Many of fondly remember Bloody Mary in the musical, South Pacific, who was always chewing betel nuts. Today, if she did that, she might not be as happy because might develop oral cancer.
Betel “nuts” also called betel quid, contains fresh, dried or cured areca nut, catechu, slaked lime and flavoring ingredients wrapped in betel leaf. Areca nut is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances with several hundred million users worldwide, predominantly in southern Asia. Areca nut can be chewed alone or in a variety of ways that differ by region. Tobacco is often added. Many people in these regions chew areca nut, with a somewhat higher usage among women. Since the 1980s, the use of industrially manufactured products, often containing tobacco, has increased, especially among children and adolescents.
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported previously that betel-quid and areca-nut chewing along with tobacco was cancer causing but that chewing betel quid alone was not proven. The just released new IARC report, however, says many studies now provide evidence that betel quid without tobacco can cause oral cancers.
California is a state that has pioneered the identification of cancer-causing ingredients for consumers. The California office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposes to list areca nut and betel quid as chemicals known to cause cancer.The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has filed comments with OEHHA objecting to the Environmental Agency’s objecting to this proposal.AHPA claims that the ability of Bloody Marys and other betel nut lovers would be prevented from chewing the compounds by “a small group of private individuals selected by a quasi-governmental international organization." In addition, the AHPA requested that, if the proposal goes through, the OEHHA qualify the listing to exclude areca husk and include only products made from the substances intended for chewing, as the study cited by OEHHA exclusively examined such products.
A “Natural Indian” Remedy and Prostate Cancer
Another “natural” product has been cited as preventing cancer rather than being a culprit in its development. An olive-oil based herbal extract preparation called Zyflamend reportedly suppresses the growth of prostate cancer cells and induces prostate cancer cells to self-destruct, according to a new study.
Zyflamend has the ability, in culture at least, to reduce prostate cancer cell growth by as much as 78 percent and induce cancer cell death or “apoptosis,” scientists report in the journal Nutrition and Cancer.
“Together, these results suggest that Zyflamend might have some chemopreventive utility against prostate cancer in men,” according to lead investigator Dr. Debra L. Bemis of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.
Zyflamend has both COX-1 and COX-2 anti-inflammatory effects, although its anti-cancer effects against prostate cancer are independent of COX-2 inhibition. COX inhibitors have shown value for prostate cancer patients, but data from recent trials of selective COX-2 inhibitors suggest that use of these drugs might have adverse effects on the heart.
Aspirin, a non-selective COX inhibitor, is not associated with these side effects and, instead, has well established benefits in people with heart disease. Zyflamend has a biochemical action profile similar to aspirin.
Zyflamend is on the market as an anti-inflammatory and recommended by the popular author, Dr. Andrew Weil. The compound is an Indian medicine which also contains a number of herbal ingredients including holy basil, green tea, rosemary and ginger.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Friday, November 04, 2005
BEAUTICIANS AT RISK FROM COSMETICS
You wouldn’t think that making other people look good could be bad for your health. The fact is beauticians are exposed to some cosmetic ingredients that may cause them lung problems, allergies and cancer.
The latest report is that exposure to persulphate salts in hair bleaching agents may lead to occupational asthma and rhinitis (stuffy nose) in hair stylists. The salts are strong oxidizers that speed hair color changes. Italian researchers performed allergy tests, lung function tests, and specific inhalation challenge (SIC) on 47 hair stylists (mean age 25), suspected of having occupational asthma. Average overall duration of exposure to persulphate salts was seven years. Results showed that 51.1 percent of patients were diagnosed with occupational asthma, of which:
• 87.5 percent of the cases were attributed to persulphate salts
• 8.3 percent to permanent hair dyes, and 4.2 percent to latex
In addition:
• 54.2 percent of patients were diagnosed with occupational rhinitis, of which 84.6 percent of the cases were due to persulphate salts.
• 36 percent of patients were diagnosed with occupational dermatitis (irritated skin).
Beauticians with occupational asthma attributed to persulphate salts had a long period of exposure to bleaching agents and a long latent period between the start of exposure and the onset of symptoms, according to the Italian researchers. Their study appears in the November issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
About 2 million people work as hairdressers and barbers in North America and Europe. They are actually the “canaries” for the rest of us. (Canaries were used in the mines to give an early warning to miners about the presence of lethal gases.) Previous studies have shown:
• Male hairdressers had an increased incidence of cancer, particularly of the digestive tract, lung, colon, prostate, and bladder, according to Swiss scientists.
• Female hairdressers and cosmetologists had an increased risk of cancer of the pancreas, lung, cervix, skin, and bladder, and possibly of the breast, according to a report in the Environmental Health & Safety Newsletter.
• Female hair dressers, Michigan State researchers found, were at higher risks of developing a rare form of cancer of the salivary gland. The salivary glands secrete saliva in the mouth, which aids digestion. The researchers could not explain why hairdressers are more prone to these cancers but suspect it may be due to inhaled exposure to hairsprays or hair dyes.
• University of California researchers studying more than 58,000 hairdressers, manicurists, and cosmetologists found that the group developed multiple myeloma at four times the rate of the general population. Multiple myeloma is a malignant tumor of the bone marrow.
• Several studies reported in the scientific literature conclude there is growing evidence that hair dressers and cosmetologists are at higher risk for cancer of the breast and urinary tract, but whether this is due to dyes, some other substance they use, or even cigarette smoke, the final proof is yet to come.
What price beauty? For beauticians, it may be too high.
The latest report is that exposure to persulphate salts in hair bleaching agents may lead to occupational asthma and rhinitis (stuffy nose) in hair stylists. The salts are strong oxidizers that speed hair color changes. Italian researchers performed allergy tests, lung function tests, and specific inhalation challenge (SIC) on 47 hair stylists (mean age 25), suspected of having occupational asthma. Average overall duration of exposure to persulphate salts was seven years. Results showed that 51.1 percent of patients were diagnosed with occupational asthma, of which:
• 87.5 percent of the cases were attributed to persulphate salts
• 8.3 percent to permanent hair dyes, and 4.2 percent to latex
In addition:
• 54.2 percent of patients were diagnosed with occupational rhinitis, of which 84.6 percent of the cases were due to persulphate salts.
• 36 percent of patients were diagnosed with occupational dermatitis (irritated skin).
Beauticians with occupational asthma attributed to persulphate salts had a long period of exposure to bleaching agents and a long latent period between the start of exposure and the onset of symptoms, according to the Italian researchers. Their study appears in the November issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
About 2 million people work as hairdressers and barbers in North America and Europe. They are actually the “canaries” for the rest of us. (Canaries were used in the mines to give an early warning to miners about the presence of lethal gases.) Previous studies have shown:
• Male hairdressers had an increased incidence of cancer, particularly of the digestive tract, lung, colon, prostate, and bladder, according to Swiss scientists.
• Female hairdressers and cosmetologists had an increased risk of cancer of the pancreas, lung, cervix, skin, and bladder, and possibly of the breast, according to a report in the Environmental Health & Safety Newsletter.
• Female hair dressers, Michigan State researchers found, were at higher risks of developing a rare form of cancer of the salivary gland. The salivary glands secrete saliva in the mouth, which aids digestion. The researchers could not explain why hairdressers are more prone to these cancers but suspect it may be due to inhaled exposure to hairsprays or hair dyes.
• University of California researchers studying more than 58,000 hairdressers, manicurists, and cosmetologists found that the group developed multiple myeloma at four times the rate of the general population. Multiple myeloma is a malignant tumor of the bone marrow.
• Several studies reported in the scientific literature conclude there is growing evidence that hair dressers and cosmetologists are at higher risk for cancer of the breast and urinary tract, but whether this is due to dyes, some other substance they use, or even cigarette smoke, the final proof is yet to come.
What price beauty? For beauticians, it may be too high.
Monday, October 10, 2005
TRYING TO SHAKE THE SALT
There’s bad news and good news about salt in processed foods.
The bad news is that the Food and Drug Administration has backed down on the maximum sodium levels permitted for foods that bear the implied nutrient content claim “healthy”.
The decision has been welcomed by food processors who maintain that the technological barriers to reducing sodium in processed foods and poor sales of products has inhibited the development of other new “healthy” products.
What has caused the American taste for high salt products? Is it because it covers up the flavors removed during processing? Is it because the fast foods offered to children have made them salt-addicts when they grow up?
Health officials in the United States have urged the reduction of sodium in the diet since the substance has been identified as a major culprit in the development of high blood pressure and subsequent heart disease.
Some seventy sodium compounds are used in food. The National Academy of Sciences, whose experts establish dietary guidelines, recommends that we ingest no more than 2400 milligrams of sodium per day. The average American ingests 3500 to 7000 milligrams. (A teaspoon of salt has about 2000 milligrams of salt). If the number for sodium looks very low on a label, look again. Some companies make you think there is less by saying 2 grams of sodium, for example, which is really 2000 milligrams.
As of now, when a label reads “low sodium” it is supposed to contain 140 mg or fewer per serving. “Very low sodium” is fewer than 35 mg per serving and sodium free is less than 5 mg per serving. Watch the size of a serving, however. It may be a teaspoonful when you are likely to pour a ¼ of a cup of a dressing on your salad.
The good news is that manufacturers want to be ready for the salt reduction pressures by health officials and eventually the health aware consumers. Wild Flavors has developed a new salt replacer that it claims blocks the bitter taste of potassium chloride while keeping the taste and mouthfeel of table salt. Prime Favorites, another company, claims it has an additive, NeutraFres, which also has a hard-to-distinguish substitute for sodium. Then, of course, there are more and more spice mixtures on the market that pep up food without salt.
Can you shake the salt habit?
The bad news is that the Food and Drug Administration has backed down on the maximum sodium levels permitted for foods that bear the implied nutrient content claim “healthy”.
The decision has been welcomed by food processors who maintain that the technological barriers to reducing sodium in processed foods and poor sales of products has inhibited the development of other new “healthy” products.
What has caused the American taste for high salt products? Is it because it covers up the flavors removed during processing? Is it because the fast foods offered to children have made them salt-addicts when they grow up?
Health officials in the United States have urged the reduction of sodium in the diet since the substance has been identified as a major culprit in the development of high blood pressure and subsequent heart disease.
Some seventy sodium compounds are used in food. The National Academy of Sciences, whose experts establish dietary guidelines, recommends that we ingest no more than 2400 milligrams of sodium per day. The average American ingests 3500 to 7000 milligrams. (A teaspoon of salt has about 2000 milligrams of salt). If the number for sodium looks very low on a label, look again. Some companies make you think there is less by saying 2 grams of sodium, for example, which is really 2000 milligrams.
As of now, when a label reads “low sodium” it is supposed to contain 140 mg or fewer per serving. “Very low sodium” is fewer than 35 mg per serving and sodium free is less than 5 mg per serving. Watch the size of a serving, however. It may be a teaspoonful when you are likely to pour a ¼ of a cup of a dressing on your salad.
The good news is that manufacturers want to be ready for the salt reduction pressures by health officials and eventually the health aware consumers. Wild Flavors has developed a new salt replacer that it claims blocks the bitter taste of potassium chloride while keeping the taste and mouthfeel of table salt. Prime Favorites, another company, claims it has an additive, NeutraFres, which also has a hard-to-distinguish substitute for sodium. Then, of course, there are more and more spice mixtures on the market that pep up food without salt.
Can you shake the salt habit?
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
WHO DO YOU BELIEVE---MERCHANT OR DOCTOR?
