Environmental Well-Being

FDA targets antibiotics in meat
- Environmental Well-Being
- December 23, 2013
For decades, animals (such as cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys) have been fed antibiotics to make them fatter faster. But many health experts have worried all these years about what those antibiotics do to humans when we ingest them, since this ingestion can lead to future antibiotic-resistant infections. Finally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down and asking that antibiotics no longer be included in animal feed.
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It’s Official: Organic Milk Is Better for You
- Environmental Well-Being
- December 14, 2013
Organic milk is better for you because it contains more omega-3 fatty acids (which help keep your heart healthy) than nonorganic milk, a large-scale study has found. Researchers also found that nonorganic milk has more omega-6 fats, which can increase inflammation levels and the risk of disease. Omega-6 fats need to have a healthy ratio to omega-3s, and that ratio is better in organic milk.
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Grit Your Teeth: Toothbrush Holder Yields New Germ
- Environmental Well-Being
- December 13, 2013
A new bacterium called Klebsiella michiganensis, part of the same family as E. coli, may be hiding in the toothbrush holder in your bathroom. Typically, E. coli is found in fecal matter or inside your intestines.
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Preterm birth linked to chemicals
- Environmental Well-Being
- November 28, 2013
A group of chemicals that mimic hormones, called phthalates, which are contained in processed foods and personal care products, have been linked to an increased risk of preterm delivery for pregnant women. According to the study in JAMA Pediatrics, women with higher levels of phthalates were two to five times more likely to deliver before 37 weeks.
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What are trans fats, anyway, and why are they so bad?
- Environmental Well-Being
- November 16, 2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that trans fats should be removed from the food that we eat, but some consumers may be left wondering why. Trans fats, or trans fatty acids, are used by food manufacturers to extend the shelf life of products.
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Foods Americans eat that are banned around the world
- Environmental Well-Being
- October 28, 2013
Each country has different guidelines on food safety, but some of the foods that we eat here in the U.S. are actually banned in other parts of the world because they may cause health risks.
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Peak soil: Why nutrition is disappearing from our food
- Environmental Well-Being
- October 13, 2013
What if soil is the key to a healthy diet and longer life? In his new book, “The Intelligent Gardener: Growing Nutrient-Dense Food,” author Steve Solomon explains that re-mineralization, or soil testing for nutrient deficiencies, may enhance our diet, which is light in nutrients.
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Rises in Early Puberty May Have Environmental Roots
- Environmental Well-Being
- September 22, 2013
It was first discovered that boys and girls in the U.S. seemed to be going through puberty at younger ages in the 1990s, but recent studies add even more support. Exposure to commonly used household chemicals have caused American girls to get their periods even earlier than ever before, according to a 2012 analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Keeping Food-Borne Illnesses at Bay
- Environmental Well-Being
- September 5, 2013
Have you ever had food poisoning? Up to 70% of food poisoning cases start in people’s kitchens, but there are steps you can take to minimize your risk of getting sick.
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What sleeping in your make-up does to your skin: Our shocking experiment exposes what happens when you don’t cleanse before bed
- Environmental Well-Being
- August 11, 2013
Do you make sure you remove your make-up before bed, every night? Many of us know that sleeping in make-up can have harmful effects on the skin and eyelashes, yet we continue to do it. Anna Pursglove, pictured above before and after her experiment, slept with her make-up on for a month, and experts say her experiment caused her skin to age by nearly a decade during that time.
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Child Deaths in India Put Spotlight on Pesticides
- Environmental Well-Being
- August 4, 2013
Many are raising questions about pesticides, following the deaths of 23 children in India who ate school lunches contaminated with the chemicals. However, experts in the U.S. say that the children didn’t show traditional symptoms associated with organophosphate poisoning, the suspected cause of death
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GMOs: Researchers debate the safety of genetically modified foods
- Environmental Well-Being
- July 22, 2013
Do you really know what’s in your food? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are used to make crops more resistant to external stressors, but many people are worried about the impact GMOs may have on our health and the environment.
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Air pollution causes lung cancer, worsens heart failure, studies find
- Environmental Well-Being
- July 15, 2013
It’s time to start recognizing that the air we breath can cause lung cancer and worsen heart failure, according to two new studies on the impact of air pollution. A person’s risk for developing lung cancer increases in more polluted areas, even if that person is a non-smoker.
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The Truth about Your Eggs
- Environmental Well-Being
- July 2, 2013
In order to avoid putting unwanted things into your body during breakfast, it’s important that you pay attention to where your eggs come from and understand how to read egg labels and jargon. Arsenic, which is linked to various forms of cancer, could be in your eggs; it is added into feed to stimulate growth in hens.
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Eat Your Sunscreen
- Environmental Well-Being
- June 25, 2013
Did you know that applying sunscreen is not the only way to protect your skin from the sun’s damaging rays? Tanya Zucherbrot, a registered dietician, explains that certain foods can help protect you from harmful UV rays because they are high in antioxidants. Foods like blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, apples and tomatoes are great summer snacks
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