Tag Archives: statistics

How to Identify Home Products that Cause Illness and Disease

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Updated: 24 Aug 2018

I’ve known for years the chemicals in our consumer marketplace and environment has a direct correlation with disease and rising mortality rates. Through epidemiological, disease prevention and mortality rate studies and World Health Organization reports, etc., a direct connection with consumer products is found to have an effect on health and longevity. And that connection is the Westernized cultures who produce the pathological causing pollutant and chemical contaminants that attack cellular integrity by their oxidant agents.

Healthy longevity is important especially if we hope to enjoy retirement with our loved ones.
Healthy longevity is important especially if we hope to enjoy retirement with our loved ones.

Through the advancements of modern medicine a decline in mortality rates occurred – benefiting an increase in average lifespan during the early-mid-20th century. However the data today shows a reverse in trend. The marketplace in the later 20th and early 21st century changed by introducing thousands of toxic chemical contaminants into the food chain, water and air we breathe.

The global data shows a direct correlation to man’s manipulation of our food chain for sake of profit. As a result cancer is on the rise and so is every other major medical problem including diabetes, arthritis, heart, circulatory and autoimmune disease to name a few. At this rate our children and their children will live shorter lifespans than previous generations and suffer unnecessary pain and costs that need not be.

Many of the statistical bullet points below were relative in 2007 when this article was first published. And just as relative and concerning today… mortality rates and disease is not decreasing. And occurring in an advanced culture where modern medicine should be reducing these things – It’s not.

Previous and Updated Consumer Statistical Facts,

It is a fact, cancer mortality rates throughout the globe have increased over the last decade. 7.6 million People died of cancer in the world during 2007. 13% of all deaths are due to cancer (American Cancer Society).

Since then, cancer cases have risen globally. Unfortunately Cancer is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012 [World Health Organization, 2015] and (Woodard, 2015).

From 1965 to 1982 over 4 million distinct chemical compounds were formulated by corporations. And at least 250,000 new formulations created annually since then.

Approximately 6,000 chemicals are added to our foods (Woodard 2015). And the FDA has no knowledge of 1000 of them or effect on cellular health. And fewer than half the other 4000 chemicals have not been tested by the FDA (Marler 2013).

700 chemicals have been found in drinking water.

Over 500 chemicals can be found under kitchen sinks or laundry rooms in American homes.

Over 800 neurotoxin chemical compounds are used in cosmetic-perfume industries.

How many store bought products are chemically influenced by man?
How many store bought products are chemically influenced by man?

Seventy percent of our daily calories now consist of processed foods high in trans-fat, sugar, salt, other strange chemical preservative and processing additives, etc., that lack organic nutrients.

But if we care about people dying before their lives are really over or having to endure preventable suffering, and our neighbors racking up huge medical costs that we all share, then that space on our plates for processed food shouldn’t be anywhere near 70 percent. Perhaps closer to 20 or 30 percent. It’s only then that we can call our food supply truly safe (Marler 2013).

310,000 Americans go to early graves due to processed food diets that cause heart and diabetes disease, etc., including cancer.

For example, food preservative BHA is a known carcinogen found in many processed foods we consume daily: McDonald’s sausages, an ingredient found in Gatorade, Tang, DiGiorno Pepperoni Pizza, breakfast steak, bread making, etc., (Marler 2013).

3000 annual deaths and 130,000 food borne illness are reported by hospitals.

Bottled water, how pure is it? Studies show not much better than local drinking water.

There’s a lot of man-made toxic chemicals in the air we breathe, water we drink from plastic containers and foods we eat.

Many health conscientious consumers don’t consider the cosmetic and hygiene products they use every day.

To provide awareness to common toxic home care products with known carcinogens, to identify them in your house you can perform a home toxic product identification challenge. Then you decide if you want to keep the products or replace them with an organic home cleaning, laundry and hygienic product line. When you remove known toxic chemicals from your home, less stress is put on the autoimmune system which mitigates and relieves ill-health conditions.

