Healthy Child Healthy World

February is National Cancer Prevention Month and while most everyone focuses on diet, exercise, and quitting smoking as the core ways to prevent cancer - they're forgetting another pillar of prevention: reducing exposure to carcinogens in our everyday environments.

Hundreds of carcinogenic chemicals have been identified and, unfortunately, they're quite common in our air, water, food, and everyday products. Here are some easy ways you can reduce your exposure to them.

1. Purge plastics. Reduce exposure to carcinogens in plastics used for storing and serving food. Avoid microwaving food in plastic or putting plastics in the dishwasher, because heat may cause chemicals to leach out. And opt for safer plastics - those marked (usually at the bottom of a container) 1, 2, 4 or 5. The plastics to avoid are those numbered 3, 6 and 7 (unless they are also marked 'BPA-free')."

2. Eat healthy. Opt for more organic, whole foods. Ease up on animal fats. And, start reading labels. You are what you eat!

3. Manage pests safely. Instead of using toxic pesticides, prevent pests by keeping a clean home. Prevent weeds by using mulch and maintaining a healthy lawn. If you do have a problem, opt for non-toxic methods before reaching for chemicals.

4. Detoxify your beauty routine. Personal care products contain a laundry list of suspect chemicals. Reduce how much you use and to use Skin Deep to find the safest products. You can also print the Healthy Child Pocket Guide to help you on the go.

5. Clean without toxic chemicals. Use gentle castile soap and water - these have been shown to keep surfaces as free of bacteria as antibacterial soaps do. In fact, antibacterial soaps and disposable wipes have not proven any more effective than regular soap in preventing infections among average consumers, but raise significant concerns about developing resistant bacteria. Opt for simple kitchen ingredients for basic cleaning, like vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda - or use natural, non-toxic cleaners instead.

Learn more about the wide variety of carcinogenic chemicals and how you can reduce your exposure:

• US National Institutes of Health 11th Report on Carcinogens
• Breast Cancer Fund's Prevention Starts Here Chemical Fact Sheets

Related Topics:

• 10 Affordable Ways to Make Your House – And the World – Safer and Healthier
• Video: Clean Your Home Safely

Labels: cancer, chemicals, cleaning, eco-friendly, environment, organic, personal care products, pesticides, plastics, prevention

National Radon Action Month

Healthy Child Healthy World

Eddie had never heard of radon until his doctor diagnosed him with radon-induced lung cancer. He didn't smoke, so the diagnosis was entirely unexpected. Eddie quickly learned that you can't see, smell, or taste radon, but it can be present at a dangerous level in your home.


Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America and claims the lives of about 20,000 Americans each year. Exposure to radon is a preventable health risk, and testing radon levels in your home can help prevent unnecessary exposure. Don't wait until it's too late.

Four Things You Can Do

1. Test your home.

• The US EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General recommend that all homes in the U.S. be tested for radon. Testing is easy and inexpensive.
• Purchase a test kit from your local home improvement or hardware store. Many kits are priced under $25.00. You can also order them from the National Radon Program Services at Kansas State University (KSU) or radon testing companies.
• Open the package, place the radon detector in a designated area, and, after a set number of days, send the detector back to a lab for analysis. The lab will then inform you of your radon test results.
• Another option is to hire a qualified tester.
• For additional information on obtaining test kits and test kit coupons, visit National Radon Program Services. Contact your state radon program - details available from the EPA at"Where You Live" - for more information about obtaining test kits from your state or from a radon testing company or laboratory in your area.

2. Attend a National Radon Action Month event in your area.

• Look for radon events in your community. Contact your state radon program for more information about local radon activities.

3. Spread the word.

• Tell your family and friends about the health risks of radon. Encourage them to test their homes.
• Plan an activity in your community to help raise awareness.
• Write an op-ed or letter to the editor. View tips and a sample op-ed and letter to the editor from EPA's National Radon Action Month Event Planning Kit.
• Attract media attention by working with a local official to get a radon proclamation. View tips and a sample proclamation from EPA's National Radon Action Month Event Planning Kit.

4. Buy a radon-resistant home.

• If you are considering buying a new home, look for builders who use radon-resistant new construction.

Learn more by calling 1-800-SOS-RADON.

Information provided by the US EPA National Radon Action Month campaign.

Related Topics:

• Video: Radon Dangers
• Breathe Easy: 5 Ways to Improve Indoor Air Quality
• Video: Filtering Household Air

Labels: air quality, cancer, environment, home, radon

by Christopher Gavigan

Like the out of control cell growth at the root of the disease, cancer itself has become rampant in our population. And, while new treatments are curtailing mortality rates (which are still at an abominable 1,500+ people daily), an increasing number of people are still being diagnosed. Without knowing statistics, most of us can tell how invasive it's become. Almost everyone's lives have been touched by cancer these days - compared to a generation ago when it was still a relatively new disease.

