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Green Living Now News, Edition Nineteen

1. Cancer or Cavities: Is That Our Choice?

Once when my niece came for a visit, she left her toothpaste behind. Since I'm addicted to reading product labels, I couldn't help myself. Have you seen that little warning on the fluoride-laden toothpastes? It warns that if you swallow more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, you should call poison control. Poison control! What child hasn't swallowed a mouthful of toothpaste? I know I did when I was younger.

A quick peek at the material safety data sheet for fluoride indicates the following (no emphasis added by me.:

"HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED, INHALED, OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. CAUSES SEVERE IRRITATION. HIGH CONCENTRATIONS ARE EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE TO TISSUES OF THE MUCOUS MEMBRANES AND UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT, EYES AND SKIN. SYMPTOMS OF EXPOSURE MAY INCLUDE BURNING SENSATION, COUGHING, WHEEZING, LARYNGITIS, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, HEADACHE, NAUSEA AND VOMITING. EXPOSURE CAN CAUSE:STOMACH PAINS, VOMITING, DIARRHEA. PROLONGED EXPOSURE CAN CAUSE:DAMAGE TO THE LUNGS.

CHRONIC EFFECTS: THIS PRODUCT IS OR CONTAINS A COMPONENT THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO BE POSSIBLY CARCINOGENIC BASED ON ITS IARC, ACGIH, NTP OR EPA

The label language, "If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately" is now required on all fluoride toothpastes. (Source: American Dental Association)

As is the case with many of the toxic chemicals in household products, it may just be the things they don't tell us that should concern us more.

A new study by Harvard University grad student, Dr. Elise Bassin, and reported by Environmental Working Group (EWG), found that there is a significant relationship between fluoride and osteosarcoma in boys-the most common type of bone cancer.

(WASHINGTON, April 5)-Boys who drink water with levels of fluoride considered safe by federal guidelines are five times more likely to have a rare bone cancer than boys who drink unfluoridated water, according to a study by Harvard University scientists published in a peer reviewed journal.

Dr. Bassin's study focused on boys, ages 6-8, who drank fluoridated water. Incidentally, the water these boys were drinking had only ¼ of the maximum amount of fluoride that the EPA allows in drinking water. So, what does that mean for everyone else who is drinking the maximum (or more) amount of fluoride? Many of us also get a good daily dose of fluoride in non-organic juices, teas, and coffee, It's even in our fruits and vegetables, which absorb fluoride from the environment, either through irrigation, soil, or cooking. It's everywhere.

But what is fluoride?

The main type of fluoride used to treat water is hydrofluosilicic acid (HFS). It's actually a toxic waste product of the phosphate pesticide industry and from pollution scrubbing systems. The cheaper sodium silicofluoride (SSF) is used in 90% of water fluoridation.

What does fluoride do for/to us?

We've all come to know fluoride for it's cavity prevention, but unfortunately it doesn't just affect our teeth. According to the National Research Council, "The NRC also notes a growing body of scientific research linking fluoride exposure to disruption of the nervous and endocrine systems, including the brain, thyroid and pineal gland. According to data presented in the report, the doses of fluoride associated with thyroid disturbances are now exceeded by many Americans-particularly children-living in so-called 'low fluoride' (1ppm) areas. In research published in the International Journal of Environmental Studies. (September 1999) Masters and Coplan studied lead screening data from 280,000 Massachusetts children. The study indicated a possible linkage between fluoride consumption and lead absorption in children.

A number of other countries have even banned fluoride.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) weighed in on the subject:

"But fluoride has another characteristic: it's poisonous to humans. Since early 1930s, scientists have been aware that too much fluoride can wreak havoc on the human body. Overexposure has been linked to the thickening of bone to the point of spinal fusion, as well as to mouth, throat, and bone cancer; emphysema-like respiratory conditions; skin lesions; liver and kidney damage; neurological disorders; and a host of other ailments.

Okay, I know what you're thinking, everything causes cancer, I can't be bothered with this. But here's how I look at it. If we are armed with information like this, we can explore our choices. So, if you decide that you don't want fluoride in your water, get it out with a good tap water filter that spefically removes fluoride. Although this doesn't solve the public health implications of mass fluoridation, a good tap water filter will take out most of the fluoride, chlorine, and a host of other nasty chemicals.

We filtered our tap water until we moved to a home with really clean well water. And, my family has used fluoride free toothpaste for years. We rarely have cavities, but I think it has more to do with our diet. I agree with Dr. Joseph Mercola:

"Fluoride should simply not be used at all by anyone who is interested in health. There are far better options of improving one's dental health and the primary one includes the foods you eat. Link to diet…
The diet is the most important issue in preventing cavities. If you want another outstanding book for your library you can obtain Dr. Weston Price's book 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration'. He was one of the most prominent dentists at the turn of the century and wondered why so many children were getting cavities. He realized that it was the introduction of processed foods. So he traveled all over the world and documented how the introduction of processed food severely damaged the teeth. One does not even have to read the book as the pictures tell the whole story. The book was written in 1920 and is very true still today."

Whatever you believe about fluoride, it's important to keep asking the questions and doing your own research.

