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Vitamix a Toxic Blender ?!!

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  • Does anyone know if this is resolved in the new 5200 mixer? It looks as if they have changed the composition of the materials (no BPAs). I have thought about getting ont he waiting list, but after reading all your great posts I think I might stick with my dinky (but glass carafed) blender.

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    I agree with LotusLady and SkyPrincess.

    Considering the state of todays world, I would be more concerned about other things that get in my body and not my blender being plastic. If you have a healthy raw diet, I wouldn’t worry about the plastic.

    Think about how many things we buy are packaged in plastic, the condition of our water that we bathe in and drink, the pollution we breathe, the chemicals that are present on our new clothes and towels and beddings (unless you buy organic). You spend 8 hours or more sleeping – you breathe in those chemicals all the time for the time you sleep. Your stuff is in the VitaMix for not even close to that time.

    I find it surprising when I met raw foodists who are really anal about everything they use when it comes to their food but than I go and use their bathroom at their homes and I find they use Crest toothpaste and commerical shampoos and conditioners and soaps on their bodies. You are working so hard with your diet to keep your bodies clean – but adding even worse toxins back in in other products and things you use.

    I would be more worried about using THAT stuff than the plastic in my blender.

  • stylistchickstylistchick Raw Newbie

    wow, this is just whack! nothing is safe! i have a cheap blender with a plastic caraffe, and i think i’m just going to toss it. but now you’ve got me wondering about the metal blade. ...and plastic water bottles! i never thought about it before. makes me want to get my own distiller. i recently saw a new product that pulls water from the air and filters it through several processes, and it was the same size as a normal water coller, but without the bottle on top.

  • I’m with LLady and SPrincess…We can’t remove all the unhealthful influences from our lives, even though we’d like to. I’m soooo bummed that this is an issue, but I still believe I get more benefits from my VitaMix than the negatives. I am glad that mine is so old that it has a metal container and all I have to worry about is the blade, but for all I know that old container has nickel as well. Aambikalee summed it up – this just sucks!!!

  • In respect to Nickel being a mineral that we need, is not really the case. There is a BIG difference between organic and in-organic metals, the last one being the main cullprit for so many diseases. The body simply cannot handle in-organic minerals (metals) !

    Why, because those (mineral) metal particles are not in the right molecule size to be absorbed by the bloodcells. Instead the body still recognizes them as a mineral so it is being stored in our tissues or fat for later use, but ofcourse the body will never be able to use those way to big unnatural metal (mineral) molecules. So over time the body reaches it

  • I see both sides of the discussion. Although they both make a lot of sense, I feel that I prefer glass as a carafe material. I am looking to buy a blender very soon and here is what I have found so far. After a quick search for a powerful blender with glass carafe and SS blade, I have found the following. The 2 main ones that fit these requirements are: (1) Krups prep expert serie 7000. 1100 Watts. “silent” blending. ss blades. glass. cost $150.

    (2) Black & Decker crush master. 475 Watts. ss blades. glass.cost $26.50

    One horsepower equals 746 watts. Vitamix is 2 HP, so that is 1492 Watts. The Krups is closest in power to Vitamix, with benefit of ss blade and glass carafe. The second one(B&D) seems very inexpensive compared to all others. Does anyone here have any more information about either of these blenders or a different one? I am looking to buy one asap, mostly for nut milk based drinks. thank you.

  • penfoldpenfold Raw Newbie

    Shaker: This is totally an important topic, but think about what queenfluff is saying, too. Our lives are filled with toxins that we can’t really control. She mentions mattresses and bedding, which we’re in contact with all night; the foam and fabrics in typical furniture; and then there are the carpets, wiring, insulation in our houses; the glue used on the wood in our cupboards, furniture and all kinds of things. Think about all the unnatural substances in your vehicle (if you have one). What are you absorbing from your computer as you type? (Don’t even look into this, you’ll be horrified.) We’re surrounded by toxic crap no matter what. Yes, avoid what you can. I do use a blender with a glass carafe and stainless steel blade, but the lid is still rubber, and there’s a rubber seal in there as well. One more plastic thing in your life is not going to make that much of a difference when you’re surrounded already – even if you do use it every day. You’ll go nuts if you think about this stuff all the time. Worry and anger are unhealthy, too. Spreading fear and negativity is what the media do – leave it for them. Do what you can and don’t dwell on the rest of it.

