Take a look at the talented Surgeorn

I wish I knew how they did that :)

Chemicals in our products that end up in our children

It seems like every week I learn some new possible danger related to our food supply, our toys, toothpaste, plastics, microwave popcorn and Teflon, any kind of pills, pressure treated wood, laundry detergent and I am sure I just scratched the surface when it comes to men-made items.

Every time I learn about these dangers, I am upset by the fact that 1) My family used or still uses some of these products 2) I can still purchase most of them in a store. 3) It's dangers had been known for years and nothing was done or ignored.

Over and over my confidence in the US government is depleted regarding health and safety standards. It's true that it's better then most countries but not by much. Here's a story that highlights double standards for US and EU from the same companies

Hazard-free products are sold in Europe, toxin-filled versions of the same product are sold in the US and the developing world.

I don't know if this makes any of you shake your head, but reading this I don't feel like our best interests are in our countries best interest.

• I started this blog entry when I pondered why the bottles I used for feeding my infant has bpa in it when it's clearly not as safe as the industry would have us believe. The same applies to the plastic containers labeled #7 that I had purchased not long ago and am now using them for dry food storage like beans or non food storage.
• Why does microwave popcorn and Teflon still on the store shelves?
  
• Why are there acrylamides in processed foods like cheerios given to kids?
• What about those rubber ducks having PVC's which have phthalates - which are now banned, but still, I am sure it was allowed for some time.  
• Christmas lights laiden with with Lead
• Lead in toys and jewelry
• Don't even get me started on procuce safety and use of conventional farming methods including GMO soy corn, etc, as well as synthetic chemicals that are sprayed on our food
• Cleaning products and their poisons
• Anti-bacterial soaps
• What about Nano?  What you don't know is in products you use daily may be harming you.
• Now concerns about Chinese drywall and autoparts made in china

I will continue to look at what's safe and what is not as part of selecting the best food and products.   I hope that the government will step up it's efforts at protecting the publics interests, but in the meantime buyer beware.  

All this makes one thing increasingly clear, we live in a world which is increasingly more and more toxic.  The true effects of all this will only be known years from now but you need to err on the side of caution and continually review what you use daily in order to minimize risk.  

The greatest way to minimize risk is by focusing on what you eat and drink daily since that has been shown to effect us most dramatically.  For these reasons, we choose to follow a high nutrient vegetable based diet recommended by Dr. Fuhrman which is by definition disease-protective.  

  

Plain Soap as Good as Antibacterial

Who said that antibacterial soap is better?

Researchers Say Regular Soap Kills Germs as Well as Antibacterial Soap. Salynn Boyles from WebMD reports

Plain Soap as Good as Antibacterial

Researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health reviewed 27 studies examining the safety and effectiveness of antibacterial products containing the active ingredient triclosan.

"Washing your hands is extremely important for preventing the spread of infectious illness, especially at critical points like after using the toilet, changing the baby, or handling raw foods. But consumers can't assume that antibacterial soaps are better for this than other soaps."

But do Antibacterial Soap use lead to Antibiotic Resistance? Not outside a laboratory. Read more to find out

Baby scans: do we need them?

Blare Murphy, a BBC News health reporter asks
"Are ultrasound is just a waste of money?"

For many women, the scan which shows their unborn squirming, kicking and sucking its thumb is one of the important milestones of pregnancy.
In a paper published in Ultrasounds this week, retired Dr Hylton Meire not only argues there is no scientific evidence to prove the 20-week scan is worthwhile, he also casts doubt on the reliability of the principal method of testing for Down's Syndrome - the nuchal fold measurement.
These tests do not give a yes or no answer to whether a baby has Down's, but an indication of risk. Those deemed to have a higher possibility are offered an amniocentesis, where a needle is inserted into the womb to give a much more accurate analysis.

Every amniocentesis carries a small risk of miscarriage, so women who are not carrying a disabled foetus in the first place can end up losing a perfectly healthy baby.

Using various figures, Dr Meire, formerly of King's College Hospital, calculates that as many as 3,200 healthy babies are lost in this way each year.

