Synopsis

Keep Away from GRAS is a compilation of empirical and anecdotal evidence that leads to one inevitable conclusion: many of the substances we encounter and consume on a daily basis, substances considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS), may actually have serious consequences for our health and well-being.

As an internal medicine physician, author Marcela Magda Popa, MD, has seen the effect that repeated, low-dose exposure to certain common chemicals and environmental factors has had on her health and on some of her patients, who reported similar complaints. As a patient with autoimmune arthritis—that forced her into early retirement, breast abnormalities, and migraine headaches—she sought to find the environmental contributors to her disorders, and she did.

Investigating the existing information from the specialty literature, Dr. Popa found that GRAS substances may be linked to multiple other disorders, not just the ones she directly experienced. The modern medicine does not routinely take these substances into account, physicians do not usually inquire or point out these possible connections. Therefore, it is quite likely that similar complaints are more widespread but not often reported.

Through research and experimentation, she discovered that supposedly “safe” substances which she encountered daily caused or worsened her symptoms and eliminated them from her routine, much to her benefit. Now, she is sharing this valuable information with other patients so that they too can make the changes they need to live happier, healthier lives.

Excerpt

Keep Away from GRAS: Generally Recognized As Safe

By Marcela Magda Popa M.D.

Introduction

There is a saying that “doctors make the worst patients,” but in my situation, I think it could be modified to “doctors have the most unusual course of their diseases.” Since it’s very likely that I would have developed the autoimmune disorder I’ll be talking about anyway, no matter what profession I had embraced, being a physician turned out to be very useful. It enabled me to understand that my disorder had a very unusual course, as far as symptoms, complications, and lack of response to the available treatment options. It also made me aware of the current limitations of medicine despite all the progress in it. All these helped me cope with my medical condition better and saved me some frustration.

Looking back at my life and considering not just this disease but a multitude of other situations, I don’t think I ever made a better choice than deciding to go to medical school— even if by so doing I fell into the category of making the worst patient. Being a doctor and a patient at the same time helped me notice very unusual things, triggered my attention after an initial dismissal, and made me further explore some substances considered safe—which led to the pages that follow. Growing up and going through medical school training in Romania, thereafter continuing my training in the United States as well as practicing here for many years gave me the opportunity to appreciate some differences between these two worlds, and these differences proved very useful for my observations.

This book is about some chemicals we are exposed to numerous times a day through a multitude of products we routinely use. Based on my experience, they have detrimental health effects in the long run. Some substances may worsen autoimmune arthritis symptoms and possibly other autoimmune diseases; others may play a role in the development of breast abnormalities, diagnosed with increased frequency lately; or worsening the pattern of migraine headaches—thus potentially producing enough morbidity. Eliminating these chemicals as much as possible, although not easy at times, produced a steady improvement of my symptoms, while inadvertent or overlooked exposure triggered worsening symptoms, time and time again.

Avoiding these substances may prove beneficial for many frustrated patients just like me, who may understand the limitations of modern medicine but are disappointed because they cannot live a normal life.

Through my own experience, I figured out these generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances are not necessarily safe, inert, or inactive, and our chronic but constant exposure, even at low doses, can have an as yet unidentified or not fully accepted impact on our health. Although my findings are derived from medical research articles, there doesn’t seem to be a large enough “body of evidence” at the present time for the regulating agencies to ban or reinforce strict limits in the United States as they do in the European Union, Canada, Japan, or Australia. That’s why consumer awareness is of major importance.

Some of the information in this book can be overwhelming and seem difficult to understand or follow. If it makes you feel better, it took me a while too. It is inevitable when we try to figure out a bit about these chemicals in our lives. My intention is not to confuse you but to illustrate how I put together the details about these substances and to support my argument for avoiding them.

First, I thought to share my observations with practicing and research rheumatologists, hoping to get them to see things from my angle and maybe get them interested in pursuing my ideas in medical studies. I knew it was going to be hard for anyone to see things from my point of view, but in reality, it was completely impossible; it felt like I had hit a wall. Some politely replied with the generally accepted fact that the substances I was talking about were considered safe, others said they could not pursue anything based on anecdotal evidence, and many didn’t even bother to answer my e-mails. A reputable medical journal quickly turned down the material I conceived as a medical article, and I realized it was useless to try to send it to other journals—they all have about the same interests regarding what they would publish, and my article wouldn’t fit in anywhere, even if it was following the specific publication’s guidelines. I approached my trusted advisors at Environmental Working Group (EWG), which I thought would be more interested in my point of view because it’s very similar to their line of work, but they seemed equally untouchable and my emails were again ignored

I don’t have either the experience or the means to conduct medical studies myself in order to verify my point. Unfortunately, I made these observations after I stopped practicing because of my condition; therefore, I couldn’t even ask my patients about similar complaints or situations. But being a physician affected by certain conditions made me already the subject of a long-lasting experiment and made me very involved in noticing numerous unusual incidents that happened to me, put questions in my mind, and compelled me to look for answers. Learning about all these factors, I recalled and was able to explain some unusual symptoms of mine and others that patients had reported throughout my years in practice for which I couldn’t find a reasonable explanation at that time. Therefore, I don’t think I’m an isolated case; other patients are probably experiencing similar problems and symptoms, but they don’t report them. Physicians are not trained to fully take into account and inquire about the side effects from these substances, perhaps beyond possible allergic reactions, because they are currently considered “inert” or “inactive” by the regulating authorities and the medical community.

