- Pesticides Affect Newborn Birth Weights
- Fish oil and ADHD
- Infertility on the rise
- The Overuse of Statin Drugs
- The Overuse of Statin Drugs
- May 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- January 2011
- May 2010
- April 2010
- February 2010
- November 2009
- September 2009
Chemicals found in plastics linked to less masculine play behaviour in boys
November 30th, 2009
The public and especially parents are becoming more aware of toxic chemicals found in plastic, and most ethical retailers are no longer carrying plastic items (baby bottles, water bottles, toys) that contain bisphenol A (BPA). BPA isn’t the only harmful chemical found in plastics, people also need to be aware of phthalates. Phthalates are pervasive in the environment and used in everything from vinyl floors, to food containers, to children’s toys, to cosmetics (hair sprays, lotions, make up, powders, nail polishes, perfumes).
Phthalates are used in some but not all PVC formulations, and there are no labeling requirements for phthalates specifically. PVC plastics are typically used for various containers and hard packaging are labelled "Type 3" for recycling reasons.
Since all cosmetic products in Canada should be labeled with their ingredients, check for phthalates in your cosmetics using their full name ie. dibutyl phthalate and diethyl phthalate. To see if there are harmful ingredients such as phthalates in your cosmetics or baby care products go to www.cosmeticsdatabase.com to find out more about the products you are using.
Recently a study published in International Journal of Andrology, found that elevated levels of phthalates in pregnant women’s urine are linked to less-masculine play behaviour by their sons several years later. Phthalates have become associated with changes in development of the male brain as well as with genital defects, metabolic abnormalities and reduced testosterone in babies and adults.
To learn more about phthalates and other harmful chemicals in our environment visit The Environmental Working Group at www.ewg.org.
I really hope this is my last H1N1 blog
November 21st, 2009
I’m getting so sick of hearing about H1N1, yet I’m compelled to read every article about it. Finally there is a doctor willing to take a stand about the overblown panic of the whole thing. Dr. Richard Schabas is Ontario’s former chief medical officer, and he believes that the hype and hysteria around the H1N1 pandemic, the millions of dollars spent so far on responding to it, and the dire warnings are all unwarranted, he also questions the pandemic label. By December it is estimated that H1N1 will have killed between 200 and 300 Canadians – making it one-tenth as lethal as the seasonal flu. While mortality rates among people 20 and younger in Canada will be slightly higher than in a normal flu season, the actual number of deaths among healthy youngsters will be in the range of just seven. According to Schabas, "the risk of a young person being killed by a car in Ontario ... is 100 or more times higher than the risk of being killed by H1N1." Just about every media outlet is stating that H1N1 outbreak has peaked, yet Canada has ordered another 15 million doses (enough to vaccinate half the Canadian population). Not surprisingly making the infamous vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline the biggest beneficiary of all the H1N1 fear tactics.
Filed under General | Comments OffNew study finds tylenol linked to asthma risk
November 10th, 2009
Reported in the Vancouver Sun today, researchers in BC have reviewed 19 studies involving 425,000 people, and have found that the risk of asthma increased by 60% in those children given acetaminophen (tylenol) in the year prior. The risk of asthma in adults who used acetaminophen was 75% higher than those who did not. This study was initiated because the incidence of asthma has increased steadily over the past 20 years, which corresponds with a change in practice when doctors began to recommend acetaminophen for children instead of aspirin (due to the risk of Reye’s syndrome).
A fever is the bodies innate and intelligent way to fight an infection, a fever should not be suppressed, treating a fever with tylenol, aspirin or ibuprofen does not allow the body to naturally fight the virus that and may prolong the duration of an illness; and as this study shows could increase the risk of developing asthma. However if the person is severely uncomfortable or if the fever starts to climb above 103 then tylenol, aspirin, or ibuprofen chould be considered at a safe dose.
Most people are not aware of the toxicity of tylenol, every year it is responsible for more than 100,000 calls to poison control, nearly 56,000 emergency room visits, over 26,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths due to liver failure.
Vitamin D and H1N1
November 1st, 2009
Everyone should be on Vitamin D, especially in our climate and especially with H1N1 lurking! Here is an interesting story on the protective benefits of vitamin D for H1N1. There was an H1N1 outbreak at Central Wisconsin Center (CWC) a long-term care facility for people with developmental disabilities. This center has 275 residents and approximately 800 staff. Serum 25-OHD has been monitored in virtually all residents for several years and all patients were supplemented with vitamin D. In June, 2009, at the time of a spike of H1N1 in Wisconsin, two residents had positive tests for H1N1, on the other hand, 60 staff members were tested and found to have H1N1, and another 43 called in sick with H1N1 type symptoms. So, it is remarkable that only two residents of 275 developed H1N1, while 103 of 800 staff members had contracted it. It appeared that the staff were much more susceptible to the H1N1 virus due to their lack of Vitamin D supplementation. Even if the 43 staff members who called in sick with symptoms were excluded, 0.73% of residents were affected, as compared to 7.5% of staff. This 10-fold difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). That is, the chance that this was a chance occurrence is one less than one in a thousand.
Vitamin D acts as an immune modulator and stimulates immune fighting cells such as: neutrophils, monocytes, and natural killer cells in the epithelial cells which line the respiratory tract.
A good study on Vitamin D and the flu: http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http://www.biochem.wisc.edu/courses/biochem901/secure/materials/readings/09_Cannell.pdf&images=yes
H1N1 Fear Mongering
September 3rd, 2009
In the history of the pharmaceutical business I don't believe big pharma has ever so blatantly and obviously manipulated the public in an effect to sell a vaccine. The H1N1 fear mongering has reached unprecedented proportions, the cover of The Vancouver Sun on Aug 29, made it look like we better hunker down and kiss our loved ones goodbye. Reading the various articles in the Sun that day, further illuminated the issue for me. Lets start with Dr. Perry Kenall, the chief provincial health officer, who states that the predicted surge in H1N1 cases is likely to be no worse than a bad year of seasonal flu, which we see on a fairly regular basis, and add to that chilling prediction the fact that those over the age of 55 don't tend to be affected. So really it's just a regular flu season, and those that tend to be the most at risk from flu related complications (the elderly) are not at risk with H1N1. Now a little bit about the vaccine they are struggling so fast to get onto the market, I will quote directly from Brian Brodie, president of the BCMA, as reported by the Sun, because this really says it all. "A great deal of faith is being put into the vaccine, but there is also the possibility that it will not be entirely effective and could even make people sick, as was the case with the 1976 swine flu vaccine which was linked to a nervous system disorder called Guillian-Barre syndrome," and I continue with direct quotes from Brodie, "It's going to be somewhat untested. We really don't have data on what kind of reactions we're going to see", and "this is a vaccine that we just will not have up to the regular standards of screening by the time we need to give it. There's just no long-term data about the safety and reactions." So while we have no data on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, what we do have is data on the effects of the H1N1 virus, effects that are less harmful and fatal than severe vaccine reactions. The fatality rate for H1N1 is .03%, which is approximately the same as for the seasonal flu (.02%), however children, those with weakened immune systems, and pre-existing medical conditions are hardest hit. In cases where people are particularly susceptible, and a vaccine could save their lives, I am not definitively against its use for that purpose. To expose healthy individuals to unknown serious vaccine reactions just so they can at worst avoid a few days of flu symptoms, is representative of corporations that play on people's fear, and trades lives for money.
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