Are they finally getting it?

While perusing the web this morning, I came across an article on Yahoo named “The 10 Dirtiest Foods You’re Eating.  The title alone would spark interest in us all right? They asked Men’s Health contributor Jim Gorman to help them identify the 10 dirtiest foods we put on our plates.  The second one listed was ground beef, here’s what they had to say:

The dirt: When USDA inspectors last tested hamburger meat, they looked at 563 sources nationwide and discovered Clostridium perfringens in 53 percent of the batches, Staphylococcus in 30 percent, and Listeria monocytogenes in 12 percent. Interestingly, the USDA found no trace of Escherichia coli 0157:H7, a.k.a. E. coli, one of the desperadoes of foodborne illness. Despite this finding, if slaughterhouse safeguards fail (and they sometimes do), E. coli could potentially pop up in your next patty.

At the supermarket: ”Find a grocery store that sells irradiated ground beef,” says Donald W. Schaffner, Ph.D., an extension specialist in food science at Rutgers University. The package will bear the words “treated by irradiation.” Schaffner gives the safety of the treatment a glowing review: “The amount of induced radioactivity is 200,000 times smaller than the level of radioactivity naturally present in all foods.”

At home: Add fresh oregano to your burgers and meat loaf. When researchers at Kansas State University mixed a variety of common household spices into ground beef to test their antibacterial properties, oregano tested as one of the best at wiping out E. coli. Use at least 1 tablespoon per pound of meat. Just as important, flatten your patties—thick burgers will char on the outside before the interior reaches the required 160°F.

Interesting! Oregano wiping out E. coli? Haven’t we been saying this all along?  The essential oils of naturally growing herbs and plants can wipe out bacteria and harmful germs without the use of toxic man-made chemicals.  We won’t use the words “disinfect” or “sanitize” or the EPA will be looking for us to register nature as a pesticide, but you get the idea.  Now if oregano can wipe out this bacteria in the foods we eat, surely its safe enough to dilute and spray on our countertops.  Maybe they are finally getting it!

 

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Have you ever disinfected your home? The answer may surprise you….

The question is have you ever disinfected your home, you say silly Clean of course we have.  Well I am here to tell you that unless you have carefully followed the directions on the label of your disinfectant, all you have done is the equivalent of cleaning with soap and water or even less. 

It’s true, if you look at the label on your favorite disinfectant spray the directions should tell you what the dwell time (time the product must be left on the surface) is in order to sanitize or disinfect.  The majority of them list 10 minutes of dwell time before wiping.  Now ask yourself, when cleaning up in your kitchen or bath, do you leave the product on the surface for 10 minutes before wiping?  Or are you like most folks who clean by using the spray and wipe method?  If you are like most then you have wasted your money on a disinfectant and could have opted for the much gentler, less toxic, soap and water to clean.  That is if your disinfectant is also a cleaner (contains detergents or surfactants). 

Check that label again, does it say “for heavily soiled surfaces, pre-clean”?  This means that the disinfectant is not effective if the surface is dirty.  I know what you’re thinking, why buy a cleaner that doesn’t clean, right?  Well, most of the multi-purpose cleaners with disinfectants are not sufficient for cleaning the soiled surface before disinfecting.  If you are like some and use the all infamous bleach and water to disinfect your home and do not let the solution dwell for 10 minutes before wiping or rinsing, then you have essentially cleaned with water.  The bleach will not clean or lift the soil, therefore the disinfectant is rendered useless or close to it.

Now let’s take a look at another section of your disinfectants directions on the label.  Do you see the word “for food contact surfaces”?  What comes next? RINSE with water!  Now let’s say that you are a direction following diva and you do exactly as it says, you would not rinse the toilet seat, the door knobs, the faucets, light switches, etc.  you would only rinse the countertops, sinks and other kitchen surfaces right?  Here’s where our regulatory system fails us.  The manufacturer of such products is required to give us warnings or caution us about the hazards of accidentally ingesting their products or what to do if it happens to get into your eyes.  However the only warning they are required to give about skin contact is if the product may cause irritation or burning to the skin (common with acid containing products).

With that said let’s have a little health quiz.  What is the largest organ in our body?  Our skin.  Is our skin a non-porous surface? The answer is no.  Can chemicals that come in contact with our skin enter our bloodstream?  Absolutely!  Ever heard of transdermal skin patches?  These are patches with medicines on them that are placed on our skin to be absorbed into our bloodstream.  Statistically these patches are 95% more effective than oral medications mainly because they are not broken down by digestive acids.  Now if the manufacturers of the cleaning products you used were to claim that the skin absorbs the chemicals in their products, they would need to be classified as a drug and would be strictly regulated – taboo for the cleaning chemical industry.

