December 22nd, 2006

US Doctor Wages War on Childhood Obesity

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES, Dec 18 (Reuters Life!) - Los Angeles pediatrician Francine Kaufman is on the front lines of the childhood obesity epidemic, which has flooded her office with diabetes patients and put kids at risk of adult health problems.

“It was like a wave that started to build slowly and then it swelled. We started to fundamentally change what we were doing everyday in our practices,” Kaufman told Reuters.

The pediatric endocrine group at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles had 250 to 300 patients when Kaufman started in the late 1970s. The patient roster has since expanded 2,000-plus.

Those numbers illustrate an alarming global trend.  

Rapidly rising obesity rates are fueling an explosion in type 2 diabetes, which accounts for about 90 percent of cases.

In 1985 about 30 million people across the globe had diabetes, that number hit 150 million in 2000 and is expected to reach 350 million by 2025, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

Children are not immune.

More than 200 children a day now develop type 2 diabetes — a diagnosis that reduces a youngster’s life expectancy by 10 to 20 years, the IDF said.

So many kids are getting type 2 diabetes that its commonly used descriptor has been rendered inaccurate.

Formerly called “adult-onset” because it was extremely rare in children, type 2 arises when a person’s body no longer uses insulin effectively. In type 1 diabetes, formerly known as “juvenile-onset,” the pancreas makes very little or no insulin.

 
MEDICAL MANIFESTO  

Kaufman’s manifesto “Diabesity” was published by Bantam Books last year and ushers readers into her world — where dehydrated, unconscious children and infants with perilously high blood sugar levels fight for life in emergency rooms.

Parents of children with type 2 diabetes learn that what they thought was stubbornly dirty skin on their overweight child is actually acanthosis nigricans, a symptom of insulin resistance. They also may get the sad news that heart disease risks have moved down a generation to threaten their child, who must learn to constantly manage diabetes to stay healthy.

Kaufman said there is a shortage of specialists to treat children and adults with diabetes, but noted that awareness and prevention efforts are showing early signs of bearing fruit.

California has passed laws to ban junk-food and soda sales in schools. Schools around the country are overhauling their nutrition policies in an effort to curb obesity.

“I think we’re at a tipping point,” said Kaufman, who dedicated her book to her grandmother Sadie, whose diabetes diagnosis guided her decision to work with diabetic kids.

If there was one thing she could get across to parents, Kaufman said, it would be this: “Realize that this is about the whole family becoming health conscious and committed to helping.”

Posted in Healthy Living | By Ellen No Comments »

December 19th, 2006

How to Create a Nursery Free of Toxins

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 By CHARLYNE V. SCHAUB
SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL

Bernadette Upton gives mothers-to-be a wake-up call with one sentence.

“Typically,” she says, “we bring Baby home to the sickest room in the house.”

The nursery is “sick” because we think more about how the room will look than what it will do to our babies’ health. Unknowingly, we buy what we think is cute rather than what’s safe. Everything in the baby’s room — from the mattress to the paint on the walls — can emit harmful volatile organic chemicals (VOC) that can cause breathing problems. Lung disease and breathing problems are the No. 1 cause of death in infants less than 1 year old, according to the American Lung Association.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Upton, of EcoDecor in North Palm Beach, Fla., has specialized in environmental design since 1982.

Here are some of her health and safety tips:

 

  • Use only eco-friendly paints such as Benjamin Moore’s Eco Spec, Sherwin Williams’ HealthSpec or ICI Dulux Paints Lifemaster 2000.  
  • Avoid vinyl wallpaper, which can trap moisture and help mold grow. The plasticizers in the vinyl emit VOCs.  
  • Furnish the room with recycled solid wood furniture and repaint it. Avoid the “disposable” stuff made with particleboard, which emits VOCs. Cornices also should be made of solid wood.  
  • Be careful when selecting a mattress. Some may contain vinyl. She recommends a mattress from E.J. Schrader Mattress Co. that is lined with rubber foam and insulated with naturally flame-retardant wool.  
  • Use natural fabrics.  
  • Look for sofas and loveseats that are eight-way hand-tied. This ensures quality construction and means the frame is wood. Particleboard cannot support the weight of eight-way-hand-tied construction.  
  • Replace closet doors with louvered versions that allow air to circulate and prevent moisture and mold from accumulating.  
  • Wood floors are best. If you use area rugs, make sure they are 100 percent cotton with no synthetic dyes.  
  • Do not use an air machine with an ionizer or ozone. Upton recommends the IQAir machine with HEPA filter.  
  • Put nothing above the crib that could fall into it. No shelves. No pieces of art.  
  • Do not place the crib near a window. The baby could stand up and fall out.  
  • Look for cordless blinds such as Hunter Douglas’ LiteRise. Upton remains frustrated with new parents who ignore health problems that could result from decorating. Babies breathe more air and more pollutants than adults, and babies’ tiny airways can swell shut. She gave a friend with a pregnant daughter a copy of “A Baby’s Breath,” an American Lung Association booklet that gives advice on healthy decor.

