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December 2009 Health in the News Archive[ Monthly Index of New Briefs ]FDA misses "self-imposed" deadline for BPA rulingDecember 29, 2009 The FDA's "self-imposed November 30 deadline" for making a safety evaluation of bisphenol A (BPA) has come and gone, reports the LA Times, leaving interested parties wondering what the hang-up is and how long it will be before the FDA weighs in.The FDA original safety evaluation pronounced that BPA was safe. That touched off a firestorm of controversy even within the agency as it came under intense pressure for having based its opinion on a handful of studies sponsored by the chemical industry. The National Institutes of Health has said it will spend $30 million over the next two years on more scientific studies to "help resolve any remaining scientific uncertainties." As a result, "observers figure the FDA is likely to wait for some of the new studies to be completed before issuing its update." Dr. Grout's Comment: This is reminiscent of the trans fat issue – when the government was more responsive to the interests of industry than to public health, bans started popping up in individual municipalities. BPA in baby bottles and other children's food containers and utensils has been banned or limited in Canada; Minnesota and Connecticut; Suffolk County and Schenectady County, N.Y.; and Chicago. Aging Baby Boomers Have Poor HealthDecember 22, 2009 Research is now showing that today's "baby boomers" are the first generation to be less healthy than the generation before them. The research finds about one in five people in their 60s today requires assistance in accomplishing daily activities. This number is 50 percent higher than it was a decade ago.Those in this age group are fatter and weaker than previous generations were at the same age, and they are more susceptible to chronic ailments that severely curtail their quality of life. Despite improvements in medicine and standards of living, those turning 60 are more likely to be blighted by problems from aching knees and creaking hips to diabetes, asthma and strokes. Even simple tasks such as getting in and out of bed or climbing ten steps without a rest prove a challenge. This health timebomb is being blamed on diet and technology. The boomers embraced junk food, and traded physical labor for a more sedate life in front of a computer. Dr. Ian Campbell, medical director of the British charity Weight Concern, said "We have been lulled into a false sense of security that pharmaceuticals are the answer to our health problems. We get statistics saying that the number of deaths from heart disease is falling but that is because we are keeping people alive with drugs. That is admirable but it would be far better if we could cut the amount of heart disease in the first place." Professor Teresa Seeman, of the University of California, examined those today in their 60s, 70s, and 80s and compared her findings to people from the same age groups examined ten years ago. Her findings are published in the American Journal of Public Health. Dr. Grout's Comment: We can statistically document now some of the damage that's been done by a convenient, technology-driven lifestyle. The good news is, we can do something about it. We can start by cutting out the processed foods. Sounds easy, but if it really were, America would not have epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Some foods, especially sugar and wheat, are literally addicting – they can stimulate the narcotic centers of the brain. Rates of Autism Take Big JumpDecember 21, 2009 Autism is more common than previously thought. The CDC has adjusted their estimates of the rates of autism: 1 in 110 children in the United States has a disorder on the autism spectrum. The previous figure was 1 in 150. Calculations are based on medical and school records of nearly 2,800 children in communities in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Among all the states studied, Arizona had the highest rate of increase since prior studies in 2002. According to the Arizona Republic newspaper, the rate of autism in Arizona is 1 in 100. Dr. Christopher Cunniff of the University of Arizona College of Medicine and a principal investigator for the CDC's report, said the real increase in autism cases in Arizona is small. The numbers largely reflect a better ability to identify autism. Autism groups like "SafeMinds" called on the government to focus on environmental causes rather than genetics. President Theresa Wrangham said, "To date, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee has paid lip service to environmental research by noting its promise and chronic state of underfunding. Yet the IACC purposefully excluded environmental expertise from informing their research agenda. Most recently, the NIH missed a critical opportunity to equalize this acknowledged funding disparity. Of the stimulus funds NIH allocated for autism research, cause and prevention was allocated 52% with over 70% of that amount dedicated to more genetic research that is already well funded publically and privately." Dr. Grout's Comment: This represents a 600 percent increase in just the past 20 years. As vaccine advocate David Kirby reported, "the nation's top autism research coordinator said that better diagnosis and reporting could not 'explain away this huge increase,' and that 'there is no question that there has got to be an environmental component here.'" EWG: Babies marinate in a toxic stewDecember 11, 2009 Environmental Working Group has once again tested random samples of umbilical cord blood from newborn babies. This latest study, released in early December, is the first time newborns of minority mothers were exclusively tested. The list of contaminants has grown since EWG's prior test of umbilical cord blood in 2005. Key findings: • For the first time, bisphenol A (BPA) was found – a synthetic estrogen used in plastics that has been linked to breast cancer and hormonal problems; it was found in 9 out of 10 samples • For the first time, synthetic musks known as Galaxolide and Tonalide were found – come primarily from perfumes and are known to cause hormonal changes • All 10 samples had lead, mercury, perfluorochemicals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated naphthalenes, polychlorinated biphenyls, and chlorinated dioxin "The contaminants found in these children are from unintended exposures to some of the most problematic consumer product and commercial chemicals ever put on the market," the report states. "Their presence in fetal cord blood represents a significant failure on the part of the Congress and government agencies charged with protecting human health. In our view, any chemical found in cord blood should be a top candidate for tough regulatory action to protect public health." Brominated flame retardants, PCBs, the Teflon chemical PFOA and the Scotchgard chemical PFOS, BPA, lead, mercury, perchlorate, dioxins and furans are all considered either likely human carcinogens, serious neurotoxins, or well-established hormone disrupters, according to government health authorities. Laboratory tests were paid for by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group and Rachel's Network. The tests found 232 chemicals in the umbilical cords of 10 babies tested in five states between December 2007 and June 2008. On December 2, California and 12 other states issued a joint statement saying federal laws designed to protect the public from toxic chemicals are too weak. The statement asked for changes that would identify and regulate the chemicals in consumer products. The cosmetic industry and petrochemical companies have fought efforts in Congress to reform cosmetic industry regulations, which were first drawn up in 1938 and have remained virtually unchanged. Both the House and Senate are considering bills to ban bisphenol A in food and beverage containers. Minnesota and Connecticut, Chicago, Suffolk County, N.Y., and Schenectady County, N.Y., have banned BPA in baby bottles and other children's food containers and utensils. Dr. Grout's Comment: This speaks volumes about what the health care debate has ignored. Newborns are contaminated with an average of more than 200 chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects or other health problems. Babies enter the world with a toxic body burden that gets bigger with each daily exposure. Anderson Cooper of CNN and Bill Moyers of PBS made news when they had their blood tested and found it loaded with chemicals. US ranks low in global life expectancyDecember 9, 2009 The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on health care than the industrialized world's average, according to figures just released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The organization surveyed health trends among its 30 rich member countries. Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.1 years in 2007. That's a year less than the OECD average of 79.1, and puts the U.S. just ahead of the Czech Republic, Poland and Mexico, where spending on health care is many times less per person. Total U.S. spending on health care was $7,290 a person in 2007, nearly two-and-a-half times the OECD average of $2,984. The figures include spending by both individuals and governments. The U.S. far outspent the next biggest health care spenders, Norway and Switzerland, despite the fact that those countries' life expectancies are two to four years longer, according to the report. Per capita spending on pharmaceuticals rose by almost 50 percent over the last 10 years in OECD countries, reaching a total of $650 billion in 2007. The U.S. was the world's biggest spender on pharmaceuticals, spending $878 per person, with Canada next at $691 per person and the OECD average at $461. The report was released as the U.S. Senate is considering a health care overhaul promised by President Barack Obama during his presidential campaign. Dr. Grout's Comment: In 2005, S. Jay Olshansky, a longevity researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago, predicted U.S. life expectancy would fall dramatically in coming years because of obesity. "We think today's younger generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history unless we intervene," Olshansky