Childhood Asthma Out of Control

Childhood Asthma Out of Control – Like World-Wide Air Pollution
Below is an article on Childhood Asthma extracted from the study shown in detail on the Nycomed website. Nycomed funded the study. The presentation here is meant only to mention the survey findings, not to advocate for any treatment or assess the risks of such treatment. No mention of prevention or cause is in this article but clearly strong international controls on allowed levels of pollution from energy generation and local controls in the case of such things as diesel motors and single cycle engine use need to be aggressively pursued. One of those controls is Cap and Trade based on 100% participation in International Agreements such as Kyoto.

Heart Health for Women (and Men!)

Heart Health Excellent Overview
By Woman’s Day Staff Feb 19 2010
You’re never too young—or too old—to start lowering your heart disease risk. Of course, exercising, eating healthy and reducing stress are key throughout life, but due to physiological changes that happen as we age, certain risk factors do become more of a threat.
In Your 20s
Stub Out a Social Smoking Habit
Smoking is enemy number one when it comes to heart disease, and even just a few cigarettes can do damage: New research from McGill University in

Bad and Worse Everyday Use Chemicals

Many recent articles on ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products that cause adverse skin reactions provide valuable information under certain circumstances of use. Unfortunately the circumstances of use are not included in such articles and conclusions as to risks for “harm” are misleading.
Dividing these into risk categories and discussing the risk based on circumstances of use and discussing what can be done to reduce risks with such products might be helpful. Groups such as the Environmental Working Group should be supported in their efforts to make improvements, especially their efforts to add labels with ingredients to products that are ingested. The risks with intake of chemicals into the body with breathing or with eating and drinking need to be prioritized above that of cosmetics that are designed to be used on skin only.

Eleven Cancer Prevention Tips

Thanks to the Environmental Working Group for the great article that is the basis of this post, Nine Cancer Prevention Tips. I have rearranged and augmented and tried to stress points that sometimes get missed. Here goes…

Live Longer

Live Longer
We know a few things that have been proven, at least empirically, to shorten our lives. Not all of them are well-recognized.
The first thing to avoid is smoking. I think we all understand this one. This includes avoiding breathing second-hand smoke and avoiding diesel fumes from unfiltered buses. Live away from major bus routes (or avoid drift-in fumes) if you live in a city that has old unfiltered buses like many, including the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, otherwise famous

Too Much Salt In Our Diets

Too Much Salt?
Salt is essential to life. As described in the book Salt, in the past it has been precious and it has been a factor in world history. Our bodies attempt to save salt and this begins to become a problem for our heart (with excess fluid causing heart failure for example), blood pressure and edema (swelling, particularly of the feet and ankles, thanks to gravity).