For every 50 live births of children with Down's Syndrome prevented, he says 160 women miscarry non-affected babies. ... Read more here

Infant Choking and CPR - important to be prepared

A parent should know what to do in case of choking
After looking at info about infant choking and cpr here is what I found

Choking first aid
CPR first aid

Videos





Child CPR

Global Warming - where is the debate?

I knew about the effects of global warming on the planet since I was in High School, as I am sure many of you as well. Earth warms up, climate changes, life has to adapt.

The controversy is in what is causing the warming. Some people say it's CO2 emissions, while some say it's natural CO2 from the planet example: Volcanoes and humans aren't to blame.

The evidence is confusing because there is lot's of money at stake. Follow the money trail for Exxon Mobil, a huge oil company and you will see what I mean http://www.exxonsecrets.org/ One of the examples is the bio. of Mr. Milloy who publishes junkscience.com website http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=881 and is a key person the for the Free Enterprise Action Institute which is funded exclusively by Exxon http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=114

So why is that important? Junk Science is mostly focused on "debunking the fears" that Global Warming is caused by humans. The site even offers a monetary reward for anyone that can prove it.

So how can a person who gets money from Exxon Mobil be trusted to give the audience an accurate representation of the debate on Global Warming?

I believe the ones who say that human activity is not contributing to the warming of this planet are either protecting their assets or has not looked at all the evidence.

I think their argument is silly - just look here http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/

Now I can agree that there may be some very good points there and one has to be a very educated scientist to evaluate each of these points, however there is an equally impressive amount of research that states that humans are contributing to the earth's accelerated warming trend. So who should we believe?

Confusing huh? It kind of reminds me of the debate of nutrition. There is an organization called the Weston A. Price Foundation which tries to tell us that animal products are good for us and Cholesterol is a myth. They also have lots of research to support their claim. If you look at the money trail, they too are supported by the industry they promote. What they want us to do is equally devastating to our health. Funny how things are related...

My opinion is that we as a society need to worry about living a lifestyle that is not wasteful. I believe in the term carbon footprint, which is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

However it's not just the co2, but everything like what we throw out each week into the landfills. How much we drive, and how many gallons of fuel we use. How efficient are the homes we live in and cars we drive? It can be better. Why? Because of Respect. Because if we don't our children won't either. And it's a downward spiral for society when we don't respect the earth.

For those of you who think that I am wrong, think about this - How can we not affect the environment when our activity has been so destructive to the earth itself? Very little of the planet in it's natural state is actually left. It's covered with cities and villages, not trees and plants. We produce trash, waste, and co2, chemicals, and pollute the waters. If we continue on this trend, soon there won't be anything natural left. We are killing the planet and we make excuses to make ourselves removed from this fact.

Some excuses are "I can't make a difference, so why try?", "We don't really know if Global Warming is caused by humans", "It's too late to change things, so why try?"

Do you see a pattern? The excuses we make enable us to continue without making any changes in our lives to help the planet. The people claim that humans are not the cause, want us to consume more, spend more, because it effects their bottom line.

Confusion breeds apathy, Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference. Apathy breeds indulgence and affluence, and that's a downwards spiral that will breed a general state of decline.

What I really want is for people to realize that the real issues are not who is right about what causes global warming but how to live in a way that will be more natural and less wasteful.

9 Excersise Myths

WebMd Busts 9 Excersise Myths Here are some that I heard lately

Fitness Myth No. 2: Doing crunches or working on an "ab machine" will get rid of belly fat.

Don't believe everything you hear on those late-night infomercials! Harr says that while an ab-crunching device might "help strengthen the muscles around your midsection and improve your posture," being able to "see" your abdominal muscles has to do with your overall percentage of body fat. If you don't lose the belly fat, he says, you won't see the ab muscles.

But can doing ab crunches help you to lose that belly fat? Experts say no.

"You can’t pick and choose areas where you’d like to burn fat," says Phil Tyne, director of the fitness center at the Baylor Tom Landry Health & Wellness Center in Dallas. So crunches aren't going to target weight loss in that area.

"In order to burn fat, you should create a workout that includes both cardiovascular and strength-training elements. This will decrease your overall body fat content," including the area around your midsection, he says.

Fitness Myth No. 6: If you're not working up a sweat, you're not working hard enough.

