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In my younger (much younger) days, I dabbled in the world of beauty pageants. I did not, however, (much to the chagrin of my husband) win the coveted “Miss Queen of Clean” title. I have two small children, run my own business from home, and do my best to regularly attend the shoe sales at the mall. Keeping a tidy house is just not a huge priority right now. I do however keep a hygienic house. (Well, I wouldn’t advise eating off my kitchen floor – but it’s not unsanitary.)

When I was pregnant with my second baby, my Doctor advised me not to clean house using common household cleaners, as inhalation of the cleaning products could harm my unborn baby. Needless to say, I took his advice extremely seriously. I did not clean house. My husband, Mr. Neat Nick, did. This perturbed me. (Not my husband cleaning house - the “not inhaling fumes from cleaning products” bit.) So began my mission! I spent hours on the internet and in the library. More hours on the telephone with poison control centers and cancer organizations. What I discovered shocked me.

The chemicals and toxins found in common household cleaners have caused the air inside our homes to become five times more contaminated than the air outside, and fifty percent of all illnesses are caused by or aggravated by polluted indoor air. OK, so I can open my doors and windows everyday right? Well maybe not if I am allergic to every tree and grass in Texas – and I hate bugs.

Pound for pound of body weight, children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air than do adults. For example, children ages one through five years eat three to four times more food per pound than the average adult American. The air intake of a resting infant is twice that of an adult per pound of body weight. These patterns of increased consumption reflect the rapid metabolism of children. The implication for environmental health is that children will have substantially heavier exposures pound for pound than adults to any toxins that are present in water, food, or air. As a consequence of this biological immaturity, they are less able than adults to deal with toxic chemicals and thus they are more vulnerable to them.

The labels on cleaning products only have to warn of the acute (immediate) harms from ingesting a product, breathing the fumes, or contact with the eyes and skin. They don’t reveal the harms presented by chronic (long term) exposure to the chemicals in these products. Many common household cleaners contain chemicals known to contain carcinogens (cancer causing agents), neurotoxins, and corrosives and/or have been linked to ADD/ADHD autism, allergies, asthma, central nervous system damage and interference, muscle spasms, damage to blood tissue, and reproductive disorders. A well known brand of baby shampoo actually contains formaldehyde. This was a huge shocker for me! (By the way many harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and dioxin or Agent Orange are protected by trade secret names. For example, formaldehyde is called Quaternium 15).

Thirty years ago the major childhood illnesses were chickenpox, measles and mumps. Now they are asthma, ADD/ADHD, Autism Spectrum, and Cancer – most of which have been linked to chemicals in the home.

Each year over 1 million children in the US are accidentally poisoned in their homes. More than 250,000 of these victims are hospitalized. 3000 children will end up in intensive care. Dozens more will die. Thousands of children and adults are permanently disfigured or injured through contact with chemicals in the home each year. The most common substance that poisons children in the US today is a well know brand of liquid dishwashing detergent. So what do we wash our “sippy cups” in?

I had discovered enough! I was on a mission to find a company that sold safe cleaning products. My Husband was delighted. Poor fellow thought I would take over the cleaning again. I found companies and stores that sold non-toxic cleaning products – all at a price. My search continued until I came across a company that sells better, safer products at dollar store prices! I was thrilled, and went to the mall to celebrate! I order once a month, and this company delivers the products right to my door – and, even better – I don’t have to order through a pushy rep – I can call the company direct or order online!

These products work (no elbow grease involved), smell great, and I don’t have to phone poison control if my child drinks the shower cleaner. Another plus is that my allergies have improved! They make a non-toxic product that kills dust mites, so now before I vacuum (around the Polly Pocket accessories and crayons), I spray my carpets with this product. It kills the mites, deodorizes, lifts the dirt and disinfects – all in one fell swoop! (I also spray this product on my pillows and mattresses).

Oh, and by the way, I have taken over the cleaning again. You still should probably not eat breakfast off my kitchen floor, BUT I am confident, that as a responsible parent, I am doing my part to protect my children from household toxics.

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Gathering tomatoes or other fruits of the garden might not sound like a dangerous occupation, but with terrorism running rampant these days, even a walk thru the garden can require pre-emptive measures. In fact if you left the screen door open for a minute or so and heard a whiny frequency accompanied by a slight tickle it may already be too late, if that slight tickle was the allergic reaction of your skin cells to the Culex, Aedes or Anopheles mosquito, one of the several species that prefer humans, and are capable of transmitting microbial organisms to living cells.