    “People don’t realize that they could compromise the baby’s health,” Upton says. “It could be the trigger of asthma and lifelong illness. All they care about is if it’s pretty.”

    • Posted in Healthy Living | By Ellen No Comments »

    December 12th, 2006

    Canada Aims to Slow Use of Toxic Chemicals

    I saw this article on Reuters this morning.  Why are Canadians and Europeans so much more proactive about protecting the health of their citizens than we are here in the U.S.? 

    TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada will spend C$300 million ($260 million) over four years to slow the use of toxic chemicals and wants industry to come up with alternatives to substances that could harm people or the environment.

    The government’s new Chemicals Management Plan aims to identify harmful chemicals, including those that are still allowed for use in products like stain repellents and flame retardants, and provide Canadians with information.

    “It (the plan) includes realistic and enforceable measures that will improve our environment and protect the health and safety of Canadians,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a news conference announcing the initiative.

    Aaron Freeman, the policy director of the lobby group Environmental Defense, described Ottawa’s plan as “an important first step.”

    “The government is taking action on some of the most harmful chemicals in our environment and these are actions that are in many cases long overdue,” he said.

    Under the plan, industry will also be asked provide information on how they are managing potentially harmful chemicals. “In some cases we may demand substitute products or formulations,” Environment Minister Rona Ambrose said.

     

    Posted in Healthy Living | By Ellen No Comments »

    November 14th, 2006

    5 Great Reasons to Keep Your Daughter in Sports!

     

    By: Stacie Mahoe

     

    You already know that playing sports benefits your daughter. That’s why you got her involved with sports in the first place. But there may be a few benefits you don’t know about. The Women’s Sports Foundation, a leading internet source for girls and women in sports, lists the following benefits for girls in sports:

    Better Grades and Graduation Rate: High school girls playing sports are more likely to get better grades and more likely to graduate from high school than their non-playing counterparts.

    Avoid Unwanted Pregnancy: It’s not a guarantee that your daughter will be safe from unwanted pregnancy. However, participation in sports makes it less likely.

    Reduce Risk of Teenage Breast Cancer: Your daughter’s risk of breast cancer can be reduced by up to 60% with as little as four hours of exercise per week.

    Reduce Risk of Osteoporosis: Sports such as softball, volleyball, soccer, and track, require your daughter to carry her own body weight while training. This type of “weight bearing” exercise promotes bone density and helps establish bone mass which lessens the chance of osteoporosis later in life.

    Preparation for the Future: By playing sports, your daughter can learn skills critical for success in the workplace. She’ll learn develop skills such as teamwork, goal setting, and recovering from mistakes. With many families now relying on two incomes to make ends meet, it’s important your daughter be prepared for the challenges of a competitive work place. Do you think it’s a coincidence that 80% of female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “tomboys” that played sports?

    Other benefits include more confidence, higher levels of self esteem, lower levels of depression, a more positive body image, and higher states of psychological well being. Okay, you don’t need more convincing. Sports are good for your daughter. But did you know that by age 14, girls are more likely to drop out of their sport than boys. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, girls drop out at a rate 6 times greater than boys. How do you keep your daughter from being part of that statistic? How do you keep her involved in sports so that she can experience all of these benefits?

    Here are some tips to help you do just that!

    Tip #1: Exercise Positive Reinforcement
    Women’s Sports Foundation research shows that boys and girls between the
    ages of 6 and 9 — and their parents — are equally interested in sports participation. However, as stated before, girls are more likely to drop out of their sport by age 14. Girls simply do not receive the same positive reinforcement about their sports participation that boys do. Boys get sports related gifts for birthdays and Christmas. They see sports role models on TV and in the newspaper. It’s “understood” that boys play sports. The same is not true for girls. Show your daughter how interested you are in her sports activities. Make sure your actions and words support her sports participation. One way to do this is to attend practices and games whenever possible.