So what does all of this mean to you?  If you’ve been following the labels directions it’s still not enough.  All surfaces need to rinsed thoroughly after applying these chemicals or you are endangering your health by allowing your skin to absorb them.  (I won’t even mention the inhalation of the chemicals when they are sprayed.)  If you are not following the directions on the label then you haven’t been disinfecting at all, so ask yourself….is it even necessary?

My advise, kick the chemicals to the curb.  Clean your home with a natural detergent and water and if you insist on a disinfectant, use vinegar and water or hydrogen peroxide.  Both products can be used orally and are deemed safe for contact with food surfaces and our skin.

We welcome all comments and questions, thank for visiting our blog!

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The Autoimmune Epidemic

I wanted to share with you a book that I find to be a must read for everyone.  The following interview with the author was published on the endfatigue.com website.

We are honored to have an interview with Donna Jackson Nakazawa, the author of The Autoimmune Epidemic. As is the case with CFS and Fibromyalgia (and for many of the same reasons), our immune systems are getting overwhelmed and attacking our own bodies (autoimmune disease). Lupus, multiple sclerosis, hypothyroidism, childhood diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis are just a few of the nearly a hundred known autoimmune diseases. Nakazawa cites national statistics which show that one in 12 people—and one in 9 women—has an autoimmune disease. That’s nearly 24 million Americans. Yet even though autoimmune diseases afflict more than twice the number of people who have cancer, and a woman is 8 times more likely to have an autoimmune disease than breast cancer, these issues are given low priority by those who fund medical research. In her interview, Donna Jackson Nakazawa discusses the research behind and causes of autoimmune disease and how to protect yourself from getting them. I invite you to read her book and this interview to learn more about this important topic.

An interview with Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Author of The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World out of Balance—and the Cutting Edge Science that Promises Hope (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, February 2008). Available at Amazon ($16.50).

Question:

What role do autoimmune issues play in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FMS)?

Nakazawa:

CFS and FMS are not considered autoimmune diseases in that they do not involve an autoantibody attack on the body, but people who have autoimmune diseases do frequently suffer from CFS and FMS. So clinicians who treat autoimmune disease patients certainly know that there is a connection. Perhaps no one knows more about this connection than Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum. According to Teitelbaum, who has treated over 3,000 CFS/FMS patients, “Fibromyalgia is often triggered by autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.” In addition, he says, research shows that “patients with CFS/FMS are more likely to have autoimmune problems like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.” So, it goes both ways. Why is this the case? Often, the triggers for autoimmune disease—be it severe stress, infections, or autogens—are the same for CFS/FMS. Moreover, adds Teitelbaum, “The immune alterations that occur with autoimmune diseases—and the medications used to treat them—can aggravate the immune dysfunction seen in CFS/FMS.”

Question:

In your book you say that the number of people suffering from autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes has skyrocketed—more than doubling in the last three decades. Yet we hear very little about this epidemic. Why?

Nakazawa:

Lupus, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis are just a few of the more common types of autoimmune disease, but in fact there are nearly a hundred other known autoimmune diseases. One in 12 people—and one in 9 women—has an autoimmune disease. That’s nearly 24 million Americans. Yet even though autoimmune diseases afflict more than double the number of people who have cancer, and a woman is 8 times more likely to have an autoimmune disease than breast cancer, 90 percent of Americans say they can’t name a single autoimmune disease. That’s because people just don’t know that many painful and life-altering disorders that increasingly afflict so many of their friends and family members today are autoimmune in nature; the body’s immune system, which is meant to protect us, is mistakenly attacking the body’s own organs and systems.

We also don’t hear much about these diseases because the exact process by which our immune system turns from friend to foe was, for many decades, the black box of modern science. Until the late 1970s scientists didn’t even agree that the body could turn on itself, much less why. It’s only in the last ten years that scientists have been able to show in the lab exactly how the immune system, when it’s overwhelmed by foreign invaders such as chemicals and viruses, can go haywire and destroy our own tissue and organs in acts we might think of as “friendly fire.” The fact that these diseases have been difficult for the medical community to understand means that even today getting a correct diagnosis can be very difficult. Most people who have an autoimmune disease see six doctors over four years before they get a diagnosis. One patient suffering from severe muscle fatigue and disabling weakness was told by a doctor she’d seen eight times: “We’ve given you every test known to man except for an autopsy. Would you like one of those too?” It was five years before she got a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. The medical establishment often lacks a full understanding as to how to diagnose these diseases, dismisses women who complain of symptoms, and often has little to offer in the way of effective treatment. So one reason autoimmune diseases are not on our radar screens is that these diseases were, for many decades, mysterious and not well understood.

