OVERTURE Is Anything Safe? 1
Exaggerated Health Scares and Scientific Ignorance 3
CHAPTER 1 Chemicals Lurking in Your Grocery Store 7
Proteins and Amino Acids 7
Essential amino acids 9
Protein diets 12
Carbohydrates 12
Artificial sweeteners 15
Bread and Cereals 17
Fats 17
Trans fats 19
Fat substitutes 21
Chocolate 22
Asparagus 23
Foods Rich in Oxalate 24
Flowers 25
Vegemite 26
Spices: Ancient Herbal Antibiotics 27
Flavor Enhancers 28
Natural Toxins in Food (Even Vegetables Can Be Dangerous) 29
Organic Foods 31
Is America Ready for High-Tech Dining? 33
Choosing between natural and genetically modified foods and medicine 34
Smoked Meats and Fish 35
Beware of Jerky (Trichinosis from Wild Game) 36
Alcoholic Beverages 37
CHAPTER 2 The Pharmacy 45
Prescription Drugs 45
Contraindicated Drug Combinations 49
Antibiotics, Good News and Bad 50
Over-the-Counter Medications 53
Medicines and Drugs Derived from Plants 53
Marijuana (cannabis) 54
Opium 55
Morphine 56
Heroin 56
Codeine 56
Cocaine 56
Synthetic narcotics 57
Quinine 58
Taxol 59
Chapter 3 Is "Health Food Store" an Oxymoron? 61
Herbal Medicines 61
Vitamins 66
Hormone Supplements 76
Melatonin 77
Steroid hormones 79
Peptide hormones 81
Performance-Enhancing Drugs 83
Chapter 4 Infectious Agents: Are All Microorganisms Bad? 87
Viruses 87
Bacteria 93
Fungi 98
Algae 98
Lesser-Known Microorganisms 100
Mad-Cow and Related Prion Diseases 102
Chapter 5 Cancer and the Environment 107
Cancer and Risk Assessment 107
The Delaney clause 112
The Immune System: Jekyll and Hyde 113
Examples of the Role of Microorganisms and the Immune System in History 117
CHAPTER 6 Nature Is Elemental 121
Metals 121
Lithium 121
Sodium and potassium 122
Beryllium, magnesium, and calcium 124
Chromium 125
Iron 126
Cobalt 126
Copper 127
Zinc 128
Aluminum 128
Lead 128
Mercury 130
Thallium 133
Nonmetallic Elements 133
Boron 133
Carbon 133
Nitrogen 135
Phosphorus 140
Arsenic 140
Oxygen 142
Sulfur 145
Selenium 145
Fluorine 146
Chlorine 148
Iodine 151
Radon 153
Chapter 7 Natural and Unnatural Molecules in the Environment 155
Perilous Natural Toxins 155
Aphrodisiacs 157
Pheromones 158
Man-Made Chemicals in the Environment 162
Insecticides 162
Gasoline additives 164
CHAPTER 8 Is the Sky Falling?? 169
Acid Rain 169
Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect 173
The greenhouse gases 176
Water vapor 178
Carbon dioxide 178
Methane 181
Freons 182
Nitrous oxide, laughing gas 183
Other natural causes of global warming 183
The Ozone Hole 190
CHAPTER 9 Dust, Magnets, and Scuba Diving 195
Small Particles (Dust Can Be Dangerous) 195
Electromagnetic Fields (Are Electric Blankets Dangerous?) 198
Sunlight 199
Chemical photosensitivity 201
Inherited photosensitivity 203
Underwater Dangers (Scuba Diving) 203
CHAPTER 10 We Are All Radioactive! 209
Radiation in Nature 215
Irradiation of Food 223
EPILOGUE There Is No Free Lunch! 225
Further Reading 227
Glossary 239
Index 259