Every year two million people die of malaria, which is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, but most of those deaths occur in Africa. In the U.S. malaria is considered rare, but the West Nile Virus is on the move.

The West Nile Virus is two millionths of an inch wide, smaller than most viruses. Viruses occupy a special taxonomy position in that they are not plant, animal or prokaryotic bacteria, and should not even be considered organisms because they are not free-living. (They cannot reproduce with out a host cell.)

The West Nile Virus has been studied for decades but did not arrive in the US until 1999. It is most similarly assocciated with other viruses that cause encephalitis, (inflammation of the brain), and it is highly fatal to avian species, corvids, mostly non-migratory birds distinguished by same sex characteristics. The West Nile Virus is also fatal to horses although there is a two-dose vaccine available for horses. It is not known when a vaccine will be discovered for humans or birds, so the best method of dealing with the virus is through avoidance. The West Nile Virus is past on to its animal host through the saliva of the female mosquito at the time of injection. The female mosquito needs a blood meal to complete reproduction, and pass on proteins to her offspring. The male mosquito does not eat blood but lives only on nectar and fruit juices.

Avoiding mosquitoes can be a big problem if you’re an outdoors person unless your companion is more susceptible to mosquito bites than you are. Some people attract more mosquitoes than others. (They must have a better bloodline.) Mosquitoes can lay their eggs in as little as one tablespoon of water which hatch and become adults in as little as seven to ten days. Finding all the water sources in which they can breed is next to impossible, but eliminating the obvious places will help. (Rain gutters, bird baths, flower pots etc.) In order to avoid mosquitoes it helps to know how they find you. They use sensors on their antenna to pick up body heat, odor and carbon-dioxide from exhaled breath to find their meal. That’s why black-light traps do not really work well, (mosquitoes use thermal imaging, not ultra violet). The female mosquito will work her way upwind zigzagging back and forth to the sources of these bodily cues. As she gets closer she uses colors and moisture in the air to close in on her target. British researchers found that mosquitoes would respond to animal bodies up to forty-five feet away. Mosquitoes become inactive when temperatures drop below forty-five degrees F or above eighty-two degrees F or when wind speeds are higher than six meters per second.

Some repellents are very effective at binding the mosquito sensory antenna. Repellants composed of heavy irregular shaped molecules work best. They block the pores of the sensory hairs of the mosquito antenna forcefully changing the mosquitoes point of view, causing her to fly past a living target. Area repellants like candles and incense with citronella have been proven effective at averting mosquitoes and even a plain wax candle can work as a decoy to trick mosquitoes. One of the best and most familiar repellents is a chemical product called Deet, which was developed by the USDA and patented by the US Army in 1946 and then registered in 57 for use by the general public. It is a broad spectrum repellent targeting many different insect pests, however one thing that might not be so well known is that Deet should not be used in conjunction with any other insecticide containing Permethrin as it can cause severe cellular damage according to Duke Universities Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health.

One of the most interesting, and recent repellants I have discovered while researching this article is the use of a common perennial herb or weed called catnip. Researchers at Iowa State University and the US Forest Service released information in 2001 on the effectiveness of nepetalactone, an essential oil found in catnip that works 10 times more efficiently than Deet although they say nothing about its duration comparison. Iowa State had submitted a patent application for the use of catnip compounds for insect repellents and commercial products are already available to the general public, (although I do not know if that means that thorough testing on humans or animals were completed). Caveat Emptor. Obviously cats will be meowing all over the neighborhood once these products become popular. (Skeeter-free, Natures Herbal, Natural Herbal Shield are a few). Some companies may be cheating the law by not calling there products a “Repellant”, so as to bypass FDA regulations.

You may want to try mixing your own concoction of catnip repellant. It’s available at nurseries and in the wild if you know what it looks like. Catnip was introduced to the US from Europe in the late 18th Century, and has been used for seasoning and teas for years. It is thought to have many healing properties among them help for (inducing sleep, migraine headaches, fevers, sedative, fatigue, restlessness, pain killers, improving circulation and symptoms associated with the flu.) It is also high in vitamin C. Catnip was also called the “Hang-mans Root” and was used by early American colonial executioners to put them in the mood before an execution. In England it was used to flavor beer because it cost less than hops. Over the years their have been many other plant-derived repellants to combat insects such as lavender extract, cedar wood, neem oil, Rosemary, peppermint geranium, lemongrass and others.