said. Lead in Balsamic and Red Wine VinegarsDecember 8, 2009Many varieties of balsamic and red wine vinegars contain trace amounts of lead that contribute to neurological and other damage in children and adults, according to a November 9 Environmental Health News report. Ingestion of a single tablespoon of vinegar with the highest tested levels of lead was found to potentially raise a child's blood lead level by 30% while two tablespoons a day would raise it by 55%. Michele Corash, a San Francisco attorney who represents the vinegar industry, said the producers don't do anything to add lead to their products. She said industry experts determined that lead in the soils of Italy's Modena's grape-growing region made its way into balsamic vinegar. Some toxicologists hypothesize that production and storage - not soil - are the main sources of lead contamination. University of California Santa Cruz's metals testing lab, which established the vinegar-testing protocol, is researching the origin of the higher lead levels in the aged balsamics, perhaps from the companies' plumbing, implements, or barrels. The aged varieties produced by the traditional method, which involved concentration in wood barrels for at least 12 years, have the highest lead levels. Since not all balsamic vinegars contain lead, and some more than others, producers are expressing concern that balsamic vinegar is receiving a bad rap despite the fact that many other grape products also contain lead. The lawsuit that led to California requiring warning labels as of 2007 began when the Oakland-based Environmental Law Foundation tested some 60 vinegar products in 2002. Forty-seven had lead, all red wine or balsamic red wine vinegars. White vinegars and vinegars made from rice, raspberries or figs didn't have lead levels that would trigger warnings. Some scientists say it is time to tighten up federal and state standards and guidelines for lead, including California's level under Prop. 65, because it is based on 30-year-old science. California's limit for lead is 34 parts per billion. In the 1980s, when California's level was set, technology wasn't even available to test for the amounts of lead found in most people's blood today. Dr. Grout's Comment: Vintners like to say that the grape mirrors the soil. Lead can vary widely between products and batches, according to lab tests ordered by the news service. Vinegars are not regularly tested by any agency. Vinegars are acidic and make the metal fully soluble so it's more easily absorbed into the bloodstream. Obama runs TV ads promoting swine flu shotsDecember 7, 2009 The Obama administration released a new slate of television and radio ad to persuading Americans to receive H1N1 (swine) flu vaccinations.The public service announcements target children and their parents, young adults and those in high-risk groups, such as people with asthma. The ads are in English and Spanish. The messages represent a shift from earlier efforts to teach Americans how to avoid spreading the flu. Now that the vaccine is more readily available, the emphasis is on vaccination. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 22 million people have been infected with swine flu in the United States and 3,900 have died. Government tallies also include 98,000 swine flu-related hospitalizations. Dr. Grout's Comment: The multi-dose containers of H1N1 flu vaccine contain thimerosal, a mercury-derived preservative intended to prevent bacteria and fungi from growing in the vaccine between uses. Bayer Must Pay Farmers for GM Contaminated RiceDecember 4, 2009 Bayer CropScience LP must pay about $2 million for losses sustained by two Missouri farmers when an experimental variety of rice the company was testing cross-bred with their crops, a federal jury ruled today. Bayer and Louisiana State University had been testing LibertyLink rice, which was genetically modified to be resistant to Bayer's Liberty-brand herbicide. The variety eventually contaminated more than 30 percent of U.S. ricelands, said Don Downing, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. "This is a huge victory, not only for Kenny [Bell] and me, but for every farmer in America who was harmed by Bayer's LibertyLink rice contamination," plaintiff Johnny Hunter said. The verdict gave the company "the wake-up call they deserved." Farmers from Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have filed more than 1,000 similar cases against Bayer since the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in August 2006 that trace amounts of the genetically modified LibertyLink rice were found in U.S. long-grain rice stocks. Within four days of the 2006 USDA announcement, rice futures plunged, costing U.S. growers about $150 million, according to a consolidated complaint filed by the farmers. Exports fell as the European Union, Japan, Russia and other overseas markets slowed purchases of U.S.