Who Would Have Thought This Fat Could Improve Your Bones?
A study about the role fatty acids play in building the bone mineral density of young men found that concentrations of omega-3 fats were associated with positive bone mineral densities.
Researchers evaluated the bone health (hip, spine and body) and measured the concentrations of fatty acids in 78 teenage men over an eight-year span.
In addition to the other benefits, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was linked to better total bone densities, particularly in the spine, as well as positive changes in the spine for men between the ages of 16 and 22.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition March 2007; 85(3): 803-807
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition March 2007; 85(3): 647-648
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
It was a delight to find these two articles in my favorite medical journal this month. It sure seems that conventional medicine is beginning to appreciate how omega-3 fats such as DHA can protect and help your bones properly develop.
This conclusion merely underscores the results of a study I ran two years ago in which higher ratios of omega-6 fats were tied to lower bone densities. Unfortunately, the diets of most people are weighted heavily toward omega-6 fats, no doubt due to a heavy reliance on processed foods.
Ninety percent of the money Americans spend on their food is for processed foods. They are loaded with the WORST that the food industry has to offer:
• High fructose corn syrup
• MSG and other food additives
• Pasteurized dairy
• GM foods (like most corn and soy products)
• Omega-6 oils
Around 1900 the average American only consumed about a pound of vegetable oil (high in omega-6) per year. Now we are consuming over 75 pounds each every year. This increase disrupts the delicate omega-6:3 ratio our ancestors adapted to. In Paleolithic times it was thought to be 1:1. Now it is closer to 15 or 20 to 1 for most of us.
Many expert nutritionists are not aware of the important relationship between healthy bones and optimal fat intake. Many osteoporosis experts will acknowledge the importance of omega-3 fats for general health but don't understand that they are also a very powerful force in optimizing bone density.
In addition to increasing your consumption of vegetables, based on your body's unique metabolic type, the secret weapon that protects your bones while balancing your levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fats is taking a high-quality fish oil or krill oil.
On Vital Votes, reader Cathy from Auckland, New Zealand notes:
"Another factor often not mentioned in many of these papers is that saturated fatty acids enhance the absorption and metabolism of omega-3 fatty acids through the delta-6-desaturase (D6D) pathway. I expect it would be considered scientific heresy for these researchers to back down on their erroneous position on natural saturated fats.
Omega-6 fats compete through this same pathway, so the typical US diet which commonly includes ratios of 20-40:1 of omega-6 to omega-3 is going to lead to omega-3 deficiency, however much fish or fish oil an individual consumes.
"The deadly USDA Diet Pyramid suggests a ratio of 12:1 which in the context of a diet low in saturated fat would render the omega-3 unusable.
The optimum ratio should be no more than 4:1. It is unfortunate that many people think that simply supplementing with omega-3, vitamins, antioxidants and so forth will protect them from an unhealthy diet when the right conditions (i.e. healthy unprocessed food diet -- with minimal sugar and no refined PVOs) are necessary for proper absorption and utilization of said supplements.
This factor would also explain the inconsistent findings in studies comparing fish consumption."
Related Articles:
Omega Three and Childhood Asthma
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Natural Alternative Medicine - Do You Have An Open Mind?
Alternative Health Research Report
Researched and written by Brenda Templin
Natural Alternative Medicine
In this report, we take a look at why natural alternatives have a hard time getting a foothold in the marketplace, and why physicians are sometimes slow to recommend them.
A 60-year-old man recently came into my office, and happened to mention that he was about to begin dialysis. He had been on 9 different blood pressure medications, and now his kidneys were failing. I asked whether any of his doctors had ever spoken to him about diet and nutrition, and about making lifestyle changes. His answer was no. Why not?
A 79-year-old lady who was an RN for more than 38 years, and had additional alternative therapy training beyond her RN requirements, recently confided in me that she had secretly suggested lifestyle changes, recommended natural foods and dietary changes, and used alternative therapy as a hospital nurse. She chuckled and said she wasn't supposed to do that, but she always did whatever she thought was necessary to take care of her patients. Why did it have to be that way?
The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."...Thomas Edison, 1902
Quick jump list to all the major sections:
- Biologically Based Natural Alternatives
- Vitamin Pioneers First Ignored
- Why Physicians Are Slow To Accept And Recommend Natural Alternatives
- Why Pharmaceutical Companies Don't Develop Natural Products
- Some Ancient Herbs Still In Use Today
- Comments From Your Researcher
| Biologically Based Natural Alternatives |
| We have many different options for healthcare today, but I would like to focus on biologically based treatments and prevention. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s (NCCAM) defines the scope of biologically based practices to include, but is not limited to, botanicals, animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, prebiotics and probiotics, whole diets, and functional foods. But first, let’s take a look at the different philosophies of healthcare practiced today. Allopathic, alternative, complementary, integrative…what does it all mean? Each includes many different kinds of therapies, and although alternative, complementary and integrative are sometimes used interchangeably, the general focus of each is different.
Many people are hesitant about trusting their healthcare to anyone other than an allopathic physician. But did you know that Naturopathic Medical Doctors are the only physicians who receive complete training in conventional medicine as well as natural medicine? Licensed naturopathic medical doctors (N.M.D./N.D.) attend a four-year graduate level naturopathic medical school where they are educated in all of the same basic sciences as a conventional M.D. In addition to this training, they are extensively educated in the philosophy and implementation of safe and effective natural therapeutics with a strong emphasis on disease prevention.2 Unfortunately, some states do not yet offer licensing for Naturopathic Doctors. Biologically based medicine is not new. It was practiced for thousands of years before pharmaceutical companies began manufacturing the first synthetic drugs. In addition, many of the pharmaceutical preparations used around the world are based on plants. As late as the 1930's, the formulation of about 80% of synthetic pharmaceutical drugs began with a natural compound.3 Today, about 25% of prescription drugs contain active ingredients derived from plants.3 The United States has the most advanced medical system in the world, yet the population is increasingly turning to natural healing methods. However, the U.S. still lags behind world stats. A survey of 31,000 U.S. adults conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics in 2004 showed that 35 percent use some form of complementary and alternative medicine.4 Today, the World Health Organization estimates that herbal medicine is still the primary source of health care for approximately 80 percent of the world’s population.3, 5 Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. These diseases and other chronic diseases such as obesity, depression, metabolic and digestive disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and fibroids, account for 7 of every 10 deaths and affect the quality of life of 90 million Americans. Chronic diseases are among the most prevalent and most costly, yet they are the most preventable.6 Conventional physicians treat chronic diseases with expensive pharmaceuticals that may temporarily relieve the painful or uncomfortable symptoms, but the drugs do nothing to resolve the underlying cause, and may actually cause other side effects and serious problems. Because nutrition affects our immune system, organ function, hormonal balance and cellular metabolism, many of these chronic conditions and diseases can be traced to a nutrition deficiency. When the deficiency is not corrected, symptoms begin to appear and eventually lead to disease and premature aging. Many pharmaceuticals can effectively be replaced with multivitamin supplements, botanicals, amino acids, prebiotics and probiotics, fresh foods and functional foods for both prevention and treatment. Because herbs work synergistically, combinations of herbs with similar properties enhance the properties of each. This is why choosing a product containing a combination of different herbs is usually more effective than choosing individual selections. An example of this is the combination of valerian, passion flower and hops to promote relaxation and restful sleep. All three have a relaxing effect on the body. Valerian relaxes muscle tension, while hops relaxes the nervous system, and passiflora acts as a sedative. There is a misconception by some that nutritional supplements are not regulated. Before 1994, dietary supplements fell under the same regulations as food. With passage of the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was granted authority to ban products that are proven to be unsafe.7 The manufacture and sale of dietary supplements is actually regulated by quite a few government agencies. On the federal level, the FDA regulates product labeling and other safety and quality-related practices. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates advertising. Other federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) impact regulations. In addition, a growing number of state laws affect dietary supplements. Research on dietary supplements spans the spectrum of basic to clinical research and includes ethnobotanical investigations, analytical research, and method development/validation, as well as bioavailability, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic studies. However, the basic and preclinical research is better delineated for supplements composed of single chemical constituents (e.g., vitamins and minerals) than for the more complex products (e.g., botanical extracts). There is an abundance of clinical research for all types of dietary supplements. Most of this research involves small phase II studies.8 1. Integrative Medicine: What is it? Victoria Rommel, M.D. 2. Naturopathic Medical Education & Training Chaney Integrative Family Medicine. 3. A short list of plant-based medicinal drugs. World Resources Institute. 4. More Than One-Third of U.S. Adults Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine, According to New Government Survey National Center for Health Statistics. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 5. 6. Chronic Disease Prevention National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention. 7. Overview of Dietary Supplements U. S. Food and Drug Administration. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 8. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Read the complete research article, by RM Barry Pulbications, by clicking here: I can provide you with excellent options for being pro-active in maintaining your health, dealing with specific health concerns, and living a longer, healthier life. Request information here or at my website. You'll be glad you did. You'll be on your way to feeling better, naturally! |
What Bath Products Do You And Your Children Use?
By Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Feb 8, 2007 - 11:39:32 AM
CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL FOUND IN CHILDREN'S BATH PRODUCTS
Women's Shampoos and Body Wash also Contaminated
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - WASHINGTON —
A hidden cancer-causing petrochemical has been found in dozens of children's bath products and adults' personal care products, in some cases at levels that are more than twice the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's lenient recommended maximum. Laboratory tests released today revealed the presence of 1,4-Dioxane in products such as Hello Kitty Bubble Bath, Huggies Baby Wash , Johnson's Baby Wash , Scooby-Doo Bubble Bath and Sesame Street Bubble Bath.
The tests also found the carcinogen in Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo, Olay Complete Body Wash and many other personal care products. 1,4-Dioxane is a petroleum-derived contaminant considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a clear-cut animal carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It is also on California 's Proposition 65 list of chemicals known or suspected by the state to cause cancer or birth defects. Because it is a contaminant produced during manufacturing, the FDA does not require it to be listed as an ingredient on product labels.
The problem of 1,4-Dioxane contamination in personal care products is highlighted in a new book, "Safe Trip to Eden : Ten Steps to Save the Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown," by David Steinman. The laboratory results were released jointly today at the National Press Club by Steinman and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of U.S.-based health and environmental groups working to protect cosmetics consumers from toxic chemicals and hold companies accountable for the safety of their products.
"Regrettably, 1,4-Dioxane contamination is just the tip of the iceberg," said Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., executive director of the Breast Cancer Fund, a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. "Because the FDA does not require cosmetics products to be approved as safe before they are sold, companies can put unlimited amounts of toxic chemicals in cosmetics."
Steinman said parents should be outraged that companies are willing to spend a significant amount of money on entertainment licensing agreements that entice children but won't spend pennies to remove contaminants such as 1,4-Dioxane.
"Consumers who have young children, as I do, have the right to expect the highest purity in children's products," Steinman said. "I call on American consumers to say no to dangerous petrochemicals in their children's cosmetic and personal care products."Contrary to what many consumers may believe, the FDA does not review or regulate cosmetics products or ingredients for safety before they are sold to the public and has no legal authority to require safety assessments of cosmetics.
Devra Lee Davis, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said that the usual regulatory approach of assessing risk one chemical at a time does not account for the combined effects of very low levels of hidden contaminants in personal care products and from other sources.
"We must lower exposures to controllable agents that we know or suspect cause cancer," she said. The FDA has been measuring 1,4-Dioxane levels since 1979, but because the agency has little authority or enforcement capacity over the cosmetics industry, it has worked with manufacturers to reduce levels on a voluntary basis only. In 2000, the FDA recommended that cosmetic products should not contain 1,4-Dioxane at concentrations greater than 10 ppm (parts per million); yet some 15 percent of products tested exceeded even these lenient guidelines. This limit, however, also does not take into account that babies exposed to 1,4-Dioxane from baby shampoo may be exposed at the same time to 1,4-Dioxane from bubble bath, body wash and many other products. More than two dozen products were tested at Steinman's request by West Coast Analytical Service, an independent testing laboratory specializing in trace chemical analysis.
Among the products tested:
Product and 1,4-Dioxane concentration:
Baby & Children's Consumer Products:
Disney Clean as Can Bee Hair & Body Wash (Water Jel Technologies): 8.8 ppm
Disney Pixar Cars Piston Cup Bubble Bath (MZB Personal Care): 2.2 ppm
Gerber Grins & Giggles Gentle & Mild Aloe Vera Baby Shampoo: 8.4 ppm
Hello Kitty Bubble Bath (Kid Care): 12 ppm
Huggies Baby Wash Shea Butter: 4.0 ppm
Huggies Natural Care Baby Wash Extra Gentle and Tear Free: 4.2 ppm
Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash (Johnson & Johnson): 5.3 ppm to 6.1 ppm
Johnson's Kids Tigger Bath Bubbles (Johnson & Johnson): 5.6 ppm to 7.9 ppm
Johnson's Kids Shampoo Watermelon Explosion (Johnson & Johnson): 10 ppm
Lil' Bratz Mild Bubble Bath (Kid Care): 3.7 ppm
L'Oreal Kids Orange Mango Smoothie Shampoo: 2.0 ppm
Mr. Bubble Bubble Bath Gentle Formula with Aloe: 1.5 ppm
Rite-Aid Tearless Baby Shampoo: 4.3 ppm
Scooby-Doo Mild Bubble Bath (Kid Care): 3.0 ppm
Sesame Street Wet Wild Watermelon Bubble Bath (The Village Company): 7.4 ppm
Adult Consumer Products:
Clairol Herbal Essences Rainforest Flowers Shampoo: 23 ppm
Olay Complete Body Wash with Vitamins (normal skin): 23 ppm
Suave Naturals Passion Flower: 2.0 ppm
Steinman's book explains what Americans can do today to be "green patriots" and curb the nation's dependency on foreign oil. The new laboratory results reveal the health risks posed by the same petrochemicals that are part of what he calls the nation's growing oil addiction. Women and girls use an average of 12 personal care products daily, according to a 2004 survey conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. www.HealthNewsDigest.com
--------------------------------------------------
Where I shop, there are never any known carcinogen ingredients! They make their products without 1,4-Dioxane, without formaldehyde by any name, and without any harsh chemicals that will harm your family or the environment!! If you'd like to hear more, request more information at my website or by contacting me here. Thanks!
