Health & Wellness
When it comes to vaccine safety, much of the talk about toxic ingredients focuses on thimerosal (contains mercury) that is added to killed (inactivated) vaccines as a preservative. But vaccines also contain adjuvants -- agents that stimulate your immune system to greatly increase immunologic response to the vaccine - and one of the most toxic is aluminum. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that is contained in a number of common childhood and adult vaccines and may even exceed the toxicity of mercury in the human body.
According to a new study published in Current Medical Chemistry, children up to 6 months of age receive 14.7 to 49 times more aluminum from vaccines than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety limits allow.
© David Sillitoe for the Guardian
Researchers say traffic fumes can increase the risk of a heart attack for up to six hours after exposure.
Researchers say traffic fumes can increase the risk of a heart attack for up to six hours after exposure.
Breathing in large amounts of traffic fumes can trigger a heart attack up to six hours after exposure, according to research which reaffirms the health risks associated with pollution.
The study, in the British Medical Journal, found that high levels of pollution can increase the risk of suffering a heart attack. It identifies exposure to pollutant particles and nitrogen dioxide expelled by cars, which are both markers of contaminated urban atmospheres, as the main culprits.
The authors quantify the risk as small - up to 1.3% higher risk of a heart attack up to six hours after exposure to those substances. But they say that getting enough of those two substances into the lungs can bring forward by a few hours a heart attack that would have happened anyway. This is called short-term displacement or the "harvesting" effect of pollution.
© erasundar.wordpress.com
Where's The Real Food?
One of the largest movements in 20th century agriculture was the commoditization of food.
In 1900, 41% of the US workforce was directly employed in agriculture, and each farm produced over five different crops for sale - not counting food consumed on the farm or sold locally, outside the commodity system. Furthermore, 60% of Americans lived in rural areas. (Source: USDA.) This means that the majority of Americans either grew their own food, or had direct access to the producers of the food they ate.
In 2000, just 1.9% of Americans were employed in agriculture, farms produced an average of just over one crop for sale, and less than 1 out of 4 Americans lived in rural areas. The number of farms has fallen 63%, while the average farm size has risen 67%.
In other words, we no longer have direct access to the food we eat. How did this happen?
As usual, the answer is simple: follow the money.
© pilladvised.com
That's the takeaway from a new report on the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse from the Los Angeles Times. Drug deaths have doubled within a decade, while traffic fatalities have declined.
According to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drugs killed at least 37,485 people nationwide in 2009.
See the interactive map: Rise in drug-induced deaths since 2000
© livingthenourishedlife.com
Feeling low? Maybe it was your breakfast...
Feeling low? Maybe it was your breakfast...
Maybe you've had personal experience with this. I know I have. I can honestly say I became a different person after changing my diet--just from changing the way I eat.
I didn't have to take anti-depressants, birth control pills or go to countless therapy sessions. And I didn't have to do anything drastic like move to the beach or quit my job (in fact, I was able to start working more after improving my diet!). All I had to do was change the way I was feeding my body.
Comment: To learn more about how food effects moods read the Diet and Health section on the forum. In particular read the thread Life without Bread.
© n/a
The study shows that even products labeled "BPA-free" still pose a threat to human health, and many contain phthalates, also known as "plasticizers."
Phthalates are a group of industrial chemicals used in the production of plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Used to make the plastics more flexible and resilient, phthalates are also found in many cosmetic products and plastic containers. Two studies published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in 2003 found that pregnant women exposed to phthalates were at an increased risk of pregnancy complications, as the chemicals negatively affect the development of the fetus in unknown ways.
© DeviantArt.com
E. coli by Toxyna
E. coli by Toxyna
Then, there's the question of what it must be doing to the gut biota of people who take the drug! We now have evidence that antibiotics permanently change gut biota and that they lead to cancer. So, if Prozac kills microbes at hugely diluted doses in lakes, what must it be doing to the natural balance of the intestinal tract?
The amount of Prozac found in Lake Erie is a mere nanogram per liter. If a drug sold as an antibiotic had that sort of effect, Big Pharma would be screaming it from every rooftop. When do you suppose they'll get the message and start rebranding Prozac as an antibiotic?
Three children have died and more than 50 others are seriously ill in Peru after eating a school meal contaminated with pesticide, officials say.
The children were being fed by a government nutrition programme for the poor, at a remote mountain village in the north of the country.
It is thought the meal of rice and fish was prepared in a container which previously held pesticide, with fatal results.
Three adults have also been taken ill.
The mass poisoning happened in the village of Redondo in the Cajamarca region, about 750km (470 miles) north of the capital, Lima.
The three dead were between six and 10 years old.
The children were being fed by a government nutrition programme for the poor, at a remote mountain village in the north of the country.
It is thought the meal of rice and fish was prepared in a container which previously held pesticide, with fatal results.
Three adults have also been taken ill.
The mass poisoning happened in the village of Redondo in the Cajamarca region, about 750km (470 miles) north of the capital, Lima.
The three dead were between six and 10 years old.
© NWA Seafoods
Mud crab (Scylla serrata)
Mud crab (Scylla serrata)
For the first time, the level of environmental toxins and heavy metals in crabs from all along the Norwegian coast is to be analysed.
Recent sampling by the Norwegian research organisation, NIFES has revealed high concentrations of cadmium in crabs from the County of Nordland.
"We are currently gathering samples, and a total of 475 crabs from 48 different positions all along the coast will be brought to the laboratory for analysis," says NIFES research scientist Sylvia Frantzen.
The reason for this survey of hazardous substances in crabs from the rest of Norway is the finding of high concentrations of cadmium in crabs from Salten in Nordland. In both 2009 and 2010, the cadmium content of samples from this area has been higher than the upper limit in crab claw meat permitted by the EU and Norway. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that accumulates in the bodies of crustaceans, fish, other animals and humans.
Both claw meat and brown meat will be analysed for their content of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury, as well as of organic environmental toxins such as PCBs, dioxins, brominated flame retardants and perfluorates.
© Corbis
The toxin BPA showed up in many cans of food targeted to children.
The toxin BPA showed up in many cans of food targeted to children.
It doesn't matter how many smiling cartoon characters decorate a package. If food comes in a can, it's likely to contain the worrisome chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, according to a new study.
The study, which looked at six popular name-brand products, adds to accumulating evidence that the hormone-interfering chemical is widespread in our food supply and in the bodies of most Americans, including children.
Advocacy groups have successfully managed to get companies to remove BPA from baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers and other products made for small children. The new findings suggest that food cans might need to be their next major target.
"Every single can we tested had BPA, and they could potentially expose people at levels of concern," said Connie Engel, science education coordinator for the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund, which released the new study. "We know that consumer pressure on the market can lead to changes. If enough of us talk about this, the market will respond and we'll have BPA-free foods."
Among its many other qualities, BPA is extremely useful as an ingredient in the epoxy-resin lining of food cans. With its flexibility and resistance to both corrosion and the high heats used during sterilization, BPA is extraordinarily effective at preventing spoilage of food with pathogenic bacteria.
Comment: To learn more about the 'commoditization of food' and agriculture's negative effects on our plant read the following article and watch the excellent video: Lierre Keith on 'The Vegetarian Myth - Food, Justice and Sustainability'
The Vegetarian Myth