In a December 6th New York Times op-ed, Nicholas Kristof cites Dr. Philip Landrigan, the chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai , saying "that the risk that a 50-year-old white woman will develop breast cancer has soared to 12 percent today, from 1 percent in 1975. (Some of that is probably a result of better detection.) Younger people also seem to be developing breast cancer: This year a 10-year-old in California, Hannah, is fighting breast cancer and recording her struggle on a blog...Childhood leukemia is increasing by 1 percent per year." And, that's only one tiny snapshot of how cancer is impacting the population.

In 2009, the National Institutes of Health estimated the 2008 overall annual costs of cancer were $228.1 billion. That includes health care costs, as well as loss of productivity due to illness or death. Many billions more are spent every year on research to find new treatments and cures for cancer. It's one of the most common diseases and one of the most costly. Why, then, is there so little focus on prevention?

Typically, when cancer prevention is discussed, it involves lifestyle factors such as quitting smoking or using sunscreen. Over time, the discussion has even merged with the world of nutrition with new research being done regarding cancer-preventing diets, finding foods and herbs and the like that appear to have protective qualities.

But, we're still missing a major piece of the equation. Conspicuously absent from the conversation are avoidable environmental and chemical risks. What good is it to eat well and exercise in an attempt to stay healthy, if all of your best efforts are counterbalanced by subtle, on-going exposure to carcinogens in everyday products? This is the not-so-new frontier of prevention through carcinogen reduction (Dr. Samuel Epstein, international leading authority on the causes and prevention of cancer, has been preaching this commonsense approach for over two decades).

What can you do?

1. Purge plastics. Kristof's op-ed, titled "Cancer From the Kitchen," outlines how to reduce exposure to carcinogens in from plastics used for storing and serving food. The doctors he asked said "avoid microwaving food in plastic or putting plastics in the dishwasher, because heat may cause chemicals to leach out. And the symposium handed out a reminder card listing 'safer plastics' as those marked (usually at the bottom of a container) 1, 2, 4 or 5. It suggests that the 'plastics to avoid' are those numbered 3, 6 and 7 (unless they are also marked 'BPA-free')."


2. Eat healthy. Opt for more organic, whole foods. Ease up on animal fats. And, start reading labels. You are what you eat!


3. Manage pests safely. Instead of using toxic pesticides, prevent pests by keeping a clean home. Prevent weeds by using mulch and maintaining a healthy lawn. If you do have a problem, opt for non-toxic methods before reaching for chemicals.


4. Detoxify your beauty routine. Personal care products contain a laundry list of suspect chemicals. Reduce how much you use and to use Skin Deep to find the safest products. You can also print the Healthy Child Pocket Guide to help you on the go.


5. Clean without toxic chemicals. Use gentle castile soap and water - these have been shown to keep surfaces as free of bacteria as antibacterial soaps do. In fact, antibacterial soaps and disposable wipes have not proven any more effective than regular soap in preventing infections among average consumers, but raise significant concerns about developing resistant bacteria. Opt for simple kitchen ingredients for basic cleaning, like vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda - or use natural, non-toxic cleaners instead.

Resources and more daily tools and information:

• Healthy Child Healthy World
• Cancer Prevention Coalition
• Breast Cancer Fund

Related Topics:

• Safer Food For A Healthier You
• The Best Non-Toxic Ways to Clean Your Home

Labels: cancer, chemicals, environment, health and wellness, prevention

by Sheryl Crow

Being diagnosed with cancer was a life changing experience for me, as it is for anyone. One of the most significant shifts has been in the way I look at my body and what I put in it. When I was undergoing radiation, I began working with Nutritionist Rachel Bellar in order to eat foods that would help boost my immune system.

After working with her, I learned how to eat "defensively." I had never understood before how vital food was for protecting the body from sickness and disease. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute, serious diseases that are linked to what we eat are the culprits in three out of four American deaths each year. And, recent research estimates that 35% of cancer deaths could be prevented through improved nutrition.

We truly are what we eat and what we put in our bodies matters to our long-term health. Rachel taught me this and I am so grateful to have worked with her. Her in-depth knowledge of how certain foods and spices are vital to promoting wellness throughout the body has become an integral part of my lifestyle after surviving cancer.

Even more importantly, having cancer made me re-think and re-define family - resulting in my greatest joy, my son Wyatt. As parents often joke, kids don't come with instruction manuals. Parenting is a constant challenge of self-education. One thing I do know, though, is that Wyatt is benefiting from what I learned from Rachel. And, I feel like I am giving my son one of the greatest gifts a mother can - the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

Here are some of our favorite foods that pack enormous nutritional value (including anti-cancer benefits), and the ways we make them fun and tasty for both of us. Truly, toddler tested, mother approved.

