Tag: neurotoxin

  • Neurotoxin Aluminum Linked to Mental Impairments

    Our bodies are exposed to pollutants before we’re even born. Many pollutants, like the ones in our air, are unavoidable. But there are many toxins that we can choose to avoid. Aluminum is one of those toxins. Unlike vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, the body does not need aluminum. And aluminum is no innocent or benign participant. Aluminum accumulates in the kidneys, brain, lungs, liver and thyroid where it competes with calcium for absorption and can affect skeletal mineralization. In infants, this can slow growth. Animal models have linked aluminum exposure to mental impairments. [1]

    The scary truth about aluminum is that it is found in so many things in our world and it is toxic to our bodies, even in small amounts. From household products to vaccinations, aluminum pervades our lifestyle, and if not monitored closely, can easily make its way into our bodies causing lasting, harmful effects.

    ALUMINUM IS FOUND IN:

    THE DANGERS OF ALUMINUM

    • Why is Aluminum Exposure Harmful? Just as cigarette smoke damages lung function and overexposure to UV rays will degrade your skin, aluminum is an attacker and its target is your central nervous system. [2]Studies show that toxic metals contribute to brain diseases by producing oxidative stress and aluminum is one of the worst offenders. [1] The prevailing belief around the world is that aluminum is linked to degenerative brain diseases:
      • linked to Alzheimer’s
      • epilepsy
      • dementia
      • osteomalacia
      • ADD
      • chronic fatigue syndrome

    It makes sense, research shows aluminum can produce toxic, oxidative stress in the brain and a brain autopsy study of elderly persons found them to have aluminum levels 20+ times higher than a middle-aged group. [3] [4] The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recognizes aluminum as one of several metals known to affect the neurological system. [5] As far as aluminum is concerned, the supreme brain-health concern is Alzheimer’s disease.

    Many of the symptoms of aluminum toxicity mimic those of Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis. Colic, rickets, gastrointestinal problems, interference with the metabolism of calcium, extreme nervousness, anemia, headaches, decreased liver and kidney function, memory loss, speech problems, softening of the bones, and aching muscles can all be caused by aluminum toxicity.  To minimize the risk of degenerative brain, bone, and other diseases, reductions in oral and topical exposure to aluminum and aluminum compounds are highly recommended. Download your free copy of Aluminum Tainted Everyday Products from the CHILDREN’S MEDICAL SAFETY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

    • AVOIDING ALUMINUM
      Aluminum is one of the most abundant metals on earth and it has permeated mainstream products to the degree that it’s virtually impossible to completely avoid exposure. However, you can take certain measures to reduce your exposure.
    • Avoid using disposable aluminum pans for cooking. Use glass pans for baking, stoneware for cookie sheets, and cast-iron for stove-top cooking.
    • Do not wrap food in foil to cook in oven or on grill. Potatoes bake just fine with no wrapping at all on oven rack.
    • Don’t use a deodorant that contains aluminum. Try using baking soda (as long as it is aluminum-free, too) or buy all-natural, aluminum-free deodorant, or make your own. bettermindbodysoul.com/diy-natural-deodorant-stick/
    • Read all labels on food and pay attention to packaging. Acidic foods in aluminum cans react, causing the aluminum to leach into the contents of the can.
    • Use all-natural shampoos, soaps, lotions, and cosmetics.
    • Avoid aluminum-containing antacids. Try natural remedies for heartburn and indigestion like sipping a glass of water with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, eat fresh pineapple or papaya, chew a sprig of parsley, drink a cup of peppermint tea, drink aloe vera, or coconut water, or milk.

    References (13)