Often, from some friends and family members to whom I expressed some of my concerns, I heard the words “nonsense” or “autosuggestion” linked to my observations, and this didn’t get me upset. On the contrary, it proved to be constructive, because it made me very keen to verify that my correlations were accurate; in some circumstances, I couldn’t see the connection right away, and this made me think I was wrong, but later on (hours, days, weeks, sometimes even months), an unknown or overlooked aspect came to the surface to show me again I was right.

I did remember many of my patients reporting so much frustration while struggling with situations similar to the ones I conquered with my new knowledge. I wanted to let everybody know about my unusual findings and hoped a number of people would experience the benefits I did if they implemented similar measures. The majority of those not affected by anything may laugh at me and think that I developed paranoia or some other sort of insanity, and I’m prepared for this reaction too!

I strongly felt I had something to say, and I wanted my voice to be heard—but how? A blog didn’t seem like a good option because what I have to describe seems so unusual and farfetched that it needs a lot of explaining, more than I could do in a blog page. This is why I decided to write a book, hoping that people who suffer from similar conditions could try my remedies and see if they improve; if that’s the case, they could bring these improvements to the attention of their doctors.

This is the reason I conceived this book. The first three parts are designed for patients while the fourth one, containing more specialized information, targets (hopefully) medical professionals, researchers, and chemists who may be interested in getting to the scientific information quickly rather than reading a longer story. I’m hoping that some specialists or researchers may find my observations to have some validity and may consider pursuing them further, especially if many other patients report improvements in their conditions.

When I first thought about sharing my observations by writing a book, I knew through my personal experience up until now, I was only providing a partial solution, especially for the autoimmune disorders. I wanted to offer a complete one, and I thought I should wait until I could get off the autoimmune arthritis medications. And then, it just so happened that I reread one of my favorite books, which deeply shaped my understanding of kindness: the translated title would be By Giving, Thou Shalt Receive. This book was written by Romanian writer Nicolae Steinhardt, who later in his life became a hermit. One of the ideas expressed in the chapter that bears the same name as the title was to try to give others something you don’t already fully possess. This seemed very strange, and I read the chapter a few times. Finally, I think I understood it: in looking for solutions for yourself, you can find answers that can help others, and sharing those answers, even if partial, like projecting them into a mirror, will bring you back more knowledge and solutions! And that’s very true in what followed. As I was starting to write these pages and share some facts that proved helpful to me, I was going deeper into the topic, and more questions came to my mind, followed by more consistent answers that further proved even more helpful to me. Noticing this, I was more determined to finish this book even before I had the complete improvement answers, because I wanted other affected people to benefit sooner.

There is a lot of information about multiple synthetic ingredients included in everyday products that can have longterm negative consequences for our health, but I didn’t see them blamed for autoimmune conditions or musculoskeletal pain (body aches). Some others are known to be endocrine disruptors, but an accepted association with breast abnormalities or worsening migraine headaches in medical literature is missing. Being a doctor but dealing with each set of problems as a patient, I was able to put two and two together, and after years of accepting “this is the disease course; at present, we don’t fully understand why,” I proved to myself numerous times that by avoiding some components, I made steady improvements.

I had to endure quite a bit of teasing from my family, especially my husband, who has been relentless about poking fun at my discoveries as well as protesting the multiple changes in our house. Be prepared to meet some resistance, which will be even more stubborn if some restrictions you try to implement involve products the other family members enjoy.

No matter how hard we try, in this day and age, we won’t be 100 percent chemical-free. I do realize that before the common products we use or eat reach us, there are many steps that we don’t fully know about, we don’t see, and we can’t influence much either. For as much as we’re aware of, however, I think we should do our due diligence to eliminate the exposure to unhealthy substances the best we can; this would only benefit us.

Although I did implement many changes, I cannot say I removed everything, but all these adjustments still had a great impact and allowed me to see improvements, even if I did not completely eliminate my exposure to the numerous chemicals I have been trying to avoid.

By keeping up with the new information and continuing to read and research relevant literature, I will probably acquire more knowledge even after this publication is completed. This book is not meant to supplant medical treatment. What I implemented and noticed improvements with can’t hurt, but will not replace medical care; therefore, all readers should make health decisions after discussions with their personal physicians or medical specialists. I did the same, and I still do. However, if you notice improvements after implementing the measures I did, please bring this news to the attention of your doctors; maybe some of them will be in research and can verify my hypothesis further, because if my observations apply to more people, they would get more validity. And if some could be proved by medical studies, it would benefit a lot of people.

I hope this book, written by a doctor from a patient’s point of view, will change the way people look at everyday products.

**Excerpted with permission from Marcela Magda Popa M.D.

About the Author

Marcela Magda Popa, MD is a board-certified internal medicine physician.  She graduated in Romania but completed her residency training in the United States.  After 16 years in private practice, her health conditions forced her into early retirement. Once she stopped actively practicing, she was able to research and analyze the suspicions she had formed over the years about GRAS substances. She personally experimented with environmental avoidance and documented her findings for her book. She, her husband, and their fourteen-year-old son currently reside in New Jersey.

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