Feb 8, 2007 - 11:39:32 AM
CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL FOUND IN CHILDREN'S BATH PRODUCTS
Women's Shampoos and Body Wash also Contaminated
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - WASHINGTON —
A hidden cancer-causing petrochemical has been found in dozens of children's bath products and adults' personal care products, in some cases at levels that are more than twice the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's lenient recommended maximum. Laboratory tests released today revealed the presence of 1,4-Dioxane in products such as Hello Kitty Bubble Bath, Huggies Baby Wash , Johnson's Baby Wash , Scooby-Doo Bubble Bath and Sesame Street Bubble Bath.
The tests also found the carcinogen in Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo, Olay Complete Body Wash and many other personal care products. 1,4-Dioxane is a petroleum-derived contaminant considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a clear-cut animal carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It is also on California 's Proposition 65 list of chemicals known or suspected by the state to cause cancer or birth defects. Because it is a contaminant produced during manufacturing, the FDA does not require it to be listed as an ingredient on product labels.
The problem of 1,4-Dioxane contamination in personal care products is highlighted in a new book, "Safe Trip to Eden : Ten Steps to Save the Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown," by David Steinman. The laboratory results were released jointly today at the National Press Club by Steinman and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of U.S.-based health and environmental groups working to protect cosmetics consumers from toxic chemicals and hold companies accountable for the safety of their products.
"Regrettably, 1,4-Dioxane contamination is just the tip of the iceberg," said Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., executive director of the Breast Cancer Fund, a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. "Because the FDA does not require cosmetics products to be approved as safe before they are sold, companies can put unlimited amounts of toxic chemicals in cosmetics."
Steinman said parents should be outraged that companies are willing to spend a significant amount of money on entertainment licensing agreements that entice children but won't spend pennies to remove contaminants such as 1,4-Dioxane.
"Consumers who have young children, as I do, have the right to expect the highest purity in children's products," Steinman said. "I call on American consumers to say no to dangerous petrochemicals in their children's cosmetic and personal care products."Contrary to what many consumers may believe, the FDA does not review or regulate cosmetics products or ingredients for safety before they are sold to the public and has no legal authority to require safety assessments of cosmetics.
Devra Lee Davis, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said that the usual regulatory approach of assessing risk one chemical at a time does not account for the combined effects of very low levels of hidden contaminants in personal care products and from other sources.
"We must lower exposures to controllable agents that we know or suspect cause cancer," she said. The FDA has been measuring 1,4-Dioxane levels since 1979, but because the agency has little authority or enforcement capacity over the cosmetics industry, it has worked with manufacturers to reduce levels on a voluntary basis only. In 2000, the FDA recommended that cosmetic products should not contain 1,4-Dioxane at concentrations greater than 10 ppm (parts per million); yet some 15 percent of products tested exceeded even these lenient guidelines. This limit, however, also does not take into account that babies exposed to 1,4-Dioxane from baby shampoo may be exposed at the same time to 1,4-Dioxane from bubble bath, body wash and many other products. More than two dozen products were tested at Steinman's request by West Coast Analytical Service, an independent testing laboratory specializing in trace chemical analysis.
Among the products tested:
Product and 1,4-Dioxane concentration:
Baby & Children's Consumer Products:
Disney Clean as Can Bee Hair & Body Wash (Water Jel Technologies): 8.8 ppm
Disney Pixar Cars Piston Cup Bubble Bath (MZB Personal Care): 2.2 ppm
Gerber Grins & Giggles Gentle & Mild Aloe Vera Baby Shampoo: 8.4 ppm
Hello Kitty Bubble Bath (Kid Care): 12 ppm
Huggies Baby Wash Shea Butter: 4.0 ppm
Huggies Natural Care Baby Wash Extra Gentle and Tear Free: 4.2 ppm
Johnson's Head-to-Toe Baby Wash (Johnson & Johnson): 5.3 ppm to 6.1 ppm
Johnson's Kids Tigger Bath Bubbles (Johnson & Johnson): 5.6 ppm to 7.9 ppm
Johnson's Kids Shampoo Watermelon Explosion (Johnson & Johnson): 10 ppm
Lil' Bratz Mild Bubble Bath (Kid Care): 3.7 ppm
L'Oreal Kids Orange Mango Smoothie Shampoo: 2.0 ppm
Mr. Bubble Bubble Bath Gentle Formula with Aloe: 1.5 ppm
Rite-Aid Tearless Baby Shampoo: 4.3 ppm
Scooby-Doo Mild Bubble Bath (Kid Care): 3.0 ppm
Sesame Street Wet Wild Watermelon Bubble Bath (The Village Company): 7.4 ppm
Adult Consumer Products:
Clairol Herbal Essences Rainforest Flowers Shampoo: 23 ppm
Olay Complete Body Wash with Vitamins (normal skin): 23 ppm
Suave Naturals Passion Flower: 2.0 ppm
Steinman's book explains what Americans can do today to be "green patriots" and curb the nation's dependency on foreign oil. The new laboratory results reveal the health risks posed by the same petrochemicals that are part of what he calls the nation's growing oil addiction. Women and girls use an average of 12 personal care products daily, according to a 2004 survey conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. www.HealthNewsDigest.com
--------------------------------------------------
Where I shop, there are never any known carcinogen ingredients! They make their products without 1,4-Dioxane, without formaldehyde by any name, and without any harsh chemicals that will harm your family or the environment!! If you'd like to hear more, request more information at my website or by contacting me here. Thanks!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Just To Lighten Things Up A Bit . . .
If only we could apply space technology to cleaning...
by Amy Meade
Happy News Citizen Journalist
House cleaning is serious business. Just look at the myriad of products on the market designed to make cleaning easier and quicker for today's busy lifestyles. My question is, do they really streamline the housekeeping process, or is it strictly advertising?
Let's take a look:
1. Wipes
The Premise: Each disposable cloth is pre-saturated with cleanser and then sold in a dispenser that allows the user to remove one cloth at a time, thus making it easy to give the house a quick clean before heading out the door to work or to run errands. According to their advertising, it also makes it easy and 'fun' for the whole family to maintain a clean environment.
The Real World: The bathroom-oriented wipes make my counter and faucet sparkle, but it's difficult to get excited when the sink is dotted with toothpaste that has hardened to the point that one needs an ice pick to chip it off. If manufacturers want to help me keep the vanity area clean, they either need to add an abrasive substance to the cleaning formula, or add Teflon to toothpaste so that it doesn't stick to surfaces. Of course, that may result in the toothpaste not adhering very well to the toothbrush, but it's not as if it stays there anyway, otherwise there wouldn't be gobs of it in the sink. And, yes, I hear the health conscious crowd wondering if Teflon is good for our teeth. Maybe it isn't, but could it really be any worse than Coca Cola?