1. Whole Grains

• What to look for: whole grain breads, pastas, brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, etc.
• How to make it: quinoa crusted chicken fingers, whole grain pita personal pizza, steel cut oatmeal cookies, vegetable barley soup

2. Beans

• 

  Photo: pizzodisevo
  What to look for: garbanzo, navy bean, kidney beans, lentils, etc.
• How to make it: hummus (use whole grain pita or raw veggies for dipping), puree navy beans and add to mashed potatoes, black bean nachos

3. Berries

• What to look for: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
• How to make it: whole grain berry muffins, yogurt berry parfait

4. Tomatoes

• 

  Photo: The Ewan
  What to look for: tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice (cooking releases the cancer-fighting lycopene)
• How to make it: pasta and pizza sauce, creamy tomato soup

5. Cruciferous Vegetables

• What to look for: cabbage and members of its family including cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts
• How to make it: steam it and serve warm or cold (in funny shapes for tentative toddlers), also good in stir fry, and soups

6. Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

• What to look for: spinach, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, kale, leaf lettuce
• How to make it: use to wrap favorite cheese or chicken, chiffonade and toss into pasta or pizza sauce, toss into green smoothies

7. Grapes and Grape Juice

• 

  Photo: artslyz
  What to look for: red or purple grapes (the dark colored skin is the main source of nutrition)
• How to make it: Enjoy as is, frozen grapes are a great summer treat (but can be a choking hazard for small children)

8. Walnuts

• What to look for: whole, natural walnuts without additives or preservatives
• How to make it: add walnuts and bananas to oatmeal, crush and toss into pastas and salads, mince and add to muffins and pancakes

However you decide to fix your food, eat a healthy, diverse diet. And remember, real foods, not supplements, are best for your body. The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends that at least 2/3 of your plate should be filled with vegetables, fruit, whole grains and beans. Start your children young and let them reap the rewards of healthy eating habits for a lifetime.

Related Topics:

• Nutrition to Help You Fight Cancer
• WebMD Video: Eating the Right Foods After Cancer
• Health eHome
• WebMD Cancer Message Boards
• Get the latest information from our Cancer newsletter

Labels: cancer, children's health, food, nutrition, prevention

Our guest blogger is Devra Lee Davis, PhD, MPH, Director, Center for Environmental Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and author of The Secret History of the War on Cancer.

At the Center for Environmental Oncology, our mission is helping to make prevention the cure for cancer. We translate scientific findings into educational materials and public policy recommendations to provide information on practical actions people can take to reduce the risk of cancer. Knowledge about cancer risks can empower people to make healthier choices for themselves their families and communities.

Myth: Chemical flame retardants in furniture and plastics are a "necessary evil" for preventing house fires.

Toxic flame retardants, long-lived chemicals that can accumulate in people and other animals, threaten the health of adults, children, the environment, and wildlife and are not proven to prevent fire deaths. Brominated Tris, a chemical used to make children's sleepwear fire resistant in the 70's, was banned in 1977 after it was found to damage DNA in laboratory tests and shown to leach into children's bodies. Its replacement, chlorinated Tris, was later banned after it was found to also damage DNA. (1)

Today, because of California law, much furniture and bedding foam is treated with a brominated chemical called poly brominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). PBDE's structurally resemble chlorinated Tris, which was a widely used fire retardant in furniture. Like chlorinated Tris, PBDE was recently deemed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to be "a probable human carcinogen based on sufficient evidence in animals." (2) most chemicals in this family, when tested in animals, have been found to cause health problems like cancer, sterility, thyroid disorders, endocrine disruption, and developmental impairment or birth defects, even at very low doses. (3, 4) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that residues of these and other persistent organic chemicals are found in children and women of reproductive age and in breast milk. (5) An analysis of fire data from 1980 to 2002 showed that, among the eight most populated states in the U.S., the rate of reduction of fire deaths in California (the only state with regulations leading to the use of fire retardant chemicals) is similar to seven other states that do not regulate the flammability of furniture. (6)

Myth: Asbestos, a known carcinogen, has been banned in the US.

Although restricted in use, asbestos is not banned and can sometimes be found in old brakes, roofing tiles, cement and insulation. Asbestos, the name given to a number of naturally occurring, fibrous silicate minerals mined for their useful properties such as thermal insulation and high tensile strength, is found in many products today, including roofing shingles, pipeline wrap, ceiling and floor tiles, paper and cement products, and in automobile parts such as the clutch, brake and transmission. Additionally, the EPA reports that 35 million American homes may be contaminated with asbestos in their attics in the form of Zonolite, the trade name for one specific type of insulation that was sold in the 1960s through 1980s and can contain an asbestos fiber called tremolite.