    1. Kumar V, Gill KD. Aluminium neurotoxicity: neurobehavioural and oxidative aspects. Arch Toxicol. 2009 Nov;83(11):965-78. doi: 10.1007/s00204-009-0455-6. Epub 2009 Jul 1. Review.
    2. Michalke B, Halbach S, Nischwitz V. JEM spotlight: metal speciation related to neurotoxicity in humans. J Environ Monit. 2009 May;11(5):939-54. doi: 10.1039/b817817h. Epub 2009 Mar 19. Review.
    3. Fernández-Dávila ML, Razo-Estrada AC, García-Medina S, Gómez-Oliván LM, Piñón-López MJ, Ibarra RG, Galar-Martínez M. Aluminum-induced oxidative stress and neurotoxicity in grass carp (Cyprinidae–Ctenopharingodon idella). Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2012 Feb;76(2):87-92. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2011.09.012. Epub 2011 Oct 10.
    4. Jansson ET. Aluminum exposure and Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 2001 Dec;3(6):541-549.
    5. Pohl HR, Roney N, Abadin HG. Metal ions affecting the neurological system. Met Ions Life Sci. 2011;8:247-62.
    6. Brenner S. Aluminum may mediate Alzheimer’s disease through liver toxicity, with aberrant hepatic synthesis of ceruloplasmin and ATPase7B, the resultant excess free copper causing brain oxidation, beta-amyloid aggregation and Alzheimer disease. Med Hypotheses. 2013 Mar;80(3):326-7. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2012.11.036. Epub 2012 Dec 20.
    7. Shrivastava S. Combined effect of HEDTA and selenium against aluminum induced oxidative stress in rat brain. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2012 Jun;26(2-3):210-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2012.04.014. Epub 2012 May 8.
    8. Bondy SC. The neurotoxicity of environmental aluminum is still an issue. Neurotoxicology. 2010 Sep;31(5):575-81. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2010.05.009. Epub 2010 May 27. Review.
    9. Belojević G, Jakovljević B. [Aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease]. Srp Arh Celok Lek. 1998 Jul-Aug;126(7-8):283-9. Review. Serbian.
    10. Nishida Y. Elucidation of endemic neurodegenerative diseases–a commentary. Z Naturforsch C. 2003 Sep-Oct;58(9-10):752-8. Review.
    11. Mandour RA, Azab YA. The prospective toxic effects of some heavy metals overload in surface drinking water of Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. Int J Occup Environ Med. 2011 Oct;2(4):245-53.
    12. Riihimäki V, Aitio A. Occupational exposure to aluminum and its biomonitoring in perspective. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2012 Nov;42(10):827-53. doi: 10.3109/10408444.2012.725027. Epub 2012 Sep 27. Review.
    13. Polizzi S, Pira E, Ferrara M, Bugiani M, Papaleo A, Albera R, Palmi S. Neurotoxic effects of aluminium among foundry workers and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurotoxicology. 2002 Dec;23(6):761-74.

    †Results may vary. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. Global Healing Center does not dispense medical advice, prescribe, or diagnose illness. The views and nutritional advice expressed by Global Healing Center are not intended to be a substitute for conventional medical service. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician.

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.keeperofthehome.org/eliminating-aluminum-from-our-homes.

  • Negative Effects of Fluoride On Your Health

    Almost SIXTEEN years ago it was determined that fluoride doesn’t have dental benefits. This begs the question, “WHY IS FLUORIDE STILL PROMOTED TO HELP PREVENT TOOTH DECAY?”

    In fact, a report from the world’s oldest and most prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, has officially classified fluoride as a neurotoxin — in the same category as arsenic, lead and mercury. 

    The news was broken by author Stefan Smyle, who cited a report published in The Lancet Neurology, Volume 13, Issue 3, in the March 2014 edition, by authors Dr. Phillippe Grandjean and Philip J. Landrigan, MD. The report, which was officially released in 2014 and published in the journal, can be viewed by clicking here.

    We are forcibly being medicated with fluoridation of our tap water in cities across the US, even though fluoride is a non-pharmaceutical, chemical waste and the main ingredient in rat poisons and many pesticides. 

    If you swallow toothpaste, you are urged on the tube itself to call the Poison Control Center immediately, but somehow if you drink eight glasses of fluoridated water, it’s fine? Where is the logic in that? There’s information out there to show that the amount of fluoride in a serving of toothpaste is the same as a glass of fluoridated water (if the water doesn’t have MORE).

    If you’ve ever noticed the warnings on toothpaste labels you probably know just how serious fluoride poisoning can be, especially for children if they swallow too much at one time.

    Because of this threat, many parents have begun eschewing fluoridated toothpaste brands altogether and are using more natural brands such as Earthpaste, Desert Essence, Uncle Harry’s Toothpaste Dr. Bronner’s toothpaste line, or even making their own from a combination of ingredients such as coconut oil, organic neem leaf powders, essential oils like peppermint or cinnamon, and other natural ingredients.

    CLICK IMAGE FOR THE 10 Facts about fluoride

    Concerned about fluoride added to your water? 

    Many communities in Idaho have fluoride added to the water. Click here to find out if YOUR water contains the neurotoxin fluoride.  

    MORE RESOURCES ON FLUORIDE

    FLUORIDE HISTORY (Regularly Updated!) by Peter Meirs

    Fluoride Action Network

    Keepers of the Well

  • Aluminum Exposure

    Aluminium in vaccines, in our food storage containers and personal products. 

    Why is Aluminum Exposure Harmful?

