CSI: Carpe Diem - A New Kind of Fish Story
Frozen feminized fish, a stash of money under the victim's bed, small vials of unidentified liquid, mysterious text messages, and man boobs add up to a great Thursday night on CSI.
When they finally put all the pieces of this puzzle together (after taking us through some pretty stretchy, twisty passages, I might add), I wondered whether it was really plausible for drinking water to be so tainted with chemical waste from pharmaceutical dumping that it would cause a teenage boy to have gynecomastia, and for that matter, possibly contribute to his mother's breast cancer, or its recurrence.
Dr. Joe Pizzorno, our Integrative Medicine and Wellness expert, says "there are many unregulated toxins in tap water that can certainly cause us harm." In 2005, the Environmental Working Group found 260 toxins present in tap water, and of those, over half are not currently regulated by the EPA. (On the up side, though, they also found over 90% compliance levels with those that ARE regulated). Most of these unregulated toxins are the byproducts of industrial chemical, unregulated pharmaceutical, and personal care products dumped into streams and rivers.
In my California corner of the world, I battle hard water deposits on a daily basis. I think this is the only area I've ever lived where the tap water looks crunchy when it's half-dry on the side of the sink. After reading the EWP report, there was no way I was going to go into the kitchen and pour myself a big glass of anything that came from a faucet. Feeling slimed, I asked Dr. Pizzorno what I should do to avoid those toxins. He suggests the following:
The other exclamation point to the show tonight was their conclusion with regard the cause of death for Brian, the teenage victim. After hypothesizing that he was preparing for sex change surgery (he wasn't), checking to see if he carried an extra X Chromosome (Klinefelter syndrome), they were out of ideas. Ultimately, they concluded that Brian committed suicide after being ridiculed and rejected by co-workers and the women they were with because of his large breasts.
Is it common for men with gynecomastia to struggle with depression or other psychological effects (not to mention the possibility of hormonal reasons for depression)? This time I asked Louanne Cole Weston, PhD, our sex expert, about her experience with men who have enlarged breasts. Here's what she says:
I also discovered that breast reduction surgery for males is on the rise, partly because gynecomastia is a common occurrence, particularly in puberty. Although waiting and maintaining a healthy weight seem to be the best option, surgery can be an option for those cases which don't respond to traditional treatments.
The CSI writers get a thumbs-up from me for dealing with some important issues in this episode, and based on the ending, I think there's a possibility we will see some future storylines relating to the fight to hold the polluters accountable.
Finally, a hurrah for Grissom's offhand marriage proposal to Sarah and her equally offhand acceptance, though I'm a bit concerned that the sting of a bee at the moment of Grissom's proposal is an omen of something unpleasant to come. Workplace romances are tricky things. Will it really last? How does this fit with the news that Jorja Fox is leaving the show in November? What do you think?
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Technorati Tags: CSI, body image, depression, gynecomastia, toxic waste, pollution, environment
***Spoiler Alert -- Stop here if you don't want to know more ***
When they finally put all the pieces of this puzzle together (after taking us through some pretty stretchy, twisty passages, I might add), I wondered whether it was really plausible for drinking water to be so tainted with chemical waste from pharmaceutical dumping that it would cause a teenage boy to have gynecomastia, and for that matter, possibly contribute to his mother's breast cancer, or its recurrence.
Dr. Joe Pizzorno, our Integrative Medicine and Wellness expert, says "there are many unregulated toxins in tap water that can certainly cause us harm." In 2005, the Environmental Working Group found 260 toxins present in tap water, and of those, over half are not currently regulated by the EPA. (On the up side, though, they also found over 90% compliance levels with those that ARE regulated). Most of these unregulated toxins are the byproducts of industrial chemical, unregulated pharmaceutical, and personal care products dumped into streams and rivers.
In my California corner of the world, I battle hard water deposits on a daily basis. I think this is the only area I've ever lived where the tap water looks crunchy when it's half-dry on the side of the sink. After reading the EWP report, there was no way I was going to go into the kitchen and pour myself a big glass of anything that came from a faucet. Feeling slimed, I asked Dr. Pizzorno what I should do to avoid those toxins. He suggests the following:Choose your drinking water carefully, and treat it as an all-important aspect of your diet when it comes to quality. Even if you live in a region where watersheds are fairly clean, you are likely to need some type of home water-filtering system, unless you'd prefer to buy high-quality bottled water. We like solid-block carbon filters (especially the kind that can be installed under the sink). Reverse osmosis filters are also an excellent way to achieve high-quality drinking water.Carbon filters, here I come. No question about it.
The other exclamation point to the show tonight was their conclusion with regard the cause of death for Brian, the teenage victim. After hypothesizing that he was preparing for sex change surgery (he wasn't), checking to see if he carried an extra X Chromosome (Klinefelter syndrome), they were out of ideas. Ultimately, they concluded that Brian committed suicide after being ridiculed and rejected by co-workers and the women they were with because of his large breasts.
Is it common for men with gynecomastia to struggle with depression or other psychological effects (not to mention the possibility of hormonal reasons for depression)? This time I asked Louanne Cole Weston, PhD, our sex expert, about her experience with men who have enlarged breasts. Here's what she says:
I have treated several men in my practice who have had gynecomastia and had one friend who also had it. From my small sample alone, I can say that this can occur regardless of sexual orientation. No matter what zone of the world a male inhabits, gynecomastia can be a challenge to live with.Dr. Weston was also emphatic about the emotional damage ridicule can do to teenage boys in Brian's situation. She says "It's entirely possible that a teenage male could consider and carry out suicide because of gynecomastia. They do it over romantic relationships that go awry. Young people can be so terribly cruel when it comes to body image issues. Suicide could seem like an answer to constant ridicule."
Young boys tend to resort to loose fitting clothes and the avoidance of public swimming. For some, it is so upsetting that they try to distract themselves with unhealthy habits like overeating (which can inadvertently add breast tissue) and self-numbing with substances as teens and later. The seeming feminization of the male body can lead to confusion about gender identity and/or orientation -- among other types of psychological discomfort.
I also discovered that breast reduction surgery for males is on the rise, partly because gynecomastia is a common occurrence, particularly in puberty. Although waiting and maintaining a healthy weight seem to be the best option, surgery can be an option for those cases which don't respond to traditional treatments.
The CSI writers get a thumbs-up from me for dealing with some important issues in this episode, and based on the ending, I think there's a possibility we will see some future storylines relating to the fight to hold the polluters accountable.
Finally, a hurrah for Grissom's offhand marriage proposal to Sarah and her equally offhand acceptance, though I'm a bit concerned that the sting of a bee at the moment of Grissom's proposal is an omen of something unpleasant to come. Workplace romances are tricky things. Will it really last? How does this fit with the news that Jorja Fox is leaving the show in November? What do you think?
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: CSI, body image, depression, gynecomastia, toxic waste, pollution, environment
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