As for the furniture wipes, they smell nice. A little too nice, as my cats proceeded to lick the furniture, resulting in a coffee table that smells of orange, salmon and whitefish and proving that my cats are not finicky eaters, but true epicures, as they are aware that citrus, even in the form of furniture wax, makes a wonderful accompaniment to seafood.
Pleasant aroma aside, however, I'm not too sure the wipes saved me much time, as spraying furniture polish on a rag isn't exactly a labor-intensive process. Really want to help me save time? Make furniture that has remote controlled trap doors to hide knick-knacks. When you're ready to dust, simply press a button and everything on the tabletop gets lowered into the body of the table itself. Precious items are secured to the moving platform. Free-roaming junk is discarded, thereby leaving a clutter-free cleaning surface while simultaneously teaching the family not to leave their things lying around the house.
As for wipes encouraging the rest of the family to aid in the cleaning process? All I have to say is even the Brady's, a family whose biggest crisis was figuring out who broke Carol's hideous vase, had a maid named Alice.
2. Specialized Mops
The Premise: One mop can do wet or dry cleaning, depending on the cloth you attach to the mop head. Cloths can be disposed after cleaning, thus ending smelly mop syndrome as well as the need for multiple mops.
The Real World: The mop does a great job on my hardwood floors, but it needs an attachment that cleans area rugs so that I don't have to drag my vacuum cleaner out of the closet. Anyone who does a good deal of cleaning can tell you that although hardwood floors get dusty, area rugs are the true dirt catchers of the house, as they attract dust, grime and pet hair. Likewise, any pet owner can tell you that the type of pet hair that area rugs draw is dependent upon the color of the rug as well as the color of your pet. Light colored pets will relax and, subsequently, shed on dark rugs and furnishings. Dark colored pets will always deposit their hair on light colored rugs and furnishings. Pets with both light and dark shades in their coats will vary their lounging habits to complement whatever tuft of fur has worked its way loose.
What would also assist in the floor cleaning process is if furniture designers started making mop and vacuum-friendly furniture. We all have at least one piece of extremely bulky furniture that cannot be moved without the aid of several dollies, a circus strongman and three elephants. Approximately 90 % of the time, this piece of furniture (usually an entertainment center or china closet) has two rather substantial legs separated by a narrow space. And 100% of the time, this space is too narrow for a mop or vacuum, or even your arm, to enter, yet is just high enough off the floor to allow visitors to see the dust accumulating beneath it. If you're truly lucky, at just the right angle, at a precise time of day, you're treated with a view of a landscape so vast and dusty it could be confused with 1930's Oklahoma. This space is also the black hole for pet toys, candy wrappers, crumbs, spare change, your daughter's missing hair barrettes, and, quite possibly, Jimmy Hoffa.
Solution? Do away with the space completely or, at the very least, make it wider so that it can accommodate something larger than a broomstick, measuring tape or that bmboo backscratcher you brought back from your trip to Acapulco.
3. Automatic Toilet Cleaners
Premise: Drop the cleaning tab into your toilet tank and the specialized formula will keep your toilet bowl clean, without scrubbing, for up to 4 months.
The Real World: Keep a toilet bowl clean, without scrubbing, for up to 4 months? Listen closely. Do you hear that sound? It's the collective laughter of mothers of small boys everywhere. Honestly, who was the test group for this product? A convent of elderly nuns on a low fiber diet?
True, the tablet produces a nice fragrance upon flushing, but that only lasts for the first few days and, eventually, the only proof of the tablet's existence is a bowl of vivid blue water. This vivid blue is supposed to be an indication that the tablet is working, but it is merely a subterfuge. Like fair-skinned people who wear white to make themselves look tan (i.e. me), or black to look skinnier (me, again), the blue tricks the brain into thinking, "Gee, the water is blue. The toilet must be clean." The blue camouflages hard water stains and unsightly discolorations, which, under normal, non-blue conditions would leave the average user to contemplate their origin and chemical composition.
Personally, making my toilet blue does not convince me of its cleanliness. And the bright green color that is produced upon usage merely reminds most parents of the time their toddler threw lime Jello into the swimming pool. Want to make toilet cleaning easier? Forget about toilets that flush themselves - they tend to frighten everyone anyway - and manufacture commodes that, when the lid is closed, sterilize themselves with a mixture of hot water, steam and bleach. That's the way Mason jars are sterilized, and if it's good enough for vessels that hold food, well…
In conclusion, mankind possesses the knowledge to make housekeeping easier; it simply needs to apply it. My suggestion: take the money being spent on the space program and allocate it to home economic research. Let's clean up the planet we already have before we start littering the Milky Way. After all, your husband's dirty sweat socks are bad enough when they're lying on the bedroom floor, let alone floating an inch under your nose in the zero gravity of space.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This story was produced by Happynews Citizen Journalist Amy Meade. Amy Patricia Meade is a freelance writer whose first novel, Million Dollar Baby, is to be released on April 1, 2006. To find out more information on Amy and her book, please visit her Web site.
This story was produced by a Happynews Citizen Journalist.
For more information on contributing to Happynews, click here.
by Amy Meade
Happy News Citizen Journalist
House cleaning is serious business. Just look at the myriad of products on the market designed to make cleaning easier and quicker for today's busy lifestyles. My question is, do they really streamline the housekeeping process, or is it strictly advertising?
Let's take a look:
1. Wipes
The Premise: Each disposable cloth is pre-saturated with cleanser and then sold in a dispenser that allows the user to remove one cloth at a time, thus making it easy to give the house a quick clean before heading out the door to work or to run errands. According to their advertising, it also makes it easy and 'fun' for the whole family to maintain a clean environment.
The Real World: The bathroom-oriented wipes make my counter and faucet sparkle, but it's difficult to get excited when the sink is dotted with toothpaste that has hardened to the point that one needs an ice pick to chip it off. If manufacturers want to help me keep the vanity area clean, they either need to add an abrasive substance to the cleaning formula, or add Teflon to toothpaste so that it doesn't stick to surfaces. Of course, that may result in the toothpaste not adhering very well to the toothbrush, but it's not as if it stays there anyway, otherwise there wouldn't be gobs of it in the sink. And, yes, I hear the health conscious crowd wondering if Teflon is good for our teeth. Maybe it isn't, but could it really be any worse than Coca Cola?
As for the furniture wipes, they smell nice. A little too nice, as my cats proceeded to lick the furniture, resulting in a coffee table that smells of orange, salmon and whitefish and proving that my cats are not finicky eaters, but true epicures, as they are aware that citrus, even in the form of furniture wax, makes a wonderful accompaniment to seafood.
