Learning and Sharing

CHECK it OUT; KEEP in TOUCH --  Part 4.

Everyday environmental hazards: Not necessarily the usual suspects...

(continued)

w Pharmaceuticals/Supplements.  Recent studies have shown that taking antibiotic, antihistamine, antidepressant and antihypertensive medications raises the risk of breast cancer.  Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a four-institute research report (including participation by the National Cancer Institute/National Institute of Health) concluded that “the more antibiotics that women in the study used, the higher their risk of breast cancer.”

Women who took antibiotics for more than 500 days or had more than 25 prescriptions over an average period of 17 years had more than twice the risk of breast cancer as women who hadn’t taken any antibiotics. Earlier research showed similar results for women using antihistamines and antidepressants.  ALL commercial milk and meat, unless it says otherwise, comes from animals that regularly are treated with antibiotics, which then are passed on to consumers in the products they drink and eat.  Antibiotic-free organic milk is widely available, and antibiotic-free meat usually can be found at Henry’s, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods markets, as well as ordered online at www.grasslandbeef.com  For more on excess antibiotics, see http://www.tufts.edu/med/apua/

Synthetic estrogens (birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy)  are linked to breast cancer, while Tamoxifen (FDA approved for those at high risk for recurring breast cancer) is known to increase risk of uterine cancer, and is implicated in gastrointestinal and liver cancer.  

Genetically-engineered Human Growth Hormone (HGH) therapy, in injectible, spray or pill form, has become the rage for “staying young.”  It stimulates the liver to increase production of a natural insulin-like growth factor (IFG-1, just like in hormone-altered milk) that declines with advancing age. The problem?  Articles in several prestigious scientific journals link elevated IGF with major excess (up to seven times normal) risk of colon, prostate and breast cancers.  IGF is also believed to inhibit programmed self-destruction of cancer cells, to stimulate growth and invasiveness of small cancers and to increase their resistance to chemotherapy.  Check it out at www.preventcancer.com/avoidable/breast_cancer/hgh_risks.htm.

w Phthalates.   Phthalates are exceptionally common industrial chemicals used to soften plastics found in building materials, food packaging and wrap, toys and other children's products, medical devices, garden hose, shoes and soles, automobile undercoating, wires and cables, carpet backing, vinyl tile, pool liners, artificial leather, canvas tarps, notebook covers, dishwasher baskets, flea collars, insect repellents, skin emollients, hair sprays, nail polish, perfume, insect repellant and other ubiquitous products. Phthalates can be absorbed through the skin, inhaled as fumes, or ingested when children bite or suck on toys. They also can leach out into foods, especially fatty foods heated to high temperatures.   

“New car smell?”  Sorry to say, it’s phthalates.  Riding in a new car can offer exposure to toxic emissions many times beyond the established standards for at least six months.  Sunshine increases offgassing, so parking in the shade and rolling down the windows/turning on the re-circulator for ventilation are wise choices. Exposure to these toxic chemicals, which mimic estrogen, has been linked to breast and other cancers, as well as reproductive disorders and asthma. The average American’s daily dose now exceeds the EPA’s safety benchmark by more than six times. For a safer bug spray, see Bugs 'R' Done at http://www.safeinsecticide.com/ For other ways to stay safer, see portable water and food prep and storage.  For more, see  //www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/phthalates/phthalates.htm#   [Top]

w Polycarbonate.  Until recently considered safer than softer plastics, hard-plastic polycarbonate has come under fire as a source of bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen mimicking compound that can leach into what’s stored inside. Recent studies have linked BPA with prostate cancer, female reproductive tissue changes and recurrent miscarriage. For many years, most baby bottles have been made of polycarbonate, which also is used for food storage containers (including Nalgene Lexan), plastic flatware, dental sealants and the linings of canned food, as well as in fruit fungicides.  A bill to ban phthalates and bisphenol A in children’s products appears this year before the California legislature.  BPA can be identified on its packaging as “PC7.”  For more, see http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/index.htm  For safer water bottles, see Drink Up.  [Top]

