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Water Quality: Better? or Worse

March 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Suspected carcinogens in your tap water? It’s scary but true for many communities across the United States.

The Environmental Working Group’s 2013 Tap Water Report revealed that 201 water systems that serve 100 million Americans in 43 states are polluted with toxic chemicals created by the reaction of chlorine and rotting organic matter such as leaves, insects, farm and yard runoff and sewage. Just last week, we released our new Water Filter Buying Guide to help you remove these and other chemicals that may be hazardous to your health.

We know the government is dropping the ball when it comes to keeping toxic chemicals out of your tap water.

Filed Under: Chlorination, Environment, Toxins, Water filtration

At last.. Pesticides in Drinking Water linked to Allergies

December 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There has been more news about pesticides in drinking water recently. Food allergies have been linked to pesticides that are found in our tap water.

According to the Department of Agriculture the average American is exposed to 10 or more pesticides every day through their diet and drinking water.

Pesticides are found in almost every stream in the United States and in 90 percent of water wells and over half of the groundwater in urban and agricultural areas. As food allergies become increasingly common, a new study offers the first proof that they may be linked to pesticides found in tap water.  

Researchers at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology used existing government data to see whether people with more dichlorophenols in their urine were more likely to have food allergies. Dichlorophenols are a kind of chlorine in certain pesticides that are known to kill bacteria, and in theory, they could be killing the naturally occurring bacteria in humans’ digestive systems, causing food allergies.

“We wanted to see if there was an association between certain pesticides and food allergies, and we were specifically interested in dichlorophenols because those were the ones that had this antibacterial effect,” said lead researcher Dr. Elina Jerschow.

“When researchers have compared bacteria from the bowel in healthy kids versus bacteria in the bowel for kids that have lot of allergies, they’ve noticed a big difference.”

The number of children and teens with food or digestive allergies in the United States has increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to a 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 3 million people under 18 years old.

Eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat make up 90 percent of food allergies, according to the CDC report. Symptoms can range from mouth tingling to anaphylaxis, which is the swelling of the throat and tongue and can lead to death. Jerschow clarified that the researchers were only looking for a statistical association, meaning they were not able to examine patients to see how these chemicals physically caused their allergies. Because it’s only an association, these findings could mean that the chemicals caused the food allergies, or it could mean the food allergies caused the chemicals in the urine. That part is not yet clear. To read more, go here.

Filed Under: Toxins, Uncategorized, Water filtration Tagged With: , ,

Owwwahh! Chlorinating chemical used in water linked to allergies.

December 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This report  from Science Daily describes a study of around 10,000 people, of whom around 2500 had dichlorophenol in their urine. Click here to see how many of them had allergies. Oww!

So you STILL don’t think you need a water filter??

Filed Under: Detoxification, Toxins, Water Toxins

Dust Bunny Alert: Toxins in everyday household dust.

September 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Environmental health experts in the United States and Canada have been hunting down dust bunnies recently, as studies have shown that the seemingly innocuous fluff may contain traces of threatening toxins.

For starters, residents unwittingly track in outdoor contaminants, including lead and arsenic, which can settle into the layers of dust and recirculate in indoor air if disturbed, according to a 2009 study from the University of Arizona published in Environmental Science & Technology.

The researchers derived a formula to calculate the amount of outdoor soil and airborne particles that intermixes with indoor dust.

Based on their mathematical model, they determined that around 60 percent of floor dust comes from soil stuck on shoes. And if someone lives near a contaminated Superfund site or industrial plant, that dirt could be loaded with toxins.

“Although we’ve conducted a small pilot project to collect our own data to validate the model presented in this study, the next step would be to conduct a larger study where we’d collect data from several households,” said Paloma Beamer, an environmental scientist at the University of Arizona. “Ideally, we’d also like to see if participants could collect their own samples.”

Obtaining baseline contaminant levels could eventually lead to low-cost measures for healthier household environments, particularly in polluted regions.

While Beamer says that residents in less commercially contaminated areas shouldn’t be as worried about toxic dust, health officials in Canada also are sampling indoor dust from urban households across the country for various chemicals and metals.

“In addition to the outdoor sources listed in the University of Arizona study model, we’ve observed that indoor sources also contribute significantly to metal content of indoor dust,” said Gary Holub, a spokesperson for Health Canada, which is conducting the Canadian House Dust Study, a separate, ongoing, four-year project. “But the relative contributions of outdoor and indoor sources are highly variable.”

For instance, the first phase of the Canadian study found inconsistent amounts of lead in house dust, even among homes in the same neighborhood.

Although the exact dust contaminant threat remains unknown, Holub and Beamer each noted that children are more at risk because of their size and play activity.