Pleasant aroma aside, however, I'm not too sure the wipes saved me much time, as spraying furniture polish on a rag isn't exactly a labor-intensive process. Really want to help me save time? Make furniture that has remote controlled trap doors to hide knick-knacks. When you're ready to dust, simply press a button and everything on the tabletop gets lowered into the body of the table itself. Precious items are secured to the moving platform. Free-roaming junk is discarded, thereby leaving a clutter-free cleaning surface while simultaneously teaching the family not to leave their things lying around the house.
As for wipes encouraging the rest of the family to aid in the cleaning process? All I have to say is even the Brady's, a family whose biggest crisis was figuring out who broke Carol's hideous vase, had a maid named Alice.
2. Specialized Mops
The Premise: One mop can do wet or dry cleaning, depending on the cloth you attach to the mop head. Cloths can be disposed after cleaning, thus ending smelly mop syndrome as well as the need for multiple mops.
The Real World: The mop does a great job on my hardwood floors, but it needs an attachment that cleans area rugs so that I don't have to drag my vacuum cleaner out of the closet. Anyone who does a good deal of cleaning can tell you that although hardwood floors get dusty, area rugs are the true dirt catchers of the house, as they attract dust, grime and pet hair. Likewise, any pet owner can tell you that the type of pet hair that area rugs draw is dependent upon the color of the rug as well as the color of your pet. Light colored pets will relax and, subsequently, shed on dark rugs and furnishings. Dark colored pets will always deposit their hair on light colored rugs and furnishings. Pets with both light and dark shades in their coats will vary their lounging habits to complement whatever tuft of fur has worked its way loose.
What would also assist in the floor cleaning process is if furniture designers started making mop and vacuum-friendly furniture. We all have at least one piece of extremely bulky furniture that cannot be moved without the aid of several dollies, a circus strongman and three elephants. Approximately 90 % of the time, this piece of furniture (usually an entertainment center or china closet) has two rather substantial legs separated by a narrow space. And 100% of the time, this space is too narrow for a mop or vacuum, or even your arm, to enter, yet is just high enough off the floor to allow visitors to see the dust accumulating beneath it. If you're truly lucky, at just the right angle, at a precise time of day, you're treated with a view of a landscape so vast and dusty it could be confused with 1930's Oklahoma. This space is also the black hole for pet toys, candy wrappers, crumbs, spare change, your daughter's missing hair barrettes, and, quite possibly, Jimmy Hoffa.
Solution? Do away with the space completely or, at the very least, make it wider so that it can accommodate something larger than a broomstick, measuring tape or that bmboo backscratcher you brought back from your trip to Acapulco.
3. Automatic Toilet Cleaners
Premise: Drop the cleaning tab into your toilet tank and the specialized formula will keep your toilet bowl clean, without scrubbing, for up to 4 months.
The Real World: Keep a toilet bowl clean, without scrubbing, for up to 4 months? Listen closely. Do you hear that sound? It's the collective laughter of mothers of small boys everywhere. Honestly, who was the test group for this product? A convent of elderly nuns on a low fiber diet?
True, the tablet produces a nice fragrance upon flushing, but that only lasts for the first few days and, eventually, the only proof of the tablet's existence is a bowl of vivid blue water. This vivid blue is supposed to be an indication that the tablet is working, but it is merely a subterfuge. Like fair-skinned people who wear white to make themselves look tan (i.e. me), or black to look skinnier (me, again), the blue tricks the brain into thinking, "Gee, the water is blue. The toilet must be clean." The blue camouflages hard water stains and unsightly discolorations, which, under normal, non-blue conditions would leave the average user to contemplate their origin and chemical composition.
Personally, making my toilet blue does not convince me of its cleanliness. And the bright green color that is produced upon usage merely reminds most parents of the time their toddler threw lime Jello into the swimming pool. Want to make toilet cleaning easier? Forget about toilets that flush themselves - they tend to frighten everyone anyway - and manufacture commodes that, when the lid is closed, sterilize themselves with a mixture of hot water, steam and bleach. That's the way Mason jars are sterilized, and if it's good enough for vessels that hold food, well…
In conclusion, mankind possesses the knowledge to make housekeeping easier; it simply needs to apply it. My suggestion: take the money being spent on the space program and allocate it to home economic research. Let's clean up the planet we already have before we start littering the Milky Way. After all, your husband's dirty sweat socks are bad enough when they're lying on the bedroom floor, let alone floating an inch under your nose in the zero gravity of space.
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This story was produced by Happynews Citizen Journalist Amy Meade. Amy Patricia Meade is a freelance writer whose first novel, Million Dollar Baby, is to be released on April 1, 2006. To find out more information on Amy and her book, please visit her Web site.
This story was produced by a Happynews Citizen Journalist.
For more information on contributing to Happynews, click here.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivities
What do they have in common?
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Let's start by reducing our own exposure to so many chemicals in our own home. Not only what we eat, but what we breathe and what our skin absorbs all day. What are we putting on our skin? What are we wearing all day - what was it washed with? What are we sleeping on/in all night? The company I shop with promises NEVER to have any products that contain known carcinogens, no phosphates, lye, formaldehyde or chlorine bleach. No harsh chemicals. Only the best of science and nature combined.
For more info, contact me here or through my website.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do they have in common?
 |
By Dr. Alison C. Bested
They are common poorly understood chronic multisystem illnesses that are newly recognized by the medical community and mainly affect women. Men and children can also be affected. They occur in 1.5 to three per cent of people according to the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey. They cost the health-care system millions of dollars in health-care costs and the economy millions of dollars in lost wages. As a result of being chronic illnesses, this added burden often leads to family break-ups.
The following are summaries of the clinical definitions that describe these conditions.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by more than three months of pain on both sides of the body and at least 11 out of 18 positive tender points present on physical examination. Additional symptoms can also include: severe fatigue; sleep disturbance; neurocognitive problems including impaired concentration, reduced short-term memory, and difficulty multitasking; problems regulating blood pressure, irritable bowel symptoms; body temperature instability; and loss of adaptability to stress with anxiety or reactive depression.
The criteria that define Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) include the following: severe disabling fatigue and post-exertional fatigue; sleep disorder; muscle pain and headaches; problems with mental functioning such as impaired concentration, reduced short-term memory and difficulty multitasking; symptoms related to the autonomic nervous system such as low blood pressure and irritable bowel syndrome; autonomic neuroendocrine symptoms such as low body temperature, weight change and worsening symptoms of stress with anxiety and reactive depression; immune symptoms including ongoing sore throat and swollen glands, flu-like symptoms and new sensitivities to food, medications and chemicals; and persistence of the illness for at least six months in adults and three months in children. All other causes of the above symptoms must be ruled out before the diagnosis of CFS is made.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is a chronic condition characterized by symptoms that are reproducible with repeated chemical exposure. Very low levels of chemical exposure (lower than commonly tolerated), produce the patient's symptoms. The symptoms improve when the patient is removed from the chemicals. The patient responds to many chemically-unrelated substances. Symptoms involve multiple body symptoms but the most common symptoms include feeling dull or groggy, having difficulty concentrating, feeling "spacey", and having a stronger sense of smell than most people.
