As winter settles in and temperatures drop many families opt for cozying up next to a real fire in their homes. Most people will "recycle" wood and burn scraps from old fences, children's swingsets, decks and picnic tables. This is a very toxic practice.
Pressure-treated wood is treated with a chemical called CCA (chromated copper arsenate) to protect it from damage from sun. mould, insects, and water. CCA leaches from the pressure-treated wood and has shown to be present as a residue on the surface of the wood, in the soil and ground water around the structure, and in the ash from previously burning household fires. Note that pressure-treated wood manufacturers must now claim whether or not their product has been treated with CCA and whether or not it contains arsenic.
Arsenic is a known human carcinogen and is frequently associated with lung, skin and bladder cancer. Symptoms of arsenic exposure can include stomach ache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It can also result in decreased production of red and white blood cells which may cause fatigue, abnormal heart rhythm, blood-vessel damage resulting in bruising, and impaired nerve function. One of the early warning signs of arsenic poisoning is a "pins and needles" sensation in hands and feet. Other signs and symptoms include skin thickening, fluid accumulation (resulting in puffiness) especially around the lower eyelids, face and ankles, diarrhea, garlic breath, perspiration, excessive salivation, generalized itching, oral inflammation, sore throat, runny nose, excessive tearing, numbness, skin inflammation, hair loss, weakness, and loss of appetite. Arsenic can also cause a range of neurological effects, including headaches and vision problems. It can cause noticeable behavioral changes, most commonly aggression or depression.
Early treatment of arsenic poisoning whether acute or chronic low-grade exposure is critical. Arsenic levels can be safely assessed in patients aged 2-102 years old at Ocean Wellness by Dr. Jolene Kennett, ND through a urine sample following a treatment called chelation provocation. For more information call 604.986.9355.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
An addendum to Cushing's and Lead blog
The following information is from another website blog and relates to my previous post.
http://www.olyblog.com/f/06/HiddenCostsF06192006.shtml
Ground Contamination False Creek - published March 2006
page 228- LeverageOlympicMomentum.com ...
Here is what we do know regarding ground contamination in Vancouver as of early April 2006; the soil where the Olympic Village is to be built has been extensively tested. According to Jody Andrews, Project Manager for the Southeast False Creek project, they drilled hundreds of core samples throughout the site. The samples revealed a wide variety of contaminants spread in a variety of areas on the property, like hydrocarbons (derivative of petroleum), waste from a smelter, by-products from a wood mill, and other miscellaneous industrial waste. The contamination reaches down in some places to a depth of nine meters, almost three stories deep. The land was used industrially from the early 1800's, so you can image what has been dumped there over the last 100 years before environmental regulations were in place, plus from unscrupulous companies that made midnight runs to the deserted property in order to illegally empty their tanker trucks of poisons like lead, arsenic, or who knows what else. It happens every night in all big cities and this area is an easy target. Over the last 100 years there have been "sawmills, foundries, shipbuilding, metalworking, salt distribution, warehousing, and a municipal public works yard" on the land at different times. In order to build out the Olympic Village area, approximately fifty acres, nine meters deep has to be excavated, and either treated onsite, or hauled to another location for safe disposal. Would you want to live on this land? In Sydney when they undertook a similar soil remediation task in the Homebush Bay Olympic site area, costs escalated out of control, plus, it created untold health problems for people living and working in the vicinity. Digging up fifty acres of contaminated soil three stories deep puts an incredible amount of dust in the air. Plus, the property borders the Pacific Ocean, which means not only is there an impact to air quality, but to water too. Residents in the Homebush Bay area complained of increased asthma, bronchitis and skin rashes, plus there was evidence of chromosomal damage. Health care costs increased proportionately, which meant another hidden cost. The city did not take the concerns of residents seriously until international media started reporting the information. Andrews freely admitted we would not know what lies in the ground until the entire site is excavated. Quite literally, it is anybody's guess what it will cost to make the site safe for residents. This particular piece of land also has a very unique microclimate, which contributes to the dispersal of air contaminants. Prevailing winds in the summer are from the west, off the ocean. During the day as the air over the land heats up it rises and the cooler ocean air moves in to displace it. When this happens the contaminants in the air are pushed up and into the valley. In the evening the cycle is reversed, but to a considerably lesser extent. Basically, the microclimate sets up an ebb and flow system that will spread the contaminated dust among millions of residents. Homebush Bay had a very similar challenge. During a public forum, when I asked Andrews if he knew about Homebush Bay, he looked puzzled and said, "No. Never heard of it." (cv1;cf1)
http://www.olyblog.com/f/06/HiddenCostsF06192006.shtml
Ground Contamination False Creek - published March 2006
page 228- LeverageOlympicMomentum.com ...