“Indoor dust can be swallowed by young children through normal hand-to-mouth activities, and in that way, they can become exposed to any chemicals which are in the dust,” Holub told Discovery News.

The University of Arizona study also stated that the amount of lead particles in floor dust is a key determinant of blood-lead levels in children.

But there are many simple methods parents can take to prevent dust from settling inside, which will improve indoor air quality for all residents.

“You could consider leaving your shoes outside the door, and you can vacuum with a HEPA vacuum, especially ones equipped with a dirt detector,” Beamer from University of Arizona said. “You can wet dust rather than dry dust, and you should also change your air conditioning filters regularly.”

Ian: Hmmm. Perhaps we could stop breathing inside the home… 

..and if that’s not enough check out the ten dirtiest places in most homes that we DON’T clean here.

Filed Under: Toxins

Arsenic: Safe? …or Not?

June 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), drinking water with low levels of arsenic – 10 parts per billion – has been deemed nontoxic and okay for human consumption.  

However, new research has revealed that the water may not be so ‘safe’ to drink after all.

Researchers from both the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.,  and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth have discovered that drinking water with low levels (10 ppb) of arsenic stimulates adverse health effects in pregnant and lactating mice, as well as their offspring.

The experiment had stemmed from previous studies the researchers had done, which had shown exposure to low levels of arsenic in water caused mice to have lower immune responses and become more susceptible to the flu.  They had found the effects were even greater on the mice who were exposed to the arsenic in utero and in early childhood.

“Our original intent was to repeat the flu study – we were going to give the arsenic water to pregnant moms so the babies would be exposed in utero and nursing,” said Dr. Joshua Hamilton, chief academic and scientific officer for the Marine Biological Laboratory and one of the study’s lead authors..  “Then we would take away the arsenic, and at some point in the future give them the flu to see how they’d react.  We never got to do that experiment because what we saw was the consequence of what they published.  Giving mice 10 ppb arsenic in water led to the babies being substantially smaller.”

After giving the mice the water, the pregnant and/or lactating mothers experienced problems with their lipid metabolism, which caused lower levels of nutrients in their blood and breast milk.  These nutrient deficiencies lead to growth and developmental deficiencies in their offspring while they were still breastfeeding.

“In the mom’s blood and breast milk, there were significant decreases in triglycerides – an important nutrient for mom and baby,” Hamilton said. “It was the principal reason the babies were under-developed.  When we took new born pups with arsenic moms and switched them over to feed from non-arsenic moms, they started to recover.  So it suggested it was a nutrient problem, not a direct effect of the arsenic on them but on the mother.”

After an order issued by the EPA in 2006, the arsenic standard for drinking water was set at a limit of 10 parts per billion in order to protect consumers from the adverse effects associated with chronic arsenic exposure.  According to the EPA’s website, such complications include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, partial paralysis, blindness, and an increased risk of various types of cancer.

While 10 ppb is the EPA standard, it only applies to public, regulated well waters.  The problem lies in the unregulated well waters in arsenic heavy regions – such as New England, Florida, and the Upper Midwest – which have been found to have concentrations of 100 ppb and higher. :-(

The researchers noted that since the experiment was done in mice, it does not necessarily translate to humans since they are not physiologically identical.  However, Hamilton said that the experiment should still serve as a cautionary tale because tests on mice can be predictive of how something will react in humans.
 
“I think as a community in toxicology, we’re seeing more and more studies that are suggesting that 10 ppb may not be protective enough for humans,” Hamilton said.  “I can’t think of any other drinking water contaminant regulated by the EPA where the federal drinking water standard is so close to levels where we see adverse effects in animals and humans.  It’s a very unique chemical.”

The team hopes to do further experiments to understand what exactly is happening to the physiology of the mice, as well as to see if it’s necessary for the EPA to lower the arsenic standard.  But according to Hamilton, there are more hurdles to overcome than just proving the science.

“Whatever number we set must be something where we have the technology to take it out within reasonable cost, and the technology to show we’ve done it accurately so we know we’ve met the standard,” Hamilton said.  “The estimate was that we might be able to drop the standard to 2 to 3 ppb, most public water supplies can achieve this and can say they’ve met the standard.”

“But at the end of the day, we gave [mice] drinking water with arsenic in it with exactly the same dose that you can drink out of your tap that the EPA says is safe – and bad things happened to them,” Hamilton added.  “It needs further investigation, but certainly it’s a cautionary tale that at such a low dose, we’re seeing these dramatic effects on these animals.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/06/01/arsenic-in-drinking-water-deemed-afe-could-harm-mothers-and-children-study/#ixzz1yhPCORtC

Filed Under: Environment, Toxins Tagged With: ,

Bisphenol-A in cans; A dramatic effect.