Asbestos is made up of microscopic bundles of fibers that may become airborne when asbestos-containing materials are damaged or disturbed. When inhaled, asbestos fibers can lead to serious lung diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. If it must be disturbed or removed, asbestos should be handled only by a licensed inspector. Children should never play in attics or other areas where asbestos products have been used. (7) According to reports from several national cancer institutes (8), one in three cases of mesothelioma—a lethal and rare cancer uniquely tied with asbestos exposure—occurs today in a person who has never worked with asbestos, indicating that environmental exposures may play a role.

Myth: Personal care products are always safe to use.

The FDA does not have the authority to require safety testing on personal care products. Many of the products that women, men, and children use every day contain known and suspected cancer-causing agents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has undertaken a human biomonitoring study, reports that some of the toxic chemicals found in personal care products - including those that can cause cancer, interfere with hormone function and cause birth defects - are ending up in our bodies. (9, 10) These toxic chemicals include: lead in lipstick, phthalates and formaldehyde in nail polish, and parabens, used as preservatives in many products. the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics created Skin Deep Database, which can be searched to evaluate make up; skin-, hair-, eye-, nail-, baby-, and oral-, care products; and products containing fragrance.

Myth: Diagnostic radiation is safe for adults or children.

In 2007, the American College of Radiology (ACR) noted that in the past quarter century, the amount of radiation the U.S. population receives each year from medical imaging has increased fivefold. (11) Just this past month, the FDA issued an advisory to physicians regarding the inappropriate use of diagnostic radiation in children (12), while the Image Gently national campaign is encouraging pediatricians to use as low as reasonable achievable doses. (13)
A single CT scan of a child's stomach or head can be equivalent to between 200 to 6,000 chest X-rays. (14) One group of researchers, recently estimated that in one year, 700 people will die from cancers associated with head CT's and 1,800 will die from radiation-induced cancer from abdominal examinations carried out when they were infants. (15) If a CT scan is recommended for a healthy individual, especially a child, it is important to consider whether another diagnostic tool, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or ultrasound (neither of which involve radiation) could be used, instead.

References

1. A. Blum and B.N. Ames, Flame Retardant Additives as Possible Cancer Hazards: The main flame retardant in children's pajamas is a mutagen and should not be used. Science 195, 17. (1977)
2. The National Academies, Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering and Medicine,"The Science Behind Today's News," [Website]
3. J.A. Dye, M. Venier, C.R. Ward, L.Y. Zhu, R.A. Hites, L.S. Flame retardants in animals: Pet cats in the U.S. have high polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) serum levels. Birnbaum Society of Toxicology. Annual meeting Abstract number 853. (2007)
4. Tomy, G. T.; Palace, V. P.; Halldorson, T.; Braekevelt, E.; Danell, R.; Wautier, K.; Evans, B.; Brinkworth, L.; Fisk, A. T., Bioaccumulation, biotransformation, and biochemical effects of brominated diphenyl ethers in juvenile lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Environmental Science & Technology, 38, (5), 1496-1504. (2004)
5. Schecter A, Pavuk M, Papke O, Ryan JJ, BirnbaumL, Rosen R. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE's) in U.S. Mothers' Milk. EHP 111(14)1723-1729. (2003)
6. California fire deaths compared to other states: National Fire Protection Association, Fire Death Rates By State, [Website]
7. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/help.html#pastandpresent http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/ashome.html
8. Davis, Devra. The Secret History of the War on Cancer, Basic Books, New York. (October 2007), pps. 310, 471.
9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals [Website] (2001-2004)
10. Malkan S. Not Just Another Pretty Face: The Ugly Truth about the Cosmetic Industry. New Society Publishers; 1 edition (November 1, 2007)
11. Amis, E S, Butler, P. F., and Applegate, K.E., et al. (2007) American College of Radiology White Paper on Radiation Dose in Medicine. J AM Coll Radiol, 4, 272-284.
12. US Food And Drug Administration: FDA Public Health Notification: Reducing Radiation Risk from Computed Tomography for Pediatric and Small Adult Patients [Website]
13. American College of Radiology, Image Gently Campaign, [Website]
14. Brenner D, Elliston C, Hall E, Berdon W. 2001."Estimated risks of radiation-induced fatal cancer from pediatric CT." AJR 176(2): 289-96.
15. Brenner, D, Elliston C, Hall E, Berdon W., "Estimated risks of radiation-induced fatal cancer from pediatric CT." AJR 176 (2): 289-96/

Related Topics:

• Health eHome
• Going Green: Eco-Friendly Tips & Advice
• Cancer Newsletter - Get the latest information in your inbox

Labels: cancer, chemicals, children's health, environment, health and wellness