Dr. Besser vs. Dr. Oz in Apple Juice Showdown
Sometimes, it takes a while for information to sink into our brains. Especially now that there is soooo much coming from TV, Internet, and unknown voices that whisper some how into our psyches. When I got this information, I was a little peeved…only because I’m mad I didn’t get this sooner.
I’ll go in my chronological order, even though this is not the order of events in this story. I want to go with my own order so that you can see my thinking process and how sometimes, learning things later can really help your awareness to grow…
When I first heard about this story, I was watching Dr. Besser’s apology to Dr. Oz on the ABC Evening News. As he was explaining the issue at hand (Arsenic in Apple Juice), the first thing that came to my mind was, “nuh duh!! I could have figured that out!” (we’ll get to why in a moment…) The link above is to their much publicized debate, which I watched as soon as I watched the apology.
I started to do research on the timeline of this controversy and of course, the FDA didn’t believe Dr. Oz (see this article for more information) and the FDA had to do a back track after Consumer Reports confirmed Dr. Oz’s findings.
So here’s where my “nuh duh” moment comes in…
When I first heard that there are high levels of arsenic in apple/grape juice, the first thing that came to my mind was my grandma telling me, “don’t eat apple seeds…they contain arsenic.” Of course, grandma explained that it contains arsenic in small amounts but still be careful (since I used to eat sooo many apples).
With that knowledge in mind, I can understand why apple juice would have so much NATURALLY occurring (remember that…it’s not something the gov’t is inserting purposely into food…I know conspiracy friends, it’s a shame right?! LOL) toxins in them. Think about it…fruit juices aren’t created the “old-fashioned way”.
They’re put in this huge vat (most likely) and companies, not worried about the intricacies of the human body (or the cost behind crossing all the “t’s” and dotting all the “i’s”), more than likely put the entire apple (including the seeds) into the vat for juice creation. Same thing for grapes with seeds in them!
So even when you decide to juice…no matter what kind of juicer you have (even if you have the super duper VitaMix with the blades that can cut feathers in the wind), cut your fruits and don’t put in the seeds. I don’t care if your blender/juicer/mixer/whatever it is tells you to put the entire fruit in there, DON’T!! Spare the seeds and avoid any possible chance of buildup in your body (especially if you have problems with absorption).
Before writing up this post, I decided to check the internets for any truth to the arsenic in apple seeds “old wives tale” that my grandma told me. I was very surprised to see that it’s actually cyanide in apple seeds as opposed to arsenic. It’s nice to know that grandma (and mom…I hear her yelling in my head LOL) had the right idea in mind…even though it was the incorrect poison.
Did you ever hear about arsenic in apple seed? Check out the article above to see what other fruits have poisons (in small and medium sized amounts). Are you going to stop drinking bottled apple juice or get a juicer to create your own? Please let me know in the comments.
One more thing…always remember that if you like drinking fruit juices, please dilute them with water. Fruit Juices alone are very high in sugar and that can lead to obesity and diabetes (I know you know…just had to tell you once more! 
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Until next time (and there will be a next time)…stay strong, stay healthy, and fight dis-ease!