  • Raw_ChocoholicRaw_Chocoholic Raw Newbie

    I agree completely with Shaker. Even though there is much in our environment which is toxic, we vote every day with our dollar and I’ll chose not to purchase something from a company which isn’t doing everything possible to minamalize those toxins. It all has to stop somewhere.

    However, in respect to penfold’s comment about negativity, I do believe emotions/thoughts/actions to be at the core of health, but truth can be acknowledged in a postive manner also. It all depends how we chose it see it.

    As for the organic vs inorganic minerals. Table salt fits into the same catagory as the later, this is why I only use kelp salt.

    Also, about using chorella for mercury, using it in conjunction with cilantro is best. The cilantro will help move the mercury out of the cells so that the chorella can bind to it.

    ananda, I hadn’t heard that Black and Decker produced blenders. I’m looking into buying the Oster behive blender as I’d read good reviews on Amazon.com. The Krups looks interesting though also.

    Does anyone know if Jack Lalane’s blender has a glass carafe?

  • @ananda That is a real good find, thank you for that. I also found a few with a glass carafe, but they where not as powerfull as the Krups.

    @Penfold

    “Spreading fear and negativity is what the media do

  • well i looked for reveiws on epinions and these were not highly recommended, so im still unsure. does the short time in the plastic container affect the juice/ milk?

  • elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

    i’m really glad i read all that, i will now reconsider buying a vitamix and stick with a glass carafe blender instead. its true that there are toxic substances we can avoid only through moving into a little hut miles from civilization, but most of us are not prepared to take this slightly drastic measure, so we should all just do what we can. thank you SoCal, good info

  • Hi everyone,

    due to your article I have been just reading about dehydrators as I am going to buy one.Now…i red that those best dehydrators are polycarbonate and also contains Bisphenol a….do you all use them?? They should be the best dehydrators available on market.(excalibur)

  • Anyone ever heard of this company? Noble Juice They pack their juice in bottles made of 100% corn. It’s called polyactide or PLA. It’s supposed to be safe for the environment and non-toxic. I bought their juices several times from Walmart and I’d save the bottles to fill up with water. I never got that nasty plastic taste. Sad to hear about the vitamix. It was on my wishlist along with the excalibur.

  • Rawspring, congrats on your progress! Good to see you pop up here again.

  • penfoldpenfold Raw Newbie

    Sorry Shaker, I didn’t mean to come across quite the way I did. I do think it’s very important for this information to get out there, and i’m glad you’re doing it. Too many people don’t know about common, avoidable and not, toxins in their environments (and I’m not trying to distance myself here from these “people,” suggesting I’m terribly knowledgeable or anything). It’s good to educate people and encourage them to, like Raw_Chocoholic says, vote with their dollar. You were just getting so worked up, I was starting to worry you’d pop! :) And I certainly dont’ think we should wait around for information from mainstream media (hahaha). I’m in total agreement that people should learn what’s off and do their best to avoid it – but I don’t think it helps if someone dwells for the rest of their life on the three years they used a Vitamix. It’s not healthy to worry if someone serves you a drink you later find out was made in a polycarbonate blender, or to refuse to drink water on a hike because the only water availabe is in a Nalgene bottle. That’s kind of where I was going with the fear thing – and I know you weren’t suggesting anyone be like that. By all means avoid whatever toxic stuff you can, but accept that it’s in all of our lives to a greater or lesser extent and don’t constantly think about your current exposure to this or that chemical. But yeah, don’t buy a polycarbonate blender and then you won’t have to worry about that particular thing!

    ananda: I looked at a study quite a while ago on leaching in polycarbonate water bottles. Sorry, I don’t remember where I saw it or anything (maybe Shaker can help with that?), but they tested the water in the bottles over a period of a few days. I remember that after a day, the amounts of BPA were still fairly low (obviously any at all is too much, but…), and the amounts jumped significantly at two and three days. So having your food in there for a minute should have minimal effect, but then like Shaker says, scratched surfaces increase the leaching, and the blender’s whizzing everything around like mad, increasing surface contact… so I don’t know.