As you can see there is considerable overlap in these three conditions. As a result of public pressure, the Ontario government created the Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Hypersensitivity Disorder chaired by Judge George Thomson. Their 1985 report stated that patients with Environmental Hypersensitivity (now called MCS) had significant health problems that required further research. The committee recommended that patients be treated with compassion and that a special clinic be funded as a bridge between patients, health professionals and researchers. The clinic opened in 1994 at Women's College Hospital and is now called the Environmental Health Clinic. When the clinic opened it also included an initial grant for a Research Unit connected to the clinic.
The clinic does not have a full time physician to service the province of Ontario. Time is divided by three part-time physicians who work at the Environmental Health Clinic one day a week. This out-patient clinic's mandate is to do a one time comprehensive patient assessment and a one time follow-up visit a few months later. The clinic is under funded and not able to service the whole province and has a lengthy waiting list. There is an ongoing health-care access problem with patients who have severe MCS and need hospitalization, as there are no in-patient beds available for this patient population in Ontario.
The exact causes of these conditions are not yet known. Fibromyalgia is commonly seen after physical trauma such as car accidents. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is most commonly seen after a viral illness from which the patient does not recover. Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is most commonly seen after chronic exposure to low levels of chemicals.
So how are these conditions treated? At the Environmental Health Clinic we have developed the concept of "weed and seed". Weed out the bad habits of being sedentary, stressed out, eating junk food, drinking poor quality water, exposure to poor quality air and having poor sleep habits. Replace these with the "SEEDS" of health, which is short for the following:
Support: medical support for the patient - physical, emotional & spiritual; family, plus work place accommodation
Environment: pesticide free food, water and better indoor & outdoor air quality.
Exercise: and Pacing of activities with appropriate rests
Diet/Drugs: as needed for symptomatic relief of sleep and pain etc.
Sleep Hygiene: for better sleep quality.
In the last few years medicine has developed clinical definitions for the above conditions and research has begun to help unravel the mysteries of these illnesses. Preliminary genetic studies that were done through the EHC Research Unit showed that patients with MCS were "different from the controls in genetic polymorphisms in drug-metabolizing enzymes". This is a fancy way of saying that patients with MCS metabolize chemicals through their livers differently than normal people. This might help to explain why they are more sensitive to chemicals than most people - perhaps the chemicals hang around longer. More research is desperately needed in these areas.
The book Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, by Dr. Alison C. Bested, Dr. Alan Logan and Mr. Russell Howe was written to educate and uplift patients and their families.
Alison C. Bested, MD FRCP, is a Staff Physician in the Environmental Health Clinic at The New Women's College Hospital. "Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia" is published by Cumberland House and is available at Indigo/Chapters and Amazon.-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let's start by reducing our own exposure to so many chemicals in our own home. Not only what we eat, but what we breathe and what our skin absorbs all day. What are we putting on our skin? What are we wearing all day - what was it washed with? What are we sleeping on/in all night? The company I shop with promises NEVER to have any products that contain known carcinogens, no phosphates, lye, formaldehyde or chlorine bleach. No harsh chemicals. Only the best of science and nature combined.
For more info, contact me here or through my website.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, March 22, 2007
What's So Bad About Chlorine?
Why is Chlorine (bleach) dangerous?
by Kristiana Anderson
History
Around 1900, Herbert Dow, the founder of Dow Chemical, split common salt to make commercially valuable sodium hydroxide. In the process, an unwanted byproduct was released: the highly toxic green gas, free chlorine. Mr. Dow, a chemistry teacher, soon began combining chlorine with other elements, thus creating "chlorine chemistry," which gave rise to solvents, pesticides and many other useful but toxic chlorinated compounds.
One characteristic of chlorinated chemicals is the strength of the bond created between chlorine and other elements. While this bond makes chlorine a valuable element for chemists when building new compounds, it is also one of the keys to understanding why chlorine is so dangerous. Once formed, chlorinated compounds are very persistent in the environment and difficult to break down. Today there are about 15,000 of them in commercial use.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used in electrical transformers in place of petroleum oils, which often were flammable. Perchloroethylene ("Perc") was used extensively as a degreaser for cleaning dirty automobile parts and dirty clothes ("dry" cleaning) and was not flammable like other similar solvents.
In 1939, DDT was introduced as an insecticide to kill the mosquitoes that caused malaria, thus stopping the spread of this insidious disease. When Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, she accurately predicted the environmental devastation that DDT in particular, and the chlorinated hydrocarbons in general, would bring. In the 1970s, chlorinated hydrocarbons would be identified as suspected carcinogens and implicated at Love Canal and Times Beach, turning these communities into hazardous waste sites.
During the 1980s, a growing body of evidence suggested chlorinated hydrocarbons were harmful not only to fish and birds, but to mammals (including humans). Volatile organic halides, (VOXs), like chloroform and trichloroethane, were found to be carcinogenic in small animals. And, through the 1990s, evidence continued to accumulate that chlorinated hydrocarbons may disrupt human reproduction as they disrupted reproduction in birds and fish, and play a role in dramatic increases in breast and testicular cancer, the 50% decline in male sperm counts, and a host of other developmental disorders.
What is Chlorine?
Residing at number 17 on the Periodic Table of the Elements, chlorine is a toxic, yellow-green gas that's one of today's most heavily used chemical agents. Because it is highly reactive and is rarely found in its pure form, chlorine is manufactured by passing an electrical current through salt water or melted salt. The electricity splits the salt molecules apart and creates chlorine.
As consumers, we're most familiar with chlorine's role as a bleaching agent for paper, and as an ingredient in household cleaners. When immersed in a concentrated bath of chlorine, the natural colors of things like cotton fibers and wood pulp disappear, leaving behind a bright white surface on which any dye or ink can be applied. We see chlorine's ability to bleach out color firsthand in our washing machines, where we use it to remove stains and dirt in our laundry, and brighten whites.
Why is it Dangerous?
The widespread use of chlorine is causing far-flung and extremely serious risks to our health and the health of the environment. Unfortunately, this damage isn't easy to see at first glance.
Only researchers using special tools and methods can observe it. Because the harmful effects of chlorine are hidden from direct view, we haven't had any reason to stop and think about the possibility that using it could be dangerous.
After all, chlorine is so common it's sold in every supermarket in the country. True enough, but the evidence scientists have gathered seems to tell us that it shouldn't be. Far from being America's household helper, and industry's best chemical friend, chlorine is something we should stop using right now.
In fact, on October 27, 1993, the American Public Health Association unanimously passed a resolution urging American industry to stop using chlorine.
Organochlorines and the Environment
Organochlorines are a large class of organic chemicals, or carbon-based substances, that contain one or more chlorine atoms. Some organochlorines, like dioxins, are unintentional by-products of industrial processes that use chlorine. But most are created on purpose. Some 11,000 different organochlorine compounds are currently manufactured around the world, and they can be found in everything from plastics and pesticides to refrigerants and solvents. So many organochlorines are used for so many purposes, in fact, that of the 40 million global tons of chlorine produced each year, 75% is used to make these chlorinated chemicals.
