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"? Produced by the
global pharmaceutical corporation Bayer, this wildly success brand
features a shocking list of unhealthy ingredients, including:
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 veggies1. 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....
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.[2]
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,[3] 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.[4]
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.[5]
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.
Resources
[1] GreenMedInfo.com,
Adverse Health Effects of Aspartame
[2] FlinstonesVitamins.com,
FLINSTONES Complete Chewable, Nutritional Info Overview
[3] Karen Lau, W Graham McLean, Dominic P Williams, C Vyvyan Howard.
Synergistic interactions between commonly used food additives in a developmental neurotoxicity test. Toxicol Sci. 2006 Mar;90(1):178-87. Epub 2005 Dec 13. PMID:
16352620
[4] GreenMedInfo.com,
Sorbitol's Adverse Health Effects
[5] GreenMedInfo.com,
Health Effects of Hydrogenated Oil
Source: GreenMedInfo.com
I feel the need to comment on a certain theme I’m seeing emerge today (June 10) that just can’t go un-addressed.
Feeling
more moody than usual lately? Perhaps you’re wondering if it’s just the
world getting crazier, or if your tolerance level for nonsense has been
exceeded.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (AFP Photo / Geoff Caddick)
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: ‘I do not expect to see home again’
.gif)
As the days and nights continue to shift and expand, many of you will
have trouble following suit. You see, nothing is ever certain now, not
even the speed of light or even the length of an hour, much less a
second. Flux is the only word to describe this process, as the natural
limits you have gotten used to no longer applies.
Andrew Collins, 
It is helpful during this time of shifting energies to include the
wishes of your soul in all your decisions. Your conscious mind often
relies on past experience in its decision-making, but increasingly, the
practice of looking to the past to help chart the future does not work.
By setting the intention to align with the wishes of our soul, we become
more attuned to its responses. Learning to recognize our soul’s
response to the potentials that appear before us provides us with a
valuable tool for navigating and shaping the future.
