Archive for January 2008
Toxic Water Bottle
Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 10:23 AM by T.Smith, M.S. the site author">T.Smith, M.S.
PVC and PC plastics are also dangerous and should be avoided. Look on the packaging for either PVC3 or PC7, or look inside the recycling triangle for the numbers 3 or 7.
Avoid products containing Triclosan, like certain plastic chopping-boards, washing-up cloths, sponges, liquids, soaps and disinfectants.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is Used to Manufacture Polycarbonate
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in the manufacture of polycarbonate (identified as #7 on the bottom), often used for 5-gallon water bottles, baby bottles, reusable sports bottles, food-storage containers, the lining of metal cans, and dental sealants.
BPA Leaches into Food and Beverages
Studies have shown that BPA leaches into food and beverages, especially if bottles and containers are exposed to heat, damaged or worn, or exposed to acidic solutions. Polycarbonate baby bottles are exposed to heat during sterilization and when filled with warm breast milk or formula. Polycarbonate water jugs are often exposed to heat when transported in a hot car or stored in a hot garage or outside. These practices appear to increase the amount of BPA that is leached into the contents of the bottles.
BPA Leaches from Polycarbonate Baby Bottles
In a recent study, all of the polycarbonate baby bottles tested leached BPA at levels found to cause harm in laboratory studies. The researcher recommended that parents select baby bottles that are made from glass or a safer non-polycarbonate plastic (Environment California, 2007).
BPA is Present in 95% of People
BPA Mimics Estrogen
BPA has been identified as an endocrine disruptor that mimics the sex hormone estrogen (Endocrinology, 2005); it is believed to pose the greatest risk to fetuses, infants, and young children (NIEHS, 2006).
Low Doses of BPA are Linked to Health Problems
More than 200 studies, mostly with animals, link low doses of BPA to adverse health effects, including chromosomal damage, miscarriage, birth defects, infertility, impaired immune function, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, brain damage, Type II diabetes, obesity, early puberty, abnormal sexual behavior, endometriosis, and hyperactivity.
Posted in News
Vitamin B12 or Alzheimer's
Posted on Monday, January 28, 2008 at 1:51 PM by T.Smith, M.S. the site author">T.Smith, M.S.
Older people are often deficient in vitamin B12. In fact, the testing that states B12 values are within normal limits, the symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and forgetfulness will respond to B12 supplements. The primary reason for this, is that when you become deficient in vitamin B12, the symptoms show up neurologically, before they show up on a blood count. The beautiful thing is that there are NO side-effects of a high dose of B12. Compare that to doses of medicine for Alzheimer's.
Vitamin B12 is an essential water soluble vitamin that is commonly found in a variety of foods such as fish, shellfish, meats, and dairy products. Vitamin B12 is frequently used in combination with other B vitamins in a vitamin B complex formulation. It helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells, and is also needed to make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. Vitamin B12 is bound to the protein in food. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach releases B12 from protein during digestion.
People at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency include strict vegetarians, elderly people, and people with increased vitamin B12 requirements associated with pregnancy, thyrotoxicosis, hemolytic anemia, hemorrhage, malignancy, liver or kidney disease.
Administering vitamin B12 orally, intramuscularly, or intranasally is effective for preventing and treating dietary vitamin B12 deficiency. An oral dose of 100-250 micrograms/day is usually adequate although patients with absorption difficulties may need 1000 micrograms/day of vitamin B12. Oral preparations should not be used in patients with diarrhea, vomiting, severe neurologic involvement, or in patients likely to be noncompliant to therapy.
Posted in Brain-Central Nerve , Nutrition
FDA Approves Milk and Meat of Cloned Animals
Posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 10:04 AM by T.Smith, M.S. the site author">T.Smith, M.S.
Meat and milk from most cloned animals are safe to eat, the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday. According to a 968-page "final risk assessment," the FDA finds no safety risks in meat from healthy cloned cows, pigs or goats or milk from cloned cows.
"Extensive evaluation of the available data has not identified any subtle hazards that might indicate food-consumption risks in healthy clones of cattle, swine, or goats," the 968-page "final risk assessment" concluded.
"Thus, edible products from healthy clones that meet existing requirements for meat and milk in commerce pose no increased food consumption risk(s) relative to comparable products from sexually-derived animals."
But the FDA said it needs more information to determine the safety of meat and milk from cloned sheep. The FDA also concluded that food from newborn cattle clones "may pose some very limited human food consumption risk."
The purpose of using cloned animals is to improve the overall value of a given herd by creating genetic copies of donor animals, resulting in a herd that produces higher-quality milk and meat.
Posted in Nutrition