As a health coach, I came back to my hometown of Flint, MI to support the residents who have been poisoned with lead in their water. When I went into the local grocery store to find healthy food to demo at some of my workshops, I was surprised but excited to see all of the Kroger brand “wild fish” that was available (wild shrimp, wild cod, and wild salmon). Then I turned the package over and saw STPP Sodium Tripolyphosphate listed as an ingredient on all of these wild fish packages. I am sure the seafood buyer had the best of intentions trying to get "wild" fish into the store as it has been proven that there are many risks with farmed fish. Unfortunately, STPP is a suspected neurotoxin, and the state of California registers it as a pesticide and air contaminant.
The cause of nearly all disease, pain and chronic illness is from environmental toxicity. When toxins travel through the body they can do damage a little bit at a time, chipping away at the health of organs, glands, bones, and other tissues. Eventually, as cells die off from toxins, various parts of the body begin to deteriorate and cease to function any longer and the medical community gives the weakened tissue a name. For example, alcohol is a toxin that destroys the cells of the liver causing cirrhosis. Nicotine is a poison that destroys healthy cells in the lungs causing cancer, bronchitis and emphysema. When heavy metals or other toxins enter the blood stream, they can kill cells in the brain causing various degrees of learning disabilities, dementia or autism.
STPP is a pesticide and neurotoxin and although people will tell you "there is not enough in there to cause damage", that may be true when eaten once, but studies show that only 18% of the American population have the vegetarian gene to allow them to survive on a plant-based diet alone, thus 82% of the American population MUST EAT animal protein for long term survival so their body will have all of the amino acids necessary to create new healthy cells in the body. Seafood is an excellent protein source for these people. Maybe one bite of seafood with STPP in it will not hurt me, but eating it over and over, or eating a seafood dinner with STPP in it one night and then adding the poisons that one is exposed to on a daily basis, nearly 24/7 to that….. well it adds up. And we don’t even know what the combination of STPP plus another toxin could do if combined in the body. A little STPP from my shrimp appetizer here and a little more from my seafood dinner there, some chemicals that were on my plate from the sanitary rinse in the restaurant kitchen here, and a little lead from my water there, and a little formaldehyde I am breathing from my new furniture here, and a little plastic in my food there, and a little aluminum from my cookware here... It all adds up.
I came to Flint to educate the resident on how to remove the toxins from their body so they can get healthier. One of the ways to do this is to eat raw foods such as sushi or ceviche’, but if I offer them this fish, I am adding even more poisons to their body. Since this is an international issue, I thought it was important to bring to the attention of everyone through this blog post. It is also important to know that although many fish companies list STPP on the labels, it does NOT have to be listed in the ingredients so there is no way of knowing unless you ask a lot of questions. I suggest putting some pressure on your local seafood buyers to provide evidence that their fish does not contain this toxin.
Kimberly Lynn Williams is a health consultant specializing in detoxification, a yoga teacher, author and speaker She has been in the health and wellness industry for over 30 years with experience in both modern western medicine as well as eastern and holistic modalities. She offers knowledge on how toxemia from environmental poisons, and deficiencies are the leading cause of nearly all disease, pain and chronic illness today. She provides solutions on how to detoxify these poisons for health and wellness. www.KimberlyLynnWilliams.com