Your World and You: Tips to Improve Your Family’s Health – Issue 45 (Premium)
Environmental and Nutritional Tips to Improve Your Family’s Health
This feature highlights reports, studies, and feedback on efforts that can make a positive impact in our quest for health. Topics we cover in this issue are included below. We invite you to share material with us that you think would be of interest to our readers.
Articles in this issue
- William Rea, MD: Video on electromagnetic sensitivity
- A summary of helpful nutrients for depressive disorders
- Exciting progress in reversing social deficits in autism
- Rich eggless chickpea spread
- Perfumes, fragrances and colognes are hurting you
- The flu and brain health: animal study makes a connection
- From nasty to safer standard cleansers
- A popular no-allergy cookbook
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William Rea, MD, on electromagnetic sensitivity
Dr. Bill Rea has dedicated decades to understanding and treating the effects of environmental pollutants in human health. We are pleased to have him as a member of our advisory board. He considers electromagnetic radiation to be our greatest health challenge now. The video quality is excellent.
Dr. Rea has authored medical textbooks on the subject of chemical sensitivity and reversing chronic and degenerative disease, and published more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers. Founder of the Environmental Health Center, he is currently director of this highly specialized Dallas-based medical facility that receives patients from around the world.
Helpful nutrients for depressive disorders
Select nutrients were highlighted at the “International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research” for the prevention or management of certain mental conditions, among them depression. Those standing out as potentially useful for depression included:
- Omega 3 fatty acids
- B vitamins
- SAMe (s-adenosylmethionine)
- Tryptophan
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Probiotics
When dealing with depression, people’s needs vary, and what helps one person may create an imbalance for someone else.
The article offers a review of what studies have shown. Read here.
Dr. William Walsh, of the Walsh Institute in Naperville, Illinois has defined different subtypes of depression, and his research indicates that it is important to determine the type of depression, based to a great extent on laboratory testing, that should then drive the treatment.
See this article on Latitudes.org on integrative therapies and supplements for depression.
Exciting progress in reversing social deficits in autism
New animal research reveals the first evidence that it may be possible to use a single compound to alleviate the behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder by targeting sets of genes involved in the disease. Recent study showed that brief treatment with a very low dose of romidepsin, an anti-cancer drug, restored social deficits in animal models of autism in a sustained fashion.
The positive effect lasted for three weeks during the juvenile to late adolescent period, a critical developmental stage for social and communication skills. That is equivalent to several years in humans, suggesting the effects of a similar treatment could potentially be long-lasting, the researchers say.
Read full article in Science Daily here
Rich eggless chickpea spread
A member sent this spread as a unique spread or dip that she found is popular with guests and avoids most allergens. (If you have a recipe to share, feel free!)
- 1 medium red or sweet onion, chopped
- Vegetable oil for sautéing
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas or one can (15 – 18 ounces), drained
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (if allergic, substitute 2 teaspoons tamari)
- 1/3 – ½ cup natural eggless mayo (example)
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 cup chopped canned or marinated artichoke hearts; well drained (optional)
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
Sauté onion in a small amount of oil until soft.
Put all ingredients except artichoke hearts and celery in a food processor. Pulse until chickpeas are smooth. Use full amount of mayo if 1/3 cup is not enough for a soft spread.)
Add drained artichoke hearts and pulse briefly.
Remove spread to a bowl and stir in celery.
Add salt and pepper to taste; refrigerate until cold.
Serve on crackers or bread, with sliced avocado and lettuce, if desired
Perfumes, fragrances and colognes are hurting you
How can something that smells so good, be so bad people often ask? The answer is easy: Chances are it contains unidentified toxic chemicals. The ingredients in fragranced items are typically considered “secret” and do not need to be listed, tested, or formally approved. Yet, they are applied directly on our skin where they are quickly absorbed or inhaled by trusting consumers.
Whether it is your favorite cologne or perfume, a “spring fresh” fabric softener, or “heavenly citrus” scented plugins, you should stop using them unless they are scented with pure essential oils only. I know parents who faithfully take their child to the doctor for an asthma condition, yet they fill the air in their home with artificial chemical scents.
The problem is not just that the item itself is unhealthful during the exposure, but some of the chemicals accumulate in the body where they can cause even more harm. Toxic exposures also decrease your threshold for future chemical sensitivity.
If you or your loved ones don’t believe this, there is an article that might help. Check out Not So Sexy—The Environmental Working Group’s sobering breakdown of dangerous chemicals that are routinely hidden in perfumes, fragranced items, and colognes and how they can harm you. See the site here
The flu and brain health: Animal study makes the connection
Female mice infected with two different strains of the flu exhibit changes to the structure and function of the hippocampus that persist for one month after infection, according to new research published in JNeurosci.
Although influenza is considered to be a respiratory disease, it has been associated with neurological symptoms in some cases. Unfortunately, the long-term effects of flu on the brain have not been studied.
Martin Korte and colleagues investigated three different flu strains (H1N1, H3N2, H7N7) in mice. Two of these strains, H3N2 and H7N7, caused memory impairments that were associated with structural changes to neurons in the hippocampus.
The infections also activated the brain’s immune cells in this region for an extended period and altered the expression of genes implicated in disorders including depression, autism and schizophrenia. These findings suggest that some strains of the flu may pose a threat to healthy brain function.
Source; See this article also
From nasty to safer standard cleansers
We need to spread the word that standard cleaning products are exceptionally dangerous for women, so much so that chronic exposure can be equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day. Story here.
We knew these types of cleansers were detrimental, but this news is shocking. For some reason, men did not have the same response. Of course the answer is not to make men do the cleaning, although that has been suggested, but to switch to nontoxic products. And, remember that “green” on the label doesn’t mean much.
If you are not sure if your product is safe to use, check your product here.
Pure Delicious Cookbook: 150 Allergy-Free Recipe
This popular 350 page cookbook, which was updated in 2017, avoids the use of these ingredients:
Gluten | Peanuts | Eggs | Tree nuts
Dairy | Shellfish | Cane sugar | Soy
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