Leaching And Toxicity Of PVC Plasticisers

PVC(polyvinyl chloride or vinylz0 is widely used in toys and other children's products.
For soft applications such as toys designed for chewing (ie teethers), softeners or plasticisers are added to give the desired softness and flexibility. Without these additives, PVC is brittle, degrades easily and is not versatile.
Although a range of chemicals are used as softeners, phthalate esters (phthalates) are by far the most commonly used.
Phthalates do not bind to the PVC polymer but float around like water in a sponge. They remain present as a freely mobile and leachable phase in the plastic.
As a result, phthalates are continuously lost from soft PVC over time. This has long been recognised by the PVC industry itself. In fact, it has been known for 30 years that phthalates leach from soft PVC.
Pressure on a PVC product will increase leaching substantially. Of most concern is the leaching of plasticisers resulting from sucking or chewing on soft PVC toys, representing a direct bodily dose of these chemical to the infant or child.
Phthalates are moderately persistent and can bioaccumulate in fat tissue. Some may be broken down in the body, although degradation and excretion rates may differ between adults and children.
In addition, phthalates absorb atrongly to soil, and biodegrade slowly, creating the potential for constant human exposure.
Phthalates can exert additive effects when present as a mixture or in combination with other common environmental contaminants. Many of the phthalates are actually isomers of compounds of a similar carbon chain length. As a result, a single phthalate formulation may be contaminated with several different types of phthalates.
Laboratory research on the health effects of the phthalates has identified wide-ranging cronic effect. These include:

• liver and kidney lesions
• reproductive abnormalities, including testicular atrophy, altered development of reproductive tissue and subtle effects on sperm production
• cell line transformations
• cancers, including those of the liver, kidney and mononuclear cell leukemia.
  

Risky High-Temperature Cooking

Four factors influence HCA formation : type of food, cooking method, temperature and time. Of the 4, temperature is the most important factor. According to the NCI, frying, broiling and barbecuing produce the largest amounts of HCAs because the meats are cooked at very high temperatures.

"Well Done" Meat Linked To Stomach Cancer

In another NCI study which assessed the diets and cooking habits of 176 people diagnosed with stomach cancer and 503 people without cancer, it was found that people who :

• ate their beef "medium well" or "well done" had more than 3 times the risk of stomach cancer than those who ate their beef "rare" or "medium rare".

• ate beef 4 or more times a week had more than twice the risk of stomach cancer those who ate beef less frequently.

Hamburgers And Lymph Node Cancer

A study of 35,000 older women shows that those with diets high meat and animal fat , especially hamburger, have double the risk for lymph node cancer - also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Research believe that it may be related to the way the hamburgers are cooked.

Cancer-Causing Chemicals In Cooked Meats

Are barbecued beef, fried chicken and other charcoal-roasted or grilled meats your favourite foods? If so, beware. Actually, fried and barbecued meats contain mutagens (chemicals that may damage the DNA) and carcinogens (compounds shown to cause cancer) such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

How The Chemicals Form?

HCAs are formed when amino acids (the building blocks of all proteins) and creatine (a chemical found in muscles) react at cooking temperatures. They are created in greater quantities when meats are cooked at high temperatures.

PAHs are formed by burning fat during open flame cooking. The smoke resulting from the burnt fat contains PAHs that are deposited on the surface of the meat.

Cancers In Animals

In animal studies, mice, rats and monkeys fed HCAs in their diet had increased rates of certain cancers. The most abundant HCAs in cooked muscle meats, PhIP, causes lymphomas (cancer of the lymph system) in mice as well as mammary and large intestine tumors in rats. Another HCA (known as IQ) was found to cause liver cancers in the majority of monkeys to which it was fed. Both PhOP and IQ (which were absorbed into the monkeys' bodies) have also been found to be mutagenic, ie since the 1980s.)

Potential Cancer Risk To Humans

These research results have raised concerns that HCAs may also be human carcinogens. This is compounded by the results of another different study - in which human volunteers ate 320grams (about 10 ounces) of cooked ground meat patties - which show that most of the HCAs eaten were absorbed into the body.