In a survey conducted recently by FIND/SVP, a company who does analysis for businesses found that 78 percent of a thousand people surveyed trust nutritional advice from a food retailer and that labeling is the most useful source of in-store nutritional information.
The increase in functional foods often labeled as having “health benefits” makes the above very interesting. There is a new “functional beverage”, for example, that claims to burn calories by increasing metabolism. The company, Elite FX, says its product, Celsius, available only in Florida, was tested in a controlled double-blind study on twenty men and women. Celsius reportedly increased the metabolic rate by 13.8 percent at the end of the first hour compared to subjects who just drank Diet Coke . The latter’s whose metabolism only increased between 4 and 6 percent.
The United Kingdom calls functional foods--- novel foods. The term includes any foods or ingredients that don’t have a significant history of consumption within the European Union (EU) before May 1997. One ingredient the UK just approved is lycopene oleoresin. It is produced from red, ripe, lycopene tomatoes with antioxidant properties. It is currently marketed as an ingredient in food supplement as well as a food color.
Another dietary supplement, Pycnogenol®, an extract of pine tree bark, reportedly is effective in improving blood circulation and helping to prevent ankle swelling in airplane travelers. A double-blind study was reported by Peter Rohdewald, PhD, a University of Muenster researcher, in a recent issue of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis . The conclusion was Pycnogenol® prevented swellings by strengthening venous walls. This, they wrote, enables veins, stretched by pooled blood, to better resist the increased pressure, letting less liquid seep into the tissue, and hence less swelling occurs.
And still another supplement, Olibra, a combination of palm and oat oil, promises to encourage satiety and thus keep you from eating too much food. The Italians are already using it in yogurt for weight control. Of course, you could eat a bowl of oatmeal and perhaps obtain the same effect but the supplement is easier to take and reportedly lower calorie intake at a variety of meals between 20 and 30 percent. That was reported by a team of researchers from the University of Ulster in a recent issue of The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The increase in functional foods often labeled as having “health benefits” makes the above very interesting. There is a new “functional beverage”, for example, that claims to burn calories by increasing metabolism. The company, Elite FX, says its product, Celsius, available only in Florida, was tested in a controlled double-blind study on twenty men and women. Celsius reportedly increased the metabolic rate by 13.8 percent at the end of the first hour compared to subjects who just drank Diet Coke . The latter’s whose metabolism only increased between 4 and 6 percent.
The United Kingdom calls functional foods--- novel foods. The term includes any foods or ingredients that don’t have a significant history of consumption within the European Union (EU) before May 1997. One ingredient the UK just approved is lycopene oleoresin. It is produced from red, ripe, lycopene tomatoes with antioxidant properties. It is currently marketed as an ingredient in food supplement as well as a food color.
Another dietary supplement, Pycnogenol®, an extract of pine tree bark, reportedly is effective in improving blood circulation and helping to prevent ankle swelling in airplane travelers. A double-blind study was reported by Peter Rohdewald, PhD, a University of Muenster researcher, in a recent issue of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis . The conclusion was Pycnogenol® prevented swellings by strengthening venous walls. This, they wrote, enables veins, stretched by pooled blood, to better resist the increased pressure, letting less liquid seep into the tissue, and hence less swelling occurs.
And still another supplement, Olibra, a combination of palm and oat oil, promises to encourage satiety and thus keep you from eating too much food. The Italians are already using it in yogurt for weight control. Of course, you could eat a bowl of oatmeal and perhaps obtain the same effect but the supplement is easier to take and reportedly lower calorie intake at a variety of meals between 20 and 30 percent. That was reported by a team of researchers from the University of Ulster in a recent issue of The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
PROMISING FOOD ADDITIVES
There are two new food additives that may improve health.
The first is a new red coloring. As I have pointed out in all six editions of A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, there have been problems with reds. For example:
●FD&C Citrus Red No. 2 was found in 1960 to damage internal organs and to be a weak cancer causing additive. It is now permitted only to color orange skins.
●FD& C Red No. 4 was banned in food in 1964 when it was shown to adamage the adrenal glands and bladders of dogs.
●FD & C Red No. 3 is still permitted in foods although there are real questions about it causing genetic damage and its being a cancer-causing agent.
Now The FDA has amended its color additive regulations to provide for the safe use of LycoMato tomato lycopene extract as a red coloring in foods. This action is in response to a Color Additive Petition filed by LycoRed Natural Products Industries. The ruling, which becomes effective on August 26, adds LycoMato to the FDA's listing of Color Additives Exempt from Certification.
The FDA evaluated two LycoMato concentrations: one containing no less than 5.5 percent lycopene (referred to as tomato lycopene extract); and the other containing no less than 60 percent lycopene (referred to as tomato lycopene concentrate). The agency also assessed related studies and the company's manufacturing processes.
Lycopene is a natural food colorant whose coloring ability depends on its concentration, the method of dispersion and formulation used. LycoMato is already marketed as a food colorant in Europe and Japan.
LycoMato, a standardized tomato oleoresin, contains a high concentration of lycopene, partially dissolved and mostly dispersed in tomato oil, as well as phytoene, phytofluene, a-carotene, tocopherols and phytosterols - tomato phytonutrients that act synergistically, enhancing the biological activity of the lycopene.
Lycopene is being studied as a compound to prevent heart disease and cancer and to improve or maintain vision in older persons.
The second new additive involves an very old flavoring, cinnamon.
Studies by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have shown that cinnamon promotes glucose metabolism and supports healthy cholesterol levels in individuals with Type 2 diabetes. However, researchers note that when consumed consistently or in high doses, whole cinnamon and fat-soluble extracts may be toxic.
Integrity Nutraceuticals has announced the results of a recent clinical study on Cinnulin PF, the company's patented water extract of cinnamon ingredient.
The placebo-controlled, double-blind study conducted by the Ohio Research Group examined the effect of supplementation with Cinnulin PF on blood glucose regulation, lipid profiles and body composition in pre-diabetic men and women. All participants maintained their usual levels of physical activity and normal diet patterns throughout the course of the study.
Results show subjects in the Cinnulin PF group noted statistically significant decreases in blood glucose levels, marked improvements in insulin sensitivity and no statistically significant changes in clinical blood chemistries.
"Preliminary data supports the efficacy of Cinnulin PF supplementation on blood sugar regulation in pre-diabetic men and women," stated Tim Ziegenfuss, CEO of Ohio Research Group. "The safety profile on Cinnulin PF appears to be excellent and no adverse events were reported during the duration of the study."
Most food additives are for the benefit of the producers. These two might prove to be beneficial to us.
The first is a new red coloring. As I have pointed out in all six editions of A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, there have been problems with reds. For example:
●FD&C Citrus Red No. 2 was found in 1960 to damage internal organs and to be a weak cancer causing additive. It is now permitted only to color orange skins.
●FD& C Red No. 4 was banned in food in 1964 when it was shown to adamage the adrenal glands and bladders of dogs.
●FD & C Red No. 3 is still permitted in foods although there are real questions about it causing genetic damage and its being a cancer-causing agent.
Now The FDA has amended its color additive regulations to provide for the safe use of LycoMato tomato lycopene extract as a red coloring in foods. This action is in response to a Color Additive Petition filed by LycoRed Natural Products Industries. The ruling, which becomes effective on August 26, adds LycoMato to the FDA's listing of Color Additives Exempt from Certification.
The FDA evaluated two LycoMato concentrations: one containing no less than 5.5 percent lycopene (referred to as tomato lycopene extract); and the other containing no less than 60 percent lycopene (referred to as tomato lycopene concentrate). The agency also assessed related studies and the company's manufacturing processes.
Lycopene is a natural food colorant whose coloring ability depends on its concentration, the method of dispersion and formulation used. LycoMato is already marketed as a food colorant in Europe and Japan.
LycoMato, a standardized tomato oleoresin, contains a high concentration of lycopene, partially dissolved and mostly dispersed in tomato oil, as well as phytoene, phytofluene, a-carotene, tocopherols and phytosterols - tomato phytonutrients that act synergistically, enhancing the biological activity of the lycopene.
Lycopene is being studied as a compound to prevent heart disease and cancer and to improve or maintain vision in older persons.
The second new additive involves an very old flavoring, cinnamon.
Studies by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have shown that cinnamon promotes glucose metabolism and supports healthy cholesterol levels in individuals with Type 2 diabetes. However, researchers note that when consumed consistently or in high doses, whole cinnamon and fat-soluble extracts may be toxic.
Integrity Nutraceuticals has announced the results of a recent clinical study on Cinnulin PF, the company's patented water extract of cinnamon ingredient.
The placebo-controlled, double-blind study conducted by the Ohio Research Group examined the effect of supplementation with Cinnulin PF on blood glucose regulation, lipid profiles and body composition in pre-diabetic men and women. All participants maintained their usual levels of physical activity and normal diet patterns throughout the course of the study.
Results show subjects in the Cinnulin PF group noted statistically significant decreases in blood glucose levels, marked improvements in insulin sensitivity and no statistically significant changes in clinical blood chemistries.
"Preliminary data supports the efficacy of Cinnulin PF supplementation on blood sugar regulation in pre-diabetic men and women," stated Tim Ziegenfuss, CEO of Ohio Research Group. "The safety profile on Cinnulin PF appears to be excellent and no adverse events were reported during the duration of the study."
Most food additives are for the benefit of the producers. These two might prove to be beneficial to us.
Monday, July 04, 2005
FIGHTING PHTHALATES: NEW PRESERVATIVE IS OFFERED
California Senator Carole Midgen is attempting to get a bill passed that will make cosmetic labeling more informative for consumers. A bill she had proposed earlier included outlawing certain phthalates as ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products. That bill was shot down but Senator Midgen hopes if her new legislation passes it will draw attention to the safety concerns of phthalates.
What are phthalates and why should we worry about them? They are a large group of chemical compounds used in the production of plastics, household articles, packages, and plant pesticides as well as cosmetics. World production of phthalates is estimated to be several million tons a year. Recent observations indicate some may be mutagenic, cancer-causing, and adversely affect human male sperm. In 2004, the European Union banned them in nail polish. The FDA said in 2004 that phthalates are safe for humans in the amounts to which we are exposed.
In the meantime, the US-based Rohm and Haas has announced worldwide approval for a newer preservative, Neolone, which is said to be a viable option for the controversial cosmetic ingredients, parabens. The most commonly used preservatives in the United States, approximated 75 to 90 percent of cosmetics have them including shampoos, makeup, lotions and deodorants. Water is the only ingredient used more frequently. In 2004, however, a study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, reported parabens are a cause of concern. British researchers found traces of it in twenty women who had breast cancers. Parabens are believed to act like the female hormone estrogen. In high levels estrogen can cause some women to develop breast cancer.
Rohm and Haas says the key ingredient its Neolone preservative is methylisothiazolinone. This ingredient is already widely used as a preservative in shampoos to replace formaldehyde, a well-known sensitizer. While methylisothiazolinone is a sensitizer in animals, it has not been reported to be a sensitizer in shampoos for humans. Methylisothiazolinone is also used in baby products, moisturizers, body and hand preparations, and cleansing creams as well as makeup removers and suntan preparations. It is on the Canadian Hotlist, which contains information about cosmetic ingredients that have the potential for adverse affects or which have been restricted or banned. Check http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cosmetics/hotlist_m-p.htm
What are phthalates and why should we worry about them? They are a large group of chemical compounds used in the production of plastics, household articles, packages, and plant pesticides as well as cosmetics. World production of phthalates is estimated to be several million tons a year. Recent observations indicate some may be mutagenic, cancer-causing, and adversely affect human male sperm. In 2004, the European Union banned them in nail polish. The FDA said in 2004 that phthalates are safe for humans in the amounts to which we are exposed.
