Plastic bottles bad for health

May 24, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized

I’ve been saying this for a long time, to work colleagues, to client, at home – it’s not good to keep using the same plastic bottle over and over as it can have negative effects on your health.

plastic-bottleLo and behold it was in the press this week with a study by Harvard School of Public Health showing a high degree of bisphenol A (BPA) showing up in urine.

In the food industry, BPA is a chemical used in plastic drinks bottles, food containers and clear plastic baby bottles and over time this chemical breaks down and leaches into the contents. BPA as been found to mimic ostreogen – no wonder that half the male fish population are turning female with the amount of BPA making it’s way into our rivers! The study showed that participants who had drunk out of the same bottle for 7 consecutive days had a 69% increase of BPA in their urine.

If it’s disrupting our hormones, then what else is it doing to us. Indeed, BPA has also been linked to other health problems including diabetes, heart disease and birth defects. It’s banned in many US states and totally in Canada although elsewhere in the world there is disagreement as to it’s negative effects. The European Food Safety Authority currently believes the body changes the chemical into a less harmful substance (which of course puts pressure on our liver and kidneys to work harder).

BPA is also found in products througout the home as it helps to harden plastic and many toys have contained BPA. As such, in the US, Walmart Stores and Toys ‘R’ Us are making plans to make all their products BPA-free.

So, to minimise health risks, don’t keep a plastic bottle on your desk all week and keep filling it up with water every day. Water is great but use a china cup, large glass or stainless steel container (and walking to the water cooler more often will do you good – you’ll have a break from your desk, rest your eyes from the screen and stretch your muscles!). Or invest in a BPA-free bottles from TreeHugger.com

Try not to keep food in plastic containers too long. I’m not entirely innocent here – I do worry that I am using my tupperware over and over and am looking into alternatives. I don’t put that much into containers and usually things like cheese wrapped up in paper in the fridge. But using containers made of glass or earthenware must be better for us. I shall investigate and blog with my findings.

Meanwhile, for mothers worried about the baby bottles they are using, BabyBornFree sell BPA-free plastic bottles.

BPA-free bottles from Baby Born Free

BPA-free bottles from Baby Born Free

Do let me know about any alternative you use, or companies that also sell BPA-free products.

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Shampoo – what exactly are you putting on your head?

May 17, 2009 · Filed under Health, organic · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

According to today’s news, Gwyneth Paltrow is turning to organic shampoos, believing that many shampoos cause cancer. She said on her website: ‘Foetuses, infants and toddlers are unable to metabolise toxins the way that adults are, and we are constantly filling our environments with chemicals that may or may not be safe. The research is troubling; the incidence of diseases in children such as asthma, cancer and autism have shot up exponentially.’

Whilst there is no substantial evidence that shampoo does indeed cause cancer, there are some unpleasant chemicals in many supermarket shampoos and it’s not really known how these chemicals react when thrown together.

The main culprits are the parabens such as methylparaben, propylparaben, and ethyl paraben. Parabens are a chemical compound of para-hydroxybenzoic acid and are actually found naturally in various foods. Synthetic parabens are found in many cosmetic beauty products and are used to protect from bacteria and spoiling. As far as I understand, whilst parabens are generally non-toxic, there is more research that needs to be done on the effects of parabens continually being absorbed through the skin into the blood from cosmetics and other bodycare products. It’s thought that methylparaben drys out the skin and brings about pre-mature aging, whilst other parabens are thought to affect levels of ostreogen in both males and femals, which could cause fertilty problems. Whilst there is no direct link yet with cancer, traces of parabens have been shown in tissue of men with testicular cancer and the breast tissue of women with breast cancer.

