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SOMETHING YOU DO EVERY MORNING IS KILLING YOU

Do you use any personal care product in the morning? If yes, this is a must read.

In a very exhaustive study, EWG found that the average adult uses nine personal care products each day, containing 126 different chemicals.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) estimates that one out of five cosmetics might be contaminated with a cancer-causing agent.2

And did you know that NO ONE REGULATES THEM!!!

The United Nations Environmental Program estimates that approximately 70,000 chemicals are in common use across the world, with 1,000 new chemicals being introduced every year. Of all the chemicals used in cosmetics, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reported that nearly 900 are toxic, and that estimate might be low.3 And did you know that, if you use conventional cosmetics on a daily basis, you can absorb almost five pounds of chemicals and toxins into your body each year?

Putting chemicals on your skin or scalp, such as getting a hair dye, may actually be worse than eating them. When you eat something, the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help to break it down and flush it out of your body. However, when you put these chemicals on your skin, they are absorbed straight into your bloodstream without filtering of any kind, going directly to your delicate organs. And over time they tend to accumulate because you lack the necessary enzymes to break them down.

So what do you do?

· Look for the genuine USDA Organic Seal. Beware of the word Natural. There are no federal regulations for beauty products; anyone can claim their product is "natural”. A label with the word "natural" does not mean the product contains only natural or organic ingredients.

· If you can’t pronounce it, don’t put it on your body. Ask yourself, "Would I eat this?"

· Buy products that are fragrance-free.

· Pay attention to the order in which the ingredients are listed. Manufacturers are required to list ingredients in descending order by volume, meaning the first few ingredients are the most prominent.

· Stick to the basics and avoid cosmetics as much as possible.

· Drink plenty of water every day to help your body in flushing out toxins.

· Eat lots of vibrantly colored organic vegetables and fruits, to keep your body well stocked with antioxidants.

· Look for products that are made by companies that are earth-friendly, animal-friendly and green.

CHECK OUT: https://txnaturalpediatrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/companiesdonttest.pdf


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CHECK IF YOUR TOOTHPASTE HAS “Sodium laureth sulfate”

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) is an ingredient derived from ethoxylated lauryl alcohol and used as a surfactant; may be contaminated with potentially toxic manufacturing impurities such as 1,4-dioxane.

Virtually every toothpaste that foams, has SLS. But researchers discovered a problem. According to Dr Toby Talbot, an expert in restorative dentistry and a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS), is used as a wetting agent (something that allows the paste to spread more easily), is a major concern for good dental health. "The problem with SLS is that it opens up the gaps between the mucosal – skin – cells in the mouth, which allows toxins or carcinogens to get in (these can come from all manner of sources including tobacco smoke), he said.

So next time you buy a toothpaste, THINK!


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HOW SAFE ARE SWEETENERS?

A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, usually with less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are natural and some are synthetic.

Alternative sweeteners are highly consumed in America. According to research studies explained by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, in 2003–2004, Americans two years of age and older consumed 585g per day of beverages and 375g per day of foods with caloric sweeteners. Some commonly consumed foods with alternative sweeteners are diet sodas, cereals, and sugar-free desserts such as ice cream.

In the United States, seven intensely sweet sugar substitutes have been approved for use. They are stevia, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), saccharin, and advantame. The food and beverage industry is increasingly replacing sugar or corn syrup with artificial sweeteners in a range of products traditionally containing sugar.

Aspartame: Aspartame is a methyl ester. More than 6,000 products contain aspartame. It is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose, or table sugar. The FDA reviewed its safety in 2007 and concluded that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a nonnutritive sweetener. However, people with the genetic condition phenylketonuria

PKU cannot ingest it. And pregnant women shouldn’t since they have been linked to premature births. In a study done in 1979, the effect of aspartame ingestion on blood and milk amino acid levels in lactating women was tested and found a small effect on the milk aspartate levels. The consumer advocacy group the Center for Science in the Public Interest continues to promote the position that aspartame is not safe.

