Maybe the explanation over all these years is that I've been slowly poisoning myself. Good grief...