New York Bill Would Ban BPA Replacements in Children’s Products

BPA was banned from children’s products in 2010. Now the New York Assembly is attempting to ban the chemicals brought in to replace BPA. The newly proposed ban would expand the number of bisphenols prohibited in children’s items from one to seven, now including bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol Z (BPZ), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol AP (BPAP), and bisphenol B (BPB). Used to harden plastics, these chemicals have been shown in recent studies to exhibit the same or higher levels estrogenic risks as the already eliminated BPA. Michael Antoniou, a researcher at the Gene Expression and Therapy Group at King’s College London and senior author of a study on BPA alternatives, says,

Industry is working to replace BPA because of health concerns – but all these alternatives are also estrogenic…The plastics manufacturing industry have turned to alternative bisphenols to produce their ‘BPA-free’ products, often with little toxicology testing…”

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

BPA and Hormones

BPA and its alternatives are frequently found in receipts, the lining of canned foods, and containers for food storage like water bottles. BPA has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, and asthma, but it is most well-known for disrupting the endocrine system.

These chemicals do this by mimicking estrogen. They promote the growth of breast cancer cells. Researchers found that BFAP, BPB, and BPZ are better at mimicking estrogen than BPA. This leads to an increased activation of cancer genes in cells, especially cancers with a hormonal component to them. The people primarily affected by this proposed bill (young children) are more likely to develop breast, prostate, and testicular cancer later in life. Studies have also found higher levels of BPA to be a risk factor in early puberty and hormonal development.

Related: Microplastics In Tap Water and Beer Around the Great Lakes, and Everywhere Else

Part of You

More than ninety percent of Americans have bisphenols in our bodies. BPA and other endocrine disruptors are very stable and usually stay in the body for long periods of time. This begs the question, how do you get bisphenols out of the body?

You can’t avoid plastics in our modern world, but reducing plastic usage is a step in the right direction. Look for glass, metal, fabric, or other options whenever possible. Canned foods are another frequent source of these chemicals, so read the label on canned goods carefully, and look to see if the company mentions what the liner is made of. If it says specefically that it is BPA free that means it could be using other bisphenols. Invest in reusable, metal versions of items like razors to limit plastic exposure (better for us and the environment). Find a water filter that eliminates bisphenols from your water (we like the Berkey).

These tweaks limit your exposure to bisphenols, but if you live in the modern world you have to detoxify bisphenols from the body with a proper diet. This means eating lots of raw vegetables and having internal organs, especially the gut, in good working order. Check out How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors.

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Popular Antibiotics May Increase Susceptibility to Serious Heart Condition

Researchers at Baylor University in Texas looked at the effect of fluoroquinolones, a commonly prescribed family of antibiotics that includes Ciproflaxin, on aortic aneurysms and dissections in mice. One group of mice was fed a high-fat diet while the control group was given a standard diet. Mice on a high-fat diet who were then given antibiotics experienced an increased likelihood of an aortic dissection developing. They also produced less of the enzymes needed to stabilize collagen and experienced nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage. According to the study,

Although ciprofloxacin alone does not induce spontaneous AAD (aortic aneurysms and dissections), it significantly increases susceptibility to challenge-induced aortic dissection and rupture in a mouse model of sporadic AAD. As a potent DNA topoisomerase inhibitor, ciprofloxacin may exert its adverse effects in human cells by inhibiting ECM (extracellular matrix) protein biosynthesis and stability and inducing MMP (metalloproteinase) activity and even cell death.”

Related: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Should I be Worried?

An aortic aneurysm occurs when a tear develops in the inner layers of the aorta and is typically found in men in their 60s or 70s, although they can infrequently develop in pregnant women. You are not likely to get an aortic aneurysm without a previous heart condition or any signs. Symptoms include sudden severe chest, upper back, and abdominal pain; loss of consciousness; shortness of breath; and leg paralysis, among others. High blood pressure and hardened arteries are particularly important risk factors.

Repeat Offender

Fluoroquinolones, the antibiotics at the center of this study, already have FDA warning labels. The earliest version of the label was added in 2008 for an increased risk of tendonitis or tendon rupture. The family of drugs, which consists of levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ofloxacin, and gemifloxacin, was then associated with a potential increase in nerve damage and a rare neuromuscular disease called myasthenia gravis in 2013. In 2016, the FDA strengthened their warning based on reports of long-term nerve damage and ruptured tendons. Now, these drugs are linked once again to issues with nerve and tendon damage.