In the meantime, the US-based Rohm and Haas has announced worldwide approval for a newer preservative, Neolone, which is said to be a viable option for the controversial cosmetic ingredients, parabens. The most commonly used preservatives in the United States, approximated 75 to 90 percent of cosmetics have them including shampoos, makeup, lotions and deodorants. Water is the only ingredient used more frequently. In 2004, however, a study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, reported parabens are a cause of concern. British researchers found traces of it in twenty women who had breast cancers. Parabens are believed to act like the female hormone estrogen. In high levels estrogen can cause some women to develop breast cancer.
Rohm and Haas says the key ingredient its Neolone preservative is methylisothiazolinone. This ingredient is already widely used as a preservative in shampoos to replace formaldehyde, a well-known sensitizer. While methylisothiazolinone is a sensitizer in animals, it has not been reported to be a sensitizer in shampoos for humans. Methylisothiazolinone is also used in baby products, moisturizers, body and hand preparations, and cleansing creams as well as makeup removers and suntan preparations. It is on the Canadian Hotlist, which contains information about cosmetic ingredients that have the potential for adverse affects or which have been restricted or banned. Check http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cosmetics/hotlist_m-p.htm
Monday, June 20, 2005
GROWING COSMETIC TARGET
TV and magazines are putting on silly reality shows and dumb down programs to attract the interest of young folks who will buy their products. The cosmetic companies, however, which are the best social observers in the world, now have a new advertising target---older folk, especially men. In 2004 , according to Datamonitor reports, seniors accounted for a rapidly increasing use of personal care products, preening themselves more than teens. Despite this seniors, remain an under targeted audience by an industry that continues to focus on younger groups.
A New York radio stations just removed its "Golden Oldies" music program along with its older disc jockeys. Despite a huge outcry by older fans, the executives believe the money is in a youthful audience and they substituted something called "jack" of which most of the once loyal audience had not heard.
Personal care products provide one of the most lucrative commercial categories. Before detergents and food company promoters, cosmetic social observers have recognized that the buyers of all products are growing older. One company in Great Britain even has a 92 year old woman in a skin care campaign.
In another report, Simon Pitman noted that some 10 percent of the male population over 40 years uses some form of hair dye and that companies are beginning to produce anti-wrinkle and other skin products for the older male.
Maybe advertisers will support programs that they now believe have "too old" an audience. They may even bring back Diagnosis Murder and CBS News.
A New York radio stations just removed its "Golden Oldies" music program along with its older disc jockeys. Despite a huge outcry by older fans, the executives believe the money is in a youthful audience and they substituted something called "jack" of which most of the once loyal audience had not heard.
Personal care products provide one of the most lucrative commercial categories. Before detergents and food company promoters, cosmetic social observers have recognized that the buyers of all products are growing older. One company in Great Britain even has a 92 year old woman in a skin care campaign.
In another report, Simon Pitman noted that some 10 percent of the male population over 40 years uses some form of hair dye and that companies are beginning to produce anti-wrinkle and other skin products for the older male.
Maybe advertisers will support programs that they now believe have "too old" an audience. They may even bring back Diagnosis Murder and CBS News.
Friday, June 03, 2005
ORGANIC COSMETICS BOOMING
Want Chardonnay in your moisturizer? Tangerine in your mouthwash? Papaya in your soap? Products containing those ingredients are on the market. Organic cosmetics are expected to reach $5.8 billion soon, growing at the rate of an estimated nine percent a year. The search for "all-natural" products is fueling the introduction of "new "skin care and beauty items.
The United States Department of Agriculture has evidently been so swamped with cosmetics claiming to be free of chemicals and synthetics, it has withdrawn its "USDA Organic" label designation for such products. When it created the seal in 2002, the primary intent was to certify the organic claims made by food producers. Now, three years later, the department believes that cosmetics and personal care products can't be government-certified as organic, after all.
Almost all cosmetics and skin care products do contain "natural" ingredients. Just consider fruits, which are among the most popular. Strawberry juice, for example, is reputed to contain ingredients that soften and nourish the skin. Plum extract is used in mouth washes and skin creams. And don't forget the fruit acids used in a myriad of anti-wrinkle creams. Olives, soy and wine grapes are also popular today.
The European market is particularly focused on finding legendary and newly discovered active botanicals. They may give the ingredient an exotic name. The European names on the label Opium graveolens and Avena sativa, for example, we call celery and oatmeal.
Even though there are no standards for organic cosmetics, reportedly any soap, shampoo, or other body item with the word "organic" in its name is a popular choice. You have to read the label carefully so you don't get "skinned".
The United States Department of Agriculture has evidently been so swamped with cosmetics claiming to be free of chemicals and synthetics, it has withdrawn its "USDA Organic" label designation for such products. When it created the seal in 2002, the primary intent was to certify the organic claims made by food producers. Now, three years later, the department believes that cosmetics and personal care products can't be government-certified as organic, after all.
Almost all cosmetics and skin care products do contain "natural" ingredients. Just consider fruits, which are among the most popular. Strawberry juice, for example, is reputed to contain ingredients that soften and nourish the skin. Plum extract is used in mouth washes and skin creams. And don't forget the fruit acids used in a myriad of anti-wrinkle creams. Olives, soy and wine grapes are also popular today.
The European market is particularly focused on finding legendary and newly discovered active botanicals. They may give the ingredient an exotic name. The European names on the label Opium graveolens and Avena sativa, for example, we call celery and oatmeal.
Even though there are no standards for organic cosmetics, reportedly any soap, shampoo, or other body item with the word "organic" in its name is a popular choice. You have to read the label carefully so you don't get "skinned".
Thursday, May 05, 2005
WHAT'S IN THE PACKAGE?
How long does it take before action is taken by the Federal government and cosmetic manufacturers themselves?
In two studies funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia demonstrated that two plasticizers compounds, found in some cosmetic packaging, are environmental estrogens and may be carcinogenic to the human breast.
In a report presented recently at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, the investigators said they considered two compounds bisphenol A (BPA) and BBP (n-butyl benzyl phthalate).
The Study found that BPA was the most dangerous, particularly for food applications as the danger was increased if the packaging was heated. Equally, the study found that risk was increased if the packaging was old or scratched.
Jose Russo, MD, director of Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center at Fox Chase, pointed out to his colleagues at the American Association for Cancer Research: "Our results showed that exposure to BPA changes the gene expression profile of mammary tissues.."
He said that future studies are needed to determine whether exposure to "foreign" estrogens leads to breast cancer in rats and whether these estrogens bring about similar gene alterations in human breast tissue.
In 2003, researchers supported by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reported in Current Biology that small amount of the chemical had caused birth defects in mice. The substance was leached from plastic by inadvertent detergent use. And six years before that, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia suggested that BPA had an estrogenlike activity.
BBP is widely used as a sanitizer and plasticizer in cosmetic packaging and also is believed to have an estrogenlike effect.
Roy Hertz,MD, PhD, the National Cancer Institutes late leading authority on endocrine cancers and others such as Samuel Epstein, MD, professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois and author of Cancer-Gate: How to Win The Losing Cancer War (Baywood Publishing 2005) pointed out that in view of the knowledge that "foreign" estrogens are known cancer-causing agents, lifelong exposure to these contaminants is clearly a risk factor for human breast cancer.
How long will it take before these packages are reformulated? How many reports of breast cancer risks for these unnecessary chemicals must there be?
In two studies funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia demonstrated that two plasticizers compounds, found in some cosmetic packaging, are environmental estrogens and may be carcinogenic to the human breast.
In a report presented recently at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, the investigators said they considered two compounds bisphenol A (BPA) and BBP (n-butyl benzyl phthalate).
The Study found that BPA was the most dangerous, particularly for food applications as the danger was increased if the packaging was heated. Equally, the study found that risk was increased if the packaging was old or scratched.
Jose Russo, MD, director of Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center at Fox Chase, pointed out to his colleagues at the American Association for Cancer Research: "Our results showed that exposure to BPA changes the gene expression profile of mammary tissues.."
He said that future studies are needed to determine whether exposure to "foreign" estrogens leads to breast cancer in rats and whether these estrogens bring about similar gene alterations in human breast tissue.
In 2003, researchers supported by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reported in Current Biology that small amount of the chemical had caused birth defects in mice. The substance was leached from plastic by inadvertent detergent use. And six years before that, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia suggested that BPA had an estrogenlike activity.
BBP is widely used as a sanitizer and plasticizer in cosmetic packaging and also is believed to have an estrogenlike effect.
Roy Hertz,MD, PhD, the National Cancer Institutes late leading authority on endocrine cancers and others such as Samuel Epstein, MD, professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois and author of Cancer-Gate: How to Win The Losing Cancer War (Baywood Publishing 2005) pointed out that in view of the knowledge that "foreign" estrogens are known cancer-causing agents, lifelong exposure to these contaminants is clearly a risk factor for human breast cancer.
How long will it take before these packages are reformulated? How many reports of breast cancer risks for these unnecessary chemicals must there be?
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
THE NEXT BIG INGREDIENT IN WRINKLE CREAMS
Be happy about your wrinkles. The cosmetic companies are rushing to put out creams with endorphins---the body's self-made painkillers. It has been reported that acupuncture, tickling and massaging the skin can cause release of these compounds. Runner's high and smiling are also said to release these natural tranquilizers.
Now, cosmetic companies have jumped on the endorphin phenomenon. Mibelle AG Biochemistry,for example,has just launched Happybelle-PE, a formulation that includes Monk's Pepper and Beta-Endorphin extract - said to have proven efficacy as an anti-wrinkle treatment.
Dr. David Schmid, company spokesperson says that Beta-endorphin has been shown to stimulate skin cells and that it thought that beta-endorphin could have a potential in skin regeneration and wound healing.
"The fact that this ingredient contains endorphins is what really makes it something new on the market," said Schmid. "The newly discovered regenerative properties, combined with the fact that endorphins are said to be mood enhancing, should help to give it added marketing impetus."
Monk's Pepper, also known as chaste tree, is a large shrub native to the Mediterranean area. Monk's pepper berries have traditionally been used as plant medicine, mainly to regulate women's menstrual cycles and PMS.
There are scientific publications that have found a beta-endorphin-like effect of monk's pepper berries. This effect is thought to come from berry compounds that bind to the human beta-endorphin receptor or berry compounds that stimulate the production of beta-endorphin in humans. Since anxiety, depression and sleeping problems are symptoms of PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome), the mood enhancing beta-endorphins are thought to be involved in the beneficial effect of Monk's Pepper in the treatment of PMS.
MIMICAL CONTROL SYSTEM from Barbor, which sells to salons, uses an extract of the Italian curry plant to promote the production of endorphins the skin. The endorphins, the company claims "stimulate the skin cells that play an active role in combating skin aging and leave your skin looking fresh, rejuvenated and radiantly beautiful."
A spicy ingredient of many curries may be an effective treatment for radiation burns .Researchers in the United States believe it may prevent skin blistering and redness associated with cancer radiation therapy.
Whether new endorphin ingredients will be effective against wrinkles---well, if you believe you look younger after using such creams, then perhaps you will release some endorphins on your own.
Now, cosmetic companies have jumped on the endorphin phenomenon. Mibelle AG Biochemistry,for example,has just launched Happybelle-PE, a formulation that includes Monk's Pepper and Beta-Endorphin extract - said to have proven efficacy as an anti-wrinkle treatment.