When chlorine is combined with carbon-based molecules, the resulting materials display a wealth of useful traits. They are usually highly reactive, which means they easily combine with other molecules to create still more new compounds (a valuable characteristic to chemists who use many organochlorines as stepping stones to creating other materials). Organochlorines are also generally extremely stable which means they have a long, sturdy life. And they are easily able to dissolve in oils which makes them excellent candidates for industrial solvents, cleaners, and surface coatings.
Yet as useful as organochlorines are, it's also a fact that they are the single most hazardous classes of compounds ever created. Scientists have found that exposure to organochlorines can create a wide variety of health problems including cancer, hormonal disruption, reproductive and developmental disorders, neurological problems, immune system dysfunction, and other serious conditions. Complicating this problem is the fact that organochlorines can often cause these effects at levels hundreds of thousands of times lower than the levels required by most other poisons. Some organochlorines, like dioxins, are so hazardous that they affect human health at levels measured in parts per trillion, an amount equivalent to a single drop in a train of tank cars 10 miles long.
When this extreme toxicity is factored in with the organochlorine properties considered so useful by the chemical industry, the problem becomes clear. Because chlorine is highly reactive, its use often creates new and unforeseen toxins when released into the environment. Because organochlorines are extremely stable, they can remain to trouble us for a long time up to 2,500 years in some cases. And because they readily dissolve into oils, they are able to easily enter and accumulate in human and animal fatty tissues. Further complicating the picture is the fact that organochlorines are highly efficient environmental travelers. They've been found in regions as remote as Midway Island and the Arctic, places thousands of miles from the nearest source.
Chlorine and Household Products
Chlorine is a common ingredient in many household cleaners. It appears in countless formulas either by itself as a bleaching or sanitizing agent, or as part of another chemical compound. Other names for this chemical include hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, sodium dichloroisocyanurate, hydrogen chloride, and hydrochloric acid. Because it is such an effective cleaning and disinfecting agent, and because it is found in so many products, many people are surprised to learn that the presence of chlorine in the cleaners we use actually represents a serious household hazard and one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the creation of a healthy home.
Chlorine is a poisonous toxin that at high enough concentrations can cause permanent physical damage and even death. At low concentrations, chlorine is corrosive and a strong irritant to the lungs and mucous membranes.
When chlorine is present as a part of another chemical in a product's formula, that chemical is almost always a member of a family of compounds called organochlorines, a separate class of extremely hazardous materials capable of unpleasant surprises all their own.
In addition to such direct hazards, both chlorine and the organochlorines that contain it can readily combine themselves with other materials present in the home and environment to form new toxic substances. For example, when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter and/or certain other chemicals, carcinogens known as trihalomethanes are often created. And we've all heard the admonition never to mix chlorine (or products that contain chlorine) with ammonia because the resulting chemical reaction will create a poisonous gas.
The use of chlorine in household cleaning products is more troubling still because many such products are designed specifically to be sprayed into the air and applied to surfaces in the home. These actions spread chlorine throughout the house and often leave widespread areas - sometimes far beyond the original area that was being cleaned - contaminated by residues of varying concentrations.
These suggestions can keep your home and family safe from the hazards of chlorine:
• Never use any cleaning product that you suspect of containing chlorine or that has the term 'chlor' in any ingredient. Substitute biodegradable, natural ingredient-based alternatives instead.
• Be particularly wary of scouring powders, dishwasher detergent, disinfecting agents, toilet cleaners, and tub & tile cleaners. The majority of the products in these categories contain chlorine.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you need help finding a better alternative to your cleaning products, contact me here or through my website: http://www.StayWithYourKids.com
You won't regret it!
by Kristiana Anderson
History
Around 1900, Herbert Dow, the founder of Dow Chemical, split common salt to make commercially valuable sodium hydroxide. In the process, an unwanted byproduct was released: the highly toxic green gas, free chlorine. Mr. Dow, a chemistry teacher, soon began combining chlorine with other elements, thus creating "chlorine chemistry," which gave rise to solvents, pesticides and many other useful but toxic chlorinated compounds.
One characteristic of chlorinated chemicals is the strength of the bond created between chlorine and other elements. While this bond makes chlorine a valuable element for chemists when building new compounds, it is also one of the keys to understanding why chlorine is so dangerous. Once formed, chlorinated compounds are very persistent in the environment and difficult to break down. Today there are about 15,000 of them in commercial use.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used in electrical transformers in place of petroleum oils, which often were flammable. Perchloroethylene ("Perc") was used extensively as a degreaser for cleaning dirty automobile parts and dirty clothes ("dry" cleaning) and was not flammable like other similar solvents.
In 1939, DDT was introduced as an insecticide to kill the mosquitoes that caused malaria, thus stopping the spread of this insidious disease. When Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, she accurately predicted the environmental devastation that DDT in particular, and the chlorinated hydrocarbons in general, would bring. In the 1970s, chlorinated hydrocarbons would be identified as suspected carcinogens and implicated at Love Canal and Times Beach, turning these communities into hazardous waste sites.
During the 1980s, a growing body of evidence suggested chlorinated hydrocarbons were harmful not only to fish and birds, but to mammals (including humans). Volatile organic halides, (VOXs), like chloroform and trichloroethane, were found to be carcinogenic in small animals. And, through the 1990s, evidence continued to accumulate that chlorinated hydrocarbons may disrupt human reproduction as they disrupted reproduction in birds and fish, and play a role in dramatic increases in breast and testicular cancer, the 50% decline in male sperm counts, and a host of other developmental disorders.
What is Chlorine?
Residing at number 17 on the Periodic Table of the Elements, chlorine is a toxic, yellow-green gas that's one of today's most heavily used chemical agents. Because it is highly reactive and is rarely found in its pure form, chlorine is manufactured by passing an electrical current through salt water or melted salt. The electricity splits the salt molecules apart and creates chlorine.
As consumers, we're most familiar with chlorine's role as a bleaching agent for paper, and as an ingredient in household cleaners. When immersed in a concentrated bath of chlorine, the natural colors of things like cotton fibers and wood pulp disappear, leaving behind a bright white surface on which any dye or ink can be applied. We see chlorine's ability to bleach out color firsthand in our washing machines, where we use it to remove stains and dirt in our laundry, and brighten whites.
Why is it Dangerous?
The widespread use of chlorine is causing far-flung and extremely serious risks to our health and the health of the environment. Unfortunately, this damage isn't easy to see at first glance.
Only researchers using special tools and methods can observe it. Because the harmful effects of chlorine are hidden from direct view, we haven't had any reason to stop and think about the possibility that using it could be dangerous.
After all, chlorine is so common it's sold in every supermarket in the country. True enough, but the evidence scientists have gathered seems to tell us that it shouldn't be. Far from being America's household helper, and industry's best chemical friend, chlorine is something we should stop using right now.
In fact, on October 27, 1993, the American Public Health Association unanimously passed a resolution urging American industry to stop using chlorine.
