Curious Cat
My Time: 4:32
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You are looking at posts that were written in the month of August in the year 2008.
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My Time: 4:32
Click on the image or here to go to the puzzle.
My Time: 4:38
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Our local television news last week had an item about the toxins in air fresheners. I always have to remind myself that the general public isn’t aware of things like this - so it really is news to many people.
The news article was based on research by Anne Steinemann, a University of Washington professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs. She did a study of some top-selling laundry products and air fresheners after having many people tell how these products made them sick. Her study found nearly 100 volatile organic compounds were emitted from the six products studied. And, of course, none of them were listed on the labels.
I found this article from the University of Washington News that gave pretty much the facts of the study:
Toxic chemicals found in common scented laundry products, air fresheners
It references the following 3 articles. As I read through them, I saw certain biases. One article was quick to point out that 2 of the items found in the products were no longer considered carcinogens. It seemed they threw that in to downplay all of the findings. Other articles quote Fragrance Industry bigwigs saying that everything used is safe at the levels they are used. How do they know that? If something is a carcinogen, is there really a safe exposure level?
About That Clean, Fresh Scent . . .
Fresh scent may hide toxic secret
Some scented household products contain chemicals classified as toxic, UW study finds
To my way of thinking, they should be required to list ALL of the ingredients and let the public decide. Some of us already are. I know I only buy products that I can read the full ingredients on. Perhaps we all need to be more vocal about this to the companies that make these products?
As requested, I have added a variety of t-shirts in Cafe Press. So far, I’ve added 3 designs in a variety of colors and shirt styles. I also added more colors for the posters. I’m working on more that I hope to have up this week. I have at least two more t-shirts planned and some coffee mugs.
Check out my shop: Breathe Free Shop.
Leave a comment below if there is something else you would like to see.
Tuesday’s post was actually written last week. So I found it interesting that the Cathy comic on Sunday addressed the same topic.
I’m not sure how long the comic will be up, so I’ll describe it here. Cathy and her girlfriends are at a restaurant. The waitress asks “What will you have?” The first 3 ladies say “Diet Soda!” But the last lady announces that she no longer drinks diet soda. She goes on to tell the group that the aspartame in diet soda has been linked to migraines, panic attacks, seizures, skin problems, weight gain, intestinal disorders, lupus, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, blindness and death! At that point, Cathy escorts her away from their table. And they start over. And again they each order diet soda. And then from another table, the fourth lady says, “Also denial and memory loss.”
I’m not trying to say that I’m any better than any of them. I’ve been as guilty as anyone of continuing habits that I know are bad for me. It’s just part of human nature, it seems. If it’s something we like or we perceive is good, then no amount of evidence will change it. It seems the only time we change those bad habits is when they threaten our health. (Even then, we don’t always heed the warnings.)
Although the title of this blog suggests it is strictly about inhaled substances, I really like to address all things related to MCS or Environmental Illness or even Randolph’s Disease. This week the topic is excitotoxins. From the book, The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., an excitotoxin is
one of a group of substances, usually acidic amino acids, that in high amounts react with specialized receptors in the brain, causing destruction of certain types of neurons.
These would include aspartame (aka Nutrasweet) and monosodium glutamate (aka MSG). Having a background in Biology, I knew from Biochemistry class (thanks, Dr. Phillips, wherever you are!) that aspartame and monosodium glutamate were amino acids. It puzzled me that something that is required for human life (amino acids are what proteins are made of) could also produce migraines in me.
Aspartame is widely used as an artificial sweetener. And MSG is ubiquitous in its use as a flavor enhancer - not just your Chinese food. Read your labels. It’s in nearly every commercial soup, salad dressing, sauce.
(Well except one well known commercial soup maker has a line of soups called “Healthy Request” which has no MSG, among other things. Which begs the question: If the ones without MSG are labeled healthy, what does that make the others? But, I digress.)
Glutamate (found in MSG) and aspartate (found in aspartame)
are two powerful amino acids that act as neurotransmitters in the brain in very small concentrations, … In higher concentrations as food additives, these chemicals constantly stimulate brain cells and can cause them to undergo a process of cell death known as excitotoxicity - the cells are excited to death.
That doesn’t sound like anything you want going on in your brain, right? And what about the developing brains of children? I admit I used to consume both of these, until the MCS got to the point that they caused migraines. If only I had known all of this long ago… I’ve now opted for less sugar, rather than sugar substitutes. As for MSG? Really the only reason it is used is b/c you can use less of the more expensive spices when you add MSG as a flavor enhancer.
Dr. Dean also says:
A growing number of neurosurgeons and neurologists are convinced that excitotoxins play a critical role in the development of several neurological disorders, including migraines, seizures, learning disorders in children, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
I bought Dr. Dean’s book for the information about Magnesium and why we need it. But she has good information on other topics as well. You can also check out Dr. Dean’s web site.