As far as electronic devises sold to repel insects, be sure the experts who tested these devices were not on the companies payroll, or be careful of which expert you listen to. Some of these products do more damage than good. In May 2001 the FTC sent warning letters to 60 companies selling these devises, warning them not to make claims without scientific evidence. In August 2002, Lentek International was charged by the FTC, for making false claims that their electronic mosquito repelling devices, repel mosquitoes.
One proven method that partially worked for my dad when I was growing up, was the nightly mosquito hunt. Each night before bedtime the five of us kids were assigned a rolled up newspaper and a room, and we could not go to bed until every mosquito in the house was extinguished. It worked 90% of the time and gave the walls and ceilings that natured texture look. The funny thing bout it was the other 10% of the time the mosquitoes only got dad.

Mosquitoes play an important role in the food chain, mostly in their larvae and pupae stages, transforming algae, bacteria and organic matter into meals for fish and other aquatic creatures and wading birds etc. and it would not be beneficial to eliminate all of them.

Last year out of 830 reported human infections, 27 were fatal. In November 2003 a bio Technology Company called Acambis started the first human clinical trial of a West Nile Virus vaccine. So far it has performed well in hamster, mice, monkeys and horses. Most cases of the disease occurs in the elderly and others with impaired immune systems, there have been cases of transmission through blood transfusions, and organ transplants. In most cases those who have West Nile Virus do not even know they have it. A few will develop flu like symptoms 4 to 10 days after the infection, and a rare few will develop encephalitis.

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Cursed by dieters everywhere, and loved by children around the world, sugar is one those substances we ‘love to hate’ and ‘hate to love’! It can make bland foods tasty and can make the dentist rich. Americans love sugar in all forms, from pure white granulated to liquid to fluffy cotton candy. As a nation, it’s fair to say that we’ve developed a love affair with sugar!

But at what cost? Our ever-expanding waistlines are due, in part, to our sugar infatuation. Many of us try to eat healthier, only to be pushed into consuming even more sugar! Take for example the low-fat craze of the 1980’s and ’90’s, pushed by the federal government’s proclomation that FAT IS BAD. As soon as Americans started demanding low-fat products, the food manufacturers responded by flooding the market with low-fat, high-sugar foods…..and we loved it. Honestly, how many of us have chowed down an entire box of Hot Tamales candy and justified it because they’re ‘fat-free’? Cotton candy, that staple of the county fair, is also fat-free! Hard candy, jelly beans, licorice and oh so many more foods found their way into our mouths - all justified because of their fat-free status.

But at what cost? Common sense, reinforced by our expanding size, soon reminded us that it’s EXCESS CALORIES THAT MAKE US FAT, and that SUGAR HAS CALORIES! It took us only a decade or so to figure out that just because a food is fat-free, doesn’t mean that it’s good for us!

Again, the food industry responded (and is still responding) by giving us loads and loads of sugar-free food. From ice cream to candy to soda, sugar-free is fast replacing fat-free as the new standard of ‘healthy’.

Our scientists have created many different sugar substitutes for us to enjoy: DiabetiSweet, Splenda, Equal, Sucralose, Xylitol, Stevia, NutraSweet, aspartame, tagatose, saccharin, and many many more. Even the Pepsi Slushie, that icon from our youth, now has a sugar-free version!

But at what cost? Do we really know everything we need to know about the sugar replacements on the market today? Take saccharin for example. Saccharin has been used to sweeten foods and beverages without calories or carbohydrates for over a century. Its use was considerable during the sugar shortages of the two world wars, particularly in Europe.

Later, however, we find some experts debating the safety of saccharin: “In a joint letter, the scientists told the National Toxicology Program, a division of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, that declaring saccharin safe would ‘result in greater exposure to this probable carcinogen in tens of millions of people, including children (indeed, fetuses). If saccharin is even a weak carcinogen, this unnecessary additive would pose an intolerable risk to the public.’”. (Source: www.cspinet.org)

Now, citing new research, some scientists are claiming that sugar-free foods may not help us lose weight! As with many topics, the experts don’t agree on this issue. What’s important to note, however, is that some doctors believe that the sugar-free craze might be just a bad case of deja vu similar to the fat-free craze of decades past.