Look no further than your kitchen cleaning, or bathroom hygiene cabinets. Simply select a shampoo, toothpaste or common home cleaning product and look for 1 or all 3 toxic ingredients listed below. The 3 chemical and toxic ingredients I chose out of hundreds of unsafe chemicals consumers unknowingly consume daily: Propylene Glycol, SLS (sodium laurylsulfate) and DEA (Diethanolamine).

Replace toxic hygienic product with green products to reduce health risk.

Below I’ve provided a short descriptor of each disease causing chemical ingredient found within common home use consumer products. Keep in mind, I’ve only listed 3 absorbed through the skin, inhaled or ingested. And barely scratched the surface or impressed upon the fact, there’s thousands of chemicals and toxins we take in daily found in our air, water and food.

Propylene Glycol – What’s Anti-Freeze doing in our shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, lotions, toothpastes and pet food, etc.? Yes the main ingredient is Anti-freeze, Propylene Glycol. Topical application to injured skin or intravenous administration has sometimes been associated with lactic acidosis, Comas, Seizures & Renal Failure. Linked to: Central Nervous System Effects, Metabolic Effects & Poisoning (Walker 2015).

SLS (sodium laurylsulfate) – What are concrete floor cleaner, engine degreaser and car wash detergents doing in hundreds of other personal home care and cleaning products, such as bath & body products, etc.? The main ingredient is SLS. SLS (sodium laurylsulfate) acts as a detergent. Used in the laboratory as a membrane destabilizer & solubilizer of proteins and lipids, causing potential harm to skin and eyes. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are denatured (Walker, 2015).

DEA (Diethanolamine) – What is a known cause, or contributor to cancer, or of being potentially dangerous or hazardous to our health doing in shampoos, conditioners, bubble baths, lotions, cosmetics, soaps, laundry and dish washing detergents?

The main ingredient within many bath and body and cosmetic products is DEA, a known cancer causing ingredient. The California Center for Environmental Health (CEH) performed independent testing of 98 personal care products and found “products testing high in DEA and Cocamide DEA used to thicken hair, was listed a known carcinogen last year. Many personal care products with DEA in them is manufactured and sold by many major retailer brands consumers know and trust. Just to name a few Colgate, Palmolive, Colomer and Paul Mitchell.

Major retailers known to sell, or have sold products with toxic chemical ingredients include: “Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Pharmaca and Kohls and a store brand children’s bubble bath from Kmart and a children’s shampoo/conditioner from Babies R Us were also found with cocamide DEA. Falsely labeled organic products from Organic by Africa’s Best also tested for high levels of the cancer-causing chemical (CEH previously won a legal settlement with this company requiring it to end its use of phony organic labels) (Center for Environmental Health 2013).

For a list of brands and retailers that sell DEA personal care products, click on CEH link below.

Still need more proof. Check the back of your household cleaning, or hygiene product bottles. Pick an ingredient name you can’t pronounce or don’t understand its meaning. Type this name into an Internet search engine. You’ll see it is a man-made chemical product and it is not organic. I’m willing to bet you have at least 1 of 3 listed chemical ingredients in one or more of your favorite personal use and home cleaning products. Most likely exposed daily to all 3 and other toxic chemicals too numerous list.

If you are using products with ingredients you can’t pronounce, or understand their origins, these almost always are man-made chemical ingredients.

Take advantage of seasonal farmers markets.

The best advice I can give you is to begin replacing all home cleaning and personal care products with clean green home and hygiene products and eat as fresh organic foods as possible. Also cut down on processed and convenience food consumption.

The chemicals we use to clean our homes and foods we consume are at war with our bodies. And I’ve not even brought up the air we breathe and water we drink. To get more insight on these consumer topics of interest please click on the following MirrorAthlete article links: How Sick Buildings Effect Lives and Is Fluoride in Our City Water Needed or Safe.

