Have you been experiencing headaches, dizziness, muscle cramps or unexplained hair loss lately? It could be the apple juice you’re drinking, according to a nationally renowned TV doctor.
Television host Dr. Mehmet Oz has come under fire by the Food and Drug Administration for his claims that the apple juice we consume is dangerous for our health.
Dr. Oz announced on his TV show Wednesday that testing by a New Jersey lab found “troubling” levels of arsenic poison in many brands of the apple juice we drink.
The FDA loudly denied Dr. Oz’s claims in press statements, which of course made headlines around the country. The resulting media coverage led some people to wonder if that glass of apple juice they drink every morning could really kill them.
“There is no evidence of any public health risk from drinking these juices. And the FDA has been testing them for years,” the agency said in one press statement.
The flap escalated Thursday, when Oz’s former medical school classmate Dr. Richard Besser lambasted him on ABC’s “Good Morning America” show for what Besser called an “extremely irresponsible” report that was akin to “yelling `Fire!’ in a movie theater.” Source
But would the FDA really tells us if there were high levels of arsenic in our apple juice? According to the FDA, trace levels of arsenic is naturally present in water, air, food, and soil in organic and inorganic forms.
It’s the inorganic form of arsenic that can kill us says the FDA.
“Organic arsenic is essentially harmless,” the agency says, and it passes through the body quickly. Inorganic arsenic is the type found in pesticides, and consuming it at high levels or over a long period can cause concern. Source
