Health & Wellness
The subject of water fluoridation has been controversial for decades, but a new book, The Case Against Fluoride, won the accolades of a Nobel Laureate:
"Sweden rejected fluoridation in the 1970s and, in this excellent book, these three scientists have confirmed the wisdom of that decision. Our children have not suffered greater tooth decay, as World Health Organization figures attest, and in turn our citizens have not borne the other hazards fluoride may cause. In any case, since fluoride is readily available in toothpaste, you don't have to force it on people."~ Arvid Carlsson, Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology (2000) and Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology, University of Gothenburg
Oral contraceptives often take the blame for estrogen pollution in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, but a new meta-study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reports that oral contraceptives are not the source of most of the estrogens found in waterways (Environ. Sci. Technol.).
Estrogen in water has raised concerns because, in laboratory and field tests, the synthetic estrogen found in birth control pills disrupts reproduction in several fish species, such as the South European roach (Rutilus rutilus). The hormone can trigger male fish to develop female reproductive organs and to produce eggs. And researchers have connected estrogens in drinking water to human fertility problems and cancers.
Estrogen in water has raised concerns because, in laboratory and field tests, the synthetic estrogen found in birth control pills disrupts reproduction in several fish species, such as the South European roach (Rutilus rutilus). The hormone can trigger male fish to develop female reproductive organs and to produce eggs. And researchers have connected estrogens in drinking water to human fertility problems and cancers.
© lambtononline.com
Recent outbreaks of salmonella illness tied to contaminated eggs and peanuts have focused new attention on weaknesses in the decades-old system, which relies on private-sector auditors hired by foodmakers.
With food-borne illness and recalls rising, the use of private inspectors has grown rapidly in the past decade as companies try to protect themselves from lawsuits and tainted products that can damage their brand names. But experts agree that the inspections often do not translate into safer products for consumers.
© Tricia Baehr
I read in an article about you that your family didn't start eating organic or local until a few years ago. Can you explain how this change came about?
It all started when I peered over my mom's shoulder while she was reading her email and I saw an article about mercury in high-fructose corn syrup. I knew what mercury was and I knew that it could kill people and I was like 'Ok, what's up with high-fructose corn syrup?' My mom told me it's in sodas and, well, I was like "I'm not going to drink sodas anymore." Then I started reading the labels on things and I realized there was high-fructose corn syrup in bread and a lot of different things you wouldn't think it would be in. That was really the eye opener and the gate to the whole food system. After that I started researching even more and I found out about pesticides and herbicides and GMOs and all that kind of stuff. I brought a lot of information to my family and my mom got into it too and we would share our findings. I also noticed that you guys did The Meatrix! That was one of the things that helped me learn about factory farming.
Who are your role models?
One man that really inspired me is Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms. Just the way that he farms is amazing and how he thinks about things. He really makes chickens do what they're supposed to do - peck around and find bugs. He's just such an inspiration - he made me want to be an organic farmer.
© Unknown
Dental flourosis.
Dental flourosis.
The study by Stephen Levy, which is published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, confirms his earlier studies, which show "fluoride intakes during each of the first 4 years were individually significantly related to fluorosis on maxillary central incisors, with the first year most important," and that "infant formulas reconstituted with higher fluoride water can provide 100 to 200 times more fluoride than breast milk, or cow's milk."
Comment: It's found that cow's milk as all dairy (with the possible exception of ghee or clarified butter) is harmful for humans.
© Salon
Strange how hard it is to remember a time before cellphones. Mobile phones have changed the way we spend our leisure time, the way we work and how we consume everything from groceries to news stories. Some countries even set up centers to treat those "addicted" to iPhones or BlackBerrys. But, as a new book shows, cellphones may actually be doing damage to far more than our attention spans -- and could, in fact, be killing us.
In Disconnect, Devra Davis, a scientist and National Book Award finalist for When Smoke Ran Like Water, looks at the connection between cellphones and health problems, with some disturbing results. Recent studies have tied cellphone use to rises in brain damage, cheek cancer and malfunctioning sperm. She reveals the unsettling fact that many new cellphones now come with the small-print warning that they are to be kept at least one-inch from the ear (presumably for safety reasons) and many insurance companies refuse to insure cellphone companies against health-related claims. Most troubling of all, science has shown that children and teenagers are particularly susceptible to cellphone radiation, raising questions about its effects on coming generations.
Salon spoke to Davis, via land line, about the real dangers of cellphone use, the industry's coverup and what we can do to protect ourselves and our children.
© Erika Blumenfeld
Denise Rednour of Long Beach, Mississippi, has been sick with chemical poisoning since July
Denise Rednour of Long Beach, Mississippi, has been sick with chemical poisoning since July
Investigation by Al Jazeera online correspondent finds toxic illnesses linked to BP oil dispersants along Gulf coast.
Two-year-old Gavin Tillman of Pass Christian, Mississippi, has been diagnosed with severe upper respiratory, sinus, and viral infections. His temperature has reached more than 39 degrees since September 15, yet his sicknesses continue to worsen.
His parents, some doctors, and environmental consultants believe the child's ailments are linked to exposure to chemicals spilt by BP during its Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
Gavin's father, mother, and cousin, Shayleigh, are also facing serious health problems. Their symptoms are being experienced by many others living along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
© Corbis
This discovery turns the conventional wisdom that swelling must be controlled in order to encourage healing and prevent pain
This discovery turns the conventional wisdom that swelling must be controlled in order to encourage healing and prevent pain
For years, people have been told to freeze torn, bruised or sprained muscles to reduce the swelling.
But now for the first time, researchers have found that it could slow down the healing as it prevents the release of a key repair hormone.
This discovery turns the conventional wisdom that swelling must be controlled in order to encourage healing and prevent pain.
It could also lead to new therapies for acute muscle injuries that lead to inflammation.
The study, published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal, suggests muscle inflammation after acute injury is essential to repair.
Professor Lan Zhou and colleagues at the Neuroinflammation Research Centre at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio discovered inflamed cells produce a high level of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) which significantly increases the rate of muscle regeneration.
Comment: Treatment with Far Infrared (FIR) heat is much more conducive to rapid healing:
Use Infrared Heat for Pain Relief and Other Health Benefits
© Greenpeace
Unborn babies are exposed in the womb to toxic chemicals.
Unborn babies are exposed in the womb to toxic chemicals.
Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, told a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health that such little oversight means that children in the United States are virtual "guinea pigs in an uncontrolled experiment."
"Our current law does not allow EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] scientists to draw the bright line between chemicals that are safe and those that are toxic," the senator said in the hearing, which was held at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in his home state.
Lautenberg has introduced legislation that would require chemical manufacturers to prove the safety of their products before they're released into the market. He said the current law - the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 - is too lax, resulting in the banning of five chemicals in the past 34 years.
Comment: For more information on Birke Baehr's speech, see this Sott link:
Video: 'What's Wrong with Our Food System' By 11 Year Old Birke Baehr