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Preface | |
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Acknowledgments | |
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Illustration Credits | |
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Overture: Is Anything Safe? | |
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Exaggerated Health Scares and Scientific Ignorance | |
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Chemicals Lurking in Your Grocery Store | |
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Proteins and Amino Acids | |
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Essential amino acids | |
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Protein diets | |
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Carbohydrates | |
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Artificial sweeteners | |
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Bread and Cereals | |
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Fats | |
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Trans fats | |
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Fat substitutes | |
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Chocolate | |
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Asparagus | |
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Foods Rich in Oxalate | |
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Flowers | |
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Vegemite | |
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Spices: Ancient Herbal Antibiotics | |
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Flavor Enhancers | |
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Natural Toxins in Food (Even Vegetables Can Be Dangerous) | |
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Organic Foods | |
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Is America Ready for High-Tech Dining? | |
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Choosing between natural and genetically modified foods and medicine | |
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Smoked Meats and Fish | |
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Beware of Jerky (Trichinosis from Wild Game) | |
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Alcoholic Beverages | |
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The Pharmacy | |
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Prescription Drugs | |
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Contraindicated Drug Combinations | |
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Antibiotics, Good News and Bad | |
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Over-the-Counter Medications | |
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Medicines and Drugs Derived from Plants | |
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Marijuana (cannabis) | |
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Opium | |
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Morphine | |
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Heroin | |
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Codeine | |
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Cocaine | |
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Synthetic narcotics | |
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Quinine | |
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Taxol | |
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Is "Health Food Store" an Oxymoron? | |
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Herbal Medicines | |
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Vitamins | |
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Hormone Supplements | |
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Melatonin | |
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Steroid hormones | |
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Peptide hormones | |
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Performance-Enhancing Drugs | |
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Infectious Agents: Are All Microorganisms Bad? | |
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Viruses | |
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Bacteria | |
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Fungi | |
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Algae | |
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Lesser-Known Microorganisms | |
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Mad-Cow and Related Prion Diseases | |
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Cancer and the Environment | |
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Cancer and Risk Assessment | |
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The Delaney clause | |
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The Immune System: Jekyll and Hyde | |
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Examples of the Role of Microorganisms and the Immune System in History | |
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Nature Is Elemental | |
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Metals | |
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Lithium | |
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Sodium and potassium | |
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Beryllium, magnesium, and calcium | |
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Chromium | |
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Iron | |
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Cobalt | |
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Copper | |
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Zinc | |
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Aluminum | |
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Lead | |
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Mercury | |
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Thallium | |
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Nonmetallic Elements | |
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Boron | |
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Carbon | |
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Nitrogen | |
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Phosphorus | |
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Arsenic | |
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Oxygen | |
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Sulfur | |
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Selenium | |
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Fluorine | |
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Chlorine | |
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Iodine | |
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Radon | |
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Natural and Unnatural Molecules in the Environment | |
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Perilous Natural Toxins | |
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Aphrodisiacs | |
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Pheromones | |
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Man-Made Chemicals in the Environment | |
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Insecticides | |
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Gasoline additives | |
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Is the Sky Falling?? | |
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Acid Rain | |
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Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect | |
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The greenhouse gases | |
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Water vapor | |
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Carbon dioxide | |
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Methane | |
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Freons | |
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Nitrous oxide, laughing gas | |
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Other natural causes of global warming | |
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The Ozone Hole | |
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Dust, Magnets, and Scuba Diving | |
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Small Particles (Dust Can Be Dangerous) | |
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Electromagnetic Fields (Are Electric Blankets Dangerous?) | |
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Sunlight | |
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Chemical photosensitivity | |
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Inherited photosensitivity | |
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Underwater Dangers (Scuba Diving) | |
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We Are All Radioactive! | |
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Radiation in Nature | |
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Irradiation of Food | |
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Epilogue: There Is No Free Lunch! | |
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Further Reading | |
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Glossary | |
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Index | |