Here is what we do know regarding ground contamination in Vancouver as of early April 2006; the soil where the Olympic Village is to be built has been extensively tested. According to Jody Andrews, Project Manager for the Southeast False Creek project, they drilled hundreds of core samples throughout the site. The samples revealed a wide variety of contaminants spread in a variety of areas on the property, like hydrocarbons (derivative of petroleum), waste from a smelter, by-products from a wood mill, and other miscellaneous industrial waste. The contamination reaches down in some places to a depth of nine meters, almost three stories deep. The land was used industrially from the early 1800's, so you can image what has been dumped there over the last 100 years before environmental regulations were in place, plus from unscrupulous companies that made midnight runs to the deserted property in order to illegally empty their tanker trucks of poisons like lead, arsenic, or who knows what else. It happens every night in all big cities and this area is an easy target. Over the last 100 years there have been "sawmills, foundries, shipbuilding, metalworking, salt distribution, warehousing, and a municipal public works yard" on the land at different times. In order to build out the Olympic Village area, approximately fifty acres, nine meters deep has to be excavated, and either treated onsite, or hauled to another location for safe disposal. Would you want to live on this land? In Sydney when they undertook a similar soil remediation task in the Homebush Bay Olympic site area, costs escalated out of control, plus, it created untold health problems for people living and working in the vicinity. Digging up fifty acres of contaminated soil three stories deep puts an incredible amount of dust in the air. Plus, the property borders the Pacific Ocean, which means not only is there an impact to air quality, but to water too. Residents in the Homebush Bay area complained of increased asthma, bronchitis and skin rashes, plus there was evidence of chromosomal damage. Health care costs increased proportionately, which meant another hidden cost. The city did not take the concerns of residents seriously until international media started reporting the information. Andrews freely admitted we would not know what lies in the ground until the entire site is excavated. Quite literally, it is anybody's guess what it will cost to make the site safe for residents. This particular piece of land also has a very unique microclimate, which contributes to the dispersal of air contaminants. Prevailing winds in the summer are from the west, off the ocean. During the day as the air over the land heats up it rises and the cooler ocean air moves in to displace it. When this happens the contaminants in the air are pushed up and into the valley. In the evening the cycle is reversed, but to a considerably lesser extent. Basically, the microclimate sets up an ebb and flow system that will spread the contaminated dust among millions of residents. Homebush Bay had a very similar challenge. During a public forum, when I asked Andrews if he knew about Homebush Bay, he looked puzzled and said, "No. Never heard of it." (cv1;cf1)
Lead exposure and Cushing's symptoms... A coincidence?
The other day I had a patient present in my office:
43 male, working at the site of the Olympic Village (South East False Creek) since 2007. Over the past 6 months this patient has developed softening of his muscles, emotional lability, abnormal bruising, puffiness of the face, reddening of the face, elevated blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels. Prior to the development of these symptoms the patient's health was unremarkable.
Research indicates that soil samples taken from the development site of the Olympic Village are contaminated with numerous petroleum by-products, chemicals, and LEAD AND ARSENIC. There was demand that 50+ acres 9 meters deep be removed from the Olympic Village site and either disposed of safely in a different location, or processed (i.e. cleaned) and replaced. This would have risen costs tremendously! Sadly I could not find any reports of the soil being "cleaned"...
Lead exposure, whether chronic or acute, may present as Cushing-like signs and symptoms. The work-up for this patient involves various lab tests at the local hospital as per an internal medicine specialist and heavy metal investigation by his naturopathic doctor.
I used Ca-EDTA and DMPS to provoke the removal of metals from this patient's body and am eagerly awaiting the urine toxic metals report.
Stay tuned for more information on this case. Also, I would appreciate any comments or questions.
43 male, working at the site of the Olympic Village (South East False Creek) since 2007. Over the past 6 months this patient has developed softening of his muscles, emotional lability, abnormal bruising, puffiness of the face, reddening of the face, elevated blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels. Prior to the development of these symptoms the patient's health was unremarkable.
Research indicates that soil samples taken from the development site of the Olympic Village are contaminated with numerous petroleum by-products, chemicals, and LEAD AND ARSENIC. There was demand that 50+ acres 9 meters deep be removed from the Olympic Village site and either disposed of safely in a different location, or processed (i.e. cleaned) and replaced. This would have risen costs tremendously! Sadly I could not find any reports of the soil being "cleaned"...
Lead exposure, whether chronic or acute, may present as Cushing-like signs and symptoms. The work-up for this patient involves various lab tests at the local hospital as per an internal medicine specialist and heavy metal investigation by his naturopathic doctor.