Silica.  Traditional clay-based cat litter contains sodium bentonite (as its clumping agent) and silica dust.  Sodium bentonite is known to cause respiratory infections in both cats and humans, and silica has been labeled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a known animal and human carcinogen.  Safer, plant-based litter materials are available.  Silica also is present (but should be avoided) in some tooth-whitening formulas.    [Top]

w Sunlamps and tanning beds.   [Top]

w Talc. Found in a wide variety of consumer products ranging from home and garden pesticides to antacids, and especially in body powders, talc is closely related to the potent carcinogen asbestos. Talc is the main ingredient in baby powder, medicated powders, perfumed powders and designer perfumed body powders. It’s also used by the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture medications and some antacids. Talc is the principal ingredient of home and garden pesticides and flea and tick powders, but is used in smaller quantities in deodorants, chalk, crayons, textiles, soap, insulating materials, paints, asphalt filler, paper and in food processing.

Talc particles have been shown to cause tumors in the ovaries and lungs of cancer victims. Numerous studies have also shown a strong link between frequent use of talc in the female genital area and ovarian cancer. Talc particles are able to move through the reproductive system and become imbedded in the lining of the ovary. Researchers have found talc particles in ovarian tumors and have found that women with ovarian cancer have used talcum powder in their genital area more frequently than healthy women.  Another common household hazard posed by talc is inhalation of baby powder by infants. Since the early 1980s, records show that several thousand infants each year have died or become seriously ill following inhalation of baby powder. [Top]

w    Tobacco products and their smoke.  [Top]

w    Vinyl chloride.  Even though it’s classified as a known carcinogen by the US Department of Health and Human Services, 10 billion pounds of “the worst plastic” are produced annually in this country, finding its way into home flooring, plumbing, vinyl siding, shower curtains, food packaging, toys, credit cards, medical devices, car upholstery and hundreds of other everyday products---but in every case, alternatives exsit.  PVC food packaging can include plastic trays in boxed cookies or chocolates, candy bar wrappers and bottles. Cling wraps, especially the kind used commercially to wrap meats, cheeses and other foods, can also be PVC. This means that many (if not most) people are exposed to PVC in their food wrapping every day.  

PVC also is commonly used in pacifiers, teethers and soft squeeze toys for young children, beach balls, bath toys, dolls, backpacks, raincoats, umbrellas and even more products used and worn by children. Health concerns for children who play with soft PVC toys focus on their toxic softeners, the already mentioned phthalates. 

 In addition to hazards presented by direct contact and fumes, fires in homes and commercial buildings kill nearly 5000 Americans each year, many of them because burning plastics---unlike most other materials---create deadly hydrogen chloride gas.  After September 11th, the EPA measured the highest ambient air concentrations of dioxins ever recorded near Manhattan’s ground zero, likely due to the massive combustion of PVC and other chlorinated materials from the twin towers.

 In response to the toxic lifecycle of PVC, a growing number of companies have committed to phasing out PVC products and switching to safer, healthier products.  These corporate leaders include Bath and Body Works, Crabtree & Evelyn, Hewlett Packard, Honda, Ikea, Johnson and Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Nike, Shaw Industries,Toyota, Victoria’s Secret and Wal-Mart (in packaging of its own-labeled products).  For safer toys, consider products made of polyethylene or polypropylene. Gerber says its baby products are PVC-free.  For more, see http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/PVCFlyer.pdf

For more on the problem and safer toys, see http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/consumerism/toxic_toy_story.html  [Top]

w Viruses/Bacteria.   Viruses were first recognized by the US government as cancer-causing agents in 2005.  Among them are Hepatitis B and C (liver cancer), several types of human papilloma viruses (cervical cancer), Helicobacter pylori (stomach cancer) and HIV.  (Hepatitis B now has a vaccine, and HPV---which often goes unrecognized---now has a test.)  [Top] 

