We know how busy you are...so let us help keep you abreast of a few of the latest health warnings...
Microwave Popcorn Study Showed Chemical was Toxic SARAH SHIPLEY St. Louis Post-Dispatch 28feb04
Former workers at a Missouri microwave popcorn plant are slowly suffocating from breathing a chemical that was known to be toxic long before most of them got sick, according to documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
At least 31 people who worked at a popcorn factory in Jasper County have been diagnosed with severe lung disease linked to breathing vapors from a butter flavoring. Eight are on waiting lists for lung transplants.
Doctors spent years figuring out what had caused the workers' lungs to scar and harden, their chests to tighten and wheeze, their skin to peel off in chunks.
A lawsuit filed in Jasper County Circuit Court claims that the butter flavoring manufacturer "knew or should have known" that its product was hazardous, and that the manufacturer failed to adequately warn those who worked with the chemical.
Similar lung problems have been detected among workers in at least six other plants nationwide, including a popcorn plant in Ridgway, Ill.
Chemical giant BASF studied the chemical, known as diacetyl [synonyms: 2,3-butanedione , Biacetyl , Dimethylglyoxal], in 1993. The buttery-smelling chemical can be made from a solvent. Diacetyl also occurs naturally in cheese, milk, coffee, vegetables and other foods.
After breathing diacetyl vapors for just four hours, some rats gagged and gasped for breath. Half the rats in the study died within a day.
The BASF study has never been published in the public domain. The flavoring industry had access to it, however, through a database kept by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, a trade group based in Washington.
Last week, the New York Times ran a story about a 53-year old Colorado man whose penchant for microwave buttered popcorn may have caused him to develop a serious lung condition called bronchiolitis obliterans, or "popcorn workers' lung."
Initially diagnosed with generalized lung inflammation, the Colorado man's doctor eventually discovered that he ate at least two bags of microwave buttered popcorn per day for more than a decade. He often made it a point to inhale the butter-flavored steam that came out of the bags when he first opened them.
He was repeatedly inhaling significant doses of heated diacetyl, a vapor that, if inhaled over a long period of time, can cause the small airways in the lungs to become swollen and scarred. Eventually, the scarring of airways can create a situation where it is possible to inhale deeply, but very difficult to exhale without discomfort.
Diacetyl is used to add a buttery flavor to many brands of microwave popcorn, including Orville Redenbacher and Act II. Chronic exposure to heated diacetyl in food production and flavoring plants that utilize synthetic butter has been linked with hundreds of cases of lung damage.
A representative of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated that the agency is considering the Colorado man's case in its review of the safety of diacetyl.
A spokesperson for ConAgra Foods, the United States' largest producer of microwave popcorn, has said that ConAgra plans to remove diacetyl from its microwave popcorn products "in the near future."
A spokesperson for Pop Weaver, another large maker of microwave popcorn, has publicly stated that Pop Weaver has already stopped using diacetyl in its bags of popcorn "because of consumer concerns."
Clearly, it makes sense to avoid eating microwave buttered popcorn and spending time in areas that produce it.
In addition, research by the U.S. Goverment now reports that microwave popcorn may contain chemicals that can cause health problems. Commercial popcorn companies often coat the popcorn bags with a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) which has been found to cause both cancer and lung disease in laboratory animals. They also found that the butter substitute contains a chemical called diacetyl, a common food-flavoring agent that, according to health scientists, is responsible for bronchiolitis obliterans, a serious debilitating lung disease.
The solution: POP YOUR OWN! Enchance them with many of delicious popcorn seasonings.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not permit the use of hormones in raising hogs or chickens, turkeys, and other fowl. That is why the USDA does not allow the use of the term "no hormones added" on labels of pork or poultry products unless it is followed by a statement explaining that "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones."
Hormones are still used as growth promoters in cattle and sheep. It's estimated that two-thirds of the cattle raised in the U.S. are given hormones (usually testosterone or estrogens) to boost growth. Producers of beef and lamb may use the term "no hormones administered" on labels after satisfying the USDA that hormones were not used in raising the animals. If you eat beef or lamb, I urge you to look for such labeled products. The USDA also allows farmers to use antibiotics to help prevent disease with a wait time between injection and slaughter.
Growth Hormone implants in cattle (anabolic steroids) -- in one case, hormones illegally injected into meat to be consumed by babies caused the infants of both sexes to develop breasts and some of the female infants began to menustrate.