Related: How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials

Science Settled…Wait For It…

We’ve been conditioned to think that antibiotics are safe and nothing to worried about, but antibiotics seriously disrupt our gut environment and have changed the way humans respond to pathogens. It hasn’t been for the better; the changes have left us dependent on stronger and stronger drugs and we are now running out of options. Scientists are beginning to analyze antibiotic use with the greater understanding we’ve acquired through years of trial and error. The lack of serious reflection has been at the expense of our health.

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New Study Shows Glyphosate Does Cause Tumors and Birth Defects, and More

Exposure to relatively small amounts of a glyphosate-based herbicide has been found to impair fertility in rats and cause birth defects including retardation and malformation in second generation offspring, according to a new study from Argentina.

Argentinian researchers added glyphosate to the rat’s food. They administered the herbicide in two doses. The lower dose was 2 mg per kg of body weight daily, which is supposed to be safe to ingest on a daily basis over a lifetime.

A reference dose (RfD), or estimate of daily exposure that would not cause adverse effects throughout a lifetime, of 2 mg/kg/day has been proposed for glyphosate, based on the developmental toxicity studies described above.” – EPA

Related: How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

The higher dose of glyphosate was 200 mg per kg of body weight daily. Industry reports claim that up to 100mg per kg daily have no adverse effects. At the studied dosages, the rats in either category should not have come under any harm. But as GM Watch reports,

Exposure to environmentally relevant doses of a glyphosate-based herbicide during pregnancy has been found not only to impair female fertility in rats…Argentinian researchers tested the glyphosate-based herbicide – one commonly used in Argentina – in pregnant female rats at two doses, which were added to their food. The rats were mated and dosed from the 9th day after conception until their pups were weaned. This first generation of offspring and their offspring in turn (second generation) were followed and monitored for reproductive effects.”

Related: Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease – It’s More Complicated Than You Think

Glyphosate-based herbicides did seem to damage the embryo or cause abnormal maternal or nursing behaviors. It did not alter weight gain for the first generation offspring. All glyphosate-exposed first generation female rats were impregnated, but they had fewer “implantation sites of fertilized eggs,” compared with the non-glyphosate-fed control rats. The subsequent generation of offspring from both the low-dose and the higher-dose glyphosate exposed groups had delayed growth and abnormally small fetuses.

But that’s not all.

Malformations occurred within the higher-dose population in the second generation of offspring, including conjoined fetuses and abnormally developed limbs.

F2 offspring from both GBH groups showed delayed growth, evidenced by lower fetal weight and length, associated with a higher incidence of small for gestational age fetuses. In addition, higher placental weight and placental index were found in F2 offspring from GBH-HD dams. Surprisingly, structural congenital anomalies (conjoined fetuses and abnormally developed limbs) were detected in the F2 offspring from GBH-HD group. In conclusion, perinatal exposure to low doses of a GBH impaired female reproductive performance and induced fetal growth retardation and structural congenital anomalies in F2 offspring.” – Study: Perinatal exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide impairs female reproductive outcomes and induces second-generation adverse effects in Wistar rats

Nitrates from Cured Meat Have Been Linked to Mania in New Study

No one mistakes hot dogs for health food, but a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests that they might be even worse for you than previously thought, linking hot dog, beef jerky, salami, and processed meats to mania. Examining 1,101 individuals, researchers at Johns Hopkins noticed that the subjects who had been hospitalized for mania were 3.5 times more likely to have consumed cured meats. The same outcome did not occur with other untreated meats or fish. Researchers then fed rats nitrates in a dose equivalent to what a human would eat in a hot dog or beef jerky. The second part of the study confirmed that nitrates negatively impact gut bacteria and the brain. Dr. Robert Yolken, the lead author of the study and professor of neurovirology in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says,

We looked at a number of different dietary exposures and cured meat really stood out. It wasn’t just that people with mania have an abnormal diet…There’s growing evidence that germs in the intestines can influence the brain…And this work on nitrates opens the door for future studies on how that may be happening.”

Related: How Farmed Fish Degrades Our Health and the Environment – Better Options Included

Needed Nitrates

This is not the first time nitrates have been mentioned in conjunction with serious health issues. Past studies have linked the compound with early death, an increased risk of cancer, and male infertility.