June 11, 2012 by 1 Comment

Another test on the plastic that lines food cans has resulted in an astounding 2000+% increase in study participants’ Bisphenol-A levels. The truth is certainly coming out, and yet I still see polycarbonate bottles and jugs being sold all over the net. Shame!

Here’s a link to the study

Filed Under: Toxins

Home Toxins

March 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

toxins in the home

The longer I live the more I realise that it’s the small things that count. And when we talk about health, it’s the small amounts of nasty stuff that ends up in our bodies that finally determines our ‘Happy Ever After’ time, isn’t it? I was reminded of this when (chasing a persistent ants nest) we cleaned out our laundry undersink cupboard.

Just Take a look at the chemicals one couple use.. one very green couple I might add!

Filed Under: Toxins Tagged With:

Alkaline Water for your vegetables

March 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

alkaline water and vegetables

I noticed Cassie soaking all our vegetables in a  big bowl of water. Obviously, I don’t spend enough time in the kitchen, because I asked her what she was doing. She replied that she is soaking them in high alkaline water from our AlkaWay water ionizer. They keep better and longer in the fridge, stay crisper and even taste better.

Give
it a try and let me know!

Filed Under: Alkaline Diet, Environment, Fun, Inspiring, Toxins Tagged With: , , ,

Male Infertility is a growing problem.

February 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

Infertility affects one in eight couples in the United States — that’s 7.3 million people who have trouble with pregnancy, according to the CDC.

Once thought as infertility a “female problem,” now  infertility is an equal opportunity problem.

One-third of infertility is attributed to the female, one-third to the male and one-third to combined factors from both male and female.

This post is for the guys. It comes from the US, but I’m quite sure we can learn from it here in Australia.

It’s so common that  chains Walgreens and CVS have announced they would begin stocking a male infertility test as of April, marking the first time men can get an over-the-counter test of their sperm production. According to Bloomberg News, it’s  a $440 million ‘new’ market.

Scientists such as Dr. Shanna Swan, Professor and Vice-Chair of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, say chemicals play a role in the increase of male infertility in the population.

“There is no question that pesticides reduce sperm count,”

Dr. Swan recently told Global News Canada.

“The question is how much do you need to do the damage?”

We now know that chemicals in every day products can lead to low sperm counts, but we also know there are simple steps that men can take to avoid them.

These include:

Using safer pans: Teflon, the most common non-stick coating, is made from perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). Men with higher levels of PFCs had fewer normal sperm and lower sperm concentrations. (PFCs are also used in fast food packaging and microwave popcorn bags, so avoid those as well.)

Avoid contaminated fish: Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were banned in the US in 1979, but they are so persistent, they are still contaminating our food today. Among other things, they have been linked to decreased sperm quality, sperm DNA damage, and lowered testosterone levels. The highest concentrations are found in animal fats, some farmed fish, and freshwater fish from contaminated waters.

Cut the fat: Because PCBs are also found in some animal fats, reducing meat consumption can help lower your exposure. If you do eat meat, opt for low-fat cuts, and cut off visible fat before cooking. Use lower-fat cooking methods such as broiling, grilling, roasting or pressure-cooking. Or, do as I do and buy organic grassfed meat exclusively.

Ban the can: Canned foods are often lined using a resin made from bisphenol-A (BPA). (see my earlier post) High levels of this hormone disruptor led to decreased sperm concentrations and mobility. The only good news is that BPA can be quickly eliminated from the body. The Natural Resources Defense Council reports that you can cut the amount of BPA in your body by as much as 50% in just three days, by following simple steps such as increasing fresh foods, storing food in glass or stainless steel and never microwaving in plastic.

Drink Pure Water: water is still the very best detoxifier and it costs next to nothing.

Filed Under: Toxins Tagged With:

Male Hormone Disruption from Pesticides in Rainwater Tanks

February 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As you would be aware, living in the country has its own risks. In some of the most intensely farmed regions of Australia it’s almost accepted that you will have pesticide overspray on your roof, usually as a result of aerial cropdusting. The Darling Downs area is renowned for health problems in farmers as a result of pesticide residue. This report I was sent today on the effect on male hormones by a broad range of pesticides, therefore, is timely.

Many agricultural pesticides – including some previously untested and commonly found in food – disrupt male hormones, according to new tests conducted by British scientists. The researchers strongly recommended that all pesticides in use today be screened to check if they block testosterone, which is critical to men’s and boys’ reproductive health.

Thirty out of 37 pesticides tested by the University of London altered male hormones, including 16 that had no known hormonal activity until now.
Here’s the report.

And yet it can be so easily prevented. Simple carbon filters have excellent pesticide adsorption abilities and truly.. every farm should have one.. because if they don’t, we’ll have no more little farmers!

Filed Under: Toxins, Water filtration Tagged With: , ,