Sodium laurel sulphate (SLS) was originally used as industrial cleaners and car de-greasers! And now we’re putting it on our bodies. Yuck. It is a very harsh detergent and has the effect of stripping the oil from the hair and skin. Whilst not linked with cancer, it’s harshness is not ideal for our hair and skins, particularly young skins. Getting shampoo in the eyes that contains sodium laurel sulphate can irritate the eye linings. SLS can damage the hair follicles and badly irritate the scalp. Its low molecular weight means that it is also easily absorbed through the skin and into the blood, which will then circulate around the body and who knows what it could be doing to our insides.

Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) is similar to SLS and used in shampoos as a foaming agent. Like SLS, it can irritate skin, hair follicles and eyes and can be particularly damaging to young skins. It can also enter our bloodstream and the liver finds it hard to breakdown. It also mimics the effects of ostreogen which, as mentioned above, can have an effect on fertility and other reproductive female problems.

So, all in all, many shampoos are not pleasant.

And don’t just think that because a shampoo says it is ‘natural’ or gives the impression of being full of fruit and lovely stuff, that it is safe. It’s probably not so check the ingredients.

The problem is we like to feel that soap and shampoo is really doing the job but creating a huge lather. We actually don’t need this at all.

There are plenty of alternatives to be found in health and organic shops like Revital, Holland & Barrett and online shops like So Organic. Yes, you’ll possibly pay a little bit more but surely your health has got to be worth it. I’m using Jason Organic Shampoo at the moment but there are lots of other brands to chose from. I’ve noticed that my hair isn’t as dry and looks healthier and shinier and the shampoo (and conditioner) doesn’t smell so chemically.

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Running – it’s good for you (so I keep telling myself)

May 13, 2009 · Filed under running

I’ve just come back from a run. Unfortunately it was not a good one. I feel lethargic and heavy.

I started running 5 years ago with the aim of running the London Marathon, which I did in 2005 and again in 2008. When I began, I had no idea that there was such a vast running community, with races from 5k to marathons taking place every weekend of the year. But that all changed when I logged on to Runnersworld.co.uk. Races every week, hundreds of runners around the country pounding the streets, a huge community of runners! There are two great websites which house much of this community – Fetcheveryone.com and aforementioned Runnersworld.co.uk. If you need any advice, be it what to eat before a run, what to wear when it’s raining, how to increase your mileage, how to stop knees hurting or just want to meet other runners, then these are the places to be. The forums on these websites are a good basis for a whole new social life, not just online but offline too. These forums actually cross over to the real world when forum members meet at races (taking part or just supporting) or at social events arranged online. Fetcheveryone also has some great training tools where you can record evey detail about your run, from how far you have run to what shoes you were wearing and the weather. You can also note your personal bests. It’s a great online diary for running.

Motivation and inspiration are two things the forums on these websites are good for. You can guarantee that you are not the only runner who feels slow, who has had a poor run, who can’t find the motivation to run or hates being seen in lycra. So I know that I can log on and have a good moan about my run tonight and I know that I will receive back some great encouragement from fellow runners who are/have been in the same position.

Of course, I’ve given up running so many times. Yet actually I always consider myself a runner, just a resting runner. However, I know that running is good for me. Exercise of any kind is good for our health – circulation is improved, weight is lost, muscle is toned, it’s great for releasing stress and reducing effects of depression and our immune systems are boosted. So I shall stick with it – in fact I’m going to sign up for a half marathon in September where I WILL go sub 2 hours!

Apart from a decent, correct pair of shoes to suit your feet (very important), running is a relatively cheap way to exercise – no gym fees, no memberships, no subscriptions (unless of course you belong to a running club but they have huge benefits too) and it’s wonderful being outside in the fresh air. You actually get used to and even start to enjoy running in the rain! One of my most favourite runs ever was a 10 miler into central London in heavy show.

Running can also be green. Check out this great article from Runnersworld about making your run green and money saving.

And for those of you reading who think they are too old to start runnnig – rubbish! My Mum started running aged 75 and completed her first 5k in 43 minutes. Two years later we’re doing another 5k this summer.