Sucralose/Splenda:Splenda is twice as sweet as saccharin and three times as sweet as aspartame. The actual energy content of a single-serving (1-g packet) of Splenda is 3.36 kilocalories, 31% of those of a granulated sugar (10.8 kcal). In the United States, it is legally labelled “zero calories”. Some studies have determined that sucralose is not a biologically inert compound, having possible toxic effects, including creation of dioxin-like compounds when sucralose is heated.

Saccharine: Saccharin was produced first in 1878. It is 300 times as sweet as sucrose or table sugar, but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. The basic substance is benzoic sulfilimine. Studies have shown saccharine causes bladder cancer is rats, which eventually prompted safety warnings on products containing saccharine. However, in 2001, the FDA reversed its position, declaring it safe for consumption.

Neotame: The chemical formula is similar to aspartame, but it is between 7,000 and 13,000 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). It’s the only artificial sweetener deemed “safe” by the consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Truvia: Truvía’s ingredients are erythritol. The calorie-free, low-carb sweetener comes from the shrub-like stevia plant. This sugar substitute is about 100 times sweeter than sugar. The FDA first rejected it in the 1990s for use as a food ingredient. High dosages fed to rats affected reproduction. But in 2008 the FDA granted stevia “GRAS” status, meaning it is “generally recognized as safe.”

Comparison of sweetness based on energy content is not meaningful because many artificial sweeteners have little or no food energy.

Name Sweetness (by weight) Trade name Approval Notes
Acesulfame potassium 200 Nutrinova FDA 1988 E950
Advantame 20,000 FDA
Alitame 2,000 approved in Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and China. Pfizer
Aspartame 160–200 NutraSweet, Equal FDA 1981, EU-wide 1994 E951
Salt of aspartame-acesulfame 350 Twinsweet E962
sodium cyclamate 30 FDA Banned 1969, approved in EU E952, Abbott
Dulcin 250 FDA Banned 1950
Glucin 300
Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone 1,500 E959
Neotame 8,000 NutraSweet FDA 2002 E961
P-4000 4,000 FDA banned 1950
Saccharin 300 Sweet’N Low FDA 1958 E954
Sucralose 600 Kaltame, Splenda Canada 1991, FDA 1998, EU 2004 E955, Tate & Lyle

ISSUES WITH CHEMICAL SWEETNERS
Animal studies have indicated that a sweet taste induces an insulin response in rats.

A 2014 study by a collaboration from nine Israeli research institutes presented experimental evidence that artificial sweeteners may exacerbate, rather than prevent, metabolic disorders such as Type 2 diabetes.

Source: Wikipedia


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SUGAR VERSUS SUGAR SUBSTITUTE FOR KIDS

QUESTION: Doctor: You often say avoid “Added Sugar”. It is bad for a growing child. What is your view about Products made with sugar substitutes? How about Diet Soda? Which sugar substitute is good for my child?

MY VIEWS:

Children generally love sugary foods, and chances are the processed or packaged food your child eats has some amount of added sugar. The American Heart Association (AHA) recently released new guidelines limiting the amount of added sugar considered acceptable for a healthy diet. Per AHA,

  • Preschoolers with a daily caloric intake of 1,200 to 1,400 calories shouldn’t consume any more than 170 calories, or about 4 teaspoons, of added sugar a day.
  • Children ages 4-8 with a daily caloric intake of 1,600 calories should consume no more than 130 calories, or about 3 teaspoons a day.
  • As your child grows into his teen years, his caloric range increases to 1,800 to 2,000 a day, and the maximum amount of added sugar included in his daily diet should be 5 to 8 teaspoons.

However the reality per AHA study is

  • children as young as 1-3 years typically consume around 12 teaspoons of sugar a day!!
  • By the time a child is 4-8 years old, his sugar consumption skyrockets to an average of 21 teaspoons a day!

