Can we get safe insulin?
I know someone else here posted on this but I know there is some preservatives in insulin that aren't exactly good for us to be injecting into our bodies everyday. I think we should call different companies saying we will switch to their brand of insulin if they make a safe insulin without the harmful preservatives in them. This would be an incentive for a company to make this type of insulin because they would know that people will switch to it and they would make more money.
What does everyone think? Sound like a good idea? We should let big companies know we care about our health and what we put into our bodies, they shouldn't control what goes into our bodies because of what the cheapest option is for them.
Here is the info on whats in our insulin
Humalog
Each milliliter of Humalog injection contains insulin lispro 100 Units, 16 mg glycerin, 1.88 mg dibasic sodium phosphate, 3.15 mg Metacresol, zinc oxide content adjusted to provide 0.0197 mg zinc ion, trace amounts of phenol, and water for injection
Phenol
"It can affect the central nervous system, which will at first lead to sweating, weakness, dizziness and twitching but with prolonged exposure leads to nausea, vomiting and coma. If ingested even a small dose can lead to be fatal in humans and therefore care must be taken at all times using phenol-containing products."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenol
http://www.3dchem.com/molecules.asp?ID=100
http://www.weblakes.com/toxic/PHENOL.HTML
Metacresol
-"Chronic Effects on Humans:
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Classified POSSIBLE by IRIS.
May cause damage to the following organs: kidneys, lungs, liver, skin, central nervous system (CNS)."
-"Special Remarks on Chronic Effects on Humans:
May cause adverse reproductive effects. May affect genetic material (mutagenic).
IRIS Carcinogen Assessment: C (Possible human carcinogen)"
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC32877
What does everyone think? Sound like a good idea? We should let big companies know we care about our health and what we put into our bodies, they shouldn't control what goes into our bodies because of what the cheapest option is for them.
Here is the info on whats in our insulin
Humalog
Each milliliter of Humalog injection contains insulin lispro 100 Units, 16 mg glycerin, 1.88 mg dibasic sodium phosphate, 3.15 mg Metacresol, zinc oxide content adjusted to provide 0.0197 mg zinc ion, trace amounts of phenol, and water for injection
Phenol
"It can affect the central nervous system, which will at first lead to sweating, weakness, dizziness and twitching but with prolonged exposure leads to nausea, vomiting and coma. If ingested even a small dose can lead to be fatal in humans and therefore care must be taken at all times using phenol-containing products."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenol
http://www.3dchem.com/molecules.asp?ID=100
http://www.weblakes.com/toxic/PHENOL.HTML
Metacresol
-"Chronic Effects on Humans:
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Classified POSSIBLE by IRIS.
May cause damage to the following organs: kidneys, lungs, liver, skin, central nervous system (CNS)."
-"Special Remarks on Chronic Effects on Humans:
May cause adverse reproductive effects. May affect genetic material (mutagenic).
IRIS Carcinogen Assessment: C (Possible human carcinogen)"
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC32877
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ultravires on -
News flash: they're called preservatives because they *preserve* the PH of the insulin, stabilize it, and prevent it from breaking down before it has a chance to lower your blood sugar. I don't think that modern biochemistry has reached a point where they can produce synthetic analog insulins without small amounts of preservatives; they would either not work, or they would be so expensive that no insurance company would cover them. Even if these formulations existed (maybe they're in a lab somewhere, being hidden by the evil drug companies) we couldn't buy them even if we wanted, because they haven't been approved by the FDA. These sorts of posts anger me, because they display a very basic lack of understanding of science and of healthcare economics, and they freak people out about a drug for which the risks (at least the risks of cancer caused by exposure to phenols and metacresol) are very minimal, and for which there is exceedingly clear proof of safety and efficacy.
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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on -
Well, metacresol is an antimicrobial preservative and is in the class of phenols. It is used in a range of prescription injectables, including Byetta as well as some insulins. The safety of this preparation is very high with a very high level of confidence. Why? Because it has been extensively tested and literally billions of doses have been administered and the results are in. They are safe. Are there some people for which metacresol is an issue? Yes. Some people are allergic to metacresol, which results in an insulin hypersensitivity. This requires a proper diagnosis and a switch to a different insulin formulation. But it won't give you cancer.
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Permalink Reply by SuFu, Ph.D. on -
Really.... really? You're worried about this? Walking through the downtown of a city, standing near a running car, eating canned vegetable or charring your meat even slightly to create PhIP will expose you folds if not logs higher numbers of carcinogens than you would ever get from insulin. Get off your conspiracy theory. Be grateful that modern medicine has created something as extraordinary as synthetic insulin that allow us to survive for more than a few years on something other than the lettuce and egg based diet (prescribed in the pre-insulin era).
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Permalink Reply by Anonymous Jim on -
As a person who tries to be green and a consumer of as much natural organic etc stuff that I can afford, I understand your concerns. But I look at this why gmo frankenfood scares me I avoid it when I can. GMO insulin is a godsend after watching the unpredictable results of nph and regular on my mother. As it comes to animal testing something else we owe are lives to, if it is done with respect go for. If one must die or suffer for a thousand to live salute the one who sacrifices
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Permalink Reply by Tony on -
Wow this is an old post. I was just in a weird/bad mood when I posted this, sorry it made everyone so mad. I was just frustrated at the time. Thanks for the info and reassuring me that the insulin is safe.
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