    Just as cigarette smoke damages lung function and overexposure to UV rays will degrade your skin, aluminum is an attacker and its target is your central nervous system. [2]Studies show that toxic metals contribute to brain diseases by producing oxidative stress and aluminum is one of the worst offenders. [1] The prevailing belief around the world is that Aluminium is linked to degenerative brain diseases:

    • linked to Alzheimers
    • epilepsy
    • dementia
    • osteomalacia
    • ADD
    • chronic fatigue syndrome

    It makes sense, research shows aluminum can produce toxic, oxidative stress in the brain and a brain autopsy study of elderly persons found them to have aluminum levels 20+ times higher than a middle-aged group. [3] [4] The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recognizes aluminum as one of several metals known to affect the neurological system. [5] As far as aluminum is concerned, the supreme brain-health concern is Alzheimer’s disease.

    Avoiding Aluminum  

    Detoxing from Aluminum

    Learn More

    Aluminum Toxicity

    Aluminum in Autistic Patients 15x’s that of Elderly Person https://hfi.designbyparrish.com/15-year-old-autistic-teen-has-10x-times-amount-of-aluminum-in-brain-than-elderly-person

  • Zika Feared – Neurotoxin Sprayed

    Zika no longer a global emergency and yet, the pesticide spraying of known neurotoxins continues in Florida. 

    According to a new study out, naled- the pesticide widely used to fight Zika-carrying mosquitoes in Florida and across the nation- has been linked to deficits in motor functions in Chinese babies. Authors of the study say it’s the first to examine real-world exposure to naled outside of workplace accidents or lab experiments. The University of Michigan study was published in the journal Environment International.

    RELATED ARTICLES:

    Using cord blood from 237 mothers who gave birth to healthy babies at a hospital in southeast China between 2008 and 2011, researchers found that at six weeks, the babies displayed no problems. However, at nine months, the babies suffered from slight problems with coordination, movement, and other motor functions. Miami Herald, June 2017.”>1 (Researchers used standard motor-skill tests that look at reflexes, body control, movement, and hand and eye coordination to assess problems; as exposure to naled increased, deficits also rose.)

    Although the study was only a close snapshot of a particular group of mothers, the authors rightly pointed out the need to take a closer look at using naled.

    Naled has been used for decades in Florida to control marsh mosquitoes. It’s sprayed by plane “mostly over suburban fringes bordering marshes and mangroves before dawn.” However, last year (thanks to people like YOU) it drew more attention and quick opposition when Miami-Dade County and other urban areas “battling Zika” started using it: Miami Herald, June 2017.”>2

    • In South Florida, protesters prompted the county to put off using the pesticide in Miami Beach to give the city more time to notify residents.
    • Federal officials backed off a plan to use naled in Puerto Rico after its governor protested.
    • Europe had already banned naled in 2012.
    • But of course, the CDC recommended its use in combination with organic larvicides that kill mosquito eggs in standing water.

    But, back to China. How did women end up with the poison in their cord blood? Especially given the fact that Amvac, the U.S. manufacturer of the pesticide, has no record of selling naled in China?

    “Silver said it was impossible to determine how the Chinese mothers ended up with naled in their blood, although she suspected it was used on crops or mosquito spraying. The team used cord blood collected between 2008 and 2011 by co-author Betsy Lozoff for another study that looked at iron deficiency and brain development. They found a number of pesticides but focused on five that occurred in traceable levels.” Miami Herald, June 2017.”>3

    Sources and References
    1. Miami Herald, June 2017.
    2. Miami Herald, June 2017.
    3. Miami Herald, June 2017.

    This article originally appeared at: https://www.healthnutnews.com/study-links-pesticide-used-to-fight-zika-in-florida-to-health-impacts-in-chinese-babies/.

  • EPA Scraps Scheduled Ban of Widely Used Pesticide Known to Harm Kids’ Brains

    In one of his first major decisions as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Scott Pruitt sided with the pesticide lobby over scientists Wednesday in an eleventh-hour decision to abort the agency’s proposal to ban chlorpyrifos—an insecticide that at small doses can harm children’s brains and nervous systems—from use on food crops.

    Pruitt and the Trump administration’s decision ignored overwhelming evidence that even small amounts of chlorpyrifos can damage parts of the brain that control language, memory, behavior and emotion. Multiple independent studies have documented that exposure to chlorpyrifos impairs children’s IQs and EPA scientists’ assessments of those studies concluded that levels of the pesticide found on food and in drinking water are unsafe.

    In October 2015, the EPA proposed to revoke all uses of chlorpyrifos on food. Late last year, Croplife America—the main trade and lobbying group for the pesticide industry—petitioned the EPA to block the expected ban. In its appeal, Croplife argued that the EPA should disregard the findings of epidemiological studies documenting that the pesticide impaired American children’s IQs and brain development.