In the United States, the following hormones are permitted on cattle--testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone, and two synthetic hormones called zeranol and trenbolone acetate. Each of them makes cattle grow faster and bigger. Inserted under the skin, makes the head of the cow 200-300 lbs. heavier at slaughtering time, but still lean.
The USDA meat hotline is 1-202-472-4485 to report violations and outbreaks. Call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline at: 1-888-MPHotline 1-888-674-6854 Or send Email to: mphotline.fsis@usda.gov
Besides beef, there can be contaminates in other commercially-sold meats. Contaminates in water affect fish of which many contaminates resist being destroyed by washing or cooking. Avoid any fish that smells, leaves an indention when the skin is pressed, gills are broken, loose scales, etc. (spiritually speaking, only eat fish with scales)
Organic meats can be expensive, but it would better to reduce your consumption of meat than to compromise. Buy organic beef, if it is feasible for your budget.
"Sweet Poisons"--We love fragrances, especially the classics. Just know that many of the newer fragrances on the market today can be made of 95% sythetic ingredients which can cause adverse reactions
Health Risk from Perfumes: The Most Common Chemcials
100% pure essential oils are natural aromatic extracts from plants which are preferable to today's synthetic concotions. Chemical and synthetic-based fragrances are usually manufactured to duplicate or copy a certain scent. The first step is usually to analyze various essential oils and essential oil blends to figure out the individual chemical make-up. Chemists will then blend the various chemicals to make a scent. The National Academy of Sciences reported in 1986 that 95% of chemicals used in synthetic and chemical fragrances are derived from petroleum and include many carcinogenic materials. Many of these chemicals can have adverse side effects including cancer, birth defects, headaches, and dizziness. The real problem with fragrances is that manufacturers are not required to disclose the exact ingredients used. So, basically, you may never know exactly what is in it.
Acetone (can cause dizziness, slurred speech, dry mouth and throat)
Benzaldehyde (in perfume, cologne, hairspray, laundry bleach; can cause nausea, irritation to mouth, throat, eyes, and skin)
Benzyl Acetate (in perfume, cologne, shampoo, fabric softener, air freshener; carcinogenic (pancreatic)
Benzyl Alcohol (in fabric softener, soap, perfume, shampoo, deodorants; can cause vomiting, dizziness, CNS depression)
Camphor (in perfume, shaving cream, nail enamel; can cause dizziness, irritation of eyes, nose, and throat)
Ethanol (in perfume, hairspray, air fresheners; can cause drowsiness, stupor, impaired vision)
Ethyl Acetate (in aftershaves, perfume, nail enamel, fabric softener; can cause headaches, damage to liver)
Limonene (in perfume, bar soap, deodorants, nail color; carcinogenic)
Linalool (in perfume, bar soap, shampoo, laundry detergent; can cause depression, respiratory disturbances)
Methylene Chloride (in shampoo, perfume, paint remover; banned by FDA in 1988, headaches, stupor, tingling, carcinogenic)
a-Pinene (in bar and liquid soap, perfume, deodorants; can cause damage to immune system)
a-Terpinene (in perfume, soap, air freshener, deodorant; can cause asthma and CNS disorders)
a-Terpineol (in perfume, laundry products, hairspray; can cause ataxia, hypothermia, depression, headaches)
95% of chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from pertroleum. They include benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and many other known toxics and sensitizers-capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders, and allergic reactions.
CNS (central nervous system) disorders include multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, alzheimer's disease, and sudden infant death syndrome.
A room containing an air freshener had high levels of p-dichlorobenzene ( a cacinogen) and ethanol.
An FDA analysis (1968-1972) of 138 compounds used in cosmetics that most frequently involved adverse reactions--31 million Americans suffer from sinusitis; 10 million have asthma; asthma deaths have increased over 30% in 10 years; and headaches cost $50 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses and 157 million lost work days in 1991.
Bed Bugs are Making a Comeback in Some Upscale Hotel Rooms
When you enter a hotel room, you never know what kind of critters entered the room before you. Not people. Critters.
During a hotel stay, an opera singer didn't feel the bed bugs, but then she woke up in the middle of the night and saw them. "They were all over the bed and the comforter and the pillows and I pulled the sheets off and they were just everywhere," she said. She ended up with about 150 bites and 23 scars.
Bed bugs are smaller than your fingernail, only come out at night, and are very flat -- until they feed on humans. "They're like little vampires, like stealth feeders at nighttime," said Michael Raupp, an entomology professor at the University of Maryland. "You're asleep. They crawl into your bed and you may not be able to feel them."
