I DON’T WANT TO BE A GUINEA PIG WITHOUT MY CONSENT ... DO YOU?

Today's topic comes from an article I read in the Canadian Broadcasting Companies website.

I am extremely concerned because of the fact that more and more studies are pointing to the incredible proliferation of toxic chemicals as possible and maybe probable causes of a wide variety of genetic abnormalities and defects.

Remember, just 60 years ago there were only a few synthetic chemicals, (laboratory made compounds that do not exist anywhere in nature). Now, more than 54 MILLION chemical sequences have been identified and more than 85,000 synthetic chemicals have been commercially developed and released into the environment.

Very few of these chemicals have been tested at all to determine their effects on any living organism. Even fewer have been tested for interactions with one or two other chemicals to see what other chemicals develop from the combination and what the effects are.

NONE have been tested with an array of other chemicals and so, we and our children are the unwitting and non consenting guinea pigs in the greatest chemical experiment the world has ever seen.

Synthetic chemicals are in plastics, pesticides, solvents, degreasers, our water, our air, in our food,our schools and workplaces, insulators. They are virtually everywhere.

We need speak out about this and stop thinking only of “progress and innovation”.

The progress we are seeing is that the synthetic chemicals that provide our conveniences and improvements in military weapons and our increased (temporary) crop yields, are the same synthetic chemicals that are being implicated in the increases of serious health problems like, cancers of the breast, prostate, brain and testicles: miscarriages and other reproductive system abnormalities, early puberty, miscarriages, diabetes, attention deficit disorder, lowered sperm counts, and fewer males of many species being born.

We have seen that as long as this proliferation and use of untested synthetic chemicals is allowed to continue unchecked and untested, each generation of every species is exposed to more pollution than the previous generation.

It won’t take another world war to wipe out humanity, just the willingness to accept without question the questionable “benefits” of each new potentially lethal synthetic chemical that promises to make our lives better or easier.

Here is information about just two of the chemicals mentioned in the movie, “The Disappearing Male” http://bit.ly/bh307 You may want to watch it before continuing to read about the chemicals.


BISPHENOL-A
Amongst the chemicals most under the microscope for its negative health effects is a compound first synthesized in the 1890's: Bisphenol A.

"I had three different naturopaths at the time, and I had a midwife, I had a doula, and a doctor. And I was told about what herbs to avoid and certain foods to avoid, but no one mentioned anything about containers to avoid." Tosca Gardino, mom

It languished until the 1930's, when it was discovered that it could be used as a synthetic"estrogen. In the 1950's it was discovered that bisphenol-A had the remarkable ability to make plastics more pliable and less prone to crack. Between 1980 and 2000, U.S. production of bisphenol-A grew nearly five times. And it is now a ubiquitous component of clear polycarbonate plastic and it is very big business.

It is used to make compact discs, sunglasses, bicycle helmets, water and milk bottles, baby bottles, drinking cups, pacifiers, food storage containers, dental sealants, tableware, window frames, cell phones, car parts, toys, and some medical devices such as incubators, dialysis machines, and blood oxygenators. It is the de facto lining used in food cans to prevent corrosion. More than seven billion pounds of bisphenol A are produced each year worldwide.

The chemical is so common that over 95% of us have elevated levels of it in our bodies, and the younger you are the higher the level is likely to be. The problem is, even very low doses of bisphenol-A have been repeatedly linked to increased incidence of low sperm counts, the earlier onset of puberty, insulin resistance and diabetes, prostate and testicular abnormalities, among other effects.

In 2008, Canada announced it intends to ban the import and sale of polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A, making it the first country in the world to limit exposure to the controversial chemical. The ban would affect only baby bottles and not other food containers made with bisphenol A (BPA). (Sandy's note: Recently Canada actually did implement the ban)

PHTHALATES
Phthalates are a class of widely-used compounds that soften plastic and hold scents and colors. They are found in products ranging from consumer electronics like the iPod and iPhone, food packaging, detergents, vinyl floor coverings, plastic toys and medical equipment. They are commonly found in products that are supposed to make us look good, and amongst the worst offenders are a wide variety of cosmetics, shampoos, and fragrances. Three quarters of personal care products contain them.

"It looks clean, it smells clean, it feels clean. We've been marketed that this product is clean. So it's difficult to think of it as dirty, as polluted, as toxic." Dr. Aaron Freeman

A study last year analyzed the phthalate concentration in common makeup products. Research that shows that boys born to mothers exposed to phthalates had smaller penises, and a whole host of problems which are now referred to as "testicular dysgenesis syndrome". These include reproductive abnormalities that are strongly linked to the later development of testicular and prostate cancer.

One of the most commen plastics in the world - PVC or polyvinyl chloride - contains a Phthalate called DEHP. It's been classified as toxic by several agencies around the world.
Infant males may be especially susceptible to the effects of DEHP.
Ironically, PVC is used to make medical devices such as iv tubing, catheters and blood bags.

In a hospital setting, an infant or child can be exposed to 200 times what is considered a safe amount in one single exposure. Studies have shown that the chemical can leach from the plastic and end up in the bodies of vulnerable children - especially male infants.
In Europe, the controversy over phthalates is over. In 2006, the European Union determined that they posed health risks and banned them from all products flowing to the 27 countries that make up the union. Over 1200 chemicals in all were outlawed. The governments of Canada and the United States have been much slower to act and North Americans continue to be exposed to them in massive quantities. U.S. chemical companies still produce more than 2 billion pounds of these compounds a year.

You may wonder why I put this into my blog. I want to awaken people to the fact that this is going on, and that there are companies with enough integrity to avoid using these chemicals in their products and where ever possible in the equipment used to manufacture the products.

If you want to see the committment of the Shaklee Corporation to protecting and improving the environment, go to http://www.shaklee.com/causes_achievements.shtml. Although they don't talk specifically about these kinds of products, we have been assured that they are keeping on top of the research and protecting the quality of the products that they manufacture.

To learn a little about the science behind the Shaklee products go to http://www.shaklee.com/company_sab.shtml and read about our scientists and advisory board. There is lots more info there.

To watch a few short videos about the company and the products and to enter the no obligation drawing for $200 worth of products, go to http://landofand.com/sandraabrams and fill in the information. No one will bug you or inundate you with calls and emails.

That's all for now. Keep checking in for more information that can make your life better.