    The EPA’s analysis of children’s sensitivity to chlorpyrifos drew upon studies by Columbia University, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2007 the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Pesticide Action Network petitioned the EPA to ban food uses of chlorpyrifos and they later sued the agency to compel a ruling on the petition. The EPA proposed the ban in October 2015 and was under court order to issue a final rule by the end of March.

  • EPA to Ban Dangerous Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

    EPA to Ban Dangerous Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

    OCTOBER 30, 2015

    Washington, D.C. — 

    Some 15 years after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned chlorpyrifos from residential use, the agency proposed today to ban the neurotoxic pesticide from use in agricultural fields as well.

    The announcement came after a recent court of appeals decisions gave EPA a deadline to take meaningful action on a 2007 legal petition to ban the chemical.

    “This is what we have been seeking for years. EPA’s and other independent findings show that chlorpyrifos causes brain damage to children and poisons workers and bystanders,” said Patti Goldman, the Earthjustice attorney handling the case. “At long last, the agency is signaling its intention to protect children, workers and their families by banning this hazardous pesticide. It is imperative that EPA move quickly to protect workers and children by finalizing this important rule.”

    Calling EPA’s delay in regulating chlorpyrifos “egregious,” the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ordered EPA to respond to the 2007 petition by October 30. The original lawsuit spurring the court deadline was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

    “Given the incredibly strong science on the health harms of this pesticide, it’s absurd that EPA has taken so long to act,” said Dr. Margaret Reeves, Senior Scientist at PAN. “A ban will finally ensure that children, workers and families in rural communities are safe from this drift-prone, bad actor pesticide.”

    In December 2014, EPA acknowledged the extensive body of peer-reviewed science correlating chlorpyrifos exposure with brain damage to children, including reduced IQ, delayed development, and loss of working memory.

    And it found drinking water contamination, particularly harmful to infants, and serious risks to workers from handling chlorpyrifos or entering the fields after spraying.

    Ordered by a court to take regulatory action based on its scientific reviews, EPA is now proposing to revoke all chlorpyrifos tolerances.

    This would end all uses of chlorpyrifos that result in residues on food, contamination of drinking water, or drift to schools, homes, and other places people are located.

    http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2015/epa-to-ban-dangerous-pesticide-chlorpyrifos

  • Advocates Petition FDA: Remove Neurotoxin from Hairdye

    Advocates Petition FDA: Remove Neurotoxin from Hairdye

    WASHINGTON — A group of public health advocates today announced that the Food and Drug Administration will consider removing its approval of lead acetate in hair dyes such as Grecian Formula. The group filed a joint petition that requires FDA to revisit a 1980 decision allowing the neurotoxin and carcinogen to remain in hair dye. Lead acetate is the active ingredient that slowly darkens grey hair when used every few days.

    “An FDA ban on lead acetate is long overdue,” said Tina Sigurdson, EWG assistant general counsel. “Lead acetate can expose people to lead, which has been linked to serious health problems like developmental, reproductive and organ system toxicity, as well as cancer. It’s unconscionable that this potent neurotoxin is still used in a handful of men’s hair dye formulas. Lead acetate already has been banned in Canada and the European Union. It’s time for the U.S. to take action.”

    “We now know that lead is more dangerous, especially to children, and skin absorption is a more significant route than FDA thought in 1980,” said Tom Neltner, chemicals policy director at Environmental Defense Fund. “We also have evidence that when the dye is applied, lead spreads widely in the immediate environment. This puts more people, including children, at risk of unknowingly ingesting it.”

    “Government agencies at all levels are making great strides in reducing exposures to lead from legacy sources like paint, old water pipes and other uses long-since banned,” said Howard Mielke of Tulane University School of Medicine. “The fact that FDA continues to allow a dangerous toxicant like lead acetate in consumer hair coloring products is shocking. Our petition would force FDA to get the lead out of cosmetics being sold, haphazardly used by consumers, and stored in home medical cabinets. The FDA action will bring its regulation into the 21st Century.”

    “Lead poisoning is not a problem of the past, and we will continue to damage our future and our children’s future if we do not commit to removing all sources of lead from our products, air and water,” said Eve Gartner, litigator in the Healthy Communities Program at Earthjustice, where she heads efforts to protect human health from toxic chemicals. “It is unacceptable that as we struggle to remove lead contamination in our water supplies and old homes, we still allow lead in home-use hair dyes that many people apply by hand on a daily basis. The FDA must take action now to protect people from this continued source of exposure to lead.”