Dr. David Schmid, company spokesperson says that Beta-endorphin has been shown to stimulate skin cells and that it thought that beta-endorphin could have a potential in skin regeneration and wound healing.
"The fact that this ingredient contains endorphins is what really makes it something new on the market," said Schmid. "The newly discovered regenerative properties, combined with the fact that endorphins are said to be mood enhancing, should help to give it added marketing impetus."
Monk's Pepper, also known as chaste tree, is a large shrub native to the Mediterranean area. Monk's pepper berries have traditionally been used as plant medicine, mainly to regulate women's menstrual cycles and PMS.
There are scientific publications that have found a beta-endorphin-like effect of monk's pepper berries. This effect is thought to come from berry compounds that bind to the human beta-endorphin receptor or berry compounds that stimulate the production of beta-endorphin in humans. Since anxiety, depression and sleeping problems are symptoms of PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome), the mood enhancing beta-endorphins are thought to be involved in the beneficial effect of Monk's Pepper in the treatment of PMS.
MIMICAL CONTROL SYSTEM from Barbor, which sells to salons, uses an extract of the Italian curry plant to promote the production of endorphins the skin. The endorphins, the company claims "stimulate the skin cells that play an active role in combating skin aging and leave your skin looking fresh, rejuvenated and radiantly beautiful."
A spicy ingredient of many curries may be an effective treatment for radiation burns .Researchers in the United States believe it may prevent skin blistering and redness associated with cancer radiation therapy.
Whether new endorphin ingredients will be effective against wrinkles---well, if you believe you look younger after using such creams, then perhaps you will release some endorphins on your own.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
COSMETIC SAFETY BRUSH OFF
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently acted on a petition filed by the Environmental Working Group and warned the cosmetic industry that the agency was serious about enforcing the law requiring companies to inform consumers personal care products have not been safety tested. The fact is that most cosmetics have "not been safety tested" and putting a notice on the label is an exercise in futility.
Do you realize that anyone can go in to the cosmetic business and the FDA does not require pre-testing for safety as it does for pharmaceuticals?
When I checked for The Sixth Edition of A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetics Ingredients just published by Three Rivers Press, the FDA's Cosmetics Office, which deals with the $34 billion cosmetics and toiletries industry, had twenty-five full time employees and no full-time field agents assigned to do only cosmetic work.
There are an estimated one thousand companies known to be producing twenty thousand cosmetics and toiletries. How many others are churning out products? No one knows!
The large and some small cosmetics companies do pre-test their products. Since advertising and promotion are one of their major expenses, they want to protect their investments and reputations. Cosmetic manufacturers may exaggerate the benefits of what they sell but they do not want to physically harm their customers.
If a company receives reports of adverse reactions to one of its cosmetics, alerting the FDA is voluntary. The FDA can take action against a hazardous product only after it receives reports from consumers or medical personnel that there is a problem.
Recalls taken by the cosmetic industry to call back products that present a hazard, or that are somehow defective are voluntary. The FDA is not permitted to require recalls but does monitor companies that conduct a product recall.
If you have an adverse reaction to a cosmetic, report it! You can contact your local FDA office if there is one. If not, contact the FDA, Office of Cosmetics and Colors (HFS-106), 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835, or use the website: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/problems.html#cosmetics.
Do you realize that anyone can go in to the cosmetic business and the FDA does not require pre-testing for safety as it does for pharmaceuticals?
When I checked for The Sixth Edition of A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetics Ingredients just published by Three Rivers Press, the FDA's Cosmetics Office, which deals with the $34 billion cosmetics and toiletries industry, had twenty-five full time employees and no full-time field agents assigned to do only cosmetic work.
There are an estimated one thousand companies known to be producing twenty thousand cosmetics and toiletries. How many others are churning out products? No one knows!
The large and some small cosmetics companies do pre-test their products. Since advertising and promotion are one of their major expenses, they want to protect their investments and reputations. Cosmetic manufacturers may exaggerate the benefits of what they sell but they do not want to physically harm their customers.
If a company receives reports of adverse reactions to one of its cosmetics, alerting the FDA is voluntary. The FDA can take action against a hazardous product only after it receives reports from consumers or medical personnel that there is a problem.
Recalls taken by the cosmetic industry to call back products that present a hazard, or that are somehow defective are voluntary. The FDA is not permitted to require recalls but does monitor companies that conduct a product recall.
If you have an adverse reaction to a cosmetic, report it! You can contact your local FDA office if there is one. If not, contact the FDA, Office of Cosmetics and Colors (HFS-106), 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835, or use the website: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/problems.html#cosmetics.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
LIFE SAVING NEW TECHNOLOGY TO IDENTIFY PILLS AND POISONS
Besides cell phones and iPods, you may be able to carry a small device that can quickly identify the ingredients in a possibly deadly chemical compound left by a terrorist or an accident. Your doctor may also have a small device in his or her office that will not only identify what ails you but whether a pharmaceutical will be of benefit to you, in particular, or cause you to have an adverse, perhaps fatal reaction.
In the first instance, The First Defender is an all-optical system. The hand held device developed by Ahura Corporation, Wilmington, MA enables first responders to accurately identify liquids and solids in seconds in the field. It accesses a large data base including chemical weapons, explosives, toxic chemicals, white-powders, narcotics, contraband, and forensic evidence. It has a fast start up---15 seconds from cold start to first measurement.
"We are committed to become the leader in innovative ultra compact portable instrumentation," Dr. Daryoosh Vakhshoori, Founder and CEO, says: "We are driven to develop cost-effective products for first responders. We will continue to push the technological envelop on product performance while moving quickly to transition our designs into production for customers in government and industry."
New technology may also help identify and treat what ails you, as an individual. Instead of the standard hit-or-miss approach where it can take multiple attempts to find the right drug and the right dose, doctors will be able to analyze your genetic profile and prescribe the best available drug therapy and dose from the start.
For example, this technology can answer:
• Whether you have a viral or bacterial infection.
• What medication will be affective for you.
Motorola’s eSensor™ DNA Detection System has the ability to rapidly and specifically identify the cause of your infection and its potential drug susceptibility based on your personal genetic make-up.
Motorola Life Sciences of Pasadena, CA., sold the first eSensor DNA Biochip Assays-which are about the size of postage stamps---to Sanofi-Synethelabo’s research organization in Malvern, PA. for use in the initial phase of human testing of new drug. It will be just the beginning for this new technology. The FDA recently approved the first laboratory assessment, the Amplichip Cytochrome P450 Genotyping Test, which will also enable physicians to use genetic information to select the right doses of certain medications for patients with cardiac, psychiatric or malignant diseases.
"We hope ultimately to bring pharmacogenomics, a way in which to foster the personalizing of medicine, to every healthcare professional's prescription pad for the benefit of their patients and US consumers," says Janet Woodcock, MD, FDA's Acting Deputy Commissioner for Operations .
In the first instance, The First Defender is an all-optical system. The hand held device developed by Ahura Corporation, Wilmington, MA enables first responders to accurately identify liquids and solids in seconds in the field. It accesses a large data base including chemical weapons, explosives, toxic chemicals, white-powders, narcotics, contraband, and forensic evidence. It has a fast start up---15 seconds from cold start to first measurement.
"We are committed to become the leader in innovative ultra compact portable instrumentation," Dr. Daryoosh Vakhshoori, Founder and CEO, says: "We are driven to develop cost-effective products for first responders. We will continue to push the technological envelop on product performance while moving quickly to transition our designs into production for customers in government and industry."
New technology may also help identify and treat what ails you, as an individual. Instead of the standard hit-or-miss approach where it can take multiple attempts to find the right drug and the right dose, doctors will be able to analyze your genetic profile and prescribe the best available drug therapy and dose from the start.
For example, this technology can answer:
• Whether you have a viral or bacterial infection.
• What medication will be affective for you.
Motorola’s eSensor™ DNA Detection System has the ability to rapidly and specifically identify the cause of your infection and its potential drug susceptibility based on your personal genetic make-up.
Motorola Life Sciences of Pasadena, CA., sold the first eSensor DNA Biochip Assays-which are about the size of postage stamps---to Sanofi-Synethelabo’s research organization in Malvern, PA. for use in the initial phase of human testing of new drug. It will be just the beginning for this new technology. The FDA recently approved the first laboratory assessment, the Amplichip Cytochrome P450 Genotyping Test, which will also enable physicians to use genetic information to select the right doses of certain medications for patients with cardiac, psychiatric or malignant diseases.
"We hope ultimately to bring pharmacogenomics, a way in which to foster the personalizing of medicine, to every healthcare professional's prescription pad for the benefit of their patients and US consumers," says Janet Woodcock, MD, FDA's Acting Deputy Commissioner for Operations .
Monday, March 21, 2005
YOU MAY ATTRACT MORE THAN THE OPPOSITE SEX WITH MUSK
Synthetic musks, which are widely used as fragrances in a variety of products, may pose a hidden threat to human health by enhancing the effect of compounds that are toxic, according to a study published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). Researchers found that musk compounds inhibited natural defenses against toxicants in California mussels and that the effect remained long after exposure ended. Why worry about adverse effects in mussels?
We are exposed to musks through the skin when we use soaps and cosmetics, and wear clothes washed with scented detergents. We may also inhale musks through cologne sprays. Every year, approximately 8,000 metric tons of synthetic musks are produced worldwide.
Under normal circumstances, cells resist toxicants through proteins that keep foreign chemicals from entering cells. Using mussel gill tissue because its protein transporters are particularly active, the researchers incubated tissue for 90 minutes in a solution of musk compounds and a fluorescent dye. Finding the dye in the tissue would indicate that the defensive proteins were failing. The tissue remained compromised 48 hours after exposure for four of the six musk compounds tested.
The authors of the article are Till Luckenbach and David Epel of Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. They conclude their study especially points to the need to screen musks and other environmental chemicals that accumulate in humans to determine if they are also chemical sensitizers.
They wrote that especially critical is to ascertain whether musks cause long-term effects similar to those seen in their study and that such substances could result in unanticipated accumulation of toxicants in humans and confound safety predictions of seemingly innocuous chemicals.
Musks are used in foods as well as cosmetics. Here is a brief rundown from A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives and A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients:
MUSK. Musk acts as an odor carrier, improving and fortifying transportation of the vapors of other perfume materials. Natural musk, moschus moschiferus, is the dried secretion from the posterior part of an Asian deer's abdomen where a small sac situated immediately under the skin is filled with a thick fluid, abounding particularly in the rutting season. It is a brown, unctuous, smelly substance associated with attracting the opposite sex and which is promoted by stores for such purposes. In addition to cosmetics, it used in food flavorings and at one time was employed as a stimulant and nerve sedative in medicine. Natural musk can cause allergic reactions.
MUSK AMBRETTE . A synthetic musk widely used as a fragrance ingredient in perfumes, soaps, detergents, creams, lotions, and dentifrices in the United States at an estimated 100,000 pounds per year. Musk ambrette had been used in fragranced products since before the 1920s. In 1967, it was reportedly found to damage the myelin, the covering of nerve fibers. This was first discovered when mice were fed varying levels of musk ambrette. Since dietary consumption of musk ambrette is generally very low, the impact was discounted and no assessment was made of exposures from fragranced products. In 1985, after studies were published on the neurotoxic effect and it was determined that the musk ambrette was readily absorbed through the skin, the fragrance industry, itself, recommended that musk ambrette not be used in direct skin contact products. Musk ambrette can also cause sensitivity to light and contact dermatitis, especially in after-shave lotions. Musk tetralin, in use for twenty years as a fragrance ingredient, was identified as a neurotoxin and removed from the market in 1978. Musk Ambrette is still used as in food but not in cosmetics and has been generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for foods by the FDA.
