The Wellness Bitch

Recently we reposted an article on the scary effects of GMOS written by Maria Rodale. We dubbed this ”You are the science experiment.” We’re back with the next edition of “you are the science experiment;” This time about the chemicals you never agreed to host inside your body. Please welcome lil bitch Rosemary Evergreen who guest blogs for us today.

Written by Rosemary Evergreen

Did you know you are part of a global science experiment? But unlike clinical trials or research studies, your permission was not required; there was no privacy policy to sign. 

In fact, this experiment began before you were born, and you received the first chemical inputs as a developing fetus inside your mother’s body — just as your children have or will.

You may be familiar with the term “body burden,” which refers to the chemical compounds that reside inside a particular person.  There are many ways in which man-made and naturally-occurring chemicals and possible toxins enter the human body.  They may be ingested in small quantities along with foods, as in the cases of pesticides or mercury in fish; they may occur naturally in the untreated water of a particular area, such as the arsenic that is causing health problems in Bangladesh; they can also enter the body through skin contact or by breathing polluted air. 

In 1992, the European Union adopted the “precautionary principle,” which states that government should exercise caution and err on the side of human safety if there is good evidence that a chemical may be harmful.

Sound like a good idea?  Well, it’s great if you live in Europe, but U.S. law is limited. 

According to the EPA, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) “provides EPA with authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures.”

But you may be alarmed to know that “[c]ertain substances are generally excluded from TSCA, including, among others, food, drugs, cosmetics and pesticides.” (Emphasis added.)

Children are particularly vulnerable to pollutants.  They are growing and their metabolic rates are higher than those of adults.  While they are smaller than adults, they eat and drink more in proportion to body weight to support that growth.  Young children crawl on the ground and put their hands, and many other objects, into their mouths. 

Curious about what chemicals might be in your body, or that of your child?   Try this quiz or read about  chemicals found in umbilical cord blood.

Join a campaign to reform TSCA and, for crying out loud, stop creating a market for chemicals in food, cosmetics, and cleaning products!

Rosemary Evergreen explores wellness and simple, green living in beautiful Minnesota.   Trained as an engineer, she stepped off the corporate track to parent, write, and volunteer in the community.  Rosemary is passionate about healthy living, local foods, the outdoors, and preserving all of these for future generations

The Wellness Bitch is excited to welcome to the blog today Maureen McDonnell, a registered nurse with a strong interest in helping reverse the escalating number of children affected by chronic illnesses. After coordinating the Defeat Autism Now! Conferences for ten years, Maureen joined forces with Jill Urwick to form “Saving Our Kids, Healing Our Planet.” Her post is a real WAKE UP CALL for women, and men who love women, this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

By Maureen H. McDonnell R.N.

I know some people like to wait until all the medical research has been done, the evidence is indisputable, and their physician conveys guidelines endorsed by the American Cancer Society or the AMA before making any changes to their lifestyle or diet. 

Personally, I don’t have the time or the inclination to wait!   Not when 1 in every 8-9 women is developing breast cancer, and not when good friends, colleagues and neighbors are being diagnosed way too frequently.

My sister (who has lost several close friends to breast cancer) lamented recently “it’s not a matter of ‘if’ anymore, it’s a matter of ‘when!’”  Being Irish, stubborn, and a strong believer in the idea that there’s always more we can learn and do to optimize our health, I refuse to accept this doomsday philosophy.  Knowledge about health is power, and being proactive about preventing illness (even when we and our physicians don’t have all the answers) is the smartest choice we can spend our time and money on.

Before I review what we can do to prevent breast cancer, I’d like to say to those women who have already developed the disease …Please don’t feel guilty.  First of all, illness is not always  preventable and second, other than the typical suggestions we read about (such as don’t  smoke, drink less alcohol, eat healthy fats), much of the information that is coming out now for preventing breast cancer we just didn’t have access to a short time ago.  

Additionally, despite billions of dollars spent on research, the medical establishment still doesn’t know the exact causes of breast cancer nor do they understand the specific interplay between genetic factors, environmental toxicity, hormones and diet and why some women are more vulnerable than others.

What comes to mind when you think about breast cancer prevention besides monthly self-breast exams and routine mammograms?  

