Health & Wellness

Toxins Disrupting our Bodies

Kristin Wartman
Civil Eats
Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:35 UTC

Recently, the Canadian government declared bisphenol-A (BPA) toxic, a step I hope the U.S. will soon take since the scientific evidence is mounting that BPA - along with many other endocrine disruptors in our environment - are abundant in our bodies and are having deleterious effects.

One problem with BPA is its ubiquity. It's a chemical commonly used to line the interior of food and beverage cans, as well as to make plastic bottles and other hard, clear plastics. Ninety-three percent of Americans tested had detectable levels of BPA in their urine. Experts say the substance can clear from adult bodies with efficiency, but our constant exposure to it probably makes this irrelevant.

Even more problematic is that babies, children, and fetuses cannot excrete BPA efficiently, causing it to build up in their systems. Because of these findings, Canada banned BPA from baby bottles, as did several U.S. states, including New York, Connecticut and Minnesota.

Gluten Intolerance Tied to Schizophrenia

Jefferson Adams
Examiner
Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:20 UTC

A team of researchers at Inverness, Scotland's UHI have confirmed a connection between gluten and schizophrenia. The team's work is part of two projects designed to assess what role gluten might play in the development of schizophrenia and diabetes.

Findings from their latest research demonstrate that about 30% of people who suffer from schizophrenia cannot properly break down the proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley gluten. When these people eat gluten, they suffer from intestinal damage similar to that found in people with untreated celiac disease. Such patients "might also benefit from a gluten-free diet," according to senior researcher and genetics reader, Dr Jun Wei.

According to the team's research, gluten proteins might play a role in activating schizophrenia in people who carry genes for the disorder, or in aggravating the condition in those who already suffer from it.

These results support the growing view that schizophrenia and diabetes arise from a combination of genetic factors and environmental triggers; gluten being one such trigger.

Comment: See our articles on celiac disease and wheat:

The Dark Side of Wheat: New Perspectives on Celiac Disease and Wheat Intolerance

Can You Stomach Wheat? How Giving Up Grain May Better Your Health

Headaches, Depression, Nerve Damage, and Seizures...Is Gluten to Blame?

Killed by the Common Cold in Two Days: UK Teenage Girl Dies After Virus Causes Fatal Brain Infection

The Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:59 UTC

© The Daily Mail
Danielle Brooker was described her friends and family as a bubbly and stunning girl. She died two days after complaining about a cold

An 18-year-old student died two days after catching a common cold when the virus spread to her brain and caused it to swell.

Danielle Brooker from Barmin in Kent was at home on October 20 when she complained of cold symptoms.

Later that day she developed a headache and by the following evening she said she couldn't feel her hands and legs. Within a few hours Danielle had a fit and collapsed into unconsciousness at home.

She was taken by ambulance to Maidstone Hospital and later transferred to the specialist neurology unit at King's College Hospital in London.

Efforts to save her failed and at 11.15pm on October 22, with her mother Sharon, her brother Danny, her uncle Gary, and eight of her friends gathered around her bedside, she was pronounced dead.

The cause of her death was given as a brain infection.

Many Scented Consumer Products Emit Toxic Chemicals: Study

HealthDay News
Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:05 UTC

Scented consumer products such as air fresheners, laundry detergents, deodorants and shampoos give off many chemicals, including some that are classified as toxic, but a new study finds that these chemicals often aren't listed on the products' labels.

U.S. researchers analyzed 25 commonly used scented products, and found that they emit an average of 17 chemicals each. Of the 133 chemicals detected in all the products, nearly one-quarter are classified as toxic or hazardous under at least one federal law.

More than one-third of the products emitted at least one chemical classified as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

But only one of the 133 chemicals emitted by these items was listed on a product label, and only two of the chemicals were publicly disclosed elsewhere.

What a 'Sweet Surprise'! HFCS Contains More Fructose than Believed

Tom Laskawy
Grist
Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:09 UTC

One of industry's main arguments against critics' targeting high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as Public Health Enemy No. 1 has been that HFCS and table sugar are chemically similar. Manufacturers have stated over and over that the most common form of HFCS in use in processed food is at most 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose - not significantly different from white sugar's 50/50 fructose/glucose makeup. If you want to read up on the heated debate about whether this focus on the chemistry is misplaced, feel free.