So, back to my run. If I look at the positives – I got out there, I ran 2.5 miles, I’ve started my half marathon training. Not all bad then.

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Wind Farms

May 7, 2009 · Filed under green · Tagged , , , , , ,

If they made a new ‘green’ kiddies programme, I reckon they’d have Windy Miller running a wind farm these days.

Anyway, the reason I’m blogging about wind farms is because I spent the bank holiday weekend in Portugal and saw countless wind turbines high up on the hills. I’ve only ever seen one in the UK and that’s by the M25 near Watford!

For those not completley au fait with wind turbines, they convert wind power to wind energy which can be used as electricity.

wind-farmLarge wind farms are connected to the national electricity networks in each country and are a green source of energy since they are clean and renewable (the energy is naturally replenished). Every unit of wind electricity produced from a turbine can displace a unit produced from a conventional power station.

Whilst the UK is apparently the windiest country in Europe, and we could actually power the country several times over using wind, the last available figures from 2007 showed that only 2.3% of the UK’s electricity came from wind energy. There are no figures yet for 2008 but at first glance 2007 figures suggest we may be quite a way behind some other European countries including Portugal where last year 11% of the country’s electricity came from wind power, 7% in Germany and in Denmark it was an impressive 19%.

However, in terms of the number of turbines, the UK in 2009 now has 2434 operational turbines with a wind power nameplate capacity (normal maximum output of a generating source) of 3390 megawatts* (2500mw in 2007) whilst Portugal is operating at 2862 megawatts including the output from Europe’s largest wind farm at Alto Minho. These figures suggest that the percentage output in the UK is definitely increasing and by 2020 a report from the Committe for Climate Change says that the UK can produce 30% of it’s electricity supply from wind from onshore and offshore farms. I’m guessing that most wind farms in the UK are in the north, rather than dotted around London hence the reason I haven’t seen any!

Incidentally, only 1.5% of the world’s electricity supply comes from wind but this has trebled between 2005 and 2008.

Ah, just googled the M25 turbine and found out that it’s at the site of Renewal Energy Systems Ltd in Kings Langley, one of the world’s leading renewable energy producers. That figures.

There’s some debate about whether these wind farms destroy the visual impact of the environment. I actually find pictures I’ve seen of them in very remote areas quite mesmerising and feel they add a graceful but quirky beauty to the area. But then ask me again if I ever find a large farm constructed in the middle of the Lake District or on the Chiltern Hills and my feelings might have changed. I do think, however, that we are going to have to get used to the increasing sight of these turbines and find some compromise if it means reducing our carbon emmissions and saving the planet.

* figure obtained from British Wind Energy Association

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London Marathon is a green marathon

April 27, 2009 · Filed under recycling, running · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday, Sunday 26th April, 36,000 people pounded the streets of London to take part in one of the world’s best marathons, what many people call the ‘People’s Marathon’. I’ve completed three marathons, two of which were the London Marathon and there is something very special about this one. Whilst the training is tough going, particularly through the winter months, the build up in the week before the London Marathon is something special. The Runnersworld UK forum is alive with people comparing their training, asking last minute advice, how should they get there, how much should they drink on the way round, how many loos are available? On the day itself, the atmosphere at the start in Blackheath is electric and the support along every inch of the way is phenomenal.

I wasn’t running this year but was supposed to be supporting my lovely boyfriend who has trained so hard and so well, but cruelly was not allowed the final glory of running a personal best due to a terrible back injury on Friday morning. Life is very unfair sometimes.

We both ran it last year though and one of my lasting memories is catching up the Masai Warriors at mile 13. They were dressed in their finest warrior outfits, complete with shoes made out of old tyres and 6ft spears. They were taking part to raise awarness for the lack of water in their country. I wondered what on earth they made of the many water stations along the route, where thousands of runners grab a bottle, take a few swigs and then discard half a bottle of water to the side of the road. They must surely have felt some disgust or at least disbelief at what they were seeing. We really do take fresh water for completed granted.