"Sweating is not necessarily an indicator of exertion," says Tyne. "Sweating is your body’s way of cooling itself."

It's possible to burn a significant number of calories without breaking a sweat: Try taking a walk or doing some light weight training.

Fitness Myth No. 7: As long as you feel OK when you're working out, you're probably not overdoing it.

One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make when starting or returning to an exercise program is doing too much too soon. The reason we do that, says Schlifstein, is because we feel OK while we are working out.

"You don't really feel the overdoing it part until a day or two later," he says.

No matter how good you feel when you return to an activity after an absence, Schlifstein says you should never try to duplicate how much or how hard you worked in the past. Even if you don't feel it at the moment, you'll feel it in time, he says -- and it could take you back out of the game again.

Fitness Myth No. 9: When it comes to working out, you've got to feel some pain if you're going to gain any benefits.

Of all the fitness rumors ever to have surfaced, experts agree that the "no pain-no gain" holds the most potential for harm.

While you should expect to have some degree of soreness a day or two after working out, Schlifstein says, that's very different from feeling pain while you are working out.

"A fitness activity should not hurt while you are doing it, and if it does, then either you are doing it wrong, or you already have an injury," he says.

As for "working through the pain," experts don't advise it. They say that if it hurts, stop, rest, and see if the pain goes away. If it doesn't go away, or if it begins again or increases after you start to work out, Schlifstein says, see a doctor.

tv and your baby - latest study shows poor results in language

I have to admit that we own a few baby Einstein videos, and we didn't think twice about showing them to our son. However now that this study came out we will think twice. La Times reports

Parents hoping to raise baby Einsteins by using infant educational videos are actually creating baby Homer Simpsons, according to a new study released today.

For every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as "Brainy Baby" or "Baby Einstein," they knew six to eight fewer words than other children, the study found.

Parents aiming to put their babies on the fast track, even if they are still working on walking, each year buy hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of the videos. Unfortunately it's all money down the tubes, according to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle.

We really didn't think these videos were going to give him that much more in terms of intelligence and vocab skills, but the fact that it can impede his development is very disappointing. Actually the The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children under 24 months.

The Dirty Dozen: - lighterfootstep.com

So you've decided to take the plunge -- to embrace lighter living, start greening your life, and do something to help the the environment. But where to begin?

Their article Ten First Steps Toward Lighter Living, is a good place to get grounded.

If you're ready to take on taming your shopping cart, we've put together a list we call the Dirty Dozen. These are twelve unhealthy or resource-intensive products you should consider reducing or eliminating from your life entirely. Once you've tackled these, you'll probably think of others -- and you'll be well on your way to a lighter, more sustainable lifestyle.

Styrofoam, Plastic food containers with Bisphenol-A (BPA), Tropical hardwoods, Aluminum in cosmetics, Incandescent bulbs, Petroleum-based fabric sheets and laundry detergent, Overpackaged goods, Paper towels and napkins, Plastic utensils, Disposable batteries, Household cleaners, Commercial insecticides

How Safe Is Your Printer?

Time mag asks How Safe Is Your Printer?

Apparently some office printers cause considerable indoor pollution.

A recent Australian study will have you thinking twice about waiting for those printouts — not for the sake of the paper, but for your health. In the small study, published in the Aug. 1 issue of Environmental Science and Technology, researchers found that nearly 30% of the 62 printers they tested — including laser printers from Canon, HP, Toshiba and Ricoh — emitted high levels of ultrafine toner particles, which were potentially as hazardous as cigarette smoke. In one Brisbane office, the authors found, the concentration of particulate matter per square inch was five times higher during working hours than nonworking hours, and about 3.5 times higher inside than outside, where a freeway ran 130 yards from the building.
...
The study's authors concede that more research is needed before they can make any recommendations about the public's printer-related behavior.
...
In general, concentrations of volatile organic compounds, like cleaning agents and pesticides, can sometimes be 10 times higher indoors than outdoors, says Weschler. With long-term exposure, these types of air pollutants can be linked to allergies and respiratory illness, or worse.