So, when the year 2030 rolls around, will we all be looking back in disbelief wondering how in the heck we ever believed in that sugar-free nonsense? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we need to know that BALANCE IS THE KEY to everything. Balance a healthy diet (eating foods in moderation) with a regular exercise program. Let the experts debate all day long about what to eat and what not to eat…..while they’re trying to figure out the ‘magic formula’ for the perfect diet, we’ll be maintaining a healthy weight through exercise!!

* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

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Rats given varying doses of aspartame — the second most widely used artificial sweetener in the world — experienced a statistically significant increase in the incidence of malignant tumors, lymphomas and leukemias in a study slated for publication in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The study’s authors are calling for an “urgent re-evaluation” of the current guidelines for consumption of this compound.

“Our study has shown that aspartame is a multipotential carcinogenic compound whose carcinogenic effects are also evident at a daily dose of 20 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of body weight,” the authors write, “notably less than the current acceptable daily intake for humans.” Currently, the acceptable daily intake for humans is set at 50 mg/kg in the United States and 40 mg/kg in Europe.

More Than 200 Million People

Aspartame is found in more than 6,000 products, including carbonated and powdered soft drinks, hot chocolate, chewing gum, candy, desserts, yogurt and tabletop sweeteners, as well as some pharmaceutical products like vitamins and sugar-free cough drops.

More than 200 million people worldwide consume the sweetener. It has been used for more than 30 years, having first been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974.

Earlier research on the carcinogenicity of aspartame performed by its producers has been negative.

In the latest study, investigators administered aspartame to rats by adding it to a standard diet. They began studying the rats at eight weeks of age and continued until the spontaneous death of each rat. This study followed more animals over a longer period than did earlier research.

Treatment groups received feed that contained concentrations of aspartame at dosages simulating human daily intakes of 5,000, 2,500, 500, 100, 20 and 4 mg/kg body weight. Groups consisted of 100 males and 100 females at each of the three highest dosages, and 150 males and 150 females at all lower dosages, as well as controls.

The experiment ended after the death of the last animal at 159 weeks. At spontaneous death, each animal underwent examination for microscopic changes in all organs and tissues, a process different from the aspartame studies conducted 30 years ago and one that was designed to allow aspartame to fully express any carcinogenic potential.

Extensive Evidence of Malignancies

The treated animals showed extensive evidence of malignant cancers, including lymphomas, leukemias and tumors at multiple organ sites in both males and females.

The increase in lymphomas and leukemias may be related to one of the metabolites in aspartame — namely methanol — which is metabolized in both rats and humans to formaldehyde, the authors speculate. Both methanol and formaldehyde have shown links to lymphomas and leukemias in other long-term experiments.

“In our opinion, previous studies did not comply with today’s basic requirements for testing the carcinogenic potential of a physical or chemical agent, in particular concerning the number of rodents for each experimental group (40-86, compared to 100-150 in the current study) and the termination of previous studies at only 110 weeks of age of the animals,” the authors conclude.

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The Center of Environmental Health California (CEHCA) recently released a report finding very high levels of lead in children’s soft vinyl lunchboxes.

Lead is a toxic poison. Even the smallest amount can be harmful, especially in children. Children’s bodies absorb more lead than adults and are therefore at a higher risk.

Initial independent laboratory testing commissioned by CEHCA found 17 lunchboxes with high lead levels — anywhere from 2-90 times the legal limit! CEHCA is still testing and has not yet included testing hard plastic or metal lunchboxes.

The highest lead level found so far is the Anaconda lunchbox (by Targus International) which tested at 56,400 parts per million of lead. That’s 90 times the 600 parts per million legal limit for lead in children’s paint.

Most of the lead is found in the lining of the lunch boxes, where lead comes in direct contact with your child’s food. Simply handling the lunchboxes just before eating can expose your kids.

Lead was also discovered on the surface of the lunchboxes. Lara Cushing, Research Director for CEHCA says “It’s not bound up in the plastic. It’s sloughing off. It can come off on your hands. It can rub off on your food.”

CEHCA believes lead has been intentionally added to the vinyl (PVC) plastic as either a stabilizing agent or pigment.