  • Thanks rediscoverrawfood,

    I’ve lost 15 pounds and trying to get off about 35 more. People are starting to notice. I have to admit, I haven’t been sticking to raw for a few months now. But I just love the food and it’s so good for you, so I’m trying to integrate more into my diet again. I notice that it’s really hard to find a balance. But I think balance is the key. I never got one of those hi-tech blenders but I have a combo processor-blender by Oster. The blender part is less than satisfactory but I love the processor. It’s plastic and the blender carafe is glass. When I was mostly raw, I’d use the processor just about everyday. But I think doing mono meals and eating a lot of salads can keep you away from so much blending and dehydrating. I have to admit, I like trying so many of the raw creations. I don’t have a dehydrator so I use my oven.(Not sure if that’s any better).

  • Sorry, double post

  • Penfold wrote:

  • A great thread. I wish we could do something about the vitamix company and convince them somehow to have glass available… I was actually pretty dead set on getting a vitamix till I read this, now I will change my mind. Hmm… not to mention Vitamixes are terribly expensive. So people, what do you recommend?? Krups? And why?

  • I have not recommended the Krups or any other blender. I just saw that it has a fairly strong motor.the feedback on epinions wasnt great though. so please do your own research and report back here if you find something good.

  • Well the problem is I dont understand how blenders work… what makes them good? what is a good motor? what are the terms?

  • Keep in mind also that Ive only discovered raw foodism 1 month ago.

  • @Ananda

    Sorry, I misinterpreted your message where you didn’t advice the Krups but only mentioned your find.

    Please tell us, where did you find any reviews about this 7000 series Krups blender, I am really curious what others wrote about it ?

  • This is deeply saddening…I use mine all the time. :(

  • Does anyone have any feedback about Waring Commercial (heavy-duty) blenders???

    http://www.waringproducts.com/com/catalog/produ…

    Some of their blenders use stainless steel carafes.
  • Okay, my husband just went to the vitamix site to check it out. And they are advertising the NEW VitaMix 5200. The polycarbonate container has been replaced with a BPA-Free container. We found it to be quite interesting, especially when you read “the most frequently asked questions about the VitaMix 5200”.

    http://www.vitamix.com/

    Our thoughts start to linger into our other appliances we already have. Such as our Cusinart food processor. I mean plastic is plastic. And when you watch the youtube stream that Shaker posted on page one it is just flat out scary. Really….sex hormones!!!

  • I have a friend that uses glass Perrier bottles for her water. She keeps a milk crate in the trunk of her car to store the full ones in so they don’t roll all over the floor of the car. A good option as long as you aren’t clumsy and drop the bottles :-( As far as the blenders go, I had the same dilemma over the plastic but I ended up buying a KTec and I don’t leave anything in it longer than I have to. I think the Blind Guru (www.blindguru.com) offers a 3.5 hp blender, which is very powerful, but I think that the container is also plastic. I love my old Oster blender with a glass container but it isn’t nearly powerful enough for some of the raw food requirements.

  • Just had another thought, slightly off topic but along the same lines…It is very difficult to decrease toxins in our environment and here we are, eating raw food, some or all organic, recycling and doing what we can for the planet, but we have the same toxicity issue with dehydrators. We place food directly on plastic trays and heat the trays along with the food. This is prolonged contact with plastic! This doesn’t even include the use of Teflex sheets, which are filled with toxic chemicals including fluoride, a neurotoxin. I really appreciate this website where people can share their comments and concerns. It is really nice having this forum to discuss matters like this. It is a place where we can have power in numbers and hopefully find some solutions to these problems. I look forward to contacting these companies to let them know that there is a demand for safer products. Thanks all. (OK, I’ll get off of my soapbox now).

  • Shaker, no problem. i just dont want people thinking i an recommending it. the website is called epinions. it is peoples reveiws of products. put in the keywords krups blender and read the reveiws. What do you think of this new tritan material?

  • kundalalitakundalalita Raw Newbie

    wow, i remember hearing something about after these chemicals from plastic seep into your body its like you cant get rid of them, and they are cancer-causing.

    my blender from blendtec just arrived today. according to rawguru its better than vitamix. the blade is stainless steel. i dont know about the container though…its plastic!

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