One of the hazards of running is dodging all these discarded plastic Vittel water bottles and Lucozade sport bottles. There must be well over 250,000 bottles along the route. But fear not, those lovely people at London Marathon ensure that recycling is a priority. Recycling is implemented all along the route and London Marathon works with all six London boroughs that the route winds through to ensure waste is collected and recyled. All the Lucozade now comes in new packacing, fully recyclable 300ml PET bottles and all the waste in the finish area is taken to the Materials Recovery Facility where recyclable materials are sorted and sent for recycling. I also saw on the TV yesterday a report about using some of the plastic bottles to make beautiful 3d artwork flowers.

The London Marathon Expo, held in the 4 days before the race itself, is held at London Excel, a fully sustainable building with its own Materials Recovery Facility and, believe it or not, its own wormery holding 250,000 to 300,000 worms. This wormery is the largest UK onsite wormery where worms feast on the food waste and compostable packaging waste from Excel.

If you were watching the race, you will have noticed metres and metres of sponsors advertising, in fact 23 kilometres in total. After the race, this signage is sent for recycling and used in all manner of arts and craft activities throughout the London boroughs.

The large lorries from TNT that take the runners’ bags from start to finish are part of the largest fleet of zero emission trucks in the world.

London Marathon have also cut down almost completley on runners communication by paper. Entry is now online and correspondence and news sent to runners up to the race itself is all via email.

There are many other ways that London Marathon has turned green and it’s great to see that much thought has been put into making such a huge event as green as possible.

Oh, and anyone reading this who thinks “I could never do a marathon”, you can! If I can do it, then you certainly can. I couldn’t run 100m without gasping for breath when I started running and then a year later I finished the London Marathon in just over 5 hours! Come on, get your kit on and start running, it’s good for you.

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Age is no barrier for these superwomen

April 23, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

Some women are truly inspirational and I only hope I have the same energy and enthusiasm when I am several decades older!

This week, Evelyn Blackburn celebrate 60 years as a massage therapist. She’s 98! She’s massaged thousands over the year and still has a studio at her home. Look at her, she looks miles younger than 98. I wonder if I’ll still be giving reflexology and Bowen treatments when I’m that age.

Evelyn Blackburn, massage therapist, aged 98

Evelyn Blackburn, massage therapist, aged 98

Then there’s Bette Calman from Australia, who is still bending and stretching at the grand age of 83. She’s a yoga teacher and teaches 11 classes a week in Melbourne. “Yoga keeps you young,” says Bette. Sure does, she looks amazing and that pose she’s doing is way beyond me. I can’t even touch my toes.

Yoga Gran (c) BP/Barcott Media

Yoga Gran (c) BP/Barcott Media

And last but absolutely no means least is my Mum, Jean. She’s amazing of course and at the age of 75 she ran her first ever 5k. She had never run before but trained well and completed the 5k (3.1m) course in a rather fantastic time of 43 minutes! I was so impressed and it was a scorching hot day. Two years later and we’ve entered another 5k in July in Windsor. My Mum has incredible energy – I bet she’s in the garden right now digging and weeding as I type and she still works 4 days a week as a PA.

My brilliant Mum

My brilliant Mum

These three women show that life really is for living, every single minute of the day. Who says that at a certain age you are old and have to stop everything and retire? If you love and enjoy something so much, why not carry on doing it.

I hope I’m still going strong when I’m their age.