Another reason, I suspect, is that on some level we don’t want to face the facts. Rates of these diseases have doubled and tripled in industrialized countries around the world over the past three decades. The top scientists I interviewed for my book agree that something in our environment—something far beyond a better ability to diagnose these diseases—is causing this health crisis. They are convinced that the cause of this epidemic—which is world-wide, by the way—lies primarily in our environment and in all the toxins, pesticides, heavy metals and chemicals that have become a part of our everyday living. We all carry a “body burden” of toxins in our bloodstream, even babies. Several studies show that chemicals commonly used in household cleaners, cosmetics and furniture are present in infant fetal cord blood. This doesn’t sound healthy, does it? But even if we agree that this soup of chemicals within us is harmful, what do we do about it? Talking about the autoimmune epidemic is a bit like talking about global warming before the movie An Inconvenient Truth was released. For the longest time, we couldn’t see, or didn’t want to see, that the smallest rise in temperature would melt the polar ice caps. Likewise, we don’t want to know that the ways we’re polluting our environment are also harming our bodies and our immune cells. In the international medical world, the scientists who study autoimmune disease call this epidemic “the global warming of women’s health.” Yet the reality that the environment plays a major role in triggering these diseases hasn’t yet trickled down to the rest of the population.

Question:

You coin the term “autogen” to describe the agents that trigger autoimmune disease. What are some examples of autogens?

Nakazawa:

There are thousands of probable autogens we have not yet studied. Eighty thousand chemicals have been approved for use in our environment. Every year 1,700 new chemicals are approved—that’s an average of five a day. Have scientists studied the effects on our bodies of all these chemicals? No. However, those chemicals that have been researched—in occupational studies and in studies of lab animals—have been shown to play a role in triggering autoimmune reactions. For example, mice exposed to pesticides—at levels four-fold lower than the level set as acceptable for humans by the EPA—are more susceptible to getting lupus than control mice. Mice that absorb low doses of trichloroethylene (TCE)—a chemical used in industrial degreasers, dry-cleaning, household paint thinners, glues and adhesives—at levels deemed safe by the EPA, and equal to what a factory worker today might encounter, quickly develop autoimmune hepatitis. And low doses of perfluorooctanoic acid, a breakdown chemical of Teflon that can be found in 96 percent of humans tested for it, impair the development of a proper immune system in rats.

We know from occupational studies in humans that these chemicals impair our immune systems in dangerous ways. In 2007, scientists from the National Institutes of Health announced—after studying 300,000 death certificates in 26 states over a 14-year period—that those who worked with pesticides, textiles, hand painting, solvents (such as TCE), benzene, asbestos, and other compounds were significantly more likely to die from an autoimmune disease than people who were not exposed. Other recent studies show links between working with solvents, silica dust, asbestos, PCBs and vinyl chloride and a greater likelihood of developing autoimmune disease.

Question:

But not everyone who is exposed to these autogens comes down with a disease. So, why do some people get an autoimmune disease and not others?

Nakazawa:

That’s because of a phenomenon I call the “barrel effect.” Each person, with his or her unique genetic composition, is exposed to a myriad combination and level of autogens depending on what they encounter in their day-to-day lives through the air they breathe and what they come into contact with through their skin. This toxic stew consists not only of chemicals and heavy metals, but additives in our highly processed diet and viruses and bacterial agents to which we’re exposed—all of which combine to impact our immune system. Chronic stress, which releases cortisol into our body, also plays a role in triggering these diseases as do women’s reproductive hormones—which is why women are three times more likely than men to come down with an autoimmune disease. As long as your barrel is less than full, however, your immune system is still able to deal with what it confronts every day. But once the immune system becomes overburdened it can begin to send misread signals, causing the immune system to make costly mistakes and attack the body itself. Unfortunately in modern life we’ve created a perfect storm of factors—a plethora of chemicals, heavy metals, processed food additives, viral hits and stressors—for today’s autoimmune epidemic to take hold. So much of what we encounter in twenty-first century life is causing our barrel to fill to the brim—and spill over. At that point, disease strikes.

Question:

Is it only people with a genetic predisposition who are vulnerable to this “barrel effect?”

