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Ninety-seven percent of Americans “are contaminated with a widely-used sunscreen ingredient called oxybenzone that has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage,” revealed the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study, which was circulated March 25, 2008.
In a separate study published a day earlier showed that “oxybenzone, which is also a penetration enhancer, a chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin is linked to low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy.”
About 910 sunscreens (facial, body, lipsticks) sold in the United States contain oxybenzone.
The Environmental Working Group stated that “84 percent of 910 name-brand sunscreen products offer inadequate protection from the sun, or contain ingredients, like oxybenzone, with significant safety concerns.”
Swimming pool water may also be contaminated by bathers who wear sunscreen.
Chemical-free organic sunscreen, although more expensive, is an option.
Obesity adds to global warming
While this may sound funny or weird, obesity does contribute to global warming, reported a team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine via Reuter (Geneva).
The study stated that “obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size.”
“We are all becoming heavier and it is a global responsibility. Obesity is a key part of the big picture ... This adds to food shortages and higher energy prices,” wrote Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts, the school’s researchers, in the journal Lancet.
According to the World Health Organization, at least 400 million adults worldwide are obese, and it “projects by 2015, 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese.”
Length of sex
There is a general impression that sex lasts longer than it actually does.
To set the record straight, a survey was conducted by 34 sex therapists in the United and Canada, 45 percent of whom were men with an average clinical experience of 26 years.
Their findings revealed that “sex lasts between 3 minutes to 13 minutes, with 3-7 minutes deemed ‘acceptable’ and 7 to 13 minutes dubbed ‘desirable’.”
“Many sex therapists consider coitus that lasts as little as 3 minutes to be of adequate length,” according to the researchers, who included Eric Corty, PhD, of Penn State Erie.
Dr. Corty and his associates stated in the May edition of The Journal of Sexual Medicine that “the survey may correct the public’s ‘unrealistic’ expectations for sexual performance to last longer.”
Indeed, this scientific study is a reality check and a relief for both men and women.
Folic acid ‘ineffective’
Folic Acid and vitamin B supplements, once thought to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by significantly lowering the blood level of the amino acid homocysteine (a major CVD risk), have been found to be ineffective in reducing heart disease and stroke.
In a seven-year clinical research involving 5,000 women at high risk for CVD, it was shown that Folic Acid (Vitamin B-9) and vitamins B-6 and B-12 decreased the homocysteine level by 18.5 percent but failed to reduce the rate of cardiovascular events, according to the study that was published in the May 7 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers reported that their results “are consistent with prior randomized trials performed primarily among men with established vascular disease and do not support the use of folic acid and B vitamin supplements as preventive interventions for (cardiovascular disease) in these high-risk fortified populations.”
‘Deadly’ canned soda
In the past, we have alluded to the extra high sugar contents of soft drinks which, together with other high-carbo foods, contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. All types of soft drinks, including the diet or light version, have also been implicated in a “grand slam” condition so called Metabolic Syndrome (combination of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease/stroke), a triple slap of major illnesses.
This topic today relates to an incident where a woman, on a Sunday boating trip, drank a can of soft drink from a boat refrigerator. She fell ill and was taken to the hospital the following day. She died two days later. The autopsy revealed she died of Leptospirosis, a deadly infection caused by dried rat urine, which contains highly toxic substances. Obviously, the can from which the victim drank, without washing, was contaminated with rat urine. These canned beverages (and all canned, bottled and packaged foods) are typically stored in warehouses prior to distribution to stores, where rodents may be present in either places.
For canned soft drinks, its best to clean the top before opening, to use a straw or to drink from a glass. Obviously, general precautions must be taken for anything we ingest.