I used Ca-EDTA and DMPS to provoke the removal of metals from this patient's body and am eagerly awaiting the urine toxic metals report.
Stay tuned for more information on this case. Also, I would appreciate any comments or questions.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Worried about this years flu? Try this....
Many Vancouverites avoid getting the flu shot because they feel the underlying premise of such a vaccination is flawed. Health food stores are laden with "safe" alternatives to fight off, or prevent, the flu but there is a different therapy which I rather use in my office and it gets right to the source of the infection.
A flu is generally characterized as runny nose, coughing, sneezing, chest pain from coughing, headache from clogged sinuses, fever (from fighting infection) etc... If you think about it, most of these symptoms involve the respiratory system. The flu is spread via respiratory droplets and inhaled. So why not treat the respiratory system?!
Nebulized IV-grade glycyrrhizic acid (derived from licorice), along with some IV-grade glutathione and saline solution is the therapy of choice, in my opinion, to prevent and help treat the flu. Licorice extract is antiviral and it helps to soothe and heal the respiratory system.
A nebulizer is a machine that mixes liquid solutions with air so that the solution can be inhaled into the lungs as a medicinal mist. Nebulizers can be purchased at your local pharmacy or from your naturopathic doctor.
Note that this therapy is also useful in the treatment of COPD, Emphysema, Pneumonia, Bronchitis and Lung Cancer.
For more information, please call Ocean Wellness at 604.986.9355.
A flu is generally characterized as runny nose, coughing, sneezing, chest pain from coughing, headache from clogged sinuses, fever (from fighting infection) etc... If you think about it, most of these symptoms involve the respiratory system. The flu is spread via respiratory droplets and inhaled. So why not treat the respiratory system?!
Nebulized IV-grade glycyrrhizic acid (derived from licorice), along with some IV-grade glutathione and saline solution is the therapy of choice, in my opinion, to prevent and help treat the flu. Licorice extract is antiviral and it helps to soothe and heal the respiratory system.
A nebulizer is a machine that mixes liquid solutions with air so that the solution can be inhaled into the lungs as a medicinal mist. Nebulizers can be purchased at your local pharmacy or from your naturopathic doctor.
Note that this therapy is also useful in the treatment of COPD, Emphysema, Pneumonia, Bronchitis and Lung Cancer.
For more information, please call Ocean Wellness at 604.986.9355.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
FISH: The right choice?
On October 6th, 2008 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed Sockeye salmon on its threatened species list. The most threatened populations of Sockeye salmon are the British Columbian Sockeye that spawn in the Fraser River and the Skeena River. The full report can be found at www.stateofthesalmon.org/IUCN/
So we have known for a while that farmed salmon are bad. We have always beentold that the wild Pacific Sockeye is the best choice and that we should avoid tuna due to toxic levels of mercury contamination. Now we are being warned that we should limit wild Pacific Sockeye consumption as it is on its way to becoming extinct unless a federal program is implemented to clean up their habitat and limit their consumption.
Make healthy choices for healthy oceans!
I hope we are no where near being the last generation to feed safely from our waters.
Here is an updated list from an organization called SeaChoice on which fish/seafoods are the best choices. For more information on SeaChoice, visit www.seachoice.org/.
Fish: The right choice:
So we have known for a while that farmed salmon are bad. We have always beentold that the wild Pacific Sockeye is the best choice and that we should avoid tuna due to toxic levels of mercury contamination. Now we are being warned that we should limit wild Pacific Sockeye consumption as it is on its way to becoming extinct unless a federal program is implemented to clean up their habitat and limit their consumption.
Make healthy choices for healthy oceans!
I hope we are no where near being the last generation to feed safely from our waters.
Here is an updated list from an organization called SeaChoice on which fish/seafoods are the best choices. For more information on SeaChoice, visit www.seachoice.org/.
Fish: The right choice:
- Catfish (US) - Farmed
- Caviar/Sturgeon - Farmed
- Clams - Farmed
- Cod: Pacific (US) - Wild
- Fish Sticks (Pollock) - Alaskan
- Hake: Pacific (Canada)
- Herring: Atlantic (US), Pacific (Canada)
- Imitation Crab: Pollock (Alaskan)
- Lobster: Rock, Spiny (Australia, US, Western Baja)
- Mussels - Farmed
- Pollock (Alaskan)
- Sablefish (Alaskan, BC)
- Sardine: Brisling, Sprats (US)
- Shrimp/Prawn: Sidestripe, Spot (BC) - Trap-caught
- Tilapia (US) - Farmed
- Trout: Rainbow - Farmed
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Components of Permanent Weight Loss
Yearly, the percentage of overweight individuals is growing. In North America the percentage of overweight individuals is pushing 66%