Nakazawa:

No. Researchers have found that anyone can be susceptible. Whether or not you get an autoimmune disease depends on how many of these triggers you’ve been exposed to over your lifetime—or how full your barrel is. People with a genetic predisposition—for example, if you have a close relative who has an autoimmune disease, you may be genetically inclined that way—may be more vulnerable, but anyone whose immune system is overtaxed or over-stimulated can get sick.

Question:

You talk about “clusters” of autoimmune diseases in your book. For example, in Buffalo, NY, in a small neighborhood surrounding known toxic waste sites, an unusually high number of people have developed lupus. And yet, the U.S. Department of Environmental Conservation is doubtful that there’s a link. Why is that?

Nakazawa:

Clusters are hugely controversial in part because our scientific criteria for proving that exposure A caused disease B in a community are extremely difficult to meet. Autoimmune diseases take years to appear after exposure, and communities are often constantly changing. People move, or die, or their disease is never properly diagnosed. How can we prove, with all these variables, that a toxic exposure in an area caused a group of people to fall ill with a specific set of diseases? Moreover, so much toxic waste exists everywhere, how can we definitively compare what autoimmune disease rates might be in a non-chemically laden area with those in a highly contaminated area when such clear-cut lines rarely exist in the cities and suburbs where we live? So it’s very difficult.

Nevertheless, autoimmune clusters have been shown to exist near toxic waste sites in Buffalo, New York; El Paso, Texas; and Morrison, Illinois and its environs. Many more are being investigated, including in Anniston, Alabama, where investigators funded by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry are conducting studies to determine whether high rates of autoimmune disease in the area are linked to an industrial manufacturing site where most of the PCBs in the United States were once manufactured and dumped. From Anniston to Buffalo we live in an increasingly complex sea of autogenic agents.

Still, we say we can’t “prove” that chemicals are impairing the human immune system. Meanwhile, European environmental policy uses the precautionary principle—an approach to public health that underscores preventing harm to human health before it happens. In June 2007, the European Union implemented legislation known as REACH (the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances), which requires companies to develop safety data on 30,000 chemicals over the next decade, and places responsibility on the chemical industry to demonstrate the safety of their products. America lags far behind, without any precautionary guidelines regarding chemical use. Obviously, political and economic considerations come into play here. There are over 1,200 “superfund” sites around the U.S.—areas where deadly toxins are known to be seeping into the environment—and these have yet to be cleaned up. At about 10 percent of these sites, people are freely entering the area and being exposed directly to the hazardous waste. Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency does not release information about how much it plans to spend to remediate these sites, when the area will be cleaned up or how long it will take.

Question:

You were twice paralyzed with the autoimmune disease Guillan Barre Syndrome during the writing of this book. How did you recover?

Nakazawa:

Most patients with an autoimmune disease go through terribly difficult times—or flare-ups—which can be quite serious. Getting through a downturn involves a combination of factors. If you know what can contribute to disease it’s easier to know how you can help yourself. Months of grueling physical therapy, coupled with IVIG treatments, helped me recover each time I was paralyzed. I also have had to be vigilant about what goes into my body and avoid coming into contact with things that might overstimulate my immune system. Dietary factors, use of household cleaners, emotional stress—these all have to be watched and managed. Also, we do a lot of hand washing in my home, especially when there are colds and flu going around, to minimize any viral hits to my immune system. Studies show that patients with an autoimmune disease also do better if they build a wellness plan that involves reducing stress hormones through a daily habit of meditation and whatever form of exercise they can tolerate. Studies show that autoimmune patients also do much better if they follow “the autoimmune diet,” which means consuming foods that are anti-inflammatory. For example, most autoimmune specialists agree that patients should avoid wheat and gluten products and highly processed foods, which can be inflammatory or provoke the immune system to overreact. So one needs to work with a doctor who is open to treating you not just with drugs but also with dietary changes, including making sure you’re receiving adequate amounts of the main supplements that have been shown in clinical studies to help autoimmune disease patients, such as omega fatty acids, Vitamin D, antioxidants, probiotics and glucosamine.

Question:

What simple measures can people take in their lives to cut back on toxic exposures and to keep their “barrel” from overflowing?