    Tip #2: Expose your Daughter to Women in Sports
    Take your daughter to local college games. Watch women’s sports on TV, especially if the sport she plays is on the air. Show her what’s out there for her to accomplish one day. When your daughter sees women playing sports, she’ll appreciate and respect the sports skills of women. She’ll be able to imagine herself excelling in sports which will contribute to her the drive to keep playing.

    Tip #3: Be a Role Model
    Teach your daughter that sports is a part of life by exercising regularly. Yes, that means you have to get up off the couch and do something rather than sit in front of the TV and eat dessert. In a study of collegiate female athletes, and nonathletes, athletes reported having more physically active parents than the nonathletes. Even if it’s just a walk around the block or around the park a few times a week, you’ll be leading by example. Your daughter will learn that exercise is just as much a part of your life as putting out the trash on rubbish day or vacuuming the carpet. You may not do it every day, but you don’t go for too long without doing.

    Tip #4: Be Realistic
    Focus on the development of your daughter’s skills more than on her athletic
    accomplishments. For example, praise her for performing better than she did
    last week or last month. Let her know that you notice her improvement. Don’t
    focus so much on whether or not she leads the league or her team in a particular statistic.

    Tip #5 Think Before You Speak
    She may not show it, but you’re words are important to your daughter.
    Insensitive comments can lead to medical disorders. A preoccupation with
    weight and body image can have a negative effect on your daughter’s health.
    Over-exercising while under-eating can cause your daughter serious problems
    both short and long term. Make sure that your daughter’s experience in sports
    doesn’t turn into a negative one.

    Tip #6: Keep the Game Fun!
    No matter what sport your daughter plays, it’s a game. It’s supposed to be fun! I’m sure you perform better when performing a task you enjoy. You’d rather skim through, or drop altogether, the tasks or activities you don’t enjoy. Guess what? You’re daughter is no different. She’s more likely to excel in and continue playing a sport that’s fun for her.

    Tip #7: Don’t Mistake Success for Fun
    Just because your daughter is one of the best on her team, doesn’t necessarily mean she is having fun. Girls that do excel may feel added pressure to perform. If this pressure becomes overwhelming, playing sports may become more stressful than fun. I know you want your daughter to be the best. But don’t forget to be proud of her when she is being the best that she can be.

    Tip #8: Remember That Your Daughter is NOT You
    Even though people may compare your daughter to you, she is not you. She
    may not have some of the strengths you have. By the same token, she may not have some of the weaknesses you have either. Don’t go nuts if she’s not as good as you were at something. Don’t shelter her from a situation that may have intimidated you. She’s not you. Encourage her to be herself. Celebrate her strengths and help her work through her weaknesses.

    Article by:

    About the Author Stacie Mahoe is the owner of www.AllAboutFastpitch.com Sign up to get free softball tips from Stacie at www.FreeFastpitchTips.com

     

    Posted in Healthy Living | By Ellen No Comments »

    November 1st, 2006

    Slo Green Pages!

    Good morning!

    I have just been informed of a WONDERFUL website! Slo Green Pages is a local directory of green businesses. If you live here in beautiful San Luis Obispo County, I highly recommend that you check out this site. You’ll find everything from green baby products to green construction materials and everything in between.  I have been asked to include my business link on their site and am thrilled to do so. What a great discovery! Thanks Slo Green Pages!!

    Posted in Environment | By Ellen No Comments »

    October 26th, 2006

    U.S. Rules Allow The Sale of Unsafe Products Others Ban

    As the European Union and other nations worldwide have begun to tighten their environmental standards, manufacturers have begun to use America as a dumping ground for consumer goods that fail to meet other nations’
    standards for toxic chemical content.

    Manufacturers ship wood, toys, electronics, pesticides and cosmetics to the United States containing substances that are banned or restricted elsewhere because they raise the risk of cancer or cause reproductive or neurological damage.

    Unlike the European Union, which uses a “precautionary principle” that prescribes protective steps whenever there is scientific evidence of risks to public health or the environment, the U.S. EPA relies on voluntary steps from the industries themselves.

    The EPA has not attempted to ban any industrial compounds since its unsuccessful attempt to ban asbestos nearly two decades ago.

    Products legal to sell in the United States but not in Europe include toys and nail polishes made with solvents called phthalates, which are reproductive toxins; herbicides and insecticides, including atrazine, endosulfan and aldicarb; and electronic items such as Palm’s Treo 650 smart phone and Apple’s iSight camera, which contain lead components.’