MUSK MOSKENE .A soft, sweet fragrance resembling musk ambrette. It is a creamy powder and is used in fragrances. It costs less than other musks and is not as sensitive to sunlight. It is therefore being increasingly employed. Rouges and perfumes containing musk moskene have been reported to cause hyperpigmentation (brown spots) on the skin of some people. The hyperpigmentation slowly disappeared after discontinuation of the products
LABDANUM . A synthetic musk used in perfumes, especially as a fixative, is a volatile oil obtained by steam distillation from gum extracted from various rockrose shrubs. Golden yellow, viscous, with a strong balsamic odor and a bitter taste, it is also employed as a food additive in raspberry, fruit, and vanilla flavorings for beverages, ice cream, ices, candy, baked goods, gelatin desserts, and chewing gum. Mildly toxic by ingestion. It has also been noted as a skin irritant. While it has been reported in use the FDA, has not yet designated it for a search of the toxicology literature.
ACETYL HEXAMETHYL TETRALIN . A synthetic musk used mostly in cosmetics but in some food additives. It is closely related to acetyl ethyl tetramethyl tetralin, which was voluntarily removed from perfumes when it was reported to cause nerve damage in animals. The "hexa" component was inserted to make the fragrances less volatile and less allergenic
MUSK, KETONE. A synthetic compound with a typical musk odor is widely used in cosmetics and is permitted as a food additive. Exposure to it, experiments in animals and with human cells indicate it might increase the susceptibility to health hazards caused by cancer causing agents humans.
Although the latest warning about synthetic musk was in EHP, published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whether any action will be taken on these widely used substances in our food and cosmetics is doubtful unless there is some consumer action.
We are exposed to musks through the skin when we use soaps and cosmetics, and wear clothes washed with scented detergents. We may also inhale musks through cologne sprays. Every year, approximately 8,000 metric tons of synthetic musks are produced worldwide.
Under normal circumstances, cells resist toxicants through proteins that keep foreign chemicals from entering cells. Using mussel gill tissue because its protein transporters are particularly active, the researchers incubated tissue for 90 minutes in a solution of musk compounds and a fluorescent dye. Finding the dye in the tissue would indicate that the defensive proteins were failing. The tissue remained compromised 48 hours after exposure for four of the six musk compounds tested.
The authors of the article are Till Luckenbach and David Epel of Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. They conclude their study especially points to the need to screen musks and other environmental chemicals that accumulate in humans to determine if they are also chemical sensitizers.
They wrote that especially critical is to ascertain whether musks cause long-term effects similar to those seen in their study and that such substances could result in unanticipated accumulation of toxicants in humans and confound safety predictions of seemingly innocuous chemicals.
Musks are used in foods as well as cosmetics. Here is a brief rundown from A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives and A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients:
MUSK. Musk acts as an odor carrier, improving and fortifying transportation of the vapors of other perfume materials. Natural musk, moschus moschiferus, is the dried secretion from the posterior part of an Asian deer's abdomen where a small sac situated immediately under the skin is filled with a thick fluid, abounding particularly in the rutting season. It is a brown, unctuous, smelly substance associated with attracting the opposite sex and which is promoted by stores for such purposes. In addition to cosmetics, it used in food flavorings and at one time was employed as a stimulant and nerve sedative in medicine. Natural musk can cause allergic reactions.
MUSK AMBRETTE . A synthetic musk widely used as a fragrance ingredient in perfumes, soaps, detergents, creams, lotions, and dentifrices in the United States at an estimated 100,000 pounds per year. Musk ambrette had been used in fragranced products since before the 1920s. In 1967, it was reportedly found to damage the myelin, the covering of nerve fibers. This was first discovered when mice were fed varying levels of musk ambrette. Since dietary consumption of musk ambrette is generally very low, the impact was discounted and no assessment was made of exposures from fragranced products. In 1985, after studies were published on the neurotoxic effect and it was determined that the musk ambrette was readily absorbed through the skin, the fragrance industry, itself, recommended that musk ambrette not be used in direct skin contact products. Musk ambrette can also cause sensitivity to light and contact dermatitis, especially in after-shave lotions. Musk tetralin, in use for twenty years as a fragrance ingredient, was identified as a neurotoxin and removed from the market in 1978. Musk Ambrette is still used as in food but not in cosmetics and has been generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for foods by the FDA.
MUSK MOSKENE .A soft, sweet fragrance resembling musk ambrette. It is a creamy powder and is used in fragrances. It costs less than other musks and is not as sensitive to sunlight. It is therefore being increasingly employed. Rouges and perfumes containing musk moskene have been reported to cause hyperpigmentation (brown spots) on the skin of some people. The hyperpigmentation slowly disappeared after discontinuation of the products
LABDANUM . A synthetic musk used in perfumes, especially as a fixative, is a volatile oil obtained by steam distillation from gum extracted from various rockrose shrubs. Golden yellow, viscous, with a strong balsamic odor and a bitter taste, it is also employed as a food additive in raspberry, fruit, and vanilla flavorings for beverages, ice cream, ices, candy, baked goods, gelatin desserts, and chewing gum. Mildly toxic by ingestion. It has also been noted as a skin irritant. While it has been reported in use the FDA, has not yet designated it for a search of the toxicology literature.
ACETYL HEXAMETHYL TETRALIN . A synthetic musk used mostly in cosmetics but in some food additives. It is closely related to acetyl ethyl tetramethyl tetralin, which was voluntarily removed from perfumes when it was reported to cause nerve damage in animals. The "hexa" component was inserted to make the fragrances less volatile and less allergenic
MUSK, KETONE. A synthetic compound with a typical musk odor is widely used in cosmetics and is permitted as a food additive. Exposure to it, experiments in animals and with human cells indicate it might increase the susceptibility to health hazards caused by cancer causing agents humans.
Although the latest warning about synthetic musk was in EHP, published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whether any action will be taken on these widely used substances in our food and cosmetics is doubtful unless there is some consumer action.
YOU MAY ATTRACT MORE THAN THE OPPOSITE SEX WITH MUSK
Synthetic musks, which are widely used as fragrances in a variety of products, may pose a hidden threat to human health by enhancing the effect of compounds that are toxic, according to a study published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). Researchers found that musk compounds inhibited natural defenses against toxicants in California mussels and that the effect remained long after exposure ended. Why worry about adverse effects in mussels?
We are exposed to musks through the skin when we use soaps and cosmetics, and wear clothes washed with scented detergents. We may also inhale musks through cologne sprays. Every year, approximately 8,000 metric tons of synthetic musks are produced worldwide.
Under normal circumstances, cells resist toxicants through proteins that keep foreign chemicals from entering cells. Using mussel gill tissue because its protein transporters are particularly active, the researchers incubated tissue for 90 minutes in a solution of musk compounds and a fluorescent dye. Finding the dye in the tissue would indicate that the defensive proteins were failing. The tissue remained compromised 48 hours after exposure for four of the six musk compounds tested.
The authors of the article are Till Luckenbach and David Epel of Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. They conclude their study especially points to the need to screen musks and other environmental chemicals that accumulate in humans to determine if they are also chemical sensitizers.
They wrote that especially critical is to ascertain whether musks cause long-term effects similar to those seen in their study and that such substances could result in unanticipated accumulation of toxicants in humans and confound safety predictions of seemingly innocuous chemicals.
Musks are used in foods as well as cosmetics. Here is a brief rundown from A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives and A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients:
MUSK. Musk acts as an odor carrier, improving and fortifying transportation of the vapors of other perfume materials. Natural musk, moschus moschiferus, is the dried secretion from the posterior part of an Asian deer's abdomen where a small sac situated immediately under the skin is filled with a thick fluid, abounding particularly in the rutting season. It is a brown, unctuous, smelly substance associated with attracting the opposite sex and which is promoted by stores for such purposes. In addition to cosmetics, it used in food flavorings and at one time was employed as a stimulant and nerve sedative in medicine. Natural musk can cause allergic reactions.
MUSK AMBRETTE . A synthetic musk widely used as a fragrance ingredient in perfumes, soaps, detergents, creams, lotions, and dentifrices in the United States at an estimated 100,000 pounds per year. Musk ambrette had been used in fragranced products since before the 1920s. In 1967, it was reportedly found to damage the myelin, the covering of nerve fibers. This was first discovered when mice were fed varying levels of musk ambrette. Since dietary consumption of musk ambrette is generally very low, the impact was discounted and no assessment was made of exposures from fragranced products. In 1985, after studies were published on the neurotoxic effect and it was determined that the musk ambrette was readily absorbed through the skin, the fragrance industry, itself, recommended that musk ambrette not be used in direct skin contact products. Musk ambrette can also cause sensitivity to light and contact dermatitis, especially in after-shave lotions. Musk tetralin, in use for twenty years as a fragrance ingredient, was identified as a neurotoxin and removed from the market in 1978. Musk Ambrette is still used as in food but not in cosmetics and has been generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for foods by the FDA.
MUSK MOSKENE .A soft, sweet fragrance resembling musk ambrette. It is a creamy powder and is used in fragrances. It costs less than other musks and is not as sensitive to sunlight. It is therefore being increasingly employed. Rouges and perfumes containing musk moskene have been reported to cause hyperpigmentation (brown spots) on the skin of some people. The hyperpigmentation slowly disappeared after discontinuation of the products
LABDANUM . A synthetic musk used in perfumes, especially as a fixative, is a volatile oil obtained by steam distillation from gum extracted from various rockrose shrubs. Golden yellow, viscous, with a strong balsamic odor and a bitter taste, it is also employed as a food additive in raspberry, fruit, and vanilla flavorings for beverages, ice cream, ices, candy, baked goods, gelatin desserts, and chewing gum. Mildly toxic by ingestion. It has also been noted as a skin irritant. While it has been reported in use the FDA, has not yet designated it for a search of the toxicology literature.
ACETYL HEXAMETHYL TETRALIN . A synthetic musk used mostly in cosmetics but in some food additives. It is closely related to acetyl ethyl tetramethyl tetralin, which was voluntarily removed from perfumes when it was reported to cause nerve damage in animals. The "hexa" component was inserted to make the fragrances less volatile and less allergenic
MUSK, KETONE. A synthetic compound with a typical musk odor is widely used in cosmetics and is permitted as a food additive. Exposure to it, experiments in animals and with human cells indicate it might increase the susceptibility to health hazards caused by cancer causing agents humans.
Although the latest warning about synthetic musk was in EHP, published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whether any action will be taken on these widely used substances in our food and cosmetics is doubtful unless there is some consumer action.
We are exposed to musks through the skin when we use soaps and cosmetics, and wear clothes washed with scented detergents. We may also inhale musks through cologne sprays. Every year, approximately 8,000 metric tons of synthetic musks are produced worldwide.
Under normal circumstances, cells resist toxicants through proteins that keep foreign chemicals from entering cells. Using mussel gill tissue because its protein transporters are particularly active, the researchers incubated tissue for 90 minutes in a solution of musk compounds and a fluorescent dye. Finding the dye in the tissue would indicate that the defensive proteins were failing. The tissue remained compromised 48 hours after exposure for four of the six musk compounds tested.