The CEHCA has filed lawsuits against the makers /retailers of these soft vinyl lunchboxes. Here is a partial list of the manufacturers:

Toys R Us

Warner Brothers

DC Comics

Time Warner

Walgreens

These themed lunchboxes should be avoided:

• Angela Anaconda
• Superman
• Tweety
• Power Puff Girls
• Hantaro

It is impossible to tell by appearance if a vinyl lunchbox contains these high levels of lead. CEHCA therefore advises parents to avoid lunchboxes altogether and use cloth or paper bags instead.

CEHCA Executive Director Michael Green wants manufacturers to recall their soft vinyl lunchboxes “to take action to eliminate lead from their products in the future.”

CEHCA advises purchasing a lead-test kit. Sixwise recommends either PACE’s Lead Alert or Leadcheck (which can be bought online at leadcheck.com). Both are around $15, come with instructions and will give you peace of mind.

If the lunchbox tests positive, discontinue use and send it to CEHCA. They’ll add your contaminated lunchbox to their investigation.

Symptoms of Lead Poisoning

Lead has no known physiologic value to the human body. Exposure to lead comes primarily from breathing in or ingesting lead.

Lead can impair brain development and cause hearing problems, brain/nerve damage, stunted growth, digestive problems, and reproductive problems (including infertility and spontaneous abortion).

According to the Agency for Toxic Substance Disease reported 1 in 6 children in US has a high level of lead in their blood.

Nearly half a million children living in the United States have blood lead levels high enough to cause irreversible damage to their health. Here are some key symptoms of lead poisoning to watch for:

• Stomachaches Depression
• High blood pressure
• Anemia
• Fatigue
• Liver/kidney damage
• Osteoporosis
• Paralysis
• Blindness
• Mental retardation
• Constipation/Diarrhea
• Aggressiveness
• Muscle pain/weakness
• Weight loss
• Learning disabilities
• Decreased metabolism
• Anxiousness
• Convulsions
• Even death with chronic exposure
• Poor appetite
• Hyperactivity
• Headaches
• Coma
• Death

If your child has any of these symptoms, check with your doctor about having their blood lead levels checked.

Lead In Our Homes, Offices, Parks and Playgrounds

Lead is a soft, heavy, blue-gray metal that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust.

In most cases lead is released into our atmosphere through our burning of fossil fuels, mining, and factory manufacturing.

Although some lead compounds can be altered by sunlight, air and water, lead does NOT break down. Lead, once airborne, can also travel long distances before settling into the ground.

80% of homes built before 1978 used lead-based paints

Our children can easily be exposed to lead by ingesting lead-based paint chips or playing in contaminated soil. Lead has been found on at least 1,026 of the 1,467 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to the CDC 80% of US homes built before 1978 can contain lead based paint. Lead is still found in ammunition, some batteries, as well as medical and scientific equipment.

In the last 20 years, the US has removed lead from gasoline, paints, and many other products. Though these are critical changes, lead remains in the environment … and even in seemingly innocent products like lunchboxes.

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Researchers in Italy recently published a study demonstrating that aspartame causes cancer in animals. It showed increased incidence of malignant tumors, lymphomas, leukemias, and cancers of the kidney and nerves (Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives, November, 2005) . On the same day, the Calorie Control Council, an international non-profit association representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry, came out a report stating that: “Overwhelming Scientific Evidence Confirms Safety of Aspartame; Governments Recommend No Change in Dietary Practices Related to Aspartame.” Whom do you believe?

More than a thousand previous studies have shown aspartame to be safe. At present, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has said they are not recommending any changes in the use of aspartame. When the Italian study was reviewed by the expert United Kingdom Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, the committee found aspects of study findings “implausible.” Four long-term carcinogenicity studies have found no relationship between aspartame and any form of cancer. Aspartame has been consumed for nearly a quarter of a century, and is one of the most thoroughly analyzed food ingredients, with more than 200 scientific studies concluding that it is safe.

Aspartame is composed of two amino acids, protein-building blocks called aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Both amino acids are found naturally in protein containing foods, including meats, grains and dairy products. They are also found naturally in many foods such as fruits and vegetable and their juices. The body handles the components from aspartame in the same way it handles them when derived from other foods. I think that it is unwise to consume huge amounts of any single food or ingredient, but aspartame in small amounts appears to be safe and in my opinion, it is preferable to the refined sugars it replaces in your diet.

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Bob Seger, Jeff Beck, Sting, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton and Bob Dylan all have something in common. Their years of hard rocking have left a mark on more than just their fans — after years of exposure to loud noise, they all now have hearing impairments.