I, too, had to think for a moment when I asked myself that question. Because although the above screening techniques are essential methods for early detection of an already existing tumor (and therefore can improve the prognosis), they only find the abnormality or problem once it occurs.  They don’t actually prevent breast cancer.

Given the current statistics, the question that begs to be answered is: What more can we do to prevent breast cancer from forming in the first place?

Let’s look at risk factors. 

Although 50% of women who develop breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors, there are several that we know of that increase one’s chances of developing breast cancer. 

• Gender (obviously women develop it more often than men)
• Age: the older you are, the higher the risk (to a certain age),
• Family or personal history of breast cancer
• Having dense breast tissue,
• Long term estrogen exposure (meaning you started menstruation early and or experienced a late menopause),
• Hormone Replacement Therapy (of the non-bio-identical type)
• Not carrying pregnancy to term (When a woman carries to term, she has higher levels of progesterone in the last 2 trimesters which cause breast cells to mature.   The more mature breast cells are, the less likely they are to develop cancer).
• Radiation ( including chest xray and mammograms )
• Heritage Ashkenazi  Jews (1 in every 300-600).
• A heavy animal based non-organic diet
• Environmental pollution
• Stress
• Smoking
• Genetics:  BRCA-1 gene mutation: > risk by 57% risk  BRCA 2: > risk by 49%

Sounds a bit dismal, but here’s the good news:

The American Cancer Society says that 33 percent of all cancers are related to diet and physical activity issues.  Other studies, however, have found that 50 percent of cancers are preventable with regular exercise and healthy eating habits.  An even more optimistic view comes from Dr. Elizabeth Vaughn, MD, an integrative physician from Greensboro, NC who estimates up to 90% of cancers are preventable.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the information coming out of our leading cancer institutes such as the American Cancer Society is too vague and focused on early detection and not prevention. 

It’s time for women to look beyond these conventional guidelines to more cutting-edge research and concepts in order to develop effective strategies for preventing this illness.  Let’s examine the difference between these two perspectives by comparing a few of the suggestions from the American Cancer Society with recommendations from credible alternative/progressive health care providers who advocate prevention.

Statements from the American Cancer Society regarding chemicals, pesticides and the relevance of organic and genetically modified food:

“Whether or not environmental chemicals that have estrogen-like properties (such as those found in some plastic bottles or certain cosmetics and personal care products) increase breast cancer risk is not clear at this time. If there is an increased risk, it is likely to be very small. Pesticides and herbicides can be toxic when used improperly in industrial, agricultural, or other occupational settings. Although vegetables and fruits sometimes contain low levels of these chemicals, overwhelming scientific evidence supports the overall health benefits and cancer-protective effects of eating vegetables and fruits. At present, there is no evidence that residues of pesticides and herbicides at the low doses found in foods increase the risk of cancer, but fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly before eating.”
“No convincing evidence has shown that any additive at these levels causes human cancers.”
“At this time, no research exists to demonstrate whether (organic) foods are more effective in reducing cancer risk than are similar foods produced by other farming methods.”
“There is no evidence at this time that the substances found in bio-engineered (GMO) foods…. are harmful or that they would either increase or decrease cancer risk because of the added genes.”

Cutting Edge Approach: Compare this information with the concepts taught by James Biddle, MD (an integrative physician in Asheville, N.C.) in his presentation on breast health when he explained that there are over 80,000 chemicals in use in the US and less than 12% have been tested for safety in humans.  Some of these chemicals are referred to as Xeno-estrogens  (or “alien”) because they mimic our own estrogen in their capability to stimulate estrogen receptors in a dangerous way.  

Unlike the weak statement from the American Cancer Society, Dr. Biddle strongly suggests that women reduce their exposure to toxins (by using green cleaning and personal care products) and eating organically to avoid the damaging effects on breast tissue from hormone disrupting chemicals.

In addition to recommending adequate protein, he emphasizes the importance of eating more like a vegetarian (5 servings of veggies and fruit per day) along with healthy Omega 3 fats (flax oil, fish oil etc), high fibrous foods like whole grains and especially cruciferous vegetables including Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale.  He also suggests eating foods that have a lower glycemic-index (to avoid blood sugar spikes which can trigger an inflammatory response).  

