Green Living Now News, Edition Five
Green Living Now News, Edition
Five
1. Soy: Wonder Food, Or Bad
For
Your Health?
Chances are you've heard about the many alleged
health
benefits from eating soy foods, such as: lowering your
cholesterol, helping with menopausal symptoms, warding
off osteoporosis, and even reducing the risks of some cancers.
Are these true? Hard to know for sure.
But Have You Heard that...
Soy contains something called, "phyto-oestrogens",
and
studies have now linked these phytoestrogens with an
INCREASED risk of certain types of cancer (including
breast), reduced male fertility, damaging brain function
in men, and causing hidden developmental abnormalities
in infants. Some researchers even believe that the early
onset of puberty in western women is due to the spread
of soy in our diets. Also, a Swedish study showed that
soy, like peanuts, could be responsible for severe,
potentially fatal cases of food allergy, particularly in
asthmatic children who were sensitive to peanuts.
So You Don't Eat Tofu or Drink Soy Milk...
but if you thought that only "earthy crunchy
tofu types" and
Asian people eat soy, guess what? It's in more than 70%
of the food in grocery stores and fast food chains. Yup,
it's an invisible ingredient in nearly everything we eat, from
breakfast cereals and chocolate bars, to chicken nuggets, beef
burgers, and lasagna. Much of it is genetically engineered
(a bad thing), unless it's certified organic.
Soy contains a potent enzyme (trypsin) inhibitor
which affects
protein digestion. In test animals, diets high in trypsin inhibitors
cause enlargement and pathological conditions of the pancreas,
including cancer. Soybeans also contain hemagglutinin, a clot
promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together.
Trypsin inhibitors and hemagglutinin have been rightly
labeled growth depressant substances. Luckily this isn't a
problem with fermented soy, like tempeh, natto and miso.
Why is soy used so extensively?
Believe it or not, soy is used to "bulk
out"and bind many
processed foods because it's cheap and it allows food
companies to claim higher protein content on their label.
You might not know that soy was in your food because
sometimes it's labeled as "lecithin" or just vegetable
oil.
Any Negative Environmental Effects?
You bet... 90% of the 200 million tons of soy
produced around
the world is used to feed animals. So, that means it's in most
meats we eat. Sadly, a high demand for soy has led to a 40%
jump in deforestation in the Amazon rainforests. I've read that
giant
bulldozers linked together with huge metal chains drive through
the forests, literally tearing up everything in their paths. How
disgusting! Indigenous tribes who have lived in the forest for
thousands of years are the worst hit by these land clearances.
Loss of trees leads to flooding and changes in local climate.
And, of course there are the ill health affects from breathing
the chemicals sprayed on the soy.
Is There Anything Good About Soy?
Yes, fermented soy, like natto, miso, and tempeh
are still
considered a "health food". They contain the enzyme,
nattokinase, which is considered a safer option to aspirin
because it has been dissolving blood clots for more than
20 years, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola. Fermented soy
also stops the effect of the phytic acid in soy which binds
with certain nutrients and inhibits their absorption. The
fermentation creates the "good" bacteria, the probiotics.
Probiotics are very important to our bodies (especially if you
are taking antibiotics which kills them off along with the bad
bacteria). They help increase the quantity, availability,
digestibility and assimilation of nutrients in the body.
Sprouted organic soy (which is in the organic
food bars that
I sell) is also considered healthy. As I understand it, the
sprouted soy doesn't have the trypsin inhibitors, is a "live"
food full of enzymes (something we lose as we age), and
is not concentrated, like tofu.
So, there you have it. If you choose to
eat soy, make it
certified organic, and fermented or sprouted.
2. Asthma
Anyone?
Then please read on...
In a study of more than 7,000 children, those born into homes
using the most household chemicals, including bleach, disinfectant,
air fresheners, and cleaning fluids, were twice as likely to suffer
from
persistent wheezing, often a precursor to asthma.
The data comes from Bristol University's "Children
of the 90's" Project,
which has been following a group of children in the Avon area of
England since early 1990. The study was published in Thorax, and
correlates health with information about their homes and lifestyle.
The information was considered highly reliable as the researchers
knew the participants in the study well.
So, what does it tell us?
Hold your sponges, mops, and aerosols, people.
Though
"cleanliness is (or may be) next to godliness" it also
seems to
lead to persistent wheezing throughout early childhood (independent
of many other factors) in children who's mothers use a lot of
chemically based cleaning products during their pregnancy.
Before giving birth, the mothers in the study
were asked how often
they used certain chemical based products. Then the households were
divided up into categories based on "total chemical burden.