Nitrates are more complicated than that, though. Once they’re ingested, they’re turned to nitrites by your oral bacteria. From there these nitrites turn into nitric oxide or N-nitroso compounds. Nitric oxide is a free radical, protecting cell mitochondria, and relaxing blood vessels. Plants like celery, spinach, lettuce, onions, broccoli, and peas are excellent sources of naturally occurring nitrates that don’t turn into carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds, which are carcinogenic. This is because plants are excellent sources of vitamin c and polyphenols, which keep those compounds from forming.

Naughty Nitrates

Meat, on the other hand, has all the conditions needed for nitrites to turn into carcinogenic N-nitroso. There are no anti-oxidants or polyphenols. Meat also has higher quantities of protein and heme. Heme is an iron-containing compound found in hemoglobin and has been in the news recently as the ingredient responsible for the Impossible Burger’s meaty flavor.

Processed meats have nitrites added as a preservative and a coloring. They’re responsible for that pink color you see in so many lunch meats. The World Health Organization has classified processed meats as carcinogenic to humans since 2015. Cooking (especially over high heat) makes the numbers of carcinogenic chemicals worse, making hot dogs the worst (seriously, though, the worst).

Gut-Brain Connection

These researchers found a link between human mental illness and a food group. Then they manufactured the same conditions in rats to find an even deeper connection and a greater risk of long-term health conditions.

Related: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Much has been made of our increasing mental issues. Mania is most commonly associated with bipolar disorder, and diagnoses of that disorder have been on the rise for over a decade. Young people have been hit especially hard. Yet the exact cause of that is unknown.

However, not enough attention has been paid to how crucial the gut-brain connection is. The enteric nervous system controls the function of the gastrointestinal tract and has been referred to as the second brain. It follows that what you fuel the gut with profoundly affects both brains. We are losing our the diversity of our gut bacteria at an alarming rate. We are beginning to see what happens when those microbes are permanently lost.

Related: Does Meat Cause Cancer? Yes and no…

How can we take care of this world, of anything else when we’re constantly on the verge of losing control of our own sanity? We often hear about mental health coping strategies or mental health tools for dealing with situations. Why is diet not one of those tools, indeed the very foundation? The gut dictates brain function. What does your brain food look like?

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Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Pay $4.7 Billion For Talc Cancer Case

After a six-week trial, a jury in Missouri awarded nearly $4.7 billion in total damages to 22 women and their families on July 12th. The plaintiffs said asbestos in Johnson & Johnson talcum powder contributed to their ovarian cancer. Thousands of women have filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and other companies that sell talcum powder, but this is the largest verdict J&J has faced over talc-based products. It’s also the sixth largest product defect award in U.S. history.

Their lawyers alleged Johnson and Johnson was aware that the talcum-based products contained asbestos since the 1970s but chose not to warn consumers about the risks.

Johnson & Johnson said they were “deeply disappointed” and that the verdict is unfair, saying courts should not have allowed women to sue the company in Missouri when most of them do not live in the state. The company plans to appeal, as it has in previous cases.

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Lawyers said that there were asbestos fibers and talc particles found inside the ovarian tissues of many of the women. Medical experts testified that asbestos is mixed in with the talc, the primary ingredient in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products. Mark Lanier, the lead counsel for the women, said Johnson & Johnson covered up evidence of asbestos in the talc-based products for more than 40 years.

We hope this verdict will get the attention of the J&J board and that it will lead them to better inform the medical community and the public about the connection between asbestos, talc and ovarian cancer. The company should pull talc from the market before causing further anguish, harm and death from a terrible disease.” – Mark Lanier

Recommended: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Johnson & Johnson has been sued by more than 9,000 women with claims that the talcum powder products contributed to ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $4.7bn (£3.6bn) in damages to 22 women who alleged that its talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer.

Six of the 22 women represented in this case had died from ovarian cancer.

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Autism Correlates with Circumcision

After publishing Circumcision Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome a couple of days ago, I said to myself, “If there’s a link between SIDS and circumcision there’s got to be a link between autism and circumcision. And with a quick check, sure enough, I found that there is a correlation.