Nakazawa:

There are a number of choices we can make in everyday life to cut back on our toxic exposures to help empty the barrel. These include:

1.	Eat anti-inflammatory foods. According to nutritionists the following foods have anti-inflammatory properties that help to quiet down autoimmune activity. Range-fed beef, lamb, chicken, and turkey; fish with low mercury content such as flounder or talapia; hormone-free eggs; all vegetables (avoiding eggplant and tomatoes which have inflammatory properites); all fresh fruits; unsweetened yogurt; whole-grain breads from alternative nongluten grains; brown rice; beans; nuts, seeds, and sprouts; olive, flaxseed, and sesame oils; and seasonings such as rosemary, thyme and oregano.
2.	Avoid processed foods. Consumption of highly preserved bread products, cereals, snacks, and preserved meats and other foods—which are usually full of chemicals, preservatives, and additives—are correlated with rising rates of autoimmune disease in industrialized countries around the world.
3.	Choose organic. As you shop for healthy foods, buy organic. Pesticides have been shown in both lab studies of animals and occupational studies of people to be “autogens,” or chemicals that can play a role in triggering autoimmunity. Remember to also wash all fruits and vegetables well before you eat them to avoid food-borne illnesses—which can cause or worsen some autoimmune diseases.
4.	Consider supplements. Ask your doctor if you could benefit from supplementation with antioxidants, essential fatty acids, Vitamin D, probiotics or glucosamine—all shown in wide-scale studies of patients to be beneficial in curbing the damage of autoimmune disease.
5.	Understand the stress connection. Pick up a “stress-relief” habit—daily meditation, a brisk morning walk, yoga—and stick with it. Better yet, do all three. Stress suppresses the immune system’s healthy cellular communication and can worsen disease.
6.	Clean green. Using non-chemical cleaning products helps to limit the number of “autogens” we come into contact with each day. Since manufacturers of household cleaners are not required to list toxic ingredients on their product labels, it’s prudent to replace chemical-based cleaning agents with natural alternatives.
7.	Think before you pink. Our skin is the largest organ of the body—and remarkably porous and adept at absorbing toxins. Cosmetic products are full of a disturbing number of chemicals including parabens and phthalates (both known endocrine disruptors). Avoid dark hair dyes, which are linked to higher rates of autoimmune disease, and nail polishes containing phthalates, formaldehyde and tolulene. Look for organic products made by corporations that have joined the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, or visit www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org for a list of companies that produce products that are paraben and phthalate-free.
8.	Wash your hands! Wash your hands routinely and thoroughly throughout the day to help avoid viruses and bacterial infections, both of which can play a role in triggering autoimmune disease. One trick: wash your hands for as long as it takes to mentally hum your ABC’s—that’s the twenty seconds recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.
9.	Make environmentally sound, common-sense choices. Each time you think about purchasing a new item or product, ask yourself whether using it will cause you to be exposed to more harmful chemicals. For instance, drive a few extra blocks (in your hybrid) to use organic dry cleaners; buy wooden toys rather than plastic ones for your children; avoid installing new carpets (which are loaded with flame retardants). If you know that a product is loaded with chemicals—whether it’s the trichlorethylene in most dry cleaning or the bisphenol A (BPA) in your plastic water and baby bottles—find an alternative.
10.	Relax and find the joy in every day. As you make healthy decisions, avoid living in a state of fear about every potential trigger that might surround you. How optimistically you perceive the world around you also impacts your stress level and your well-being.

We thank Donna Nakazawa for her excellent insights. Click here to read a review of her book.

Check out our new product review page

We are working on developing a new product review page and welcome your suggestions.  Drop us a line with your favorite product or one you may be interested in and we will post a review based on our own use or research we have conducted.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month……are you aware?

Which Chemicals Are Linked to Breast Cancer?

It’s difficult to examine the effects of individual chemicals on risk for a disease as complex as breast cancer. The time between exposures and development of the disease may be decades; we may not know what chemicals we’ve been exposed to; and we are not exposed to chemicals in isolation.

With more scientific evidence emerging practically daily, it’s clear: the chemicals in our environment play a role in altering our biological processes. It’s clear that our exposures to toxic chemicals and radiation are connected to our breast cancer risk. 

On a positive note, our exposure to chemicals and radiation is something we can begin to control—through personal, corporate and political action. Get to know the chemicals that have been linked to breast cancer and take action to reduce your risk.

Read more here

Breast Cancer Fund

What’s wrong with soap and water?

Being a big fan of WVE (Women’s Voices for the Earth) and a very big fan of their many reports, especially “Disinfectant Overkill”, I was going over some of the data and it got me thinking.  What’s wrong with soap and water?

If you were to tell people today that you clean your home with soap and water they would look at you like you were out of your mind, no disinfectant, no antibacterials, antimicrobials, biocides, pesticides, germ-genocides?  If you are not performing surgery in your kitchen, there is no need to sterilize.  Not only is there no need, but it may be healthier not to.  We seem to be so obsessed with the war on germs that common sense is overridden by the commercials on television telling us we need to disinfect, kill, protect, bleach everything from the children’s’ toys to the air we breathe.

