Health & WellnessS


Attention

Pesticides In Your Peaches?

Monica Eng
Chicago Tribune
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:53 UTC
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As we munch into the fragrant core of peach season, shoppers face an array of choices for the same fuzzy fruit but little guidance on which type to pick. Expensive organic? Pricey farmers market? Cheap peaches from the grocery store?

Cost is certainly important. But there are essential numbers that go beyond the price tag of a peach, or any other item from the produce aisle.

Which contain the highest levels of pesticides?

Preliminary 2008 U.S. Department of Agriculture tests obtained by the Chicago Tribune show that more than 50 pesticide compounds showed up on domestic and imported peaches headed for U.S. stores. Five of the compounds exceeded the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, and six of the pesticide compounds present are not approved for use on peaches in the United States.
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Ladybug

A Debate About Soil, Organics and Nutrition

Tom Philpott
Grist
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:19 UTC
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Inert medium for turning agrichemichals into food, or a teeming, diverse ecosystem?
"The whole problem of health - in soil, plant, animal, and man - is one great subject."
- Albert Howard, The Soil and Health
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Blackbox

What's Really in Your Shampoo?

Bill Bunn
Salon
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:48 UTC
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© Salon
Sure, a couple ingredients clean your hair. But the rest are a veritable toxic dump on your head

There are two types of ingredients in shampoo. One type cleans your hair. The other type strokes your emotions. I'm holding a bottle of Pantene Pro V, one of the world's most popular shampoos. Of the 22 ingredients in this bottle of shampoo, three clean hair. The rest are in the bottle not for the hair, but for the psychology of the person using the shampoo. At least two-thirds of this bottle, by volume, was put there just to make me feel good.
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Red Flag

When BPA-Free Isn't


Science News
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:34 UTC
The Winnipeg Free Press reported some disturbing news today. Tests by the Canadian government, it said, have found that some plastics labeled as being free of bisphenol A - an estrogen-mimicking chemical - actually contain the potentially toxic substance.

Canwest News Service unearthed the new government data along with correspondence from government researchers through use of the Access to Information Act - the Canadian equivalent of the Freedom of Information Act.
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Heart - Black

US States Drug Foster Kids to Death

David Gutierrez
NaturalNews.com
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:14 UTC
A shocking 31 percent of teenagers in foster care in the state of Florida have been placed on psychotropic drugs, the Miami Herald has revealed.

"It is doubtful that so many children in Florida have severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia," wrote columnist Daniel Shoer Roth. "Rather, the majority are minors removed from their homes and carted from one foster home to another, from one school to another. In addition, they must make that emotional roller-coaster ride with precious little psychological aid."

According to Florida state law, psychiatric drugs cannot be prescribed to children without either the consent of a parent or an order from a judge. But according to a report from the Department of Children and Families, consent was not given in a full 14 percent of cases. Even in cases where consent is acquired, it may not truly be informed consent -- either because parents or judges do not fully understand a child's mental health needs and the implications of pharmaceutical treatment, or because parents are intimidated or mentally incapacitated.
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Health

Older Drivers Unaware Of Risks From Medications And Driving


Science Daily
Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:50 UTC
Most older drivers are unaware of the potential impact on driving performance associated with taking medications, according to new research from the Center for Injury Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The findings, released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, indicate that 95 percent of those age 55 and older have one or more medical conditions, 78 percent take one or more medications, and only 28 percent have an awareness of the risks those medications might have on driving ability.
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Cheeseburger

American Junk Food Imports Hit Poor


The Ecologist
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:40 UTC
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Imports of processed cheese and french fries have soared
Influx of high-fat and high-sugar foods into Central America has increased obesity levels.

Central American countries are facing an obesity crisis because of the influx of North American junk food, say researchers.

Writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Globalization and Health, researchers said the increase in free trade agreements between Central and North American countries had led to a rise in the import and availability of processed, high-fat and high-sugar foods.

They linked the junk food imports to the growing levels of obesity in countries like Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
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Arrow Up

Upstate New York County Bans BPA


NewsInferno
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:27 UTC
Bisphenol A - BPA - the dangerous, ubiquitous estrogen-mimicking toxin that has been linked to a wide variety of adverse health events has just been banned in Schenectady County in upstate New York.
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Info

The Obvious Advantage of Organic Food Over Conventional

Tom Philpott
Grist
Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:10 UTC
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A bit of nitrogen with those veggies?
A recent literature review [PDF] by the U.K. Food Standards Agency concluded that organic foods offer no nutritional advantages to ones grown with conventional chemical agriculture.

The report quickly bounced around the media and the internet and has congealed into received wisdom. For example, in a recent chat with readers, Washington Post food politics columnist (and general policy writer) Ezra Klein engaged in the following exchange:
Santa Fe, N.M.: I saw a report today on a study finding that organic food isn't any healthier than conventional food. Is buying organic a waste of money, in your opinion?

Ezra Klein: Honestly? Yes. It's definitely not healthier, at least not according to any study I've seen. There's some argument that it's more environmentally friendly. But it's not something that I'm convinced is worth a premium. I'd rather buy from a local farm that uses some pesticides than a major producers who has gone organic.
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Syringe

Infant Primate Study Links Vaccination with Autism


Natural News
Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:27 UTC
A study shows a direct link between standard childhood vaccination series and autism-like symptoms in primates. Presented by one of the principal scientists behind it, Dr. Laura Hewitson, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, the research was presented as an abstract pending publication at the International Meeting for Autism Research. It has been presented in both London, UK and Seattle, USA.
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