    “Nearly twenty years ago, CEH action created strict rules to protect California consumers from lead acetate in hair dyes. It is long past time for FDA to take action to protect all Americans by banning this unnecessary and toxic ingredient,” said Caroline Cox, research director at Center for Environmental Health.

    In 1980, the FDA approved lead acetate as a repeated use hair dye with minimal restrictions, including a warning label and a restriction that it only be used on the scalp and not facial hair. The levels of lead in the product are allowed to be as high as 6000 ppm. Three years earlier, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the sale of household paint containing more than 600 ppm of lead.

    The petitioners cited major advances in science since the 1980 FDA decision allowed lead to remain in hair dye. The petition cites a study showing lead contamination from the hair dyes—especially on surfaces touched after using the hair dye like blow-dryers, combs and faucets.

    The study found these surfaces had up to 2,804 micrograms of lead per square foot. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency said that more than 40 micrograms of lead per square foot on the floor posed a hazard to children.

    Dr. Maricel Maffini, an expert consultant to EDF, said that “The risk from an innocent mistake is real: one user who didn’t realize it should not be used on the beard lost feeling in his hands and feet after only seven months. He did not return to normal for a year.” 

    While use of lead acetate remains common in the United States, it is prohibited in Canada and in the European Union.

    The petition was filed by Environmental Working Group, Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice, Center for Environmental Health, Healthy Homes Collaborative, Health Justice Project of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Breast Cancer Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Improving Kids’ Environment, Consumers Union and Howard Mielke.

    Under the law, the agency must make a final decision within 180 days. If the petition is approved, the ban would be effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.

    ###

     

    Reporters also may contact Keith Gaby at the Environmental Defense Fund: TEL (202) 572-3336

    This article originally appeared at: http://www.ewg.org/release/advocates-petition-fda-bar-toxic-lead-compound-hair-dyes.
  • Fluoride Dangers acknowledged

    Fluoride Dangers acknowledged

    Scientists in England have found that fluoride could be causing depression and weight gain and have urged councils to stop adding it to the drinking water. The new findings directly contradict a report released by Public Health England last year that called fluoride a “safe and effective” way of improving dental health.

    According to a study of 98 percent of GP practices in England, high rates of underactive thyroid were 30 percent more likely in areas of the greatest fluoridation.

    The Telegraph reports that up to 15,000 people are needlessly experiencing thyroid problems, which include depression, weight gain, pain, and fatigue.

    Approximately 10 percent of the population in England live in areas with a naturally or artificially fluoridated water supply, according to the Telegraph. Researchers from the University of Kent suggest that the number of cases of underactive thyroid was higher in areas such as the West Midlands and the North East of England. Professor Stephen Peckham of the Centre for Health Service Studies, lead author of the study, asserts that the findings should be particularly disconcerting for those who reside in those regions.

    “The difference between the West Midlands, which fluoridates, and Manchester, which doesn’t was particularly striking,” Peckham noted. “There were nearly double the number of cases in Manchester.”

    Advocates of fluoridation contend it helps to fight tooth decay by making enamel more resistant to bacteria; however, studies have shown that the adverse effects of fluoridation far outweigh any purported good it does.

    The University of Kent study found that fluoride inhibits the production of iodine, which is necessary for the health of the thyroid gland, resulting in an underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism.

    “Underactive thyroid is a particularly nasty thing to have and it can lead to other long term health problems,” stated Professor Peckham. He added, “I do think councils need to think again about putting fluoride in the water. There are far safer ways to improve dental health.”

    What’s worse is that the levels of fluoride analyzed in that study were less than four milligrams per liter, less than the amounts permitted to be used in water fluoridation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

    “Our very great concern is that children worldwide are being exposed to unrecognized toxic chemicals that are silently eroding intelligence, disrupting behaviors, truncating future achievements and damaging societies, perhaps most seriously in developing countries,” added the authors, who also warned of additional problems associated with exposure to these kinds of substances, including autism.

    As a result of those findings, a 2014 report in the medical  journal The Lancet labelled fluoride a dangerous developmental neurotoxicant, placing it alongside other toxins such as lead, mercury, and arsenic.

    Critics have seized upon the various findings against fluoride to call for a complete end to water fluoridation.

    “In light of the new classification of fluoride as a dangerous neurotoxin, adding more fluoride to Americans’ already excessive intake no longer has any conceivable justification,” declared Fluoride Action Network Executive Director and retired chemistry professor Dr. Paul Connett in a statement. “We should follow the evidence and try to reduce fluoride intake, not increase it.”

    This article originally appeared at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/20186-new-research-underscores-the-dangers-of-fluoride.