Cancer Prevention

In a lather over antibacterial soap

Should you be washing your hands or bathing your children with antibacterial soap?

The University of Texas student government and Canadian leaders say no. Many environmentalists and scientists agree.

The concern is triclosan, an antibacterial chemical used for more than 30 years in soaps, toothpastes, lotions and deodorant and marketed as a germ killer. But antibacterial soap does not work any better than regular soap, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other studies.

Fran on Anderson - How to Make Healthier Choices

From the April 16, 2012 episode of ANDERSON, Fran tells Anderson Cooper that people can reduce cancer-causing toxins in their home by making better choices of personal care items, cleaning products, and food.

 

Are Pesticides Making You Sick and Fat?

An apple a day might have kept the doctor away prior to the industrialization of food growing and preparation.  Unless it’s a pesticide-free apple, not only is today’s apple not sufficient to keep the doctor away, it is more likely to keep the doctor on call.

If the food’s in plastic, what’s in the food?

In a study published last year in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers put five San Francisco families on a three-day diet of food that hadn’t been in contact with plastic. When they compared urine samples before and after the diet, the scientists were stunned to see what a difference a few days could make: The participants’ levels of bisphenol A (BPA), which is used to harden polycarbonate plastic, plunged — by two-thirds, on average — while those of the phthalate DEHP, which imparts flexibility to plastics, dropped by more than half.

Give Up Pesticides (Try IPM Instead)

At home and in the garden, integrated pest management provides an effective, alternative strategy to the use of toxic pesticides.

Study: Suspect Chemicals Found in Many Products

A new study by the Silent Spring Institute and published in Environmental Health Perspectives finds that many consumer products have at least one chemical linked to hormone changes (endocrine disruption) or asthma.

For consumers who want to limit their exposure to suspect chemicals in the study, the institute recommended that they use fewer products, especially:

Sunscreens Exposed: 9 Surprising Truths

Sunscreens prevent sunburns, but beyond that simple fact surprisingly little is known about the safety and efficacy of these ubiquitous creams and sprays. FDA’s failure to finalize its 1978 sunscreen safety standards both epitomizes and perpetuates this state of confusion.

Help Prevent Cancer with Healthy Habits

An important part of cancer prevention is as simple as making healthy lifestyle choices, or choosing healthful habits while avoiding unhealthy ones. The following is a list of everyday healthy choices that can lower your cancer risk.

How to Know Biodegradable from Common Plastic Bottles

In the past months you have learned a lot about plastic and its natural alternatives, like special materials made from plants that look and feel like normal plastic but are biodegradable and thus nature friendly. If you missed it you can read about plastic made from corn in one of our previous articles.

But how do you actually know which plastic is made from plants and which isn’t? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t that easy.

Sleeping pills linked to higher risk of cancer, death, study says

 A new study suggests that the 6% to 10% of Americans who use prescription sleep medications such as zolpidem (Ambien), temazepam (Restoril), eszopiclone (Lunesta) and zaleplon (Sonata) are more likely to develop cancer, and far more likely to die prematurely, than those who take no sleep aids.

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