Dangers of Phthalates

Phthalates are a common industrial chemical used in PVC plastics, solvents, and synthetic fragrances. They've been around since the 1930's and now they're pretty ubiquitous; when they tested 289 people in 200, the CDC found phthalates in all of the subjects' blood at surprisingly high levels. They're often referred to as a plasticizer, which we think sounds rather like a kind of exercise to be done on the living-room floor in front of videos hosted by Jane Fonda. But we digress.

What are the possible health effects?

Phthalates are endocrine disruptors linked to problems of the reproductive systems, including decreased sperm motility and concentration in men and genital abnormalities in baby boys. (The average sperm counts have decreased significantly since the 1940's) More recently they've also been linked to asthma and allergies.

Avoid these, and you'll also be avoiding phthalates:

1. Nail polish
2. Plastics in the kitchen
3. Vinyl toys
4. Paint
5. Frangrance
6. Vinyl
7. Air Fresheners

Can Hair Dyes Give You Cancer?

Hairdressers and barbers are at increased risk of developing cancer as a result of their use of hair dyes. These risks could also extend to personal use of the dyes.

A panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France reviewed the evidence and found a consistent risk of bladder cancer in male hairdressers and barbers. A second review of the evidence on personal hair dye use found some studies suggested a possible association with bladder cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.

However, the panel found that the evidence was inadequate to classify the carcinogenicity of personal hair dye use.

IARC Monographs

What's On Your TV?

Nine out of ten food advertisements shown during Saturday morning children's television programs are for unhealthy fare, like sugary cereals and fat-laden snacks. Be careful what you let your children watch, it could develop bad habits early on in life that could effect their health for the rest of their lives.

Stay Young in Your Spare Time

Devoting your free time to vegging out won't just burden your waistline. It could cause you to age faster. In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers discovered that adults who kept active during their leisure time were biologically younger than sedentary folks. The study measured biologically younger than sedentary folks. The study measured biological age by focusing on white-blood-cell telomeres, chromosomal structures in the body that progressively shorten over time.

Working with DNA samples from 2,401 volunteers, researchers found that those who exercised an average of 199 minutes weekly had telomeres about the same length as those of sedentary people up to 10 years younger. The high levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, and mental stress that accompany a sedentary lifestyle may contribute to shortened telomere length, the authors say.

You don't need to hit the gym, says Elissa Epel, Ph.D., of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Activities like gardening, walking, or gentle yoga can improve fitness while lowering stress hormones thought to play a role in the shortening of telomeres.

Nothing to Laugh At

Creating a healthy lifestyle can feel like serious business, with the whole-foods diet to plan, the regular exercise to get, and the yoga classes to attend. But don't forget to laugh. Research shows that giggling and guffawing release feel-good chemicals, soothe tension, and may boost immunity and ease pain. And laughing is free.

Beets Beat High Blood Pressure

Nearly one in three American adults has hypertension, a major heart-disease risk factor that's on the rise among women. But sipping beet juice might bring your blood pressure down, says a study published in Hypertension. Within an hour of drinking about two cups of beet juice, healthy volunteers showed a significant blood-pressure drop, an effect that peaked as a chemical called nitrite entered their bloodstream. Known to relax blood-vessel muscles, nitrite is formed from nitrate, a compound found at high levels in both beets and dark green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach.

Blending beets with other fruits and veggies can make the intensely flavored juice tastier, says Cherie Calbom, author of the upcoming Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life. Calbom suggests a beet-carrot-lemon-ginger combo or a beet-carrot-apple blend. Don't have a juicer? Look for bottled beet juice at natural-food stores.

Alzheimer's, Cholesterol and Vitamin E

Researchers at Finland's University of Kuopio and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston may have uncovered a link between Alzheimer's disease and high cholesterol and vitamin E supplementation just might be the answer.

According to the study, concluded by researchers from Finland, Sweden and California, people in their early 40s with cholesterol levels between 249 and 500 milligrams per deciliter are about one and a half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's later in life as those individuals whose levels are below 198 milligrams per deciliter. What's even more interesting is that these findings appear to be independent of other risk factors for high cholesterol like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.

At Baylor College of Medicine, researchers discovered that Alzheimer's patients who took high doses of vitamin E - high levels of which are also found in foods such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fruit and some eggs - had mortality rates 26 percent lower than those taking no supplements. There is also evident that a diet rich in vitamin E may lower the risk of getting alzheimer's in the first place.

Just the latest example of how proper diet can help you avoid some serious health issues later in life.