(In animal studies, most of the cancer - causing chemicals from meat eaten were found to be absorbed into the animals' bodies, where they were activated into cancer-causing chemicals, with only a small percentage excreted unchanged.)

How To Cut Cancer Risks In Mothers

Breastfeeding helps to reduce a mother's cancer risks, besides protecting her health in many other ways. Here are 10 - of many - good reasons why every mother should breastfeed her child.

• Breastfeeding Reduces Your Risk Of Breast Cancer. A fishing community living on boats in the delta of the Pearl River, Hong Kong, always breastfed their babies from one breast only, the right one, because their dress traditionally opened this side. In a study of the relation between breastfeeding and cancer on the womenfolk there done by doctors in 2 hospitals in Hong Kong, it was found that 27 out of 34 women over 55 had breast cancer in the breast which they had not used for feeding. In another hospital-based case-control study conducted in Athens (1989-98) involving 820 patients with confirmed breast cancer, it was found that prolonged breastfeeding (for 24 months and more) reduces breast cancer risk among premenopausal women.
• Breastfeeding Lowers Your Risk Of Developing Endometrial Cancer. In a 10 year WHO collaborative study of data from 6 countries reported in the International Journal Of Epidemiology (June 1995), it was found that long-term lactation significantly reduces the risk of endometrial cancer. The risk was found to be lowest in women who had just recently breastfed their babies.
• Breastfeeding Reduces Your Risk Of Developing Ovarian Cancer. In an analysis of 12 case-control studies, women who had breastfed an infant had a 20% lower risk of ovarian cancer than women who had never breastfed; each month of breastfeeding was associated with a 1% reduction in overall risk.
  

Stop Smoking To Avoid Cancer

Smoking is the most publicised of cancer risks, and there is no question that smoking or using tobacco in any form is one of the worst choices you can make from a health perspective.

According to the AICR, not only does the use of tobacco greatly increse the risk of lung cancer, it also appears to influence some other forms of cancers (as well as significantly increases your risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke).

According to the WHO, lung cancer is currently the biggest killer and the most common of cancer - over 1.3 million cases worldwide and almost 1 million deaths a year.

In Malaysia, the scenario is equally bad. Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of death by cancer of men, claiming hundreds of lives each year.

These needless deaths from lung cancer are preventable. Just follow this simple rule : Do not smoke, or use tobacco in any form. If you currently are not a smoker, don't start. If you smoke, stop it.

Nutritional And Lifestyle Connections

It is generally known that although cancer (a chronic disease) can stem from a genetic predisposition, lifestyle factors including smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, poor diet and inadequate physical activity increase the risks.

But the latest IACR/WRFC study has found that diet and lifestyle factors can actually prevent cancer. The study found that the foods you choose each day are one of the most important factors in helping protect you against cancer.

For example :

• As many as 33% of lung cancers and 75% of colon and rectal cancers could be avoided through dietary choices.
• 33-50% of breast cancers could also be prevent through diet and related factors.
• And eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day can cut cancer risk by as much as 20%.

Choosing healthy foods, particularly a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, gives your body not only the nutrients it needs for good health, but a whole arsenal of compound within food that help protectyou from the naturally occurring cancer risks you face every day.

Eating a healthier diet also can help protect against heart disease, store and a variety of other health problems.

Similarly, maintaining a healthy weight and staying physically active have also been shown to be important in helping your body protect itself against cancer.

There's nothing magic or difficult about these types of lifestyle choices. Don't smoke, eat right, stay active and watch your weight - put them all together and they add up to a formula that can cut cancer risk by up to 75%.

Value life. Choose health. Don't delay. Start today. Just a few simple changes in your lifestyle can help reduce cancer risk for you and your family.

World's Second Leading Killer Disease

Scientists generally concur that most human cancers are caused by exposure to carcinogens encountered in the environment. These include air pollutants, chemical toxins, asbestos, carcinogens in the diet, toxic agents in drinking water, drugs, alcohol and cigarette smoke (see "Poisoning Our Chidren ', Utusan Konsumer, November 1998).

Numerous cancer chemicals also lurk in commonly used products like cosmetics and toiletries (see "Cancer Shock in Cosmetics", Utusan Konsumer, December 1998).

