What pregnant women—and those who love them—should know.
Is there a time in any woman's life when she takes her health more seriously than when she's pregnant or considering to start a family? "Children today are surrounded by thousands of synthetic chemicals," finds research in the journal Current Opinion in Pediatrics.
While we've learned a lot in recent years about growing environmental risks, it appears more than chemical toxins are involved. Still largely overlooked is electropollution from the constantly expanding number of antennae, cell and cordless phones, digital devices, dirty electricity, medical imaging… Continue reading Categories
Archives
Edge on Health Blog
Archive for the ‘Children’s Health’ Category
Are Ultrasounds During Pregnancy Linked to Sky-Rocketing Autism?
November 15th, 2010What pregnant women—and those who love them—should know.
Is there a time in any woman's life when she takes her health more seriously than when she's pregnant or considering to start a family? "Children today are surrounded by thousands of synthetic chemicals," finds research in the journal Current Opinion in Pediatrics.
While we've learned a lot in recent years about growing environmental risks, it appears more than chemical toxins are involved. Still largely overlooked is electropollution from the constantly expanding number of antennae, cell and cordless phones, digital devices, dirty electricity, medical imaging… Continue reading Is Your Cordless Phone Zapping You?
October 22nd, 2010
New research links these and other wireless signals to heart irregularities.
A double-blind peer-reviewed study published today in the European Journal of Oncology links cordless phones—which transmit pulsed signals similar to WiFi networks—to heart palpitations and other autonomic nervous system problems.
"People don't just feel ill, their heart begins to race," says lead author Magda Havas, PhD. This is first study to document immediate, dramatic change in both heart rate and its variability from microwave (MW) exposure well below the federal standards in this country and Canada.
In this investigation, Colorado residents between 37… Continue reading Are Medical Tests Making You Sick?
October 20th, 2010
Concerns are growing about high-tech scans, even mammograms.
In the last decade, medical personnel have upped their use of CT scans and MRIs significantly—without a corresponding rise in life-threatening conditions, a new study in JAMA shows. Earlier this year over 250 patients at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center got far more radiation than they bargained for—burning their skin and causing some to lose their hair—from CT scans.
The federal Food and Drug Administration that regulates radiation machines has limited oversight of this equipment, so responsibility rests with the states. The New York Times reports that… Continue reading Why Your Kitchen Is Killing You
September 10th, 2010
Household cleaners still send kids to the ER—and have been linked to breast cancer.
From deadly drain and oven cleaners to abrasives and biocides (antibacterial products that can raise the risk of superbugs), common household cleaning products contain far too many environmental toxins. Over the past 17 years, common cleaners sent close to 270,000 children to the emergency room.
While child-proof packaging has substantially reduced the risk of preschooler poisonings, spray cleaners (that typically don't have child-resistant caps) account for approximately 40% of ER visits. "People don't realize that the handle can be… Continue reading Premature Puberty Is a Growing Concern
August 30th, 2010
Environmental toxins, insulin, melatonin, and obesity may all play a role.
Precocious puberty—especially premature development of breast tissue—has dramatically increased in this country and Europe. As many as "10% of white girls at age 7 have breast development to some extent," Ann Budzah, MD, a pediatrician at Gundersen Lutheran Health Center in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, recently told the New York Times.
A new Danish study links the earliest onset of puberty in girls with both body fat and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the environment, noting that the consequences of these environmental toxins "may not be… Continue reading Going Back to School Can Be Risky Business
August 23rd, 2010
Be aware of invisible—but all too pervasive—hazards in your child's classroom.
Three young students at Bayville Elementary School in New York recently died of leukemia. And as many as "30% of the teachers, administrative staff, and employees have been diagnosed with some type of illness," including cancer and leukemia, which may result from cell phone antennas located on a nearby water tower, according to attorney Andrew Campanelli.
"My son went through 102 weeks of chemotherapy," says the mother of one child whose leukemia has been in remission for two years. "It kills me… Continue reading Some Surprising Causes of Autism
July 23rd, 2010
Environmental factors—including EMFs and mercury—may put children at risk.
A quarter century ago, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were extremely rare—only 1 out 100,000 children. Today experts estimate that 2 to 6 kids out of 1,000 will have autism. And boys are four times more likely to develop ASD than girls.
This incredible jump in autism rates has led scientists to explore environmental factors, especially in utero. Mercury—in contaminated seafood as well as vaccines—and other heavy metals (like cadmium and nickel) are prime suspects. Other likely culprits include toxic biofilms, molds, infections like Lyme disease… Continue reading Say What?
July 21st, 2010
Hearing loss increasingly impacts young people.
Approximately 36 million adults and half a million children in the United States have trouble hearing. And according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 26 million Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have hearing loss caused by loud noises.
Everything from loud toys and video games in childhood, iPods and rock concerts in adolescence, workplace noise and recreational choices—ranging from the club scene to hunting or riding a motorcycle—in adulthood can cause irreversible hearing loss.
Just going to a noisy sporting event—think… Continue reading Common Pollutants Can Harm Your Thyroid
July 7th, 2010
Chemicals in flame retardants, food, and water interrupt normal hormone function.
The first study with enough volunteers to assess the real impact of flame retarding chemicals on humans clearly links these chemicals with lower levels of thyroid hormones in pregnant women. A 10-fold increase polybrominated diphenyl esters (PBDEs) was directly associated with a 10.9 to 18.7 decrease in thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in research recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
This study also suggests possible risks to a pregnant woman's unborn child. "A mother's thyroid hormones affect her developing baby throughout her pregnancy, and they… Continue reading WiFis Dirty Little Secret
June 30th, 2010
Invisible, odorless, and silent, wireless radiation wreaks havoc 24/7.
Having trouble focusing? Can't sleep through the night?
Those are just some of the symptoms of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A genetic disorder affecting an estimated 3 to 5% of children and adults worldwide—in some countries like Australia as high as 11%—attention deficits are believed to have both environmental and nutritional components.
If attention problems and/or hyperactivity come on suddenly, though, wireless technology and other forms of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) may be to blame. While all the known mechanisms aren't… Continue reading 
Visionary, health guru, diet/detox expert, author, spokesperson, role model, and natural foods icon, Ann Louise Gittleman has always been a trendsetter. 