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To Bee or Not to Bee

April 21, 2009 · Filed under Food · Tagged , , , ,

I’m big on honey at the moment. Active Manuka honey from New Zealand is incredibly high in anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties and is a wonderful treatment for internal and external ailments. It has been shown to be very effective at clearing up fungal conditions on the skin and, internally, can be taken to help get rid of a nasty cough. Manuka honey has even been used in hospitals to held pressure sores, ulcers and MRSA.

honey300w
If you’re buying Manuka honey, it’s imporant to buy one that has a UMF – Unique Manuka Factor – as not all honey has the amazing antibacterial properties. UMF is measured in 5+ to 25+ – I’m using 15+ at the moment and took a huge dessertspoon before I went to bed last night. Usually, I’m laid up for several days with this particular strain of horrendous cold/chest infection but it’s like I’ve skipped a day and feel a lot better already.

When it comes to coughs, in my opinion you don’t have to stretch to Manuka as a good dollop of local honey can help much better than a sugary cough mixture from the shops. Local honey is also great for hayfever sufferers, if taken before the hayfever kicks in, as it gives allows the sufferer’s immune system to get used to the local pollen.

Unfortunately, in the UK and across other countries including the US, we could be facing a shortage of local honey. There is a parasite affecting bees and killing them off and almost one in six hives nationally has been lost. Bees not only produce honey for us but they also play a big part in pollinating many of our food crops. In fact bees are responsible for pollinating almost 90% of our apple crops. It’s not known exactly how this parasite infects the bees but thankfully the Government has pledged £10 million towards research to find out what exactly is going on. This is very welcome news as the vast majority of bee keepers are amateur beekeepers who operate for pleasure rather than profit and cannot afford the loss of their colonies. The £10m is funding research into agricultural factors, social factors and enviromental factors. Aside from the parasites, there are some scientists who believe that mobile phone waves be also play a signficant part by interfering with the bees’ own navigation systems.

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UK Aware – ideas for greener living

April 19, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday I visited UK Aware at Olympia in London, a show full of ideas for greener living. I’m very new to this whole greener lifestyle and, to me, it’s really quite daunting. There are so many ways, it seems, to reduce your carbon footprint and I feel I’ve merely dipped my small toe in a huge ocean so far.

I decided that my aim of attending was to get ideas of what areas of my life I should be looking to improve and then go away and work on them. I also wanted to get a lot more information on what the green issue is really all about.

No sooner had a I stepped through the idea than I was accosted by a very amiable chap promoting National Trust Green Energy in association with Npower. Actually only two days ago I had mentioned to my boyfriend that it would be good to join the National Trust as there are some wonderful estates to visit around the south east. Normally I decline very politely but something made me listen to this guy. Naturally, as a salesman he was very persuasive, but I liked what I heard and the facts and figures stood up for themselves. National Trust Green Energy is generated from a number of renewable sources, primarly at an offshore wind farm and thus not producing any greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Plus Npower donates money to the National Trust Green Fund every year for each customer of NT Green Energy. Sounded great to me and, uncharacteristically, I signed up there and then.

I learnt some more about electric cars (would love one but my therapy couch doesn’t fit in) and electric bikes, understood more about Fairtrade, tried some great tasting natural foods courtesy of Conscious Food, chatted about World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and watched dozens get enthusiastic over Morsbags. The idea with Morsbags is to reduce the number of plastic bags being used (1 million are consumed per minute globally) by making your own reusable cloth bags out of old materials, be they duvets, curtains or old clothes. There are even Morsbag groups around the country getting together regularly to make more bags over a glass of wine or cup of tea. I’m no sewer but I got quite enthused by this and might even shock my Mum by asking to borrow her sewing machine.

Morsbags

Morsbags

One device that caught my attention was the ecocamel showerhead which claims to save up to £250 per year. The spray actually contains lighter, softer water droplets that ‘pop’ on impact giving an enhanced shower experience. The amount of water used is reduced, saving up to 6 litres per minute. In turn, the cost of energy to heat the water is reduced. I spoke to one of the designers and grilled him on figures. He impressed me. I bought the product.

I came away, as I always tend to do from exhibitions, with a bag full of flyers, posters, leaflets and information plus a few freebies. My reading pile has increased again but I shall slowly work my way through all the information.