Obesity rates tripled in 30 years, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among children more than doubled in the last 2 decades of the twentieth century. Many children drink more sugar-sweetened beverages than milk. Sugar-sweetened beverages represent the largest category of daily caloric intake (7%–12%) for many demographic groups. Evidence suggests that increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages raises weight and obesity rates.

This is why I recommend against “Added Sugar” in your child’s diet.

Now let’s look at Sugar Substitutes

Sugar substitutes provide sweetness to food without the calories of sugar. The FDA has approved five artificial sweeteners: saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. It has also approved one natural low-calorie sweetener, stevia. How the human body and brain respond to these sweeteners is very complex. Of the above only Stevia is a natural sweetener. But just because something is natural does not always mean that it is safer. Sugar substitutes are found in most of the “light,” “reduced calorie” or “sugar-free” foods and drinks available today.

As the name says, Sugar substitutes are just as the name says – chemicals masquerading as sugar!

What does research say?:

  • Research suggests that Sugar substitutes may prevent us from associating sweetness with caloric intake. As a result, we may crave more sweets, tend to choose sweet food over nutritious food, and gain weight.
  • Animal studies suggest that artificial sweeteners may be addictive. In studies of rats who were exposed to cocaine, then given a choice between intravenous cocaine or oral saccharine, most chose saccharin.
  • Aspartame is also often anecdotally linked to brain disorders based on small animal studies, but human studies have not shown an association.
  • A lot of studies show that diet soda is linked with being overweight but there isn’t a clear answer as to why.

Due to limited studies in children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has no official recommendations regarding the use of noncaloric sweeteners.

So the best advice I can give is probably to

  • avoid artificial chemicals in general (which is high in processed food);
  • limit both regular and diet soda consumption for optimal health, especially for children.

Also check out:

· HOW DOES SUGAR AFFECT YOUR BRAIN?

· SUGAR PER DAY – GUIDANCE

· SUGARY DRINKS – POUNDING YOUR YOUNG

· POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION FROM THE FOOD INDUSTRY

· HOW SAFE IS ARTIFICIAL SWEETNER FOR YOUR KID?


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LATEST RESEARCH NOTE: PHTHALATES

Research done at U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2012 found men, women and children who were exposed to phthalates (endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in plastics and some hygiene products) tended to have lower blood testosterone levels. Over the past 50 years researchers have identified a trend of declining testosterone in men and an increase in related health issues.

TAKEAWAY: Avoid plastic containers and any food wrapped in plastic


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HEROIN FOR KID’S COUGH?

Can you believe that?

In 1912 Beyer marketed Heroin as a cough suppressant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin – mediaviewer/File:Bayer_Heroin_bottle.jpg

We do NOT recommend any commercial over the top cough syrup for kids. If you must, try honey (for kid > 1 yr) or turmeric milk.


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SEE HOW THEY, THE FOOD COMPANIES TRICKED YOU WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD?

The last thing we, Pediatrician, recommend are additives and artificial chemical laden carbonated sugar water to infants.

Shame on the food companies to trick parents and hook children that young.


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READY TO DIE FOR A DYE?

Researchers in Sweden studied nearly 300 non-smoking hairdressers and those who often used light colored hair dyes or hair-waving products on clients had more potentially cancer-causing compounds in their blood than hairdressers who used the chemicals less frequently. Specifically, toluidine compounds in the blood increased with exposure to perm chemicals and permanent light hair dyes.

In the late 1970s, regulatory actions were taken in Europe and carcinogenic aromatic amines were forbidden for use as hair dye ingredients. But it still shows up in hair colors.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO?

Exposure to o-toluidine should be eliminated since it is a carcinogen.

· If you must use color, use gloves to minimize exposure to chemicals in dyes and change to fresh gloves after mixing the dye, applying it and rinsing it.

· Use Shikakai as an alternate natural coloring agent.