The authors of the article are Till Luckenbach and David Epel of Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. They conclude their study especially points to the need to screen musks and other environmental chemicals that accumulate in humans to determine if they are also chemical sensitizers.
They wrote that especially critical is to ascertain whether musks cause long-term effects similar to those seen in their study and that such substances could result in unanticipated accumulation of toxicants in humans and confound safety predictions of seemingly innocuous chemicals.
Musks are used in foods as well as cosmetics. Here is a brief rundown from A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives and A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients:
MUSK. Musk acts as an odor carrier, improving and fortifying transportation of the vapors of other perfume materials. Natural musk, moschus moschiferus, is the dried secretion from the posterior part of an Asian deer's abdomen where a small sac situated immediately under the skin is filled with a thick fluid, abounding particularly in the rutting season. It is a brown, unctuous, smelly substance associated with attracting the opposite sex and which is promoted by stores for such purposes. In addition to cosmetics, it used in food flavorings and at one time was employed as a stimulant and nerve sedative in medicine. Natural musk can cause allergic reactions.
MUSK AMBRETTE . A synthetic musk widely used as a fragrance ingredient in perfumes, soaps, detergents, creams, lotions, and dentifrices in the United States at an estimated 100,000 pounds per year. Musk ambrette had been used in fragranced products since before the 1920s. In 1967, it was reportedly found to damage the myelin, the covering of nerve fibers. This was first discovered when mice were fed varying levels of musk ambrette. Since dietary consumption of musk ambrette is generally very low, the impact was discounted and no assessment was made of exposures from fragranced products. In 1985, after studies were published on the neurotoxic effect and it was determined that the musk ambrette was readily absorbed through the skin, the fragrance industry, itself, recommended that musk ambrette not be used in direct skin contact products. Musk ambrette can also cause sensitivity to light and contact dermatitis, especially in after-shave lotions. Musk tetralin, in use for twenty years as a fragrance ingredient, was identified as a neurotoxin and removed from the market in 1978. Musk Ambrette is still used as in food but not in cosmetics and has been generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for foods by the FDA.
MUSK MOSKENE .A soft, sweet fragrance resembling musk ambrette. It is a creamy powder and is used in fragrances. It costs less than other musks and is not as sensitive to sunlight. It is therefore being increasingly employed. Rouges and perfumes containing musk moskene have been reported to cause hyperpigmentation (brown spots) on the skin of some people. The hyperpigmentation slowly disappeared after discontinuation of the products
LABDANUM . A synthetic musk used in perfumes, especially as a fixative, is a volatile oil obtained by steam distillation from gum extracted from various rockrose shrubs. Golden yellow, viscous, with a strong balsamic odor and a bitter taste, it is also employed as a food additive in raspberry, fruit, and vanilla flavorings for beverages, ice cream, ices, candy, baked goods, gelatin desserts, and chewing gum. Mildly toxic by ingestion. It has also been noted as a skin irritant. While it has been reported in use the FDA, has not yet designated it for a search of the toxicology literature.
ACETYL HEXAMETHYL TETRALIN . A synthetic musk used mostly in cosmetics but in some food additives. It is closely related to acetyl ethyl tetramethyl tetralin, which was voluntarily removed from perfumes when it was reported to cause nerve damage in animals. The "hexa" component was inserted to make the fragrances less volatile and less allergenic
MUSK, KETONE. A synthetic compound with a typical musk odor is widely used in cosmetics and is permitted as a food additive. Exposure to it, experiments in animals and with human cells indicate it might increase the susceptibility to health hazards caused by cancer causing agents humans.
Although the latest warning about synthetic musk was in EHP, published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whether any action will be taken on these widely used substances in our food and cosmetics is doubtful unless there is some consumer action.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
WHAT ARE STEROIDS?
The use of steroids by baseball players has placed the substances in the headlines but there is more to steroids than just muscle building for athletes.
Steroids are compounds that include certain drugs of hormonal origin, such as cortisone, which is used to treat the inflammatins caused by allergies and glucocorticoids used to reduce white blood cell production. Oral contraceptives are steroids. Prostaglandins and leukotrienes are listed in the steroid category.
Prostaglandins are extemely potent hormonelike stubstances present in many tissues. There are more than 16 known with effects such as dilating or constricting blood vessels, stimulating intestinal or bronchial smooth muscle, uterine stimulation, antagonism to hormones, and influencing metabolism of fat. Various prostaglandins or drugs that affect prostaglandins are used medically to induce labor, prevent and treat peptic ulcers, control high blood pressure, treat brochial asthma, and induce delayed menstruation. Aspirin and other NSAIDs (non-steroidal) pain killers tend to inhibt prostaglandin production.
Leukotrienes are produced by cells that play a part in body reactions, such as inflammation and allergic reactions.
Natural and synthetic steroids have four rings of carbon atoms but have different actions according to what is attached to the rings.
Anabolic steroids related to male hormones, are the products used by some athletes who wish foolishly stimulate growth and weight gain, strength and appetite.The list of anabolic steroids includes: bolderone, closterbol, and many others usually with testosterone in the name.
The following toxic effects, all of which relate the the length and level of dosage, may occur:susceptibiity to infection, osteoporosis, muscle weakness and wasting, diabetes, high blood pressure due to sodium and water retention, weight gain, edema, bruising, moon face (round, swollen), psychotic reactions, hairness, menstrual disturbance, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), cataracts, and growth retardation. Anabolic steroids may cause liver damage and cancer. Anabolic steroids may alter many laboratory studies for up to three weeks after use has ceased.
Steroids are compounds that include certain drugs of hormonal origin, such as cortisone, which is used to treat the inflammatins caused by allergies and glucocorticoids used to reduce white blood cell production. Oral contraceptives are steroids. Prostaglandins and leukotrienes are listed in the steroid category.
Prostaglandins are extemely potent hormonelike stubstances present in many tissues. There are more than 16 known with effects such as dilating or constricting blood vessels, stimulating intestinal or bronchial smooth muscle, uterine stimulation, antagonism to hormones, and influencing metabolism of fat. Various prostaglandins or drugs that affect prostaglandins are used medically to induce labor, prevent and treat peptic ulcers, control high blood pressure, treat brochial asthma, and induce delayed menstruation. Aspirin and other NSAIDs (non-steroidal) pain killers tend to inhibt prostaglandin production.
Leukotrienes are produced by cells that play a part in body reactions, such as inflammation and allergic reactions.
Natural and synthetic steroids have four rings of carbon atoms but have different actions according to what is attached to the rings.
Anabolic steroids related to male hormones, are the products used by some athletes who wish foolishly stimulate growth and weight gain, strength and appetite.The list of anabolic steroids includes: bolderone, closterbol, and many others usually with testosterone in the name.
The following toxic effects, all of which relate the the length and level of dosage, may occur:susceptibiity to infection, osteoporosis, muscle weakness and wasting, diabetes, high blood pressure due to sodium and water retention, weight gain, edema, bruising, moon face (round, swollen), psychotic reactions, hairness, menstrual disturbance, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), cataracts, and growth retardation. Anabolic steroids may cause liver damage and cancer. Anabolic steroids may alter many laboratory studies for up to three weeks after use has ceased.
Monday, March 14, 2005
POISONED CHILDREN SPOTLIGHT CARBAMATES
Laboratory tests showed that 27 Philippine school children who died after eating cassava root treats last week were poisoned with a carbamate pesticide, according to Philippine Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit. He told a news conference that the food was probably prepared in an environment that was highly toxic and contaminated with chemical poisons and bacteria. The vendors who sold sweetened cassava roots as recess snacks to the children--7 to 13 years--denied that they improperly prepared the food.
Cabamate pesticides are commonly used in farms and households not only in the Philippines but here and in many other countries.
Carbaryl (1-napthyl N-methylcarbamate) or ( 4F carbaryl ) trade name Sevin®, for example, is widely used in garden and lawn insect sprays and dusts; wasp and hornet sprays; snail and slug granules, pellets, and baits; flea and tick shampoos, powders, and sprays for dogs and cats. It is also used as a pesticide on apples, beans, grapes, oranges, pears, peas, tomatoes and corn and grains. The long term effects on humans and animals are not known. Carbaryl is extremely toxic to aquatic invertebrates and certain estuarine organisms. It is extremely toxic to honeybees. It is moderately toxic to both warm water and coldwater fishes and has only low toxicity to birds. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says carbaryl has a moderate to low toxicity in mammals. Based on established tolerances, the theoretical maximum residue contribution for carbaryl residues in the human diet is calculated to be 5.48 mg/day. The acceptable daily intake (ADI) of carbaryl is 0.1 mg/kg/day. The maximum permissible intake (MPI) is 6 mg/day, according to the US government. A one year dog feeding study is being requested in order to determine the effects of carbaryl on kidney dysfunction. The results of these data may require that the ADI for carbaryl be recalculated, according to the EPA.
Among other carbomate pesticides are aldicarb; 4-benzothienyl-N-methyl carbamate; bufencarb (BUX); carbaryl; carbofuran; isolan; 2-isopropyl phenyl-N-methyl carbamate; 3-isopropyl phenylmethyl carbamate; maneb; propoxur; thiram; Zectran; zineb, and ziram. Carbamic acid from which the pesticides are derived, is colorless and odorless, causes depression of bone marrow and degeneration of the brain, nausea, vomiting. Unlike the event in the Philippines, we have not had a mass disaster involving children ingesting an acute, fatal dose of a carbamate but what are the long term effects of carbamate residues any of us eat on our produce, inhale or get it on our skins?
Another common carbamate we may ingest is ethyl carbamate---better known as Urethane®. It is used as an intermediate in the synthesis of a number of chemicals. It is also a chemical substance that forms naturally during the fermentation process and thus has been a potential problem in wine making and distilled spirits, according to the FDA. The agency provides advice for preventing its formation in wine making. Acute (short-term) exposure of humans to high levels of ethyl carbamate may result in injury to the kidneys and liver and induce vomiting, coma, or hemorrhages. No information is available on the chronic (long-term), reproductive, or developmental effects of ethyl carbamate in humans.An increased incidence of lung tumors has been observed in rodents exposed to ethyl carbamate by oral or inhalation exposure. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified ethyl carbamate as a Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans.
You may not be able to do anything about residues on what you buy in the supermarket unless you have certified organic produce, which is usually more expensive. If you can't afford it, you can certainly thoroughly wash your fruits and vegetables in running water in an effort---perhaps futile--to reduce the amount of carbamates you take in. You can, however, make an effort to avoid the use of carbamate-containing pesticides around your home and garden. If there are no alternative methods available to you, read the labels carefully and precisely follow the directions.
Better choices for house, garden and pets, in many cases, are the natural insecticides obtained by extraction of the chrysanthemum flowers, the pyrethrins. They usually have "safe for humans and animals" somewhere on the label. They may, however, cause allergic reactions in the sensitive.
Cabamate pesticides are commonly used in farms and households not only in the Philippines but here and in many other countries.
Carbaryl (1-napthyl N-methylcarbamate) or ( 4F carbaryl ) trade name Sevin®, for example, is widely used in garden and lawn insect sprays and dusts; wasp and hornet sprays; snail and slug granules, pellets, and baits; flea and tick shampoos, powders, and sprays for dogs and cats. It is also used as a pesticide on apples, beans, grapes, oranges, pears, peas, tomatoes and corn and grains. The long term effects on humans and animals are not known. Carbaryl is extremely toxic to aquatic invertebrates and certain estuarine organisms. It is extremely toxic to honeybees. It is moderately toxic to both warm water and coldwater fishes and has only low toxicity to birds. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says carbaryl has a moderate to low toxicity in mammals. Based on established tolerances, the theoretical maximum residue contribution for carbaryl residues in the human diet is calculated to be 5.48 mg/day. The acceptable daily intake (ADI) of carbaryl is 0.1 mg/kg/day. The maximum permissible intake (MPI) is 6 mg/day, according to the US government. A one year dog feeding study is being requested in order to determine the effects of carbaryl on kidney dysfunction. The results of these data may require that the ADI for carbaryl be recalculated, according to the EPA.