It is more important than ever to remove the toxic household products and heavily processed foods from our plates. Consume as many fresh fruits and vegetables daily as possible. As a health insurance policy add a daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement to provide an anti-oxidant boost to immune system. This will help shield cellular health by protecting it from free radical damage caused by product and environmental oxidant damage and environmental stress taken in daily.

Without preventative health measures in our Westernized culture the aging process will advance with insidious disease and shorten lifespans.

Still need more proof, simply visit our Word Press publication site at MirrorAthlete Fitness Secrets, scroll down on our home screen page, find Topic Category and select Cancer or Product Toxins or Consumer Safety. Or type in Topic of Interest in the site articles search box next to Topic Category.

Helpful Reference Links,

Center for Environmental Health (CEH). Study Finds Cancer-Causing Chemical in Nearly 100 Shampoos and Soaps. EcoWatch. 29 August 2013. http://ecowatch.com/2013/08/29/cancer-causing-chemical-in-shampoos/

Marler, Alan. Our Unsafe Food Supply Is Killing Us. The Daily Beast. 1 March 2013. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/01/our-unsafe-food-supply-is-killing-us.html

Walker, Dani. Toxins in Personal Care Products. Powered by WordPress. 2015. http://daniwalker.com/toxins-in-personal-care-products/

Woodard, Marc. Doomed to Get Cancer. MirrorAthlete Fitness Secrets. 22 Feb 2015. http://www.mirrorathlete.org/?p=24

Author: Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, ARNG, CPT, RET. 2015 Copyright. All rights reserved, Mirror Athlete Inc., www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your Free eNewsletter.

Pancreatic Cancer Statistics and Recommendations

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Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast

The pancreas is a long flat gland behind the abdomen and stomach.  Its function is to aid in digestion and blood sugar (glucose) regulation through enzyme and hormone production.   Once your body is diagnosed, or riddled with pancreatic cancer, the 5-Year survival life expectancy is dismal.  But hope in response to cancer treatment can give a possibility of a longer life.  This hope is greatly dependent on if the tumor can be reduced enough after chemo to surgically remove it.  I recently wrote an article comparing the pancreatic cancer deaths between Patrick Swayze and Michael Landon.

The one commonality between the two was that they both drank and smoked excessively for long periods of time.  Pancreatic cancer rates are 2 times higher for smokers than nonsmokers.  There is also a higher rate of pancreatic cancer cases in countries with high fat diets.  Cancer as a whole regardless of cancer type appears to be on the rise in the US.  The statistics below show all cancer diagnosis from 2000 to 2008 dominating in 4 states.

Pancreatic Cancer estimates in 2009 prove to be the 4th deadliest cancer in the US.  For the full Pancreatic Statistics & Recommendations including all other forms of cancer, click on cancer.org link below for Free American Cancer Society reports.”

  • States with highest cancer diagnosis during year 2000 – Geographically (California 113,200), Florida (88,100), Texas (76,100), NY (81,500), US diagnosed “All” Cancer Totals – 1,220,100
  • States with highest cancer diagnosis during year 2008 – Geography (California 156,530), Florida (101,920), Texas (96,320), NY (97,130), US diagnosed “All” Cancer Totals – 1,437,180.
  • Pancreatic Cancer estimates in 2009 ~42,700 people will be diagnosed resulting in ~35,420 deaths will result making it the fourth deadliest cancer (American Cancer Society).

Jennifer Landon “There are many studies that show low-fat, plant-based diets have low cancer rates.  Large studies in Europe shows 40% of vegetarians… Less likely to develop cancer over meat eaters” (Cancer Project is an affiliate of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). 

Preventative Measures:  Those that add sugar to coffee, tea; drink diet sodas and eat deserts daily increase pancreatic risk up to 50-90%.

Risk factors:  Tobacco, alcohol, poor diet, obesity, diabetes; 10-15% diagnosed – poor genetics.

