Health, Microbes, and More
Can pesticides be detected in your home? A Cornell University study found that every single home they studied in different areas of upstate New York had detectable pesticide residues in the homes. Every single one of the 132 rural homes. Pesticides are colorless and odorless, but they still may be in your home from applications ...continue reading "Can Pesticides Be Detected In Your Home?"
Once again a study finds that pesticide exposure is linked to an adverse health effect - that pesticide exposure in the home during pregnancy and early childhood is linked to an elevated risk of brain tumor in the child. Other studies have also found that pesticides used in the home are associated with a higher risk ...continue reading "Pesticide Use During Pregnancy and Childhood Brain Tumors"
Another study has linked childhood behavioral problems to pesticide exposure, this time to pyrethroid insecticide exposure. Pyrethroids are synthetic pesticides (insecticides) that are increasingly used for personal use (mosquito repellents and treatments for head lice, scabies), on pets (for fleas), home use (e.g., Raid pesticides), and in agriculture. Until recently, they have been viewed as "safer" ...continue reading "Common Pesticides and Behavioral Problems in Children"
An important study was recently published that documents that when pregnant women are exposed to potentially harmful chemicals in the environment around them (environmental pollutants), many of these chemicals also get transferred to the fetus. Many of the 59 chemicals looked for were detected in the newborn babies' umbilical cords (thus the chemicals had crossed the ...continue reading "Exposure To Harmful Chemicals During Pregnancy Shows Up In the Newborn"
The link between pesticide exposure (pesticides used in the home or in the garden or lawn) and childhood brain tumors has been known for years. From Science Daily: Factors associated with childhood brain tumors identified Older parents, birth defects, maternal nutrition and childhood exposure to CT scans and pesticides are increasingly being associated with brain ...continue reading "Some Pregnancy Behaviors Associated with Problems Later"
The researchers of this study looked at proximity to farm fields (how close a pregnant woman lives to a farm) and certain farm pesticides and found a link between exposure to farm pesticides during pregnancy and having a child with autism. But too bad they didn't also include pesticide exposures from homes (for pest control), ...continue reading "Farm Pesticides and Autism Link"
The reality is that we are exposed to thousands of industrial chemicals in our daily lives - in our foods, products, even in dust. Chemicals can get into us through ingestion (food and contaminated water), through inhalation (in dust and contaminated air), and can even be absorbed through the skin. Blood and urine tests can ...continue reading "Study Finds An Average of 56 Suspect Chemicals In Pregnant Women"
The American Academy of Pediatrics (representing 67,000 pediatricians) has come out with a statement expressing serious health concerns about the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) lax regulation of chemicals added to food and food packaging - such as additives, BPA, colors, flavors, nitrates, nitrites, etc. They also list ways that this problem could be fixed (Congress ...continue reading "Pediatricians Have Health Concerns About All the Additives In Food"
Wondering which fruits and vegetables have the most pesticide residues? The annual Dirty Dozen List of produce with the most pesticide residues has once again been published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). They suggest that these fruits and vegetables are good candidates for buying organic. Why organic? Because while almost 70 % of the ...continue reading "Fruits, Vegetables, and Pesticide Residues"
Two recent studies, both done in California, looked at different aspects of pesticide exposure. They highlight how people can be exposed to pesticides in the air they breathe, especially if they live in areas where pesticides are heavily applied (such as farms). But keep in mind that even in suburbia, every time a neighbor applies ...continue reading "Living Near Farms and Pesticide Exposure"