w X-rays.  Although important diagnostic tools, x-rays are also carcinogens, having been linked specifically to leukemia and thyroid, breast and lung cancers.  Procedures done on women in their reproductive years increase risk of breast cancer, while childhood exposure increases risks for leukemia and thyroid cancer.  Even multiple low-dose x-ray exposure can result in higher incidence of malignancy.  Several studies of out-of-date radiation practices have confirmed the x-ray connection: The California Teachers Study shows higher-than-average risk of breast cancer among women required to have yearly chest x-rays to rule out tuberculosis. Canadian women treated for TB with fluoroscopies in the 1930s and 1940s have a higher risk of breast cancer, as do women who were monitored for scoliosis with x-rays in the 1950s and 1960s. Late-term maternal exposure to x-rays (even dental films) is strongly associated with increased risk of childhood leukemia. Full-body diagnostic CAT scans, recently popularized as “preventative” diagnostic therapy, involve fairly sizable radiation exposure---at a risk many critics deem significantly out of proportion to their benefit.  The risk/benefit value of pre-menopausal mammography is also controversial.  [Top]

w Woodsmoke.  The smoke from a wood fire generates hundreds of toxic compounds and many of the most potent of all known carcinogens. A gas fireplace is safer, but both wood-burning and gas fireplaces or stoves should be regularly inspected to keep emissions down.  Good ventilation also is important.    [Top]

Is it, or isn’t it?  

w Fluoride.  We used to think that people who were anti-fluoride also believed in Bigfoot.  Now we’re not so sure. Got an open mind?  Then grab your toothpaste and read the label.  If it’s fluoride, it says, “Warning: Keep out of reach of children under 6 yrs. of age.  If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control center right away.  Do not swallow.  To minimize swallowing, use a pea-sized amount in children under 6.  Supervise children’s brushing until good habits are established.  Children under 2 years, ask a dentist.” Remembering that “whatever we put on our skin sinks in,” this message is a bit frightening.  

Rightly so, according to consumer advocate Ralph Nader and a group of  EPA scientists, who charge that---based on small evidence that fluoride prevents cavities, it’s been prescribed for most of America’s water supply, despite concerns that it weakens bones, builds up in the brain’s pineal gland and is linked to neurological deficits and bone cancer in the young. It also is known to depress thyroid function. Fluoride critic Dean Burk, former Chief Chemist Emeritus of the US National Cancer Institute, said, “flouride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster, than any other chemical.”  Based on “the Precautionary Principle” adopted by the European Union to     Despite criticism, most voices support the fluoride side, and the Metropolitan Water District---(provider of water for Southern California including those in the OC) began its move toward fluoridation in 2003, with first fluoridated water expected to arrive here in just a few months. 

Fluoride can be removed from drinking water with a distiller or reverse osmosis water filter, but not by boiling or with faucet or counter purifier models like Brita or Pur.  Like chlorine (no longer in Southern California water) fluoride also can enter the body through the skin, and no shower filter currently on the market can remove it.  Those concerned with their fluoride load can switch to non-fluoride toothpaste (many options available at Henry’s), limit intake of bottled beverages (most made with fluoridated water), avoid non-organic grape juice, black or red tea, black or red rock salt and chewing tobacco (all generally high-fluoride products) and shun long-term use of medications that contain fluoride (as in certain antidepressants and osteoporosis drugs). 

 For more on the fluoride wars, see:

 (neutral) http://www.greenfacts.org/fluoride/  and

http://chemistry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.slweb.org/fluoridation.html

(for) http://www.cdc.gov/OralHealth/waterfluoridation/index.htm and

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fluoride/fluoride_article01.asp

(and against)  http://www.fluoridealert.org and

The bottom line

Clearly, given these long lists of toxic substances, many of the most ordinary things in our lives have chemical effects on our bodies that we can’t see and certainly don’t like to consider.  Because many of these chemicals accumulate in body fat and remain there for decades, every woman, man and child now carries synthetic chemicals—including some that are known to induce tumors—in their bodies. On an individual basis, any one of these things might not matter so much.  But the combination of so many toxins, over time, burdens our bodies, making it all the more important to keep ourselves as fit, strong and immune-capable as possible...the ultimate reason why taking vitamins, eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep and limiting stress make more sense now than ever.  For more on the body burden of life in this chemical age, see http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/    [Top]

“The least of these...”

And though we’d like to believe that children---due to their youth and “newness” in life---would be  safer from this chemical burden, the federal government recently has determined that’s not the case.  In a shift in scientific thinking, the guidelines for cancer risk assessment now warn that children may be significantly more susceptible to environmental carcinogens than adults.  In new guidelines issued by the EPA, children two years old and younger are said to be up to 10 times more susceptible to the effects of exposure of certain chemicals than adults. 