    You can read the article in it’s entirety by clicking here.
    Los Angeles Times

    Posted in Environment | By Ellen 1 Comment »

    October 3rd, 2006

    The Top 10 Things Food Companies Don’t Want You to Know!

    The Top 10 Things food companies don’t want you to know…
    Written by Mike Adams
    UTHealth Magazine, September 2006
    www.uthealth.com

    The giant food corporations have one mission: selling more food and beverage products to consumers. Succeeding with that mission depends on keeping consumers in the dark on certain issues such as the presence cancer-causing chemicals found in popular food products. Here are ten things the food corporations, whose products dominate grocery store shelves across the United States and other countries, absolutely do not want you to know.

    1. The ingredients listed on the label aren’t the only things in the food. Cancer-causing chemicals such as acrylamides may be formed in the food during high-heat processing, yet there’s no requirement to list them on the label. Residues of solvents, pesticides and other chemicals may also be present, but also do not have to be listed. The National Uniformity for Food Act, currently being debated in the U.S. Congress, would make it illegal (yes, illegal) for states to require cancer warnings on foods that contain cancer-causing chemicals (such as California’s Proposition 65.)

    2. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is added to thousands of food and grocery products through a dozen different innocent-sounding ingredients, imbalances endocrine system function, disabling normal appetite regulation and causing consumers to keep eating more food. This chemical not only contributes to nationwide obesity, it also helps food companies boost repeat business.

    3. MSG is routinely hidden in foods in these ingredients: yeast extract, torula yeast, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and autolyzed yeast. Thousands of common grocery products contain one or more of these chemical taste enhancers, including nearly all “vegetarian” foods such as veggie burgers (read labels to check).

    4. ADHD in children is caused almost entirely by the consumption of processed food ingredients such as artificial colors and refined carbohydrates. [Diet and nutrition may be the cause and the remedy of a learning disability or the behaviors associated with the ADD/ADHD label]. [Research has shone that as many as] eighty percent of so-called ADHD children who are taken off processed foods are cured of ADHD in two weeks.

    5. The chemical sweetener aspartame, when exposed to warm temperatures for only a few hours, begins to break down into chemicals like formaldehyde and formic acid. Formaldehyde is a potent nerve toxin and causes damage to the eyes, brain and entire nervous system. Aspartame has been strongly linked to migraines, seizures, blurred vision and many other nervous system problems.

    6. Most food dips (like guacamole dip) are made with hydrogenated oils, artificial colors and monosodium glutamate. Many guacamole dips don’t even contain avocados.

    7. Plastic food packaging is a potent health hazard. Scientists now know that plastics routinely seep the chemical bisphenol A into the food, where it is eaten by consumers. Cooking in plastic containers multiplies the level of exposure. Bisphenol is a hormone disruptor and can cause breast formation in men and severe hormonal imbalances in women. It may also encourage hormone-related cancers such as prostate cancer and breast cancer.

    8. Most milk produced in the United States comes from cows injected with synthetic hormones that have been banned in every other advanced nation in the world. These hormones help explain why unusually young teenage girls develop breasts and menses at such a young age, or why hormone-related cancers like prostate cancer are being discovered in unprecedented numbers. Strangely, the USDA currently bans organic milk producers from claiming their milk comes from cows that were not treated with synthetic hormones. Even organic milk is now under fire.

    9. Most grocery products that make loud health claims on their packaging are, in reality, nutritionally worthless (like meal replacement shakes, instant chocolate milk, etc.). The most nutritious foods are actually those the FDA does not allow to make any health claims whatsoever: fresh produce.

    10. Food manufacturers actually “buy” shelf space and position at grocery stores. That’s why the most profitable foods (and hence, the ones often with the lowest quality ingredients) are the most visible on aisle end caps, checkout lanes and eye-level shelves throughout the store. The effect of all this is to provide in-store marketing and visibility to the very foods and beverages that promote obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and other degenerative conditions.

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    Posted in Healthy Living | By Ellen 1 Comment »

    January 26th, 2006

    Breast Cancer & Common Chemicals

    Report Links Breast Cancer To Common Chemicals
    POSTED: 7:17 pm PST January 24, 2006 UPDATED: 10:45 pm PST January 24, 2006 SAN FRANCISCO — Breast cancer kills approximately four Bay Area women every day. According to a new report released jointly by San Francisco-based organizations the Breast Cancer Fund and Breast Cancer Action, about half of those women had no other risk factors. Activists who work for the two groups say the new report is a call to action to stop the worsening epidemic of breast cancer.

