Good health is precious, and Americans invest significant amounts of time and money to protect it. But many people are waking up to the fact that, despite their vigilance, they are surrounded by products made with harmful chemicals.
Ultimately, we won't get safer products - made from chemicals tested for safety before coming onto the market - until the federal law governing chemicals is strengthened. While we're working on fixing the law, there are some basic things you can do to protect you and your family from toxic chemicals.
Health & Wellness
MSNBC's Keith Obermann reports that environmental scientists testified to Congress that the use of oil dispersants does nothing except reduce the oil's visibility thereby hiding evidence of the magnitude of the leak's ongoing damage. Further, the dispersant, Corexit, is extremely toxic to life. Nevertheless, BP has dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons into the Gulf even though the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told it not to do so.
The result? So far 20 percent of offshore clean-up workers and 15 percent of near-shore clean-up works were tested and found to have levels of 2-Butoxyethanol (used in Corexit) that were measured at 10 parts per million - twice the limit specified by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Meanwhile, British Petroleum is not allowing clean-up workers to use biohazard suits and resperators - even though one way to get 2-Butoxyethanol toxicity is to simply breath the air in the vicinity of the chemical.
Wikipedia reports that "Moderate respiratory exposure to 2-butoxyethanol often results in irritation of mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and throat. Heavy exposure via respiratory, dermal or oral routes can lead to hypotension, metabolic acidosis, hemolysis, pulmonary edema and coma."
The result? So far 20 percent of offshore clean-up workers and 15 percent of near-shore clean-up works were tested and found to have levels of 2-Butoxyethanol (used in Corexit) that were measured at 10 parts per million - twice the limit specified by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Meanwhile, British Petroleum is not allowing clean-up workers to use biohazard suits and resperators - even though one way to get 2-Butoxyethanol toxicity is to simply breath the air in the vicinity of the chemical.
Wikipedia reports that "Moderate respiratory exposure to 2-butoxyethanol often results in irritation of mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and throat. Heavy exposure via respiratory, dermal or oral routes can lead to hypotension, metabolic acidosis, hemolysis, pulmonary edema and coma."
As I have previously noted, Corexit is toxic, is less effective than other dispersants, and is actually worsening the damage caused by the oil spill.
Now, two toxicologists are saying that Corexit is much more harmful to human health and marine life than we've been told.
Specifically Gulf toxicologist Dr. Susan Shaw - Founder and Director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute - dove into the oil spill to examine the chemicals present.
Now, two toxicologists are saying that Corexit is much more harmful to human health and marine life than we've been told.
Specifically Gulf toxicologist Dr. Susan Shaw - Founder and Director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute - dove into the oil spill to examine the chemicals present.
© Jose Conejo Saenz Stock.Xchng 689649
Fish oil supplements may reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Fish oil supplements may reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Study on Specialty Supplements and Breast Cancer
Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, led by Emily White, Ph.D. had 35,015 women who were postmenopausal and had no history of breast cancer fill out a questioner about their use of specialty supplements that were not vitamins or minerals. Six years later, 880 cases of breast cancer had been identified throughout the time period on the group of women. The study found that women who took fish oil supplements had a 32 percent reduction in the risk of developing breast cancer, mainly invasive ductal breast cancer, which is the most common form of breast cancer.
© Unknown
A group of over 80 food processors, farmers and consumer organizations has sent an official letter to Michael Taylor, deputy commission at the FDA, and Kathleen Merrigan, deputy secretary of agriculture at the USDA, protesting the official U.S. position, citing the fact that it creates "significant problems" for all U.S. food producers that wish to label their products as being GMO-free.
Miravalle Foods, Inc. of South El Monte, California is recalling 37,318 pounds of Miravalle Chile California & Miravalle Chile Nuevo Mexico Brand Peppers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just announced.