We’ve heard about all the studies that have been done about antibacterial soaps; how unnecessary they are and may do more harm than good when used on a regular basis.  We are told by the experts that good ‘ole fashioned hand washing is all we need.  So my question is….if soap and water is sufficient for our hands, why not our homes?

Our hands touch the food we prepare, we wash them with soap and water.  However the utensils and dishes, pots and pans need to be washed with dish detergent containing bleach, phosphates, and an array of chemicals to protect us from bacteria.  We use the restroom, we wash our hands.  Yet the cleaning arsenal we bring into our bathrooms contain, bleach, ammonia, quats and anything else we can use to kill those nasty germs.  Imagine washing our skin with these cleaning agents, we wouldn’t consider it but aren’t we doing just that.  We spray and scrub with these chemicals used throughout our homes and the residuals of them can be found on almost everything we touch.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t ever disinfect, but why not use something in our homes that we would wash our hands with.  Vinegar kills 80-90% of bacteria found in the home.  Hydrogen Peroxide is an effective germ killer and Tea Tree Oil is a wonderful antimicrobial.  These alternatives do not clean however, that is to remove soil, which is imperative before applying any disinfectant.  So the next time you are cleaning, try using plain old soap and water and if you feel the need to kill some germs – use an alternative to those nasty chemicals.

To read WVE’s Disinfectant Overkill click here

Your Desk could be Dirtier than a Toilet Seat!

 

Did you know?

             A recent study by the University of Arizona found the typical worker’s desk has hundreds of times more bacteria per square inch than an office toilet seat.

            Desks, phones and other private surfaces are also prime habitats for the viruses that cause colds and flu.  Bacteria can cause throat infections, pneumonia and other conditions which can be treated with antibiotics.  Viruses, however, are smaller than bacteria and cause colds, flu and stomach upsets. They cannot be treated with antibiotics.

            Scientists in this study found that the average office toilet seat had 49 germs per square inch, but desktops had almost 21,000 germs per square inch.  Phones were worse, with more than 25,000 germs per square inch. 

            Eighty per cent of the infections workers get are transmitted through the environment. Desks, phones, computer keyboards and mice are key germ transfer points because people touch them so often.  Coughing and sneezing can leave behind “a minefield of viruses” that can live on a surface for up to three days. Health experts say, however, that simple office hygiene can reduce infection risks dramatically.

            With workers sneezing and coughing over the workspace, dropping food crumbs into their keyboard, dead skin, leaving makeup or saliva on the phones, these areas are turned into a bacteria cafeteria every day.  Studies have even proven that computer keyboards can contain bacteria from well know superbugs such as e-coli, MRSA and salmonella.

            The study also found that 75 percent of workers have dirty monitors, which can lead to headaches, eye strain and nausea.

            With many cleaning service providers being instructed not to touch equipment or move papers to clean desks, the germs build up.  Regular cleaning and sanitizing or the workplace will dramatically reduce the risk of cross-infection and transmission of bacteria.

            So the next time you or your cleaning service tidies up the place, don’t skip the desks or equipment.  It may just save you a few sick days!

For more information on protecting your workers’ health and creating a toxic free work zone, contact Clean by Nature today.

Whose side are they on?

According to a WVE editorial written in the Helena Independent Record, the Coalition for Chemical Safety is a front group for the chemical industry.   The coalition has been recruiting citizens to support a change in the current federal toxic chemical law, however they are accused of wearing the “mask of public safety protectors” while lobbying for the chemical industry.

The Toxic Substances Control Act, hasn’t been updated since 1976. All chemicals formulated prior to 1976 have been grandfathered into use without proper safety testing. Of the 80,000 chemicals currently used and produced in the U.S., only 200 have been required to be tested.

In this day in age is it really too much to ask that all chemicals produced be tested for safety?  Currently, newborn babies are born with over 300 toxic chemicals in their bodies.  It seems the chemical industry has carte blanche to poison the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink.  Read the full article here: http://www.womenandenvironment.org/newsreports/media/wve_news_2010/helenair1_3_10

Breast Cancer – Chemical Toxin Link

Could long term exposure to chemical toxins be the cause of breast cancer?

I am sure right now you are thinking that you don’t come into contact with poisonous chemicals or pesticides…you are just a regular person living your life. No exposure here!

Think again!!! Life just isn’t what it used to be. Once upon a time… about 60 years ago everything was pretty much natural, then along came the Chemical revolution bringing along with it a massive increase of about every existing modern day disease known to mankind, such as cancers, asthma, immune system disorders such as ITP disorder, MS , Lupus etc. 60 years ago thee diseases were not common.