Recommendation: There is no screening test or symptoms prior to the spread of pancreatic cancer.  If you experience abdomen pain, darkening of urine, or if cancer runs in your family see a doctor. Request a CT scan.  Have blood drawn to see if cancer antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) results in increased levels indicative of pancreas cancer.

Reduction of tumor size to surgically remove it is the patient’s 5-year or better survival hope before it spreads to lymph, or liver.

References:  World Wide Web,

http://www.cancerproject.org/media/news/090120.php

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/STT/content/STT_1x_Cancer_Facts__Figures_2009.asp

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=87670

http://channels.isp.netscape.com/whatsnew/package.jsp?name=fte/sugarandcancer/sugarandcancer&floc=wn-nx

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=87669

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Facts+about+actor+Patrick+Swayze/1993617/story.html

Author:  Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, USA Medical Services Officer, CPT, RET.  2017 Copyright.  All rights reserved, Mirror Athlete Publishing @: www.mirrorathlete.org,  Sign up for your Free eNewsletter.

MRSA Killer Bug?

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailMRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is often referred to as a killer, or super bug that is resistant to many antibiotics.  This bacterial bug is most appropriately referred to as a super bug because of Oxacillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (ORSA).  This is a MRSA strain that is resistant to many types of antibiotics, to include penicillin’s and cephalosporins.  This bug is of great concern to those who need surgery, or nursing care services where the patient age 65 and older are four times more prone to contracting MRSA.  The term killer bug stems from the fact that in 2005, “More than 18,000 Deaths and 94,000 life-threatening cases occurred.   The bug frequently enters the body in a sterile health care facility or hospitals where patients are in a weakened immune state.  Most bacterial spread occurs due to unsterile dialysis, catheters, or surgical procedures (Medical cleanliness standards have greatly improved since 2005).  This does not mean a healthy individual cannot obtain this bug.  Patients can be exposed to a Community Associated (CA)-MRSA infection.  CA infections are common among homosexuals, athletes, prisoners and soldiers.

Since MRSA bacterium is often found in the noses and skin of healthy people, we are all susceptible during a weakened immune state to activate the MRSA bacteria.  In most cases, this activation is prominent after surgeries, can form around malignancies as boils and abscesses to include other pus-type lesions.  Most that contract MRSA are not considered infected; instead the organism is colonized on the skin, in the nose, or throat without infection.  However, if one also has fever like symptoms then they would be considered infectious.  One should not fear MRSA, or methincillin-sensitive S type (difficult to treat with anti-biotic) as a general threat to the public.  MRSA does not typically present a threat to health care providers, or family members that provide the care unless they are suffering from debilitating disease.  One should not be discouraged from social contact.
 
Recommendations, If Diagnosed with MRSA, or Require a Medical Procedure
1.        Inquire how often staff is required to wash hands (before & after MRSA patient handling, or procedures).  Frequent cleanliness practice prevents spread of MRSA.
2.      Patients room doors should remain closed, records clearly labeled where regularly damp dusting occurs, and nursed in wards not placed with non-infected patients.
3.      Treatment – Antibiotics through the nose and special bathing procedures to ensure there is no possibility of spreading the bug in a facility, or home care facility. 
4.      After patient discharge it is very important the medical facility disinfects the room and clothes bagged for special treatment so the next patient is not exposed to MRSA.
5.      Ensure your physician and care handlers refer to past MRSA susceptibility, separation and isolate immediately should you require future hospitalization, or medical care.

References,
Association of Medical Microbiologists, worldwide Internet………………http://www.amm.co.uk/files/factsabout/fa_mrsa.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention………………………………………http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRSA
Web MD, http://www.webmd.com/news/20071016/more-us-deaths-from-mrsa-than-aids

Author:  Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, USA Medical Services Officer, CPT, RET.  2009 Copyright, All rights reserved.  Mirror Athlete Enterprises Publishing @: www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your free eNewsletter.