The
research team then compared the chemical burden with the incidence
of
wheezing. One of the researchers, Dr. Andrea Sherriff, said, "We
are
seeing what appear to be effects on lung function, either while
the
baby is still in the womb, or after birth. We cannot say exactly
what
chemicals are involved but our results are highly validated".
Their
results back up an Australian study published in August of 2004.
More Studies
The Australian study showed that many common
household
cleaners and even appliances give off fumes, which can potentially
increase the risk of developing asthma in children.
The study was conducted by Public Health professor
Krassi Rumchev of Curtin University of Technology in Perth,
Australia. They studied 192 children aged 6 months to 3 years.
88 had asthma, 104 did not. Allergy tests were done on the
children, and the parents gave answers to detailed questions about
their children's health. Researchers also measured the levels of
volatile organic compounds (VOC's are fumes that can be found
from cleaning products, paint products, air fresheners, etc.). These
fumes can make it difficult to breathe by narrowing the airways.
What did they find?
Apparently, the children with asthma lived in
the homes
with significantly higher levels of VOC's. The three VOC's
that stood out the most were: benzene (highest risk),
ethylbenzene, and toluene. "For every 10-unit increase
in the concentrations of toluene and benzene, the risk of
having asthma increased by almost two and three times,
respectively" according to the researchers. The researchers
believe that exposure to levels of VOC's that are at or below
the currently accepted recommendations may increase
the risk of childhood asthma. Unfortunately, VOC's are
in so many of our household products, including cleaning
products, cosmetics, paint products, floors, and furniture.
Asthma and allergies are not the only effects
from products
containing VOC's. Some of the other health effects are:
eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness,
visual disturbances, and memory impairment. Many organic
compounds are known to cause cancer in animals, and
some are suspected, or known to cause cancer in humans.
The Environmental Protection Agency has revealed
that most
homes have 2-5 times more pollution indoors than in the outdoor
air. In other words, your home's indoor air may be more
polluted than the air in Los Angeles, Boston, or New York City.
So, what do you do?
Stop using conventional products unless you've
thoroughly
investigated their ingredients. That often means calling the
manufacturer to find out what's in the product, since often
the ingredients aren't listed on the label, or if they are, it's
an incomplete list. Get a copy of Ruth Winters': Dictionary
of Cosmetic Ingredients, Dictionary of Food Additives, and
Dictionary of Medicines (Prescriptions, Over-the-Counter,
Homeopathic, and Herbal). For more tips, read my article,
Is This Shampoo Really Organic?
Or, you could save yourself the time and hassle
of doing
your own research and benefit from mine. Check out the
products that I've researched, screened and used.
3.
Do You Have A Persistent Cough?
Try Dark Chocolate, Seriously!
Just when you thought the news about flavonoid rich
DARK chocolate couldn't get any better- this just in...
A derivative in dark chocolate, theobromine, was found
to be nearly one third more effective than codeine at
suppressing a cough. Huh?
Yes, researchers from Imperial College London,
Royal
Brompton Hospital, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and
Chinoin Co. Ltd. Budapest, gave 10 healthy volunteers
theobromine, a placebo, or codeine at different times in
a randomized double blind trial. Theobromine works by
suppressing vagus nerve activity which is responsible for
coughing. Unlike standard cough treatments, theobromine
caused no adverse effects on either the cardiovascular or
central nervous systems. And no drowsiness either. So, if
you drive a truck and have a persistent cough, you can take
small amounts of dark chocolate (preferably certified
organic to avoid pesticides and other nasties).
That said, sometimes coughing is necessary to
clear the
lungs. If you have a persistent cough that is seriously
impacting the quality of your life, you might want to
consider small daily doses of organic DARK chocolate.
Milk chocolate doesn't count, because apparently the
milk cancels out the chocolate's antioxidant effects.
I must say though that 10 people in a study is not a
large number, but it's a start. Also, if you are sick it's
best to avoid sugar (a main ingredient in chocolate).
If you want a healthy snack food with delicious
organic dark chocolate chips in it, try the organic
food bar on my site.
Sign up for Green Living Expert, Amy Todisco's,
free E-newsletter and you'll receive well-researched,
useful, newsworthy information, and some free surprises,
to help you "green" up your indoor spaces and improve
your life. Your e-mail address will never be shared, rented
or sold. Your privacy is guaranteed.
Sign up for our FREE newsletter now:
Any Questions? Don't hesitate to contact me,
Amy Todisco,
Editor in Chief, and Owner of Green Living Now, LLC,
at: amy@greenlivingnow.com
|
E-Newsletter 
Newsletter