But these hard rockers are not alone. Exposure to excessive noise is, in fact, the most common cause of hearing loss and the most common work-related disease.

Some 10 million Americans already have permanently damaged hearing from loud noise. Another 30 million are at risk right now in their homes, workplace and recreational settings, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).

Surprisingly, though, hearing loss is only one health risk that arises from loud noise exposure. There are several other, serious, risks as well.

According to Eddie Chandler, a stress management specialist, ” … Sounds can literally make you sick. Noise pollution can increase your stress levels and create severe tension in your daily life. It can increase your heart rate, raise your blood pressure and even result in insomnia.”

Acoustic Neuroma Tumor

A study to be published in the February 2006 Journal of Epidemiology found that several years of repeated exposure to loud noise increases the risk of developing a non-cancerous tumor that could cause hearing loss.

People exposed to loud noise were 1.5 times more likely to develop the tumor, called acoustic neuroma, than people who weren’t exposed to loud noise on a regular basis.

The slow-growing tumor gradually presses the cranial nerve that senses sound and helps with balance. Symptoms, which typically become noticeable at age 50 or older, include hearing loss and ringing in the ears (tinnitus).

Noise Increases Heart Attack Risk

Prolonged exposure to high noise levels also increases the risk of a heart attack, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal.

The study involved 4,000 people who had been admitted to Berlin hospitals from 1998 to 2001. When it came to environmental noise (heavy traffic, machines like lawn mowers, yelling kids and barking dogs), it was found that:

• Men who were exposed for a prolonged length of time had a 50 percent higher risk of heart attack than those not exposed.
• Women who had been exposed to noise had a three times higher risk.

“We feel that, if you have a higher and longer exposure to noise, either environmental or workplace noise, you are at a higher risk for a heart attack,” said lead investigator Dr. Stefan Willich.

Risk of High Blood Pressure Goes Up

Another study by University of Michigan researchers, published in the Archives of Environmental Health, found that working in a loud environment raises blood pressure levels.

They outfitted workers at a Midwest auto-assembly plant with monitors to take blood pressure readings and record noise levels throughout the day.

It was found that while blood pressure was affected by overall noise exposure, peaks in noise affected heart rate. Also, an increase of 10 decibels in average noise exposure resulted in a systolic blood pressure increase of 2 millimeters.

To put things in perspective, reducing systolic blood pressure by 6 millimeters (for the long-term) has been associated with a 35 percent to 40 percent reduction in strokes and a 20 percent to 25 percent drop in coronary disease.

Where is All This Loud Noise Coming From?

Noise from all over — work, traffic, music, TVs, industry, people and more — exists like never before. As a result, much of the population is now experiencing related hearing loss and other problems.

“There’s no question that baby boomers have been exposed to different sources of noise than any generation before them,” says Dr. James F. Battey Jr., director of NIDCD. “We’re certainly seeing people in their 40s and 50s who notice their hearing is not as good as it used to be.”

Younger people are also at risk of future problems, as exposure to noise via earbuds or headphones attached to MP3 players and other media devices is common.

Many people may not even realize that they are listening to music at harmful levels. An April 2005 study by National Acoustics Laboratories in Australia, published in the International Journal of Audiology, found that 25 percent of people wearing headphones who were stopped on city streets were listening at damaging volumes.

“Safe” Noise Levels

A safe average of noise for a 24-hour day is 70 dB, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Any noise that reaches 85 dB or more can damage your hearing, but even a softer noise can harm your health if it keeps you up at night (a 45-dB noise is loud enough to keep the average person awake) or irritates you.

To put things into perspective, here’s a list of some common noise measurements:

• Quiet home: 20 dB
• Normal talking: 40 dB
• Ringing telephone: 60 dB
• Air conditioner: 75 dB
• Heavy traffic: 90 dB
• Subway train, honking horns, jack hammers: About 100 dB
• Typical nightclub: 110 dB
• Ears register pain: 120 dB
• Loud music, jet take-off: About 120 dB

Noise-Reducing Tips

To keep noise to a minimum in your home, or to protect your hearing if you must be in a noisy environment, try these tips from the previous Sixwise.com article “Noise Pollution: How Bad is it, How Bad Could it Get, What are the Effects?”:

• Wear earplugs in noisy places
• Turn down the volume on radios, personal headsets and TVs
• Try muting your TV during the commercials, or leaving it off all together and reading a book instead
• Sound-treat your home by putting heavy curtains on windows, rugs on the floors and sealing all air leaks
• Consider adding acoustical tile to your ceilings and walls
• Put on some light music, like the Pure Relaxation CD, to buffer outside noise that you can’t control
• Use sound-blocking headphones to listen to music/TV without the disturbance of outside noises, and without disturbing those around you
• Look for quieter home appliances
• Take a drive in a rural area to escape city noise for a day

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Do you remember parties and events only a couple of years ago? Parties without chocolate fountains? How did we ever cope without them?!