The EPA report estimates that half of lifetime cancer risk accumulates in the first two years of life,  while children aged two to 16 might be at three times greater risk.  Babies, in particular, have been shown as extraordinarily susceptible to chemical fumes, as they inhale more air per pound of body weight than adults. Because pollutants are generally heavier than air and collect closer to the floor, small children breathe greater concentrations than do grown ups. 

Although relatively rare, cancer is the second-leading cause of death (after accidents) among children.  One child in 600 in the United States is diagnosed with cancer before the age of 15.  About 8,500 children and teens are diagnosed with malignancies annually, and nearly 2,500 die each year. Since 1971, the nationwide incidence of the major childhood cancers has increased 26 percent overall, with acute lymphocytic leukemia (which represents one-third of all childhood cancers) up 68 percent, brain cancer up 52 percent, kidney cancer up 43 percent and bone cancer up 40 percent. The highest incidence of malignancy occurs in the first year of life, but a second peak of tumors are diagnosed during latter adolescence. The most common cancers during this period are Hodgkin's disease, bone cancer, thyroid cancer and melanoma

Possible factors contributing to children’s and adolescents’ increased cancer susceptibility include differences in their capacity to metabolize and clear chemicals from their bodies; more frequent cell division during regular childhood growth that could make cells weaker to DNA-damaging chemicals; some embryonic cells, such as brain cells, which may lack critical DNA repairing enzymes; still maturing immune systems, which may lack fully functional components; and hormonal systems, which may operate differently during different growth phases.  [Top]

A war far from won

This is true despite the fact that American men smoke far less today, and lung cancer rates are steadily dropping. In striking contrast, the incidence of environmentally and non-smoking related cancers has steadily escalated in the last three decades.  A while male born in the 1940s has twice the chance of getting a non-tobacco-related cancer as his grandfather did; a woman born at the same time, 30 percent more chance than her grandmother.  For African Americans, the news is worse---as rates in this population for some cancers have risen as much as 120 percent.

In these three decades, most non-tobacco-related cancer rates have grown dramatically, with liver cancer up 104 percent, prostate cancer 88 percent, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 74 percent, testes and thyroid cancers each 54 percent and post-menopausal breast cancer 40 percent. The age-adjusted incidence of melanoma, (female) lung, kidney, esophagus, brain and bladder cancers, as well as acute myeloid leukemia, also have steadily increased over the past quarter century. These increases have more than offset slight decreases in stomach and uterine cancer and an 11-percent decline in male lung cancer caused by decreased tobacco use.

Despite the fact that improved treatment for some cancers has thankfully prolonged lives, overall mortality rates for cancer have remained virtually unchanged during these years, despite the investment of $50 billion. In its blunt assessment of this “failed war on cancer,“ the National Cancer Advisory Board---an oversight arm of the National Cancer Institute---has pointed out that "Every minute, another person in the United States dies of cancer."

Some say, maybe cynically and maybe truthfully, that these numbers remain so high because cancer is big business, because the health care industry and government are tied too closely together and invest so little (other than to advocate expensive tests) on education and prevention. Some see clear villains in pesticides, plastics and other chlorines, and in the hormones and antibiotics and columns of unpronounceables added to most of our foods.  Some say it’s wrong that government doesn’t protect us better, doesn’t keep things that are toxic off the market, doesn’t let us know when they’re there.  Some say, in this, as in many things, that it’s money that matters most.  We would hate to believe this is true.  Still, some food for thought:

http://www.preventcancer.com/press/pdfs/Stop_Cancer_Book.pdf  http://www.preventcancer.com/publications/pdf/Interview  June 03.htm http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=206137 http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?St=2

http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/Basics/chemlist.htm

http://www.whyfiles.org/045env_hormone/main1.html

http://www.preventingharm.org/execsum.html

http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=206137 50% http://www.chemicalindustryarchives.org/dirtysecrets/RtK/7.asp  http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/evidence/secrecy_pop02.html

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Check it Out; Keep in Touch -- Part 5