A new survey of scientific evidence conducted by researchers working with the Breast Cancer Fund makes a very compelling case that the industrialized world’s rising breast cancer rate may stem from exposure to radiation and chemicals in plastics, pesticides, cosmetics and other common household goods, including personal care products as well as cleaners. Women are especially at risk because they are the ones taking care of their homes.

“Increasingly sophisticated and compelling data link radiation and various chemicals in our environment to the current high rates of breast cancer incidence,” says the study, “State of the Evidence – The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment,” published in the February issue of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Just what are toxins and how can the help me develop breast cancer?

Toxins are poisonous chemicals that are placed in products and toiletries that we use every day. From household cleaners, to body care products, toxins are everywhere.

These products contain chemicals like formaldehyde and dioxins. They are disbursed in the air we breathe and absorbed into our skin.

Because we live in such tight homes there is no way for these chemical poisons to escape. And when we use personal care products, our skin acts as a sponge and absorbs all of the toxins. Even when we shower our skin happily soaks up the chlorine in the water. No different than the way a trans-dermal patch is used to quit smoking or for birth control or a hormone imbalance, the process is the same. We soak up what we come in contact with just like a thirsty sponge. These toxic chemicals weaken our immune system and cause acute inflammation of the body, which slows the bodies’ ability to fight off germs. Our toxic load makes it take longer for your body to fight off a cold or the flu. They also can trigger many of our immune system disorders such as ITP, MS and Lupus. and are suspected of being a main contributing factor to cancer, especially breast cancer..

Over the last 20-30 years, as more and more unregulated toxic chemicals have been introduced in greater amounts, the level of toxins stored in fatty tissues has increased dramatically. It is acknowledged that this accumulation can be stored in our bodies for life. The long term consequences is a toxic body with an extremely compromised immune system that is not capable of, nor was ever designed by our creator to handle such a toxic chemical load. This load eventually destroys our bodies’ health. Then comes disease.

“The picture of breast cancer causation that emerges is complex,” said Breast Cancer Fund president Jeanne Rizzo. “While there is no single smoking gun, the trends that emerge lead us to stop asking IF there is a link between breast cancer and synthetic chemicals, and to instead ask how to act to reduce our exposure, given the strong and compelling evidence we now have.”

Let me ask you this….Don’t you think it’s time to consider that perhaps your immune system disorder such as cancer could be triggered by toxic overload?

If you think seriously about it I am sure you will agree that it is a real possibility. It’s time to literally clean house. Get rid of all the toxic chemicals and see if it makes a difference.

Only you can take action personally for your health!

February 10, 2009  – Environmental Health 24-7

Lawsuit Against Major Cleaning Product Manufacturers

Chemical Disclosure Could Protect Consumers, Advocates Fight for Transparency

New York, NY – Procter&Gamble;, Colgate-Palmolive, and other household cleaner manufacturing giants are refusing to follow a state law requiring them to disclose the chemical ingredients in their products and the health risks they pose. With mounting concern about the hazards of chemicals in these products, advocates are defending consumers’ right to know and asking companies to follow the law.

In a fight for transparency and accountability, health and environmental advocates took manufacturers Procter&Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight and Reckitt-Benckiser to court today.

The nonprofit public interest law firm Earthjustice is filing the lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of state and national groups: Women’s Voices for the Earth, Environmental Advocates of New York, New York Public Interest Research Group, Riverkeeper, Sierra Club, and American Lung Association in New York.

The first-of-its-kind case could have national implications. Independent studies into chemicals contained in cleaning products continue to find health effects ranging from asthma to hormone disruption. But ingredient disclosure requirements are virtually non-existent in the United States.

The exception is a long-forgotten New York state law which requires household and commercial cleaner companies selling their products in New York to file semi-annual reports with the state listing the chemicals contained in their products and describing any company research on these chemicals’ health and environmental effects.

But in the three decades since the 1976 law was passed, companies failed to file a single report. This fall, environmental and public health advocates sent letters to more than a dozen companies asking them to comply with the law. The companies targeted in today’s lawsuit each ignored or refused this request.

“As the evidence showing the risks posed by chemicals in household cleaners continues to mount, people deserve to know whether the products they use to wash their dishes, launder their clothes, and clean their homes could be harmful,” said Earthjustice attorney Keri Powell. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant, as they say. It’s time to dust off this important law and take the first step in giving consumers the information they need to protect themselves and their families.”