The EPA has not done any recent research on the health effects of printer emissions — Morawska's study is the most extensive to date — but Sharon Worthy of the U.S. Dept. of Labor says "historically laser printers have presented no known hazard in the workplace." But, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which has conducted research on particulate pollution from automobiles, printers release the same type of fine particles that cars do. "What we need are standards up front so that the pollution we're subjected to don't pose health risks," says Jane Houlihan, the nonprofit's vice president for research. "Printers are just one of the many things we're exposed to during the day that are potentially harmful."

A Terrifying Message from Al Gore

A Terrifying Message from Al Gore:

BPA - new dangers discovered

As if we already didn't have enough to worry about, here comes new concerns about BPA (bisphenol A ).
The Green Guide has summed it up nicely

If you are like many readers of The Green Guide, you try and choose foods that are as free as possible of harmful chemicals such as pesticides. But if you consume canned soups, beans and soft drinks, organic or not, you also may be swallowing residues of a controversial chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) that can leak out of the can linings into your food. Nearly all can liners contain BPA, says Geoff Cullen, director of government relations at the Can Manufacturers Institute. BPA has also been found to migrate, under some conditions, from polycarbonate plastic water bottles. Depending on whom you talk to, BPA is either perfectly safe or a dangerous health risk.

...

Plastic water and baby bottles, food and beverage can linings and dental sealants are the most commonly encountered uses of this chemical. Unfortunately, it doesn't stay put. BPA has been found to leach from bottles into babies' milk or formula; it migrates from can liners into foods and soda and from epoxy resin-lined vats into wine; and it is found in the mouths of people who've recently had their teeth sealed. Ninety-five percent of Americans were found to have the chemical in their urine in a 2004 biomonitoring study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

...

Some scientists urge that action be taken now, regardless. "Science is not in the business of demonstrating anything beyond a shadow of a doubt," says Ana Soto, M.D., a professor and researcher at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, who has found that BPA alters mammary-gland development in mice. "We cannot wait that long to discover whether this chemical is harming human reproduction and development." However, because government agencies remain unconcerned, it is unlikely that BPA will disappear from consumer products anytime soon. A California bill to ban BPA in baby toys and feeding products was defeated in January. In the meantime ...

8 Ways to Avoid Harmful Chemicals in Plastics and Cans

1. If you already own polycarbonate bottles, including the Nalgene bottles popular on college campuses, labeled #7 on the bottom, wash them by hand with mild dishwashing soap, not in the dishwasher, to avoid degrading the plastic and increasing leaching of BPA (see "Picnic Perfect Plastics").

2. Even plastic does not last forever. Look for cracks or cloudiness on your reusable clear plastic bottles. See The Green Guide's survey, "A Nalgene Bottle Poll."

3. Use glass baby bottles or plastic bag inserts, which are made of polyethyelene, or switch to polypropylene bottles that are labeled #5 and come in colors or are milky rather than clear.

4. Choose soups, milk and soy milk packaged in cardboard "brick" cartons, by Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc, which are made of safer layers of aluminum and polyethylene (#2) and also recyclable.

5. Choose canned foods from makers who don't use BPA, such as Eden Foods (www.edenfoods.com), which sells certified organic canned beans and other foods.

6. Eat fresh foods in season and save the canned foods for convenience or emergencies. The exception is some canned fruit such as that found in smaller fruit-cocktail cans, which do not require a liner, according to the Can Manufacturers Institute.

7. Buy or can your own fruits and vegetables in safe glass jars. For more, see Amy's Green Kitchen "In a Summer Pickle".

8. Some wines have been found to contain up to six times the BPA of canned foods. While most wines probably don't, it's another good reason to drink in moderation.

So there you have it. As always with a debate where there are many sides and truths, theres a choice to be made. Given this information, does an individual act on this information or ignore it.

Here are some sources about BPA controversy

http://www.bisphenolafree.org/
http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=77083

I remember the time when I learned that not all plastics not microwave safe, and that one shouldn't microwave breast milk, as well as Teflon made pots and pans are now considered unsafe because of cancer fears. Treated Wood swing sets also a danger. Every day we learn something new. When plastic was first introduced it dramatically altered human history. It's virtually impossible to imagine a world without it.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that potentially all men made things are somehow dangerous to all living things and some non-living as well I suppose. So unless there is a grand paradigm shift in society as a whole this is the reality we live in today.