Michelle Obama, Sesame Street, and Republican Big Bird
Michelle Obama made an appearance on Sesame Street touting the benefits of healthy eating and gardening.
Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Pool Chlorine Increases Risk of Asthma and Allergies
Swimming in pools treated with chlorine can increase kids’ asthma risk according to a recent study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Belgium researchers also found that kids who swam in indoor and outdoor chlorine-treated pools had a higher risk of other allergies including hay fever and allergic rhinitis.
The study compared chlorine pools with a healthier and more eco-friendly option, pools sanitized with copper and silver. Researchers suggest that the chlorine causes changes in the airway, promoting the development of allergic diseases. While more research is still needed, 20% of Olympic swimmers have asthma. Interesting, right? Read the rest of this entry »
Teen Faces Deportation over Gardasil
A teen in Florida may be deported if she refuses to get the Gardasil vaccine.
Seventeen-year-old Simone Davis has been applying for citizenship for almost 10 years. When she was 3, she was abandoned and then adopted by her paternal grandmother, who married an American. The family moved to Port St. Joe, Fla.
Now, because she refuses to get the HPV vaccine, she may be sent back to England. That’s because Gardasil is among the required vaccines for citizenship. This vaccine is not mandated for American girls, though different localities have their own laws.
Trillium Organics New OGmama and OGbaby Products
Published on September 15th, 2009
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It has been proven that at least 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. That’s scary, really scary when we learn what can be lurking in beauty products-even in baby products. Nasty things like phthalates, parabens and 1,4-Dioxane which has been banned in personal care products in Canada and the European Union but is still allowed in the US in small amounts even though it has been proven that it can cause allergy, immune and neurological toxicity even carcinogenic activity.
Trillium Organics has created a couple new lines of products that come with full disclosure of all ingredients-right on the product labels. The new products are made especially for pregnant women and new babies-two times when natural is more important than ever. OGmama and OGbaby are truly 100% organic and as natural as can be. Read the rest of this entry »
Back to School: Toilet Seats are Cleaner Than Cafeteria Trays!
Unless your children attend a really cool school with organic, farm to school lunches, you probably pack your child’s lunch each day. That’s a good thing, when considering how clean cafeteria trays are compared to toilet seats. It’s a shocker, but it’s true.
According to a study conducted by NSF International, cafeteria trays contain more germs than toilet seats!
Germ Stop reports on the NSF findings:
– Drinking water fountain spigots had the highest amount of bacteria on the tested surfaces — 2.7 million bacterial cells per square inch.
– A cafeteria tray had more than 10 times as many germs as a toilet seat (33,800 bacterial cells per square inch vs. 3,200 bacterial cells per square inch).
– A student’s hand had 1,500 bacterial cells per square inch.
– Commonly cleaned areas, such as desks and doorknobs had fewer germs (19 bacterial cells per square inch and 5 bacterial cells per square inch respectively), while computer keyboards and ear phones had significantly more at 260 bacterial cells per square inch and 740 bacterial cells per square inch, respectively.
Organic Milk Linked to Fewer Allergies Including Eczema and Asthma
Organic milk may cost more, but it may also pay off in the end. A recent Dutch study suggests that children are one third less likely to suffer from allergies before age two if they’re raised on organic dairy products.
In the study, children and breastfeeding moms ate organic milk, cheese and yogurt. The study author said the connection between choosing organic dairy and less incidence of eczema was clear. The risk for other allergies and asthma also decreased.
So why is organic better? It’s hard to say for sure at this point, but researchers believe it may, in part, be due to the higher concentrations of conjugated linoleic acids that are found in organic milk. Studies have shown that organic milk has 71 percent more omega-3 fatty acids, too, another important nutrient for growth and development. Read the rest of this entry »
The Girls of Gardasil: Brittney’s Story
Recently, Gardasil researcher Dr. Diane Harper spoke out against the vaccine, warning parents to decide whether the risks are worth it. For many families, the adverse effects of this shot have changed their lives.
This is the start of a series sharing the stories of these brave families.
Here is the story of Brittney Fiste, as told by her mother Roxie.
“Everyone deserves to know the whole truth before blindly rushing out to take an unproven vaccine.”
Gardasil For Boys: FDA Recommends Controversial Vaccine
Published on September 11th, 2009
The FDA is recommending Gardasil for boys, saying in a memo that it seems to be safe and effective in preventing genital warts in young men and boys. And guess what! None of the boys tested got cervical cancer! Kidding.
The vaccine’s maker, Merck, has been pushing for males to be offered the shot too, and gave the FDA evidence that, according to CBS,
Three studies of over 5,000 boys and men, Gardasil was 89% effective in preventing genital warts.
Check out the entire news story:
BPA: Low Doses Are Poisonous, Too
Published on September 11th, 2009
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In the wake of the Sigg/bisphenol-A controversy, a top researcher and CEO of Environmental Health Sciences fills us in on the news: endocrine disruptors such as BPA and phthalates are indeed toxic at low-level doses, too. And they’re toxic in entirely different ways than at the traditional high-dose testing indicates.
The way the tests work today is we think that by testing at high doses we’re gonna see everything. So that once we get to a dose that’s intermediate and we don’t see anything, we’re golden.
But the science is telling us that at really low doses as contaminants mimic hormones. They can have effects that are totally unpredictable by what happens at high doses.
Pete Myers spoke to Living on Earth about the consequences of current testing.
Another BPA-Free, Stainless Steel Water Bottle
The metal water bottle market has exploded, and consumers are still riling after Sigg’s deception regarding BPA in their aluminum bottle lining. Recently, I was sent another BPA-free, stainless steel water bottle to try, which my son adores. The Kid Basix SafeSporter combines sports bottle with aesthetics to create a unique bottle.
Born out of the movement to eliminate plastic water bottles, the SafeSporter’s limited plastic parts do not contain BPA or phthalates.
Why go with stainless steel bottles from Kid Basix when so many BPA-free plastic bottles are available now? We can give you 300 billion reasons. That’s the approximate number of plastic water bottles discarded around the world every year. Enough to power 12 million cars for an entire year. And that’s just the water bottles! It doesn’t include all the plastic bottles used for sodas, sports drinks, fruit juices and the like. All told, the plastic bottles we throw away each year would reach to the moon and back – 1500 times. So using reusable stainless steel bottles makes sense on every level: personal, local and global.