To check for bed bugs, experts say to pull back the sheets and look for the rust-colored stains that bed bugs leave. You should also scrutinize the mattress seams and use a flashlight to check behind the headboard. If you put your luggage on a rack to keep it off the floor, you will also reduce the chances you'll bring bedbugs home with you.
But there are smaller organisms lurking in hotel rooms as well: germs. Experts say it's like sharing a room with thousands of strangers and their germs. Hotel faucets and sink bottoms are moist areas where E. coli sometimes collects. Hotel floors can harbor athlete's foot germs for up to three months.
We suggest carrying a natural bacterial spray with you when you travel. The moment you enter your hotel room spray down the bathroom, the telephone, the remote control, and the edges of the bed. Check the comforter or bed covering and if it looks unclean or smells, call room service and request a clean one. Take some house slippers with you and try to avoid walking around barefooted on hotel room floors. Follow these procedures whether you are paying $50 per night or $5000 per night.
Eradicating the Bugs... A thorough cleaning of the premises will make bed bug control efforts much more effective. Strip all beds down to the bare sleeping surface. Bedding, sheets, blankets, comforters, covers, and shams should be washed in very hot water. Very hot water (120+degrees) will kill the bed bugs. Personal items (stuffed animals, soft toys, blankets) should be removed, cleaned with a vacuum cleaner, and bagged in plastic for several weeks or more. Clutter should be removed from furniture tops and bed stands. Open up the clock radio and phone (that's right, Bed Bugs may be hiding in there too!). Tap the open ends into a bag or on sticky tape so the bed bugs can’t jump and hide. VACUUM EVERY SURFACE IN AFFECTED BEDROOMS INCLUDING THE INSIDE OF DRESSER DRAWERS, DRESSER CAVITIES, WALLS, AND CLOSETS.
In severe infestations, clothing should be removed from dressers and chests. Utilize a crack & crevice vacuum tool to remove bed bugs from deep harborage such as: under baseboards; under carpet edges (pull up along the tack strip); around switch plates (you may have to remove the plate first); from the bed frame; inside box springs; inside furniture; and from floor cracks.
Use a hand-brush attachment to vacuum up most of the bed bugs. Vacuum mattresses and box springs (especially along seams and folds); upholstered furniture; and behind drapes. Also vacuum the floor completely. After vacuuming, remove the bag from the vacuum, tie it tightly, and remove it from the premises ASAP. Remember, really infested bedding may have to be completely discarded. IMMEDIATELY THROW AWAY VACUUM BAG.
FDA Public Health Advisory
FDA Announces Important Changes and Additional Warnings for COX-2 Selective and Non-Selective Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that it has asked Pfizer, Inc. to voluntarily withdraw Bextra (valdecoxib) from the market. Pfizer has agreed to suspend sales and marketing of Bextra in the U.S., pending further discussions with the agency. FDA is also asking manufacturers of all marketed prescription NSAIDs, including Celebrex (celecoxib), a COX-2 selective NSAID, to revise the labeling (package insert) for their products to include a boxed warning and a Medication Guide. The boxed warning will highlight the potential for increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) events with these drugs and the well-described, serious, and potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding associated with their use. The Medication Guide will accompany every prescription NSAID at the time it is dispensed to better inform patients about the CV and GI risks. Finally, FDA is asking manufacturers of non-prescription (OTC) NSAIDs to revise their labeling to include more specific information about the potential GI and CV risks, and information to assist consumers in the safe use of the drug. This announcement does not apply to aspirin as it has clearly been shown to reduce the risk of serious adverse CV events in certain patient populations.
Click Here For More Information
BODY PIERCINGS...
More than one in four people who have body piercings suffer from complications, a recent study in the British Medical Journal reports.The study, which was carried out by experts from the Health Protection Agency and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, surveyed 10,503 people aged over 16. The researchers found that body piercings are most popular in young people aged between 16 and 24, particularly in women. In this age group, complications were reported in almost a third of piercings, with about one in seven serious enough to require professional medical help.The most common problems were swelling, infection, and bleeding. Alarmingly, almost one in every 100 piercings in people aged between 16 and 24 resulted in them being admitted to hospital. Serious complications are more likely when a friend or relative does the piercing, rather than a specialist at a piercing or tattooing shop. Four out of five piercings in this study were carried out in specialist piercing or tattooing shops. However a number were carried out by non-specialists, including nine percent of all tongue piercings.
Here's To Your Health--Live Long And Prosper! Embellir Corporation 901.452.1950 (p) 901.452.1949 (f) 877-861-1950 (toll free)