To compound the problem, increases in life expectancy around the world, coupled with growing urbanization and changes in diets and lifestyles, all add up to lead to substantial increases in cancer rates globally.

According to the WHO, the top 10 cancer killers accounting for 60% of all cancer cases and deaths, are those of the lung, stomach, breast, colon-rectum, mouth liver, cervix and oesophagus.

It warns of "global epidemics of cancer and other chronic diseases in the next 2 decades", with the most worrying trend being the number of women developinglung and breast cancer.

Fighting Cancer

From the statistics showed to us every year, it seems inescapable and unstoppable. The statistics are staggering, and the future, foreboding. But we need not join the statistics. The good news is, cancer is preventable. Experts estimate that 30-40% of cancer cases in the world today can be prevented with new changes in our diet and personal habits as well as some of our unhealthy lifestyle.
The American Institute for Cancer research and World Research Fund for Cancer has published a report of their 4-year Diet and Cancer project findings that offer strong new insights into diet and cancer.
The 660-page report, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, examines the relationship between dietary factors and 18 specific cancers and tells us how we can slash cancer rates simply by changing what we eat and how much we exercise.
The report-the first ever international review of diet and cancer, and the most comprehensive report ever in this field - will help set new directions in research, cancer education and future public health policy around the the world

The inability of current breast screening methods to detect cellular changes at an early stage of development, as the Pap test does for cervical cancer, is one reason for the lack of significant reduction in the death rate of breast cancer. The HALO Breast Pap Test is a new test that can help to detect breast cancer in it's early stages. The HALO Breast Pap Test can detect abnormal cells years earlier than a mammogram can detect a lump. This test can help to identify younger women who are at risk for breast cancer.

Comparison of the stages of breast cancer and cervical cancer development

With the understanding that almost all breast cancers begin in the milk ducts, Nipple Aspirate Fluid (NAF) examination allows the determination of benign breast disease, and the attendant increase in relative risk, years before an abnormality becomes visible by imaging or becomes a palpable lesion. Like cervical cancer, breast cancer typically grows slowly, taking, on average, 8 years before it can be detected by mammography, or up to 10 years before the lesion is palpable. The HALO Pap Test for the Breast can discover abnormal cells years before a mammogram and can help to find high risk women before they develop cancer. Virtually all breast cancer originates in the epithelial cells that line the interior of the milk ducts in the breasts. This is why the HALO Breast Pap Test collects nipple fluid that is then analyzed for abnormal cells

Fight Cancer -Fend Off World's Second Biggest Killer

How will it be done? The answer is through diet & lifestyle changes. The word 'cancer' is enough to stroke fear in anyone. There is no cure for the disease according to doctors. It is reported that every 10 seconds, someone dies of (lung) cancer somewhere in the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that almost half a million people die from the disease each year in Europe alone. What is alarming that this dreaded disease is now a growing problem in Asean countries like Malaysia. Figures culled from Press reports show that there was an almost 40% increase in cancer rates in Malaysia from 1990 to 1996. Statistics figures obtained from the Ministry of Health show that Government hospitals throughout the country recorded a total of 11,655 admossions and 1335 deaths for cancer in 1996. Today, cancer is the second biggest killer in the country after road accidents. Every year, some 30,000 new cases continue to be detected in the country. (This figures does not include those who seek help from traditional healers, private hospitals & clinics)
Worldwide, cancer strikes 10 million people and claims 6.3 million lives a year. The WHO has rated it as the second leading killer disease (after coronary heart disease) and has warned that cancer cases are expected to double globally during the next 25 years.
This is hardly suprising when one considers that carcinogens are so prevalent in the enviroment - some examples are tobacco, radiation, asbestos, pesticides, benzene, formaldehyde, steroids, PCBs, air polution and even glues and solvents, municipal incinerators, toxic waste dumps and electromagnetic fields

Ways To Prevent Cancer - 2

Avoid being underweight or overweight and limit weight gain during adulthood to less than 11 pounds (5kg). There is convincing evidence that obesity increases the risk of endometrial cancer - ie cancer of the endometrium (mucous membrane lining the uterus). It probably also increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women and kidney cancer. You should also not increase your weight significantly after age 18, as this may lead to a host of health problems.