-grown long-grain rice for testing or stopped importing it, the growers said. The jury awarded Bell about $1.96 million and Hunter $53,336. But the jury did not award money for punitive damages. Juror Melissa McConnell, 30, of Maryland Heights, in an interview after the trial, said she and her colleagues found Bayer had been lax in its handling of the experimental seed. She also said the jury rejected the farmers' request for a punitive award because, "In our instructions it said that it had to be proven that Bayer knew what would happen if it got out, and we had to find that they had done it on purpose. Sure, Bayer knew what would happen, but it wasn't proven to us that they did this on purpose. Both points weren't proven." Dr. Grout's Comment: Biotech pollen simply does not recognize a fence line where one farmer's property ends and another begins. Plastic's BPA contributes to erectile dysfunctionDecember 1, 2009 Bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical found in hard, clear plastic used to make everything from baby bottles to food packaging, may increase the risk of erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in male factory workers exposed to large amounts of the substance, according to a study conducted in China.The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, is the first to examine the impact of bisphenol A, or BPA, on the reproductive systems of human males. Previous studies have involved mice or rats. Researchers focused on 634 male workers at four factories in China who were exposed to elevated levels of BPA. They followed the men over five years and compared their sexual health with that of male workers in other Chinese factories where BPA was not present. The men handling BPA were four times as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction and seven times as likely to have difficulty with ejaculation, said De-Kun Li, a scientist at the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, which conducted the study with funds from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In the past, the scientists and industry representatives who have argued that BPA is safe at the low level of exposure that occurs for most people have pointed to the lack of BPA research in humans, says the lead author of the study, Dr. De-Kun Li, a reproductive epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research, in Oakland, California. "They keep arguing, 'Where's the human data? Where's the human data? You can't extrapolate animal studies to humans,'" Li says. "Which is true, sometimes. But now we have human data." The findings of Li and his colleagues are consistent with the hypothesis that BPA, when it enters the body, can mimic the effects of estrogen and may block male sex hormones (including testosterone). The study has implications beyond male sexual dysfunction, however, since sexual dysfunction is often associated with broader reproductive health problems. And the fact that a health effect observed in animal studies has been seen in humans, says Li, suggests that the other findings of animal studies -- an increased risk of cancer and obesity, for example -- need to be taken more seriously. "We cannot dismiss them anymore," he says. The Food and Drug Administration has maintained that BPA is safe. However, the FDA's scientific advisory board criticized the agency last year for ignoring more than 100 academic and government studies that linked BPA with health effects. On November 18, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York introduced a bill to impose a nationwide ban on BPA in all food packaging products used by children. Dr. Grout's Comment: Studies by the CDC found bisphenol A in the urine of 93% of children and adults tested in 2003–04. The fact that BPA can account for erectile dysfunction in adults speaks to the gender-bending potency of this chemical. BPA has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, liver problems, brain disorders, hormonal disruption, early puberty in girls, irregular heartbeat, fertility problems, and now ED. |
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Thanks to the December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports Magazine, we know just how easy it is to ingest BPA. The magazine tested 19 name-brand foods and found almost all contain some BPA: "The canned organic foods we tested did not always have lower BPA levels than nonorganic brands of similar foods analyzed. We even found the chemical in some products in cans that were labeled "BPA-free."
Dr. Carolyn Dean, author of Death by Modern Medicine, probably sums it up best: "Drugs and surgery don't prevent or cure disease. They just manage the symptoms. Yet it's the first line of defense with the mainstream model. It should be a last resort. Trouble started when they took this system of emergency care (i.e. "death prevention") and applied it to healthcare (i.e. "life enhancement"). With a few exceptions, these methods don't do much more than prevent death. They don't cure. They don't heal."
Most of the attempts to ban BPA are aimed at children because they are less able to excrete chemicals from their systems. In April this year, Canada became the first country to ban BPA from use in baby bottles.Serving the Phoenix metro area including Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, Tempe,
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