This recall involves Miravalle Chile California & Miravalle Chile Nuevo Mexico Brand Peppers that were distributed between March 15th and May 6th, 2010 to some customers in California, Colorado, Utah, North Carolina, Nebraska, Indiana, Oregon, and Nevada because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
This recall involves Miravalle Chile California & Miravalle Chile Nuevo Mexico Brand Peppers that were distributed between March 15th and May 6th, 2010 to some customers in California, Colorado, Utah, North Carolina, Nebraska, Indiana, Oregon, and Nevada because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
© South African Tourism
Socializing around the barbecue fire.
Socializing around the barbecue fire.
Cancer patients who change their lifestyle to keep company with more people could see substantial improvements in their condition, the study suggests.
The findings challenge accepted wisdom that stress is damaging to health, indicating that a manageable level of stress can help the body fight disease.
However, many recent studies have shown that high stress levels make people more susceptible to cancer, and less likely to survive.
Matthew During of The Ohio State University, who led the experiments on mice, said that the results had substantial implications for how people with cancer should live after diagnosis.
The trail eventually led McNaughton, a toxicologist for the Utah Department of Health, to the family's backyard chicken coop - along with the eggs that came out of it, the feed that went into the hens that laid them and, finally, widely used animal-feed additives containing arsenic.
"For everyone who has backyard chickens," said McNaughton, "this is an issue."
In the Gulf, disaster response crews are sucking up the oil from the water's surface. On land, they're collecting what's washed ashore.
And at hospitals in Louisiana, doctors and nurses are manning decontamination tents.
"We usually get a phone call ahead of time when patients are coming in, who have been exposed to some sort of chemical. whether it be from the oil spill or something else. We wash them off to be safe."
As doctors on the ground deal with a first-of-its-kind problem, other medical experts are meeting with scientists at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services.
And at hospitals in Louisiana, doctors and nurses are manning decontamination tents.
"We usually get a phone call ahead of time when patients are coming in, who have been exposed to some sort of chemical. whether it be from the oil spill or something else. We wash them off to be safe."
As doctors on the ground deal with a first-of-its-kind problem, other medical experts are meeting with scientists at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Healthy-eating disorder. Yes, you heard right, healthy-eating disorder. In its insatiable quest to create a mental problem or syndrome out of every human phenomenon and activity, the psychiatric industry has fabricated their most ridiculous disorder yet: 'orthorexia nervosa' which in Latin translates to "nervous about correct eating." Named by California doctor, Steven Bratman in 1997, this latest in a long line of left of center syndromes is no laughing matter. While not an entirely new syndrome, it has had new life breathed into it.
According to The Guardian newspaper, if you place your focus on eating healthy foods, you are mentally distressed and most likely in need of some treatment that involves pharmaceuticals, like psychotropic drugs. The theory is that fixation with healthy eating can be a sign of a serious psychological disorder. Huh?
Instead of calling this new syndrome "nervous about healthy eating disorder," which just sounds stupid (oh, wait, it is stupid), the geniuses that define mental health gave it a Latin name so it sounds authentically like a disease and not the made up delusional rantings of a pharmaceutical-driven industry that relies on us being weak, fat, sick and in fear of mental disease.
According to The Guardian newspaper, if you place your focus on eating healthy foods, you are mentally distressed and most likely in need of some treatment that involves pharmaceuticals, like psychotropic drugs. The theory is that fixation with healthy eating can be a sign of a serious psychological disorder. Huh?
Instead of calling this new syndrome "nervous about healthy eating disorder," which just sounds stupid (oh, wait, it is stupid), the geniuses that define mental health gave it a Latin name so it sounds authentically like a disease and not the made up delusional rantings of a pharmaceutical-driven industry that relies on us being weak, fat, sick and in fear of mental disease.
Comment: For more information about the dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms read the following articles carried on SOTT:
Everything You HAVE TO KNOW about Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods
GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food in Humans
Genetically Modified Foods: More Reasons to Avoid Them
Uncertain Peril: A Compelling Look at Genetically Modified Organisms
Lyme & Autism Group Blasts Genetically Modified Foods as Dangerous
Genetically Modified Crops Cause Liver and Kidney Damage