Risk Factors
Originally uploaded by ephany

Beware Of Medical Error

Beware of medical care! You could end up with the wrong leg amputated, missing finggers, or AIDS or even permanently paralysed. Worse, you could end up instantly dead!

All these happen without you even knowing that the causes were medical errors because of coverups or your ignorance. It has estimated that for every case of medical error reported, there are 10 cases that ro unreported.

Medical errors - eg; use of the wrong drugs, surgery on the wrong body part or the wrong patient, errors in blood transfusions and improper insertion of medical instruments such as catheters or feeding tubes - have reached crisis proportions in many countries today.

And they are not just confined to hospitals. Doctor's offices, clinics. outpation surgical centres, pharmacies, nursing homes and other medical institutional settings can all pose similar risks.

In 2 studies ( U.S & Australian ), it was found that 8-9% of medical errors occured in a doctor's office, 2-3% at home and 1-2% in nursing homes.

And the problem is not just with doctors. Surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and pharmacist can all goof up, no matter how qualified they are.

A recent report by the U.S Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine estimated that between 2.9 and 3,7 of hospitalisations involve medical errors. Between 8.8 and 13.6% of these adverse incidents lead to death. The percentage may seem small, but the total figures are staggering. Here's a brief glimpse of current statistics in the U.S and elsewhere around the world:

IN THE US, medical errors cause 44,000 - 98,000 unnecessary deaths each year and 1,000,000 excess injuries - striking down more people than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS.

Can Doctors Be Trusted?

Disturbing signs of consumer distruct of hospitals, doctors and modern medical care are becoming obvious with the growing numbers of medical negligence cases and lawsuit reported lately.
These are some of the cases highlighted in the press in Malaysia alone for example:

• A 47 year old women filed a RM100 million suit against the Government, the Health Ministry and the Jitra Hospital after she was given HIV-contaminated blood during a blood transfusion. we also heard similar cases in other countries as well
• A locum doctor employed at Klinik Wanita-Wanita (Womens Clinic) which held a hospital licence, performed a dilation and curettage ('D&C") procedure on a women. It resulted in a perforation of the uterus and severe injuries to her rectum and small intestines. The court awarded her over RM40,000 for damages.
• A 41 year old womwn became a quadriplegic after an operation in the Assunta Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, which damaged her spinal cord. The victim, who is now confined to a wheelchair, said she became paralysed within about 24 hours after the operation following s road accident. In April 1999, the Kuala Lumpur High Court awarded her more than RM500,000 in damages.
• In 1988, a schoolteacher nearly died from an allergic reaction to the drugs prescribed by a clinic in Seberang Jaya, Seberang Perai, Penang
• In 1986, CAP (Consumer Association of Penang) highlighted the case of a women who suffered a mental breakdown after delivery in a private hospital. Two of her babies died. She was not warned she was expecting triplets by the gynaecologist.
• A women was recently reported to have a surgical needle embedded in her vagina after an operation during childbirth in 1995.
• In 1994, 2 women complained that sanitary pad were left inside their vagina after delivery.

The above cases are just the tip of the iceberg. According to CAP's estimates, medical errors could be the second top killer in the country. This raises the inevitable question: Can the Doctor be trusted?

How To Prevent Cancer - 1

Choose predominantly plant-based diets rich in veriety of vegetables and fruits, legumes (beans) and minimally processed starchy staple foods. In general, the best type of diet to prevent cancer is one thatt's based mostly on a variety of plant foods like vege, ruits, legumes (dried beans) and whole grains. The evidence is especially strong for vegetables and fruits, which protect against cancer at many different sites in the body. These foods may prevent cancer directly by providing protective substances such as vitamins, minerals, fibres, phyto-chemicals and other compounds. Or they may also provide indirect protection by helping people cut down on foods of animal origin especially red meats, which are linked to a number of different cancers when eaten in excessive amounts. Plant foods also tend to lower in calories, which can help prevent obesity - a known risk factor for several major cancer.