Now it turns out that the actual amount of fructose in HFCS in particular food products has never been officially disclosed, just assumed. And that assumption, much to the surprise of even the biggest HFCS-is-bad skeptics, has just been proven way off.

Bisphenol A in receipts gets under your skin

Nicholas Jain
Missourian
Sat, 14 Aug 2010 05:50 UTC

Would you like your receipt?

You might want to think twice about saying yes next time you're out to dinner or topping off your gas tank.

Research performed in an MU lab has found some receipts can leave bisphenol-A on your skin. BPA is an industrial chemical that has been used in plastic bottles and the plastic liners in metal food and beverage cans since the 1960s, according to the Food and Drug Administration. It is also used to coat a common type of thermal receipt that changes color when exposed to heat.

Comment: To learn more about bisphenol A's toxicity, see for instance:

Human Placenta Cells Die After BPA Exposure
BPA May Increase Kids' Asthma Risk
Puberty in Girls Hastened by Harmful Chemicals
BPA Plastics Chemical Damages Intestines, Study Shows
UK Scientist Raises BPA Alarm
Bisphenol A (BPA) May Affect Testosterone Levels Bisphenol A Has Not Gone Away
New Study Confirms Bisphenol A Found in Plastic is Linked to Heart Disease
Bisphenol A (BPA) Found In Many Plastics May Cause Heart Disease In Women, Research Shows
Bisphenol A Exposure Dangerous for Human Heart and Reproduction
Bisphenol A, Chemical Used to Make Plastic, Lingers in Body
Bisphenol A Linked to Metabolic Syndrome in Humans
Bisphenol A (BPA) Declared Toxic by Canada

In addition, a research team in Toulouse has just confirmed that bisphenol A in receipts could be absorbed into the body through mere contact with the skin.

Many 'All Natural' Foods Are Actually Heavily Processed

Dr. Mercola
Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:44 UTC

If you think a food is "all natural" just because the label says it is, think again. So which foods really aren't as natural as they claim they are?

When it comes to ice cream, as reported by Change.org, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has outed Ben & Jerry's as having ingredients that are hardly natural, but Edy/Dreyers, Breyers, and Turkey Hill do, too. Change.org said:

"And it's not just ice-cream makers who mislead consumers with an 'all natural' label,"

"Food products from cookies to yogurts to sauces to cereals come with glowing, 'all natural' labels, but actually contain ingredients that are decidedly man-made in a weird science-type of way."

While CSPI has asked Ben & Jerry's to remove the "all natural" from their labels, Change.org has gone one step further, with an online petition that it's asking visitors to sign.

Source

Change.org September 29, 2010

Easy & Useful Flowers

Barbara Pleasant
Motherearthnews.com
Wed, 01 Mar 2006 12:38 UTC

Nasturtium Flowers

We value beauty for its own sake, yet many colorful flowers have much to offer beyond their good looks. Some can be used medicinally, others are good to eat, and many provide food and habitat for beneficial insects. Some flowers are threatened by habitat destruction just like birds and other wild things, so growing flowers is simply a good idea. Give multipurpose flowers a bit of space in your garden and prepare to be amazed at what they can do for your health, your palate and your spirits.

Ramen Noodles May Lead to Chronic Illness

Althea Chang
Main Street
Wed, 26 May 2010 13:13 UTC

Ramen noodles could be putting college students and frugal eaters at greater risk of developing chronic illness, according to a recent study.

The instant noodles have long been a staple for the cash-strapped, but they could be putting their fans at risk of further nutritional deficits already caused by a lack of affordable and fresh fruits and vegetables, suggests a study presented at a meeting of the Dietitians Association of Australia.

According to the study, conducted by Australian researchers Danielle Gallegos and Kai Wen Ong, one in four college students reported insecurity about being able to afford food.

Of those students, two-thirds said they ate two or less servings of fruit per week, suggesting that money spent on more-filling but sodium- and MSG-laden Ramen noodles and fast food takes away from funds that could be spent on healthy but less-filling fruits and vegetables.

Those who relied on instant noodles and other cheap food with little nutritional content were at greater risk of chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease, the researchers found.