Chocolate Fountains are now the ‘must have’ feature for any party. Weddings, corporate events, product launches, premieres, Christmas parties, any type of event!

Guests are drawn to them like bees around a honey pot. There are always a handful of people who just cannot stay away! They work their way around each dip. Stop… admit how guilty they feel, then carry on around the fountain again!

Many chocolate fountain bookings are for weddings. With couples choosing them as an alternative wedding cake (let’s face it who likes wedding cake anyway?). Some have it as a unique centrepiece for their reception. Others as an alternative desert or extra buffet desert.

Companies are choosing them for product launches too. There’s nothing like a chocolate fountain to make your clients and potential customers weak at the knees!

The market is growing fast. In the UK thousands of mini chocolate fountains have been sold over the past year for the home. Fondue dip parties of the 70’s are now back in full swing!

Melt Chocolate Fountains was established 6 months ago and has had hundreds of enquiries and bookings. Typically Christmas parties and product launches. The company rents out fountains on a dry hire basis or as a complete package with all glassware, flowers, dipping foods (including marshmallows, strawberries, fudge, mini donuts, profiteroles, kiwi fruit and pineapples).

Melt has also had its own unique neon bases designed and manufactured. The neon bases are much better than the bases some companies have which have LED lights. Neon lights, really light up the fountain making it a feature at the event. LED lights only give off a dull light.

Melt has medium and large fountains. Medium fountains suit up to 300 guests, with large fountains up to 700 guests. The chocolate is melted in a microwave before the event and then poured into the base of the fountain. A central column with an internal corkscrew pushes the chocolate up through the fountain which then cascades down the tiers and back into the base.

If you want to hire a chocolate fountain there are a few things to consider beforehand:

Does the company have food hygiene certificates? This is very important, you don’t want your guests coming down with food poisoning!

Is the company registered with Environmental Health? Also very important. Environmental health will do an inspection to make sure the company’s food premises is up to the job.

Does the company have public liability insurance? An essential! If anything goes wrong you need to be assured that your guests and venue are covered.

What does the service you’re booking include? Some companies rent out the fountain without a base. Some only offer a handful of dipping foods. Some restrict the number of dipping foods per guest. Others will only stay for four hours and charge extra for more hours. There’s nothing worse than a chocolate fountain being dismantled halfway through your party with a messy fountain being whisked across the dance floor past your guests!

Finally, are you confident with the company? Did they get back to you straight away? Was their presentation/quotation professional? If the answers yes, then their fountains will almost definitely be professional too!

Good luck with your fountain!

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The incidence of asthma has more than doubled - from 3% to 7.5% since 1980. Believe it or not, nearly 25 million people in the United States are asthma sufferers. And while there’s no shortage of theories about why asthma is becoming a major health concern, there is a shortage of definite answers. Which has led many people to ask why is asthma on the rise, especially in urban neighborhoods, and are there any new asthma treatments?

The two questions actually go hand in hand. Many new asthma treatments have been developed based upon the various theories doctors have come up with to explain asthma’s rise. In this light, this article is a look at some of the answers to “why is asthma on the rise and are there new treatments?”

Let’s start off with a theory that might sound odd the first time you hear it. Some doctors have come to believe asthma’s growing prevalence is actually due to our better health. Because there are far fewer major diseases requiring the attention of our immune systems, these doctors believe our immune systems overreact to minor stressors such as allergens, which trigger histamines and other inflammatory agents in the lungs. Once the lungs become inflamed, bringing the condition under control again can be a major effort.

There are other theories, of course. Even though air quality in general has improved, there are more people than ever living in urban settings where they’re overly exposed to the allergens that commonly trigger asthma - cockroaches, dust mites, mold and secondhand smoke. Add to that the fact that children lead far more sedentary lives than they used to, and spend far more time indoors where they’re exposed to allergens, and we can begin to see that one reason asthma is on the rise maybe because children are exposed to the allergens far more often these days.