It’s most important to eat organic dairy, Dr. Biddle, says because “every non-organic cow in this country has an estrogen pellet under the skin of its ear to get a 10 fold increase in milk production. The cows also excrete that estrogen into the milk.  To prevent infections of the udders, the cows are also given antibiotics.  So the resistant bacteria we are seeing that are not responding to even the strongest antibiotics are not just coming from antibiotics that physicians prescribe for humans, it’s due to the fact that 70-90% of the antibiotics used in the US are given to  livestock.”  (The overuse of antibiotics…that’s another article!)

Elizabeth Vaughn, MD suggests that the connection between toxins and breast cancer can’t be overemphasized: “Breast Cancer is the final stage of years of ongoing damage to the breasts from exposure to toxins and an impaired or overwhelmed immune system.”

The organizations we have placed in charge of our health are not responding quickly enough to the urgent need for cancer prevention solutions, and the recommendations they do give women are in many cases too weak, too vague, and too mainly focused on early detection.  It is up to us to reach beyond mainstream recommendations and seek out physicians, researchers and sources of information that emphasize prevention.   As women, we need to be better informed and proactive in our self-care so that more of us, as well as our sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts and friends, will be spared from developing this devastating disease.

This article is excerpted with permission from the author from “What More Can We Do Now to Prevent Breast Cancer?” originally published on www.sokhop.com

I’m preparing for a class I’m teaching next week called “Detox Your Home” and since I’m not really a teacher, I’ve been trying to come up with a way to keep ten adults awake while talking about household cleansers and indoor air pollution.

I think the best way to do that is to make it as interactive and as frightening as possible.

So, in addition to all the statistics I will be sharing about the damage you might do to your male child’s reproductive organs by inhaling certain chemicals during pregnancy, I’ll also be telling personal anecdotes about mistakes I’ve made over the years and the price I’ve paid.

Like when we bought our kids’ bunk beds at IKEA last year, but they couldn’t sleep in their room for two weeks while the mattresses had to air out.

Or that after years of not using Comet in the tub, I decided to try it one day to get out a stubborn patch of mildew, and my asthmatic son couldn’t stop coughing the rest of the night and next day.

Or the fact that we couldn’t sleep in my mom’s guest bedroom without the windows wide open in the dead of winter for six months after she painted it.

Fun stuff, right?

The more and more I learn about indoor and outdoor air pollution, the more I realize that the less I can smell something, the better it is for me. (The exception to that rule being homemade chocolate chip cookies.)

This goes for bath care products too, by the way.

I do have one anecdote with a silver lining.

The other day, my four year old got into my crafts drawer (Snap! The WB has a crafts drawer!)…

And found the rubber stamp pads…

And put his cute little palms down on the pads…

And decorated my living room walls and couch with his cute little four year old palms…

Those palms are a lot cuter when they come home on preschool projects.

However, I decided to put baking soda to the test. I whipped up a little cream paste: just a teaspoon of baking soda and water. I scrubbed the paste on the walls and on the couch. Let it sit there for about 15 minutes while the four year old was sequestered in a corner. Then wiped the paste off the walls and vacuumed it off the couch.

Voila.

Cute little hand prints gone. I kid you not.

Thank you, baking soda.

I just saved myself some cash and a lung.

In this tough economic environment, I know that many people feel relieved “just to have work.” That being said, I often wonder about the price certain members of the workforce have to pay “just for having work.”

There are some really disturbing scenes in the film Food, Inc. highlighting the emotional and physical toll on employees of the meat and farming industries. I’m thinking about the guys (many illegal immigrants) in the slaughterhouses who are exposed to toxic chemicals and conditions every day. Or those who have to ram chickens into teeny tiny cages or rip their heads off. That’s a crappy job.

But those aren’t the only crappy jobs. I think about my former cleaning lady who is exposed to harsh chemical cleansers every day of the week…and who cleaned houses during her entire pregnancy. (I was sad, but not surprised, when her baby started getting symptoms of reactive airway diseases as young as three weeks old.) At least at my house, she was using green cleaners, but I was the anomaly.

Or the guy who works the toll booth on the New Jersey turnpike…exposed to grimy air and noise pollution all day long. While many of the toll booth workers lament the success of EZ Pass (which reduces job openings for them), I hope they see the long term positive effects of leaving a job that, quite literally, stinks..