When I searched for “circumcision autism” I found that many prominent, mainstream websites bring up the topic. I looked for the ones that attempt to debunk the connection, like Vice’s article, Don’t Worry Circumcision Probably Doesn’t Cause Autism but they didn’t actually have any evidence against the findings. So what are the findings?

Based on converging observations in animal, clinical and ecological studies, we hypothesised a possible impact of ritual circumcision on the subsequent risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young boys.” – Study by Morten Frisch and Jacob Simonsen

The study was a national, register-based cohort study done in Denmark, published in 2015. The study looked at 342,877 boys born between 1994 and 2003, with an age range of 0 to 9 years old. The study showed that circumcised boys were more likely than intact boys to develop autism spectrum disorder, regardless of cultural background.

We confirmed our hypothesis that boys who undergo ritual circumcision may run a greater risk of developing ASD. This finding, and the unexpected observation of an increased risk of hyperactivity disorder among circumcised boys in non-Muslim families, need attention, particularly because data limitations most likely rendered our HR estimates conservative. Considering the widespread practice of non-therapeutic circumcision in infancy and childhood around the world, confirmatory studies should be given priority.”

Recommended: Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

I always find it strange how averse people are to discussing the problems with circumcision. I suspect that the idea that we would do such harm to our children conjures up the strongest cognitive dissonance, even more so than with vaccines. I don’t think people who have had their kids’ circumcised can accept the damage they’ve done. I don’t think most circumcision men can accept that something is wrong with their beloved penis. What surprises me is how angry anti-vaxxers became, claiming that we were trying to hide the real cause of the increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder. The topic of the aforementioned circumcision-SIDS article created a very heated debate on social media.

On that note, let me be clear: Autism and SIDS and other chronic childhood diseases are caused by damage. The damage is done with toxins, trauma, and a lack of good nutrition. Poor food choices including most formulas, GMOs, and refined sugars (to name just a few) cause damage. So do vaccines. So does circumcision. So can dropping a baby on his head. So does ignoring a child for long periods of time. As much as we all like simple cause and effect explanations, there is rarely only one cause for chronic illness. Our society’s inability to understand complex systems will be our undoing.

Urgent Care Clinic More Likely to Overprescribe Antibiotics

The newest offender in the antibiotic-resistant bacteria epidemic is urgent care centers, where 46 percent of people who entered with conditions that don’t respond to antibiotics (viruses, etc…) left with a prescription anyway. That figure is significantly higher than emergency rooms (25 percent) and standard medical offices (17 percent). Those numbers are scary, as traffic to urgent care centers is on the rise and likely to increase as conventional healthcare becomes a luxury. Right now, urgent care centers and retail clinics account for 40 percent of all antibiotic prescriptions as well as a market share worth 26 billion dollars in the next 5 years.

Where the Numbers Come From

These numbers come from the 2014 Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database and are from individuals under 65 with employer-sponsored health insurance. The database only accounts for those with insurance though. A survey from ten years ago found that uninsured patients at urgent care clinics account for 12 percent of all visitors. Since then, the number of customers at urgent facilities to has increased by more than 20 percent. If nothing changes, that figure will continue to rise. The number of unnecessary and inappropriate antibiotic prescribed will likely continue along with the number of visitors.

Related: How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials

Saying No

While many people know that doctors prescribe unnecessary antibiotics, not everyone knows how inappropriate some of those scripts are. These are a big deal. In the new era of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, this negligence is unacceptable.

Some conditions are more likely to be given an antibiotic prescription than others. Many of these are viruses or infections that attack the lungs, like viral upper respiratory infection, bronchitis/bronchiolitis, asthma/allergy, influenza, and viral pneumonia. Always do your own research, as this study makes it clear that even doctors are not always clearly informed as to what they are giving you.

Related: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

The Bottom Falls Out

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria will be one of the major causes of death by 2050 if something doesn’t change. There are no new antibiotic breakthroughs on the horizon. The meat industry will be crippled without antibiotics, as it relies on those medications to make up for diseases that flourish in animals with poor quality food and living conditions. The changes to the medical industry will be as, if not more dramatic.

Every time you turn around, it feels like there is another, previously uninvestigated source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. From the overuse of antibiotics in food animals, healthcare settings that serve as bacteria breeding grounds, a lack of new antibiotics, among other factors, this is a multi-faceted problem…and one that is here to stay.

That bell cannot be unrung.