    Breast cancer hits the Bay Area harder than almost anywhere else in the world. Here, one woman in seven will get breast cancer. But what’s more troubling is that most cases have no obvious cause. “I was absolutely shocked,” said breast cancer survivor Angela Padilla when discussing her reaction the fateful day when she learned she had the disease. “I had just adopted my little girl. I was 36 years old. I was perfectly healthy. I had no risk factors, and it felt like a death sentence.” Diagnosed three years ago, Padilla says she suspects some kind of environmental toxin caused her breast cancer.

    Jeanne Rizzo of the Breast Cancer Fund says that the rise in the number of breast cancer cases can be directly linked to the man-made pollutants and toxins that have become an unavoidable by-product of modern life. Environmental exposures, toxic chemicals, and radiation are contributing significantly to the high incidence of breast cancer in this country and all industrialized countries,” says Rizzo The report released Tuesday — “State of the Evidence 2006: What Is the Connection Between the Environment and Breast Cancer?” — contains a comprehensive review of more than 350 studies and concludes chemicals cause more than half of breast cancer cases. That’s more than genetics, diet, smoking or any other known risks.

    This is the fourth edition of “State of the Evidence;” the 2006 edition reports findings from more than 46 new studies published during 2004 and 2005. In 2005, breast cancer was expected to kill more than 40,000 women in the United States — one death every 13 minutes — and more than 410,000 women worldwide. U.S. women now have a one in seven chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetimes, a risk that has nearly tripled in the past four decades.

    Activists say government has failed to protect the public from long-term low-dose carcinogens, whether it’s pesticides in farm communities, cosmetics marketed to young girls, or even unnecessary x-rays. The report suggests that the increased exposure is also responsible for more and younger-age diagnoses, a theory that fills Padilla with concern: “I’m terrified for my daughter. Is she going to get it when she’s 20? When she’s 25?”

    State legislators defeated a proposed ban on one problem chemical in children’s toys, but activists say they will continue to press for more regulation of such chemicals. The group’s urge consumers become informed and choose products to limit their toxic exposure.

    Copyright 2005 by KTVU.com. All rights reserved.

    Posted in Healthy Living | By Ellen No Comments »

    November 2nd, 2005

    Where did October go???

    It appears as if I have lost the entire month of October! I just realized that I haven’t posted in my blog since October 5th. Sad, sad situation for sure!

    My friend KC and I are setting up a new blog entitled Toxin Challenge. KC is a diehard chemical user (in fact, I think she even covets OTHER people’s chemicals!) and it is my job, through our new blog, to try to convert her to safer, healthier habits.
    Our blog should be live later this week. Check in often to follow my progress, and wish me luck!!! By the way, our friend Kai from Kaiberworks.com has donated the blog, the space, and is setting it up for us. I hope we do her proud!!

    Ellen

    Posted in General | By Ellen 1 Comment »

    October 5th, 2005

    Senator McCain speaks out on Global Warming!

    I wanted to share an email I just received from Senator John McCain on the topic of Global Warming. Senator McCain is an avid supporter of protecting our environment, and he is someone I have a great respect for, even though our views differ politically. Please read his email below, and then join the virtual march on Washington to end Global Warming. Just click here to join the March.

    Dear Fellow Marcher, Recently, a number of my Senate colleagues and I traveled to Canada and Alaska to witness the devastating impacts of global warming on the Arctic. We left even more convinced of what we already knew: global warming is real and it’s not some future phenomenon – it’s here now. The impacts are visible if we just open our eyes to them.


    Visit my travel log at http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/campaigns/sgw/newsroom to learn more about the consequences of global warming that are clearly visible today.     Just as in Canada and Alaska, the impacts of global warming in other areas of the country are real and they are happening now. This week, the March is stopping in Buffalo Creek Minnesota. Read more about the impact of global warming on Buffalo Creek at http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/march/buffalocreek.

    I’m marching so that we don’t hand our children and grandchildren a world vastly different from the one that we now inhabit. The March is almost halfway through its yearlong virtual tour around the United States. Our voices are amplified by the power of over 130,000 other voices marching together!

    Visit http://www.StopGlobalWarming.org to read more about my travels and details about our current stop at Buffalo Creek.

    Thank you for the joining the March, and adding your voice to the many speaking out to raise public awareness of the urgent problem of global warming.

    Sincerely,

    Senator John McCain Marcher

    Thanks for joining the fight to save our planet.

    Ellen Gaver

    http://www.SloCountyMoms.com

    Posted in Environment | By Ellen No Comments »

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