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Mortechems^® **- What is a Mortechem and Why Should You Care if Your Vitamins or Supplements are not Mortechem-Free*...**

Mortechems are a class of chemicals in vitamins and nutritional supplements deemed 'safe' for use, but questionable due to the uncertainty of long-term effects.

Technically, a Mortechem is any inactive ingredient that is intentionally added to health products, nutritional supplements, beauty aids, or food, but that:

(1) Is not intended to exert therapeutic effects at the intended dosage, although they may act to improve product delivery (e.g., enhance absorption or control release of the drug substance) For example, the Whitener Titanium Dioxide in a CoQ 10 Supplement whitens the pill, but does not add to, in fact subtracts from, the Antioxidant properties of the supplement.

(2) Is not fully qualified by existing safety data with respect to the currently proposed level of exposure, duration of
exposure, or route of administration. Examples of Mortechems include fillers, extenders, diluents, wetting agents, solvents, emulsifiers, preservatives, flavors, absorption enhancers, sustained-release matrices, and coloring agents. Within the context of this guidance, the term Mortechem applies to macromolecular substances such as albumin, or substances such as amino acids and sugars that are used in drug and biological products. It does not, however, apply to process or product-related impurities (e.g., degradation products, leachates, residual solvents) or extraneous contaminants. Basically, just the chemicals or compounds added to a supplement for convenience!

To understand Mortechems, you must first understand history. Let us introduce you to some early Mortechems. Heroin is a prime example. Below, you will learn how at one time, Heroin was the cough remedy of choice...for babies! Who in their right mind would purposely administer Heroin to a baby? Yet at one time, it was the norm. Perhaps in thirty years, the same questions will be asked about chemicals in vitamins and supplements such as Titanium Dioxide in vitamins or nutritional supplements .

BAYER Mortechem HEROIN

Diacetylmorphine, a white, odorless, bitter, crystalline powder deriving from morphine, had been invented in 1874 by English chemist C R Wright. Heinrich Dreser, Bayer chemist and opportunist, was one of the most influential men of his age. But in 1897, Dreser noted that Wright's new drug made him feel "Heroic." Thus the trade name on the highly addictive and destructive Mortechem Heroin was born. Heroin was promoted it to doctors as a non-addictive substitute for morphine. The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal in 1900, an earlier version of The New England Journal of Medicine stated "It [Heroin] possesses many advantages over morphine." then went on to say "It's not hypnotic, and there's no danger of acquiring a habit."

The American Medical Association (AMA) approved the use of the mortechem heroin in 1906, even though evidence of the addictive nature of the Mortechem was finally beginning to be realized.

With mounting pressure, Bayer stopped making Heroin in 1913. At this point, prohibition seemed inevitable. The Mortechem Heroin's use without a prescription was banned in the US the following year. By 1924, the drug was banned entirely.

Mortechem DISTAVAL (Thalidomide)

In 1956 Mortechem Thalidomide, originally introduced by Chemie Grunenthal, a West German pharmaceutical company, as a sedative and marketed under the name of Contergan was gaining in acceptance. Also marketed as Distaval, this Mortechem was a hot commodity. By 1958, Mortechem Distaval permeated the world market.

Originally intended to combat insomnia, expectant mothers frequently treated their nausea of pregnancy with the Mortechem. Soon thalidomide's horrid effects became apparent, and it was subsequently withdrawn from the market in 1961. Fortunately, Distaval had never been approved in the United States. Ironically, the lack of approval stemmed from concerns about the development of peripheral neuropathies. Little thought was given to the horrendous birth defects passed to the children of this Mortechem's users.

The Mortechem's sedative and almost hypnotic effect was often prescribed to stressed-out moms. Distaval was also advertised as being "especially suitable for infants" as well. From severe deformity to death, this advertisement accurately states " This child's life may depend on the safety of Distaval." Unfortunately, it took far too many years to recognize the double meaning of the marketer's quote.

Mortechem ASBESTOS

The mortechem Asbestos is a mineral fiber that has been used commonly in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire-retardant. Because of its fiber strength and heat resistant properties, asbestos has been used for a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, paper products, and asbestos cement products), friction products (automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts), heat-resistant fabrics, packaging, gaskets, and coatings.

You won't find this chemical in vitamins or nutritional supplements. Rather, we give you this example to show that despite overwhelming evidence that these compounds are dangerous, the government allows these and other mortechems to be used.

As early as 1924, the first diagnosis of asbestosis was made. A woman had been working with asbestos since she was thirteen. She died when she was thirty-three years old, and an English doctor determined that the cause of death was what he called "asbestosis". Because of this, a study was done on asbestos workers in England. Twenty-five percent of them showed evidence of asbestos-related lung disease. Laws were passed in 1931 to increase ventilation and to make asbestosis an excusable work-related disease. It would take the United States ten more years to make these steps.

Evidently fatal asbestosis was not enough of a reason to ban Mortechem asbestos. An estimated 3,000 products made use of the Mortechem's unique properties from the 1940s to the 1970s. One could find asbestos in automobiles, manufactured homes, hair dryers, irons and ironing board covers, toasters, coffee pots, and electric blankets. Because asbestos is also found in vermiculite or talc, trace amounts could also be detected in cosmetics and powders as well as fertilizer and potting soils.

In the 1930s major medical journals began to publish articles that linked asbestos to cancer. The re-discovery of asbestos-related diseases were put on the back burner for several years due to the emergence of silicosis (a lung disease caused by silica dust inhalation).

Remarkably, it took until the early 1970s for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to start regulating the Mortechem. More astonishing, It was not until 2007 that Asbestos was banned by the EPA.

What's more, the Silica and Talc mentioned above are currently on our list of Mortechem chemicals in vitamins and nutritional supplements!

UNION CARBIDE

Proclaiming "Science helps build a new India" Union Carbide is not classified as a Mortechem. However, the companies inclusion on this site should serve as an example that no matter what assurances a business or a government give consumers, unforeseen events can have dire consequences

Around Midnight December 3rd, 1984, a state-of-the-art Indian Subsidiary (UCIL) of Union Carbide's chemical plant in Bhopal released 42 tons of toxic gas into the air. The silent killer gas extinguished approximately 25,000 men, women, and children. A government affidavit filed in the Supreme Court in 2006 stated that of the 558,125 cases of injury resulting from the disaster, 516,406 (92.5%) were minor, 38,478 (6.8%) were temporary partial disablement while 0.7% (~3,900) were severely and permanently disabled. The government's classification was criticized after the deaths of people who were classed as having minor injuries.^[5]

26 years after the gas leak, 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of Bhopal residents who depend on it,^[6]^[7]^[8] though there is some dispute as to whether the chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard.^[2]

One might expect the government to evacuate the area entirely. Shocking, as late as 2002, an inquiry found a number of toxins, including mercury, lead, 1,3,5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane and chloroform, in nursing women's breast milk. Well water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury levels to be at "20,000 and 6 million times" higher than expected levels; heavy metals and organochlorines were present in the soil. Chemicals that have been linked to various forms of cancer were also discovered, as well as trichloroethene, known to impair fetal development, at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).^[69]

It is painfully obvious that consumers must take an increased role in determining what is acceptable risk for their own lifestyle. The Government, Corporations, and even environmental watchdogs are not enough!

To see if you are being exposed to Mortechem chemicals in vitamins and nutritional supplementsand what the effects are, click here!

Mortechem-Free*