I really enjoyed the day and, assuming it’s on next year, will definitely return.

In the meantime, if someone could please invent a cure for the common cold …….

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Make your own mind up – Homeopathy and Cancer Therapies

April 15, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

Recent studies have shown that some homeopathic remedies may ease the side-effects of cancer treatments yet without interferring with the effectiveness of the cancer treatment. In particular, the homeopathic remedies for dermatitis and cold sores appeared to work well according to some of the reports.

The peculiar thing is the way this report has been received. Depending on which search engine, publication or news group you read, you may find the report highlighted how “Homeopathy remains unproven as a remedy”, “Homeopathy relieves side effects of cancer therapies, “Homeopathy appears compatible with cancer therapy” or “No convincing evidence for homeopathic remedies”.

So, various immediate thoughts on homeopathy by the articles’ authors: some positive, some negative, some sitting on the fence. The headlines are designed to lead your thinking and it very much depends on the publication as to what their bias is. Frustrating really. That’s why it’s so important to understand fully the research done relating to a complementary therapy and to come to your own decisions.

Naturally, I’m hugely in favour of many complementary therapies (I can’t comment on all as I’ve not had experience of all) and it frustrates me so much that some groups regard the whole CAM area as complete quackness. I urge you all to come to your own conclusion re CAM and not just based on one or two biased articles in the press. Now if after experience and research you still don’t rate CAM, then fair enough. And please also look equally at the efficacy of many conventional medicines too.

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Developments in the world of fertility (or lack of it)

April 13, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Chinese scientists claim to have created eggs in sterile ovaries. This is very promising news that could help infertile couples to conceive.

The research is still in very early days as it’s only been tested on mice so far, and not humans. However, it’s interesting to note that the newly created eggs in the mice produced very healthy youngsters.

The research focuses on stem cells (these are found in almost all cells and have the ability to renew themselves, used in adult cells for repair) which were removed by the scientists from the ovaries of the mice, grown in a lab and injected back into the mice, resulting in healthy eggs. Sounds relatively simple but many experts around the world remain sceptical, calling for much more research.

Nevertheless, it’s the beginning of some very encouraging developments in the issue of infertility. Women left infertile after cancer treatments or those who have reached menopause early could potentially benefit from this breakthrough. It could also mean women don’t have to worry so much about their ‘body clock’ ticking away.

There’s still so much controversy however regarding stem cell research and how ethical it is as stem cell research requires the destruction of a human embryo.

Complementary therapies for infertility

I’m not aware of complementary therapies being successful specifically for woman whose fertility has been compromised by early menopause or chemotherapy, but there has been much talk about how complementary therapies have helped couples conceive, who were not otherwise able to conceive.

Reflexology, for example, works to balance the body, bringing about homeostasis. Reflexologists trained in special pregnancy techniques for conception and pre/post natal care will apply extra work to the reflex points relating to the reproductive system. This focus will bring about a reflex action in the corresponding body parts (including pituitary gland, ovaries and uterus) to help balance the hormones and to normalise functionality. It may take at least 6-10 treatments to effect a change and other lifestyle factors will also be looked at by the therapist.

Bowen Technique is another therapy that could possibly assist with fertility problems. This gentle light touch bodywork helps re-align and balance the body. Whilst the whole body is treated, there is a particular set of powerful moves available to the therapist that work around the pelvic region along the autonomic nervous system.

Of course, there are various conventional drugs that can be prescribed by the GP/fertility clinic such as Clomid. These are actually very efficient at improving fertility and, in my opinion, this is one area where conventional and complementary therapies work well together. Fertility, or lack of it, can be very stressful and it’s a paradox that this very stress can reduce fertility. Quite apart from the deeper work the complementary therapies do, the client will always come away from treatments in a much more relaxed state and relaxation of the body is key to stimulating its own healing properties and allowing remedies to work, be they conventional or complementary.

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