Several companies, including the California-based Sunshine Makers, Inc. (manufacturers of Simple Green products), complied with the request, filing reports with the state for the first time.

“Sierra Club is working through the courts and with the industry on efforts to fill in the gaps where the public still doesn’t have the information it needs to make smart consumer decisions,” said Tom Neltner, co-Chair of Sierra Club’s Toxics Committee. “This New York law can protect consumers by allowing a government agency such as the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to review confidential business information.”

Studies show links between chemicals in common household cleaners and respiratory irritation, asthma, and allergies. Occupational exposures to some ethylene glycol ethers, often used as solvents in cleaning products, are associated with red blood cell damage, reproductive system damage, and birth defects. Some solvents in cleaning products are also toxic to the nervous system.

“Environmental Advocates of New York has fought long and hard to protect New Yorkers from the dangerous effects of toxic chemicals in common household products. Twenty years ago we led the charge to ban nitrilotriacetic acid, NTA, in household products,” said Saima Anjam, Environmental Advocates of New York. “Families across the state deserve to know what’s in the cleansers they use every day. Back in the 1970s New York passed a law to force companies to report on what went into their products. It’s on the books. Now it’s time to enforce it.”

Independent research has also documented troubling hormone-disrupting qualities of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs)—commonly found in detergents, disinfectants, stain removers, and floor cleaners. Some breakdown products of these manmade chemicals can mimic the hormone estrogen and when released into the environment are toxic to aquatic wildlife. In laboratory studies, they cause breast cancer cells to proliferate, alter cells in the placenta, and cause reproductive abnormalities. This raises concerns about whether they may increase the risk of breast cancer, miscarriages, and reproductive damage in humans.

“It’s outrageous that there are hidden ingredients in our cleaning products that may cause serious reproductive problems,” says Tracy Lakatua, executive director of Women’s Voices for the Earth. “In our 2007 report Household Hazards we identified hundreds of cleaning products containing ingredients linked to infertility, birth defects and asthma. Consumers deserve to know if these kinds of chemicals are in their products so they can make healthy choices for themselves and their families.”

Cleaning chemicals can also have severe impacts on respiratory health. Ethanolamines, chemicals used as surfactants in many cleaning products, have been shown to trigger asthma. And mixing common chemicals ammonia and chlorine creates toxic gases called chloramines causing shortness of breath, chest pain, wheezing, nausea, watery eyes, irritation and pneumonia and fluid in the lungs.

“The public is well aware of the dangerous health effects of outdoor air pollution, however inside our homes, air pollution levels can be two to five times higher than outdoors,” said Michael Seilback, Vice President, Public Policy & Communications for the American Lung Association in New York. “The public has a right to know whether the cleaning products they use in their homes contain harmful ingredients which could cause severe respiratory problems and trigger asthma attacks.”

Because many cleaning chemicals survive the sewage system and are released into streams, there is growing concern that such chemicals pose a threat to fish and other aquatic wildlife, causing, among other things, the “feminization” of male fish and throwing ecosystems out of balance.

“Cleaning chemicals enter our waterways through our sewage and storm water systems, threatening our drinking water and poisoning fish and wildlife,” said Robert Goldstein, Riverkeeper’s general counsel. “The first step in protecting ourselves is to make sure consumers know what is in the products they buy so they can make better choices and, ultimately, force companies to stop using these unnecessary and dangerous chemicals.”

Manufacturers have so far been successful in maintaining the status quo; no state or federal law requires companies to identify chemical ingredients on cleaning product labels. Although New York’s reporting law has largely been forgotten, its mere existence means the state leads the nation in household cleaner right-to-know laws.

“Manufacturers of household cleaning products have a responsibility to inform consumers and state regulators about chemicals in their products that may endanger human health or the environment,” said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate with NYPIRG. “This is not only common sense; here in New York, it’s the law.”

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Reference Documents

For a copy of the lawsuit being filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, please visit: http://www.earthjustice.org/library/legal_docs/cleaning-products-disclosure-petition.pdf

For a list of the brands manufactured by the companies targeted in today’s lawsuit, please visit: http://www.earthjustice.org/library/references/cleaning-product-list.doc

For a report by Women’s Voices for the Earth detailing health effects of ingredients commonly used in household cleaners, please visit: www.womenandenvironment.org/campaignsandprograms/SafeCleaning/HazardsReport.pdf

For a copy of the disclosure report filed by Sunshine Makers, Inc., please visit: http://www.earthjustice.org/library/legal_docs/simple-green-cleaning-products-report.pdf

Courtesy of Women’s Voices for the Earth