Among other carbomate pesticides are aldicarb; 4-benzothienyl-N-methyl carbamate; bufencarb (BUX); carbaryl; carbofuran; isolan; 2-isopropyl phenyl-N-methyl carbamate; 3-isopropyl phenylmethyl carbamate; maneb; propoxur; thiram; Zectran; zineb, and ziram. Carbamic acid from which the pesticides are derived, is colorless and odorless, causes depression of bone marrow and degeneration of the brain, nausea, vomiting. Unlike the event in the Philippines, we have not had a mass disaster involving children ingesting an acute, fatal dose of a carbamate but what are the long term effects of carbamate residues any of us eat on our produce, inhale or get it on our skins?
Another common carbamate we may ingest is ethyl carbamate---better known as Urethane®. It is used as an intermediate in the synthesis of a number of chemicals. It is also a chemical substance that forms naturally during the fermentation process and thus has been a potential problem in wine making and distilled spirits, according to the FDA. The agency provides advice for preventing its formation in wine making. Acute (short-term) exposure of humans to high levels of ethyl carbamate may result in injury to the kidneys and liver and induce vomiting, coma, or hemorrhages. No information is available on the chronic (long-term), reproductive, or developmental effects of ethyl carbamate in humans.An increased incidence of lung tumors has been observed in rodents exposed to ethyl carbamate by oral or inhalation exposure. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified ethyl carbamate as a Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans.
You may not be able to do anything about residues on what you buy in the supermarket unless you have certified organic produce, which is usually more expensive. If you can't afford it, you can certainly thoroughly wash your fruits and vegetables in running water in an effort---perhaps futile--to reduce the amount of carbamates you take in. You can, however, make an effort to avoid the use of carbamate-containing pesticides around your home and garden. If there are no alternative methods available to you, read the labels carefully and precisely follow the directions.
Better choices for house, garden and pets, in many cases, are the natural insecticides obtained by extraction of the chrysanthemum flowers, the pyrethrins. They usually have "safe for humans and animals" somewhere on the label. They may, however, cause allergic reactions in the sensitive.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
WHO PUT THE EXPLOSIVES IN SOME BREAST MILK
Texas Tech University researchers recently announce they had tested breast milk from 18 women around the country and found perchlorate in all 18 samples along with 46 of 47 dairy milk samples. If they had done studies in those women and their animals, they would undoubtedly have found perchlorate in their body fat. It is one of many fat soluble toxic chemicals to which even babies at their mother's breasts may be exposed.
What is perchlorate?
When sodium or potassium is added to perchlorate, you have industrial explosives including one used for rocket fuel. Wastes from the manufacture and improper disposal of perchlorate-containing chemicals are increasingly being discovered in soil and water.
There have been confirmed perchlorate releases in at least 25 states throughout the United States. EPA, other federal agencies, states, water suppliers and industry are working to address perchlorate contamination through monitoring for perchlorate in drinking water and source water and developing treatment technologies that can remove perchlorate from drinking water.
In the meantime, why worry? The potential effects of exposure to the chemicals such as perchlorate and its many chemical relatives are known to have the ability to cause cancer and some are able to impair the immune system. Others, termed hormone disruptors or endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are known to interfere with the normal functioning of the bodies own hormones, or chemical messengers. It is certainly particularly worrying that animal experiments show that if early life forms are exposed to hormone disrupting substances, when they are being programmed to control and respond to the hormone signals throughout life, then a whole series of irreversible effects can occur. For example, in the womb exposure to sex hormone disrupting substances can particularly compromise the ability of that offspring to reproduce later in life, while exposure to other hormone disrupting substances, such as thyroid hormone disruptors, can de-rail normal brain function. Animal experiments have shown that exposure to low doses of numerous environmental toxic agents, during the neonatal period of rapid brain growth (or brain growth spurt), can lead to disruption of adult brain function and increase the susceptibility to toxic agents in later life. In humans, this period of rapid brain growth starts during the third trimester of pregnancy and continues throughout the first two years of life.
And if you are the oldest of your siblings, you may be at disadvantage. With regard to the toxic substances in breast milk, first born infants are thought to be at a higher risk than subsequent children, because mothers tend to excrete the largest proportion of their body burden of contaminants during their first lactation . Premature and low birth weight infants may also be particularly at risk because they have less fat tissue for the storage of fat-dwelling chemicals, which may mean that these toxins are present at higher concentrations in their vital organs.
What is perchlorate?
When sodium or potassium is added to perchlorate, you have industrial explosives including one used for rocket fuel. Wastes from the manufacture and improper disposal of perchlorate-containing chemicals are increasingly being discovered in soil and water.
There have been confirmed perchlorate releases in at least 25 states throughout the United States. EPA, other federal agencies, states, water suppliers and industry are working to address perchlorate contamination through monitoring for perchlorate in drinking water and source water and developing treatment technologies that can remove perchlorate from drinking water.
In the meantime, why worry? The potential effects of exposure to the chemicals such as perchlorate and its many chemical relatives are known to have the ability to cause cancer and some are able to impair the immune system. Others, termed hormone disruptors or endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are known to interfere with the normal functioning of the bodies own hormones, or chemical messengers. It is certainly particularly worrying that animal experiments show that if early life forms are exposed to hormone disrupting substances, when they are being programmed to control and respond to the hormone signals throughout life, then a whole series of irreversible effects can occur. For example, in the womb exposure to sex hormone disrupting substances can particularly compromise the ability of that offspring to reproduce later in life, while exposure to other hormone disrupting substances, such as thyroid hormone disruptors, can de-rail normal brain function. Animal experiments have shown that exposure to low doses of numerous environmental toxic agents, during the neonatal period of rapid brain growth (or brain growth spurt), can lead to disruption of adult brain function and increase the susceptibility to toxic agents in later life. In humans, this period of rapid brain growth starts during the third trimester of pregnancy and continues throughout the first two years of life.
And if you are the oldest of your siblings, you may be at disadvantage. With regard to the toxic substances in breast milk, first born infants are thought to be at a higher risk than subsequent children, because mothers tend to excrete the largest proportion of their body burden of contaminants during their first lactation . Premature and low birth weight infants may also be particularly at risk because they have less fat tissue for the storage of fat-dwelling chemicals, which may mean that these toxins are present at higher concentrations in their vital organs.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
VITAMINS AGAINST AGING SKIN
The quest for the Fountain of Youth continues at a frantic pace, especially with the popularity of knife and dental drill wielding doctors on television.Let's considerless drastic promotions such as the use of vitamins in antiaging creams. While the prices may have changed, the last time I looked at advertisements, I found the following:
• Dove's Essential Nutrients™. For skin "so healthy it glows" contains Vitamins A, E and B5, Zinc, Nutrient Lipids, Green Tea Extract, and Pure Spring Water (1.69 fl. Oz $6.99).
• Ponds Anti-Wrinkle cream contains Alpha Hydroxy, Retinol (vitamin A derivative) and Vitamin C to fight signs of aging
• Rite-Aid's Anti-wrinkle Cream is a combination of Pro-Vitamin B5, Vitamin E. (1.4 oz. $8.95) and L'Oreal Dermo-Expertise Hydra-Renewal Daily Dry Skin Cream With Pro-Vitamin B5 (1.7 oz $7.29).
• Z. Bigatti Delicate Intensive Moisturizing Facial Treatment provides "skin rejuvenation" with "an infusion of multiple vitamins, superoxide dismutase, and antioxidants for anti-aging benefits and moisture retention" (2 oz. $150.00).
• Arovita C Cream from Darphin Botanical sold by Neiman Marcus contains "retinol (vitamin A), to fight free radicals; vitamins C, E, and B5, to stimulate cell regeneration" as well as the herbs, "gingko biloba and ginseng, to firm and moisturize and jujubier to promote oxygenation of cells. " ($130 no size given).
All the above can be purchased on the Internet as well as in stores. Vitamins C and E are well proven antioxidants and A, of course, helps peel the top layers of skin. There is evidence that antioxidants fight free radicals, the molecules believed to play a role in the development of aging. Exposures to oxygen and to rays of the sun are among the conditions that can produce damaging free radicals so you can see why Vitamins C and E are also being promoted in sunscreens.
but they cost a lot less than plastic or dental surgery and you don't have to recover from the discomfort an operation. If you believe you look younger after slathering a cream on your face every day, well that "non-extreme makeover" may be worth it.
As for the Fountain of Youth, we're still looking!
• Dove's Essential Nutrients™. For skin "so healthy it glows" contains Vitamins A, E and B5, Zinc, Nutrient Lipids, Green Tea Extract, and Pure Spring Water (1.69 fl. Oz $6.99).
• Ponds Anti-Wrinkle cream contains Alpha Hydroxy, Retinol (vitamin A derivative) and Vitamin C to fight signs of aging
• Rite-Aid's Anti-wrinkle Cream is a combination of Pro-Vitamin B5, Vitamin E. (1.4 oz. $8.95) and L'Oreal Dermo-Expertise Hydra-Renewal Daily Dry Skin Cream With Pro-Vitamin B5 (1.7 oz $7.29).
• Z. Bigatti Delicate Intensive Moisturizing Facial Treatment provides "skin rejuvenation" with "an infusion of multiple vitamins, superoxide dismutase, and antioxidants for anti-aging benefits and moisture retention" (2 oz. $150.00).
• Arovita C Cream from Darphin Botanical sold by Neiman Marcus contains "retinol (vitamin A), to fight free radicals; vitamins C, E, and B5, to stimulate cell regeneration" as well as the herbs, "gingko biloba and ginseng, to firm and moisturize and jujubier to promote oxygenation of cells. " ($130 no size given).
All the above can be purchased on the Internet as well as in stores. Vitamins C and E are well proven antioxidants and A, of course, helps peel the top layers of skin. There is evidence that antioxidants fight free radicals, the molecules believed to play a role in the development of aging. Exposures to oxygen and to rays of the sun are among the conditions that can produce damaging free radicals so you can see why Vitamins C and E are also being promoted in sunscreens.
but they cost a lot less than plastic or dental surgery and you don't have to recover from the discomfort an operation. If you believe you look younger after slathering a cream on your face every day, well that "non-extreme makeover" may be worth it.
As for the Fountain of Youth, we're still looking!
Friday, March 04, 2005
HIDDEN SUGAR AND SALT
A rose by any other name may smell as sweet but sugar and salt ingredients under various names may affect your health---especially if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. Some ingredients may be listed on the label and some may not and even those designated may be confusing.
SUGAR
Made up of one, two, or more saccharose groups. The monosaccharide sugars---often called simple sugars---include glucose, dextrose, fructose, and levulose. The disaccharides include sucrose---cane or beet sugar---lactose found in milk, maltose found in starch, and cellobiose from cellulose. Sugars may also occur in gums such as arabic and tragacanth. Sugar is used in processed foods for more than sweetening. It acts as a tenderizer by absorbing water and inhibiting flour gluten development, as well as slowing down starch gelling. It mixes with air into shortening in the creaming process and carmelizes under heat, to provide cooked foods with a pleasing color and aroma. It has many other uses. A teaspoon of common table sugar is 16 calories. Many so-called "dietetic" foods that are labeled "sugar free" or "no sugar added" in fact contain sugar alcohols. they have less calories than table sugar but can raise blood sugar and if eaten in large quantities may have a laxative effect. "Low calorie" on the labels means fewer than 40 calories per serving.