My friend Shan is a cosmetologist. It took a life threatening WAKE UP CALL for her to realize how her job was killing her. All that toxic shit in hair products and skin care? It’s bad enough if you are using it at the salon every now and again, but imagine the men and women who are exposed to it every day. (BTW, Shan is now waking people up to wellness by sharing her story and has created a non-toxic line of skin care. She’s also now known as the “holistic hairdresser.”)

Other people I feel bad for:

Carpet cleaners

Gas station attendants

Fast food clerks

Coal miners

Airport personel (what do you call those guys who wave planes in?)

Subway fixers

Oil rig guys

Exterminators

Pig farmers

And, of course, the people who work with, or for, an asshole.

Please feel free to add your crappy job to the comments section. We promise to feel bad for you.

I got a little excited this morning. A flutter in my chest.

What was the cause? A new love interest? No. The promise of a book deal? Not yet.

I was looking through the Health News on msnbc.com and in between articles about the release or delay of new drugs (including one about a new hardcore drug for asthma), I found ”How to survive this year’s raging ragweed season.” Since ragweed serves me a sucker punch every fall despite efforts to get my allergies under control, I clicked thru with low expectations.

What were they going to tell me? Up my Claritin intake? Take allergy shots? Wash my bedding? Puh-leeze. I don’t need no Allergy Survival 101 class. Hell, I have my Ph. D. in allergy survival. That’s what happens when you come out of the womb with a runny nose and a raging case of eczema.

But, holy moley! The article was not what I expected at all and not only did I learn information I didn’t know before, such as:

In 2008, a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that increased temperatures and carbon dioxide levels as a result of global climate change are leading to an increase in pollen produced, causing longer plant-based allergy seasons.

But the author provided tips for readers that I could sign on for, like:

Figure out what you are actually allergic to. (In addition to the author’s suggestion of getting a standard allergy test, I’d suggest you can be sensitive to many environmental pollutors they don’t test for such as the fragrance inside perfume, soap, and diapers.)

and

Eat to beat hay fever.

This is when I started to get suspicious. Where were the caveats? Where were the words of caution that this was not “research-based?”

I scrolled back to the top of the article to see which journalist I could thank for this piece and didn’t see a name but instead a logo.

Rodale. Oh…that explains the article bent.

But since when is msnbc.com picking up news from Rodale?

Happy happy. Mainstream news vehicles are starting to get the hint.

Who wants to see The Wellness Bitch on msnbc.com’s health home page? If so, you gotta let them know.

There’s a lot of discussion and griping about how wellness is only for the wealthy.

That the poor are so desperate to feed their families, that they have no other choice than to buy cheap imitation grape drink and Dollar Store brand cheese doodles. That the poor don’t have the benefit of spending time in Barnes and Noble browsing through Michael Pollan books. That the poor are so tired from working two jobs that they can’t summon up the strength to do more than throw some canned franks and beans into a pot to warm.

I’d like to know how those people– those compassionate champions of the working poor — how do they explain it when middle class Americans…or even upper class americans with nannies and luxury cars …make those same choices? Because they do. I see it all the time.

I walk into a $1 million home to pick up my kid from a playdate and find him eating rainbow goldfish crackers.

I see nannies pushing overweight kids in stroller. And moms in designer shoes handing their two-year-olds mocha frappaccinos to sip on.

I’m not a cold-hearted bitch. But I don’t think eating or living well really takes much money, brains, or higher education. Clearly, if that’s all it took, we wouldn’t be seeing commercials for Abilify, alongside ones for Macy’s One Day Sale.

Hey. Come a little closer. I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

I’m not rich. I put on a good show with my nice house and leased mini-van. My kids in their hand-me-down Old Navy clothes. My mock designer hand bag from Target.

But we’re struggling. We have debt. We count our pennies.

I don’t have the money for a gym membership or a trainer or even to go to weekly yoga classes. I take books out of the library or buy them second hand on Ebay.

But don’t cry for me. And don’t think I’m complaining that my life is so hard.

But, I think that bad lifestyle choices aren’t reserved for the poor.

And it’s about time we stop having that conversation and move on. Frankly, it bores me.

Your sympathy and your outrage would be better spent WAKING UP our government. And our schools. And your neighbors.