New asthma treatments go beyond medicine to a whole new way of looking at this disease and its management. Rather than focusing on crisis management of acute asthma attacks, new asthma treatments emphasize managing the disease by controlling the environment and daily medication to reduce the risk of acute attacks. These new treatments include once a day oral medications for children with chronic asthma, daily maintenance inhalers, education about asthma triggers and allergens for those dealing with asthma and outreach efforts that involve entire communities.

While there’s been a great deal of research on asthma and asthma medications over the past twenty years, there have been few new drugs developed for treatment. This is primarily due to the success of the current inhaler drugs. They work extremely well as long as they’re used everyday as prescribed. However, because so many asthma sufferers tend to ignore their doctor’s instructions, a major component of this new approach to treating asthma is to educate patients and families about what asthma is and how to prevent asthma attacks.

The good news is that according to the Centers for Disease Control, this new approach to treating asthma with education as well as medication does pay off. In a recent study conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, researchers found that children whose families were taught about asthma and how to manage asthma through environmental control had 37.8 more days per year without any symptoms than those who were treated in the hospital, given a prescription, and sent on their way.

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At first reading, there isn’t much extremely shocking in this report. But with a little research, in my opinion it becomes alarming.

This information comes from the Asthma Society of Canada:

“Doctors define asthma as a ‘chronic inflammatory disease of the airways’ . It is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions affecting Canadians. Asthma can be diagnosed at any age, but often starts in childhood. Its prevalence in Canada has been increasing over the last 20 years and it is estimated that currently over 3 million Canadians have asthma.”The three strongest risk factors for developing asthma are family history, exposure in infancy to high levels of antigens such as house dust mites, and exposure to tobacco smoke and/or chemical irritants.

“We’re all pretty familiar with allergic triggers of asthmatic symptoms, such as mould, animal dander, pollen, dust mites, etc., but perhaps less familiar with non-allergic triggers such as certain drugs, chemicals, fumes and odours, respiratory viral infections, certain weather conditions, strenuous physical exercise, tobacco smoke, and air pollution.

“Urbanization appears to be correlated with an increase in asthma. The nature of the risk is unclear because studies have not taken into account indoor allergens although these have been identified as significant risk factors.

“Experts are struggling to understand why prevalence rates world-wide are, on average, rising by 50% every decade.”

Alarming? Yes. Why?

First of all, the report was updated in April of 2005, yet most of the footnoted references are from the mid to late 90’s. So the report is about “Canadians” in general; children are still not identified as a unique segment of the population, their needs, habits and susceptibilities are not taken into special consideration, even though the studies all concur that asthma often starts in childhood.

Next, approximately 3 million Canadians have asthma. You have to put that into the context of how many Canadians there are, which in the year 2000 was about 31 million, with an annual growth rate of approximately 1%. So about 9.6% of all Canadians have asthma. Almost one out of 10. If one out of 10 Canadians were in a wheelchair, or wearing a cast, we would take notice. Alarming, since we treat it so casually. It’s a chronic disease, which means lifelong constant management and medication.

The world’s current (overall as well as natural) growth rate is about 1.3% per year, while prevalence rates of asthma world-wide are, on average, rising by 50% every decade. So asthma is occuring over 3 times more than can be attributed to population growth. These are rough figures, just to give us an idea of what we’re looking at.

And this is only about asthma. It isn’t about illness from chemical poisoning, or deaths from poisoning, or lung cancer, or…

So it’s time to take steps to prevent asthma and other illnesses and diseases. At the very least, search for and buy the least toxic cleansers for household use. Get educated! Then, store all chemicals safely and securely away from children and pets.

Don’t allow smoking in your home, and be aware of and avoid air pollution, both inside and out. Air out your home completely three times a day. Did you know that cigarette smoke contains about 4,000 chemical agents, including over 60 carcinogens? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute of Environmental Health Science’s National Toxicology Program, and the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have all classified secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen—a category reserved for agents for which there is sufficient scientific evidence that they cause cancer.

The U.S. EPA has estimated that exposure to secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers and is responsible for up to 300,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infections in children up to 18 months of age in the United States each year. If you have to smoke, just dig your own grave, don’t drag others with you!

So, become aware and clean up your home environment.

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