SALT
A compound formed by the interaction of an acid and a base. Sodium chloride or common table salt is an example. Sodium combinations in food processing and additives are numerous. Sodium aluminosilicate, for example, is an anticaking agent used in dried eggs and grated cheese. Sodium aluminum sulfate is used as a flour-bleaching additive and sodium acetate is used in many prodcts as a preservative, flavoring and acid-alkali control."Low sodium" on the label means 140 mg or fewer per serving. "Very low sodium", fewer than 35 mg per serving and "sodium free", fewer than 5 mg.
Does any federal agency check the actual amount of sugar and salt in processed foods listed on the label or during processing? If you want to reduce your salt and sugar intake,you have to become knowledgeable about the hidden sugar and salt in your food.
SUGAR
Made up of one, two, or more saccharose groups. The monosaccharide sugars---often called simple sugars---include glucose, dextrose, fructose, and levulose. The disaccharides include sucrose---cane or beet sugar---lactose found in milk, maltose found in starch, and cellobiose from cellulose. Sugars may also occur in gums such as arabic and tragacanth. Sugar is used in processed foods for more than sweetening. It acts as a tenderizer by absorbing water and inhibiting flour gluten development, as well as slowing down starch gelling. It mixes with air into shortening in the creaming process and carmelizes under heat, to provide cooked foods with a pleasing color and aroma. It has many other uses. A teaspoon of common table sugar is 16 calories. Many so-called "dietetic" foods that are labeled "sugar free" or "no sugar added" in fact contain sugar alcohols. they have less calories than table sugar but can raise blood sugar and if eaten in large quantities may have a laxative effect. "Low calorie" on the labels means fewer than 40 calories per serving.
SALT
A compound formed by the interaction of an acid and a base. Sodium chloride or common table salt is an example. Sodium combinations in food processing and additives are numerous. Sodium aluminosilicate, for example, is an anticaking agent used in dried eggs and grated cheese. Sodium aluminum sulfate is used as a flour-bleaching additive and sodium acetate is used in many prodcts as a preservative, flavoring and acid-alkali control."Low sodium" on the label means 140 mg or fewer per serving. "Very low sodium", fewer than 35 mg per serving and "sodium free", fewer than 5 mg.
Does any federal agency check the actual amount of sugar and salt in processed foods listed on the label or during processing? If you want to reduce your salt and sugar intake,you have to become knowledgeable about the hidden sugar and salt in your food.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
THE PARADOX OF PARABENS
The parabens, methyl-, propyl-, and parahydroxybenzoate, are the most commonly used preservatives in the United States. An estimated 75 to 90 percent of cosmetics parabens including shampoos, make-up, lotions, and deodorants baby lotions, and sunscreens contain parabens. Water is the only ingredient used more frequently in cosmetics. The parabens have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, were believed to be safe to use, they are relatively nonirritating, nonsensitizing, and nonpoisonous-are stable in acidic or alkaline cosmetics, and are sufficiently soluble in water to be effective in liquids. The typical paraben preservative system contains 0.2 percent methyl- and 0.1 percent propylparaben. In 2004, there was a blip in concern, when a study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology reported parabens may play a part in breast cancer. British researchers found traces of it in 20 women who had breast tumors. The parabens are believed to act like the female hormone estrogen. There were a number of earlier reports in the scientific literature that expressed concern at the connection between parabens and breast cancer, particularly in underarm deodorants. British researcher, Dr. P.W Harvey, for example, noted in the Journal of Applied Toxicology a year earlier,it was interesting certain parabens lacked activity when swallowed but were clearly active on the skin. Harvey wrote:"This was of "some relevance to the use of underarm cosmetics." He called for further work to establish whether or not the use of underarm cosmetics (particularly containing estrogenic formulas) contributes to the rising incidence of breast cancer. It would seem prudent to conduct this work because the current database is sparse and the effects of long-term low-level exposures to weakly estrogenic chemicals on human health, particularly their application to the underarm and the risks of breast cancer, are unknown.
What about men? It was previously shown that exposure of post-weaning rats and mice to butyl or propyl parabens adversely affects the secretion of testosterone and the function of the male reproductive system. In a study of mice by researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health last November in Food and Chemical Toxicology ( 42(11):1845-9, it was reported that methyl and ethyl parabens do not adversely affect the secretion of sex hormones or the male rats' reproductive function.
The Canadian Department of Health has put parabens on its "Hot list". If a hotlist chemical appears on a label, it is flagged in Health Canada's Cosmetic Notification System (CNS) and the manufacturer is sent a letter of "Canadian Cosmetics Safety Programme's (cq) concern".
The connection between the estrogenic effects of the parabens and humans has faded from press attention today. Since parabens are so widely used in cosmetics, should you be concerned?
While there is no evidence that parabens directly cause cancer, Harvey pointed out in 2004: The hypothesis that underarm cosmetics may contribute to the incidence of breast cancer has obvious implications, not least because of the size of the population potentially exposed… The use of underarm cosmetics presents a special case because of the direct application of the compounds to skin."
What about men? It was previously shown that exposure of post-weaning rats and mice to butyl or propyl parabens adversely affects the secretion of testosterone and the function of the male reproductive system. In a study of mice by researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health last November in Food and Chemical Toxicology ( 42(11):1845-9, it was reported that methyl and ethyl parabens do not adversely affect the secretion of sex hormones or the male rats' reproductive function.
The Canadian Department of Health has put parabens on its "Hot list". If a hotlist chemical appears on a label, it is flagged in Health Canada's Cosmetic Notification System (CNS) and the manufacturer is sent a letter of "Canadian Cosmetics Safety Programme's (cq) concern".
The connection between the estrogenic effects of the parabens and humans has faded from press attention today. Since parabens are so widely used in cosmetics, should you be concerned?
While there is no evidence that parabens directly cause cancer, Harvey pointed out in 2004: The hypothesis that underarm cosmetics may contribute to the incidence of breast cancer has obvious implications, not least because of the size of the population potentially exposed… The use of underarm cosmetics presents a special case because of the direct application of the compounds to skin."
Thursday, February 17, 2005
SHARKS MAY HELP PREVENT BLINDNESS AND TUMOR GROWTH
The sharks' immune systems are different from humans' and shark derivatives are now under intensive study. Squalamine, derived from sharks, is a unique compound that kills a variety of bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Shark cartilage has been used in alternative medicine as an anti-cancer and anti-AIDS compound because sharks apparently do not suffer from cancer. Mainstream medical researchers, who once thought the shark products were merely the "patent medicines" of human "sharks", are now investigating those marine carnivorous fishes' derivatives for their potential in the treatment of a number of human ills.
Enrollment is now underway by Genaera Corporation, a biopharmaceutical headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, according to the FDANews Drug Pipeline Alert, to test the efficacy of squalamine in treating "wet" age-related macular degeneration (AMD.Macular degeneration affects approximately 20 percent of Americans aged 65 and older and is a leading cause of blindness. The macular is the center of the retina, the light receptor in the eye. The first symptoms usually are loss of central visual acuity or visual distortion in one eye. The wet type of macular degeneration is caused by the growth of abnormal blood vessels behind the macula. The abnormal blood vessels tend to hemorrhage or leak, resulting in the formation of scar tissue .No medical therapy, thus far, has proven effective.
Squalamine is the leading anti-angiogenic drug being developed to treat AMD. Angiogenesis is a word that comes from combining the two Greek words angio, meaning "blood vessel," and genesis, meaning "beginning." Angiogenesis is the creation of tiny new blood vessels. Normally, angiogenesis is a healthy process. New blood vessels develop, for instance, to help your body heal cuts and other wounds. But with AMD the same process creates new, very small blood vessels that damage the macula in the eye. Antiangiogenesis treatment is the use of drugs or other substances to stop the development of macula damaging new blood vessels. Such treatments are believed to also be applicable to certain tumors. Without a blood supply, tumors can't grow.
Incidentally, while shark skin is not pleasant to touch, the oil from its liver oil is a rich source of vitamin A and is now being used in cosmetic lubricating creams and lotions.
For further information about Genaera's AMD research, check http://www.genaera.com/about.html
Enrollment is now underway by Genaera Corporation, a biopharmaceutical headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, according to the FDANews Drug Pipeline Alert, to test the efficacy of squalamine in treating "wet" age-related macular degeneration (AMD.Macular degeneration affects approximately 20 percent of Americans aged 65 and older and is a leading cause of blindness. The macular is the center of the retina, the light receptor in the eye. The first symptoms usually are loss of central visual acuity or visual distortion in one eye. The wet type of macular degeneration is caused by the growth of abnormal blood vessels behind the macula. The abnormal blood vessels tend to hemorrhage or leak, resulting in the formation of scar tissue .No medical therapy, thus far, has proven effective.
Squalamine is the leading anti-angiogenic drug being developed to treat AMD. Angiogenesis is a word that comes from combining the two Greek words angio, meaning "blood vessel," and genesis, meaning "beginning." Angiogenesis is the creation of tiny new blood vessels. Normally, angiogenesis is a healthy process. New blood vessels develop, for instance, to help your body heal cuts and other wounds. But with AMD the same process creates new, very small blood vessels that damage the macula in the eye. Antiangiogenesis treatment is the use of drugs or other substances to stop the development of macula damaging new blood vessels. Such treatments are believed to also be applicable to certain tumors. Without a blood supply, tumors can't grow.
Incidentally, while shark skin is not pleasant to touch, the oil from its liver oil is a rich source of vitamin A and is now being used in cosmetic lubricating creams and lotions.
For further information about Genaera's AMD research, check http://www.genaera.com/about.html
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
There's More To The FDA Than Drugs
The newly appointed veterinarian who heads the Food and Drug Adminstration, Dr. Lester Crawford, will have a lot to swallow. While the press is full of side-effects caused by prescription drugs, the food supply is a bigger problem. Not everyone takes pills but everyone eats. We want fresh strawberries in winter and tomatoes all year round yet we have replaced many of our farms with housing and roadways and our edibles are increasingly being grown in other countries. Only a tiny fraction of the food that enters our ports is checked by our guardian agencies. Not only do we have to worry about foreign foods with undersirable additives and residues, we now have to be protected against terrorists tampering. The FDA's ability to protect the 400,000 domestic and foreign facilities that deal with food within our country is almost impossible because it is understaffed, overworked and short of funds. As far as ingredients added to our food domestically, manufacturers do not have to petition for affirmation that an additive is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), they simply have to have to notify the FDA of their additive's GRAS status and provide some evidence to support it. The FDA says that letting the manufacturers determine what is GRAS and making it simpler to obtain FDA approval allows the FDA to "gain increased awareness of ingredients in the nation's food supply and the cumulative dietary exposure to GRAS substances," and, of course, save money. Most of the additives are safe if unnecessary. They are added to intrigue us to buy and to preserve shelf-life.
They are chemicals, however, and how do they interact with the chemicals everyone is worrying about in our medicine chests? Have a question about a particular ingredient? Send it along.
They are chemicals, however, and how do they interact with the chemicals everyone is worrying about in our medicine chests? Have a question about a particular ingredient? Send it along.
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