2. My Adventures with Henna by Carol Simpson

(guest writer)

Up until recently I had synthetically color treated hair, and had been paying someone to put it one my head. The thing is I wanted to eliminate chemicals from my daily life, so the chemical hair coloring had to stop. I went to the store and purchased a prepackaged henna kit. I followed the instructions, left it on for the prescribed time, rinsed it out, and then received a shock-- I had green highlights. I resisted the initial urge to run to my hairdresser and have her "fix" it with chemicals. There simply had to be another way.

I did quite a lot of reading about henna. It turns out there was a very good reason for my bad experience with the henna kit-the henna in the kits is most likely not pure henna. It 's mixed with other ingredients, which caused the unpredictable results. I found that the safest henna was body art quality. Next I learned that individuals created their own personal henna recipes. This was now a creative process that I wanted to try.

I ordered body art quality henna powder and created my own recipe. I mixed the henna powder with red wine, black tea, and ground cloves until it was the consistency of yogurt. I left this on my head (with an old towel wrapped around) for 2 hours. Henna can be left on in this manner for 6 hours for extra vibrancy. I rinsed it off with plain water (no shampoo until the next day) and wa-la!! I had shiny hair with exceptional red tones! As an added bonus, henna (Lawsonia Inermis) is extremely conditioning and known as a natural anti-fungal. I use this monthly now. My grey is covered, or more accurately, highlighted. I have more hair on my head now and it grows faster. I firmly believe that the chemical hair dyes were, at the very least, preventing my hair from flourishing.

It is crucial to mention that henna needs an acidic ingredient to activate it-that could any one of the following: lemon juice, lime juice, wine, coffee, tea, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar or others. Also, I want to note that the addition of spices to the recipes can really be an enhancement. I use ground cloves because it deepens the color and I have dark hair. Paprika can be used for bright red and Turmeric for gold highlights. I'm sure there are other spices just waiting for creative souls!

My Recipe
100 g body art quality henna
1 ½ c. red wine (add more if needed at end)
½ c. brewed black tea
3 tsp. ground cloves
*Note: any unused henna may be frozen for your next use

May you have a happy henna adventure!!

Link: mehandi.com

3. What You Eat Can Lead to…Twins?

You may have heard that becoming pregnant via in vitro fertilization (IVF) increases the chances that the woman will have twins. But, a surprising new study found that women who eat meat, and specifically dairy products, were five times more likely to have twins! Heredity also played a role.

Obstetrician, Dr. Gary Steinman, an attending physician at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY, led the study. Dr. Steinman is well known for his care of and research into multiple-birth pregnancies. The study was published in the May 2006 issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Steinman has been studying factors that cause or contribute to twinning ever since he delivered a rare set of identical quadruplets in 1997.

So, why does drinking milk and eating meat increase the chance of twins?

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) may be the culprit.

What's IGF?

It's a normal growth factor. Specifically, it's the protein that's released into the bloodstream of animals (humans included) from the liver in response to the growth hormone. It winds up in the animal's milk. IGF is thought to increase ovulation by increasing the sensitivity of the ovaries to follicle stimulating hormone. In some studies, IGF has been credited with helping embryos survive in the early stages of development.

The Cancer Prevention Coalition believes that IGF-1 increases to unhealthy levels with the use of r-GBH, the genetically engineered growth hormone some farmers use to increase milk production in cows. One might think that the human digestive process would destroy IGF-1, but that's not true. Instead, our intestines absorb IGF-1. In fact, more research has shown that it can be absorbed into the bloodstream where it can affect other hormones. Some studies have shown that increased levels of IGF-1 lead to human cancer.

Back to the twins research… Dr. Steinman compared women who ate a regular diet, a vegetarian diet with dairy, and vegan diet (without dairy). The study found that vegan women (who do not consume animal products) have 13 percent less IGF in their blood than women who consume dairy, and had twins at only one-fifth the rate of women who did not exclude milk from their diets.

Dr. Steinman said, "This study shows for the first time that the chance of having twins is affected by both heredity and environment, or in other words, by both nature and nurture. These findings are similar to those observed in cows by other researchers, namely that a woman's chance of having twins appears to correlate directly with her blood level of insulin-like growth factor".

On the genetic front, researchers have found through large population studies of African American, Caucasian and Asian women that blood IGF levels are greatest among African American women, and lowest in Asians. Apparently some women are genetically programmed to produce more IGF-1 than others.

Suggestions:

Even if you're not looking to get pregnant, you may want to decrease your levels of IGF-1. Consuming certified organic meat and dairy is the best way to avoid synthetic growth hormones (and antibiotics, pesticides, sewage sludge, and more). Some milk is labeled "r-GBH free", so if you can't get organic, at least you can choose r-GBH free dairy.

Urgent Alert:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a public health emergency, suspected victims would no longer have to give permission before experimental tests could be run to determine why they're sick, under a federal rule published Wednesday. Privacy experts called the exception unnecessary, ripe for abuse and an override of state informed-consent laws.

Please read this New York Times Article and send comments to the Food and Drug Administration.

In my opinion, this bill (Docket No. 2003N-0355) is unacceptable as there is far too much risk to the consumer. Will there be any guarantee these experimental tests are accurate? Will we become guinea pigs to zealous public health officials and drug companies profiting by our forced compliance? Since Congress passed the Project Bioshield and Pandemic Flu legislation during the past two years, it is certain that if any of us are injured by the forced testing and use of experimental drugs and vaccines, the public health officials and drug companies responsible for harming us will not be held accountable in a court of law. This is a threat to fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

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