Organochlorines and the Environment
Organochlorines are a large class of organic chemicals, or carbon-based substances, that contain one or more chlorine atoms. Some organochlorines, like dioxins, are unintentional by-products of industrial processes that use chlorine. But most are created on purpose. Some 11,000 different organochlorine compounds are currently manufactured around the world, and they can be found in everything from plastics and pesticides to refrigerants and solvents. So many organochlorines are used for so many purposes, in fact, that of the 40 million global tons of chlorine produced each year, 75% is used to make these chlorinated chemicals.
When chlorine is combined with carbon-based molecules, the resulting materials display a wealth of useful traits. They are usually highly reactive, which means they easily combine with other molecules to create still more new compounds (a valuable characteristic to chemists who use many organochlorines as stepping stones to creating other materials). Organochlorines are also generally extremely stable which means they have a long, sturdy life. And they are easily able to dissolve in oils which makes them excellent candidates for industrial solvents, cleaners, and surface coatings.
Yet as useful as organochlorines are, it's also a fact that they are the single most hazardous classes of compounds ever created. Scientists have found that exposure to organochlorines can create a wide variety of health problems including cancer, hormonal disruption, reproductive and developmental disorders, neurological problems, immune system dysfunction, and other serious conditions. Complicating this problem is the fact that organochlorines can often cause these effects at levels hundreds of thousands of times lower than the levels required by most other poisons. Some organochlorines, like dioxins, are so hazardous that they affect human health at levels measured in parts per trillion, an amount equivalent to a single drop in a train of tank cars 10 miles long.
When this extreme toxicity is factored in with the organochlorine properties considered so useful by the chemical industry, the problem becomes clear. Because chlorine is highly reactive, its use often creates new and unforeseen toxins when released into the environment. Because organochlorines are extremely stable, they can remain to trouble us for a long time up to 2,500 years in some cases. And because they readily dissolve into oils, they are able to easily enter and accumulate in human and animal fatty tissues. Further complicating the picture is the fact that organochlorines are highly efficient environmental travelers. They've been found in regions as remote as Midway Island and the Arctic, places thousands of miles from the nearest source.
Chlorine and Household Products
Chlorine is a common ingredient in many household cleaners. It appears in countless formulas either by itself as a bleaching or sanitizing agent, or as part of another chemical compound. Other names for this chemical include hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, sodium dichloroisocyanurate, hydrogen chloride, and hydrochloric acid. Because it is such an effective cleaning and disinfecting agent, and because it is found in so many products, many people are surprised to learn that the presence of chlorine in the cleaners we use actually represents a serious household hazard and one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the creation of a healthy home.
Chlorine is a poisonous toxin that at high enough concentrations can cause permanent physical damage and even death. At low concentrations, chlorine is corrosive and a strong irritant to the lungs and mucous membranes.
When chlorine is present as a part of another chemical in a product's formula, that chemical is almost always a member of a family of compounds called organochlorines, a separate class of extremely hazardous materials capable of unpleasant surprises all their own.
In addition to such direct hazards, both chlorine and the organochlorines that contain it can readily combine themselves with other materials present in the home and environment to form new toxic substances. For example, when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter and/or certain other chemicals, carcinogens known as trihalomethanes are often created. And we've all heard the admonition never to mix chlorine (or products that contain chlorine) with ammonia because the resulting chemical reaction will create a poisonous gas.
The use of chlorine in household cleaning products is more troubling still because many such products are designed specifically to be sprayed into the air and applied to surfaces in the home. These actions spread chlorine throughout the house and often leave widespread areas - sometimes far beyond the original area that was being cleaned - contaminated by residues of varying concentrations.
These suggestions can keep your home and family safe from the hazards of chlorine:
• Never use any cleaning product that you suspect of containing chlorine or that has the term 'chlor' in any ingredient. Substitute biodegradable, natural ingredient-based alternatives instead.
• Be particularly wary of scouring powders, dishwasher detergent, disinfecting agents, toilet cleaners, and tub & tile cleaners. The majority of the products in these categories contain chlorine.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you need help finding a better alternative to your cleaning products, contact me here or through my website: http://www.StayWithYourKids.com
You won't regret it!
Think How Much We Absorb! (Think "patch" therapies)
Even our make-up can poison us and think how young girls are these days when they begin wearing make-up!
We wish it weren't so, but lead has recently been found in lipstick.
Two television news programs--Los Angeles’ KCBS-TV and Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV--both tested several brands and reportedly found lead in some at levels between 0.2 and 0.4 parts per million. That sounds like a insignificant amount, but that's two to four times the FDA limit for lead in candy.
Cosmetics companies claim that the lead in their products come from background pollution--meaning the lead in the air gets folded into their products during the manufacturing process. [Whatever!! Way to take responsibility!] The common sense answer is that you should avoid lead, especially when you're putting it in or around your mouth.
So which lipsticks tested positive? The KCBS test found the brands AM Cosmetics (no longer in business but still in stores) and Cover Girl to have lead, while WPXI did not list brand names. If you want to find out about the ingredients in your favorite lipstick, look it up in Skin Deep, the EWG cosmetics database, for its toxicity rating. Skin Deep also has extensive information about lead.
EWG.
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ewg-list.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/530
We wish it weren't so, but lead has recently been found in lipstick.
Two television news programs--Los Angeles’ KCBS-TV and Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV--both tested several brands and reportedly found lead in some at levels between 0.2 and 0.4 parts per million. That sounds like a insignificant amount, but that's two to four times the FDA limit for lead in candy.
Cosmetics companies claim that the lead in their products come from background pollution--meaning the lead in the air gets folded into their products during the manufacturing process. [Whatever!! Way to take responsibility!] The common sense answer is that you should avoid lead, especially when you're putting it in or around your mouth.
So which lipsticks tested positive? The KCBS test found the brands AM Cosmetics (no longer in business but still in stores) and Cover Girl to have lead, while WPXI did not list brand names. If you want to find out about the ingredients in your favorite lipstick, look it up in Skin Deep, the EWG cosmetics database, for its toxicity rating. Skin Deep also has extensive information about lead.
EWG.
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ewg-list.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/530
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
I Was Shocked!
When I learned that most of the things we were using in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry rooms contained harmful fillers and harsh chemical ingredients and preservatives, I was shocked! I started to investigate more natural alternatives, but found they were usually too expensive. I really wanted something that worked too. Then I found this store that has stuff that's safer for my home, saves me money, and really works for me! We are lucky enough to be pretty healthy here at my house, but I've seen switching stores to this safer brand make a big difference for many people who suffered with breathing problems, skin problems chronic tiredness and other health issues. I like knowing I'm doing what I can to protect the health of my family and I'm helping our environment at the same time. It's a good feeling. I think of it as peace of mind.
If I opened this store called "peace of mind" in your neighborhood, can you think of anyone you know who might want to check it out? Do you know anyone who has been touched by breathing problems, skin problems, chronic tiredness, headaches or the like? I would love the chance to see if what we have would help them.
If I opened this store called "peace of mind" in your neighborhood, can you think of anyone you know who might want to check it out? Do you know anyone who has been touched by breathing problems, skin problems, chronic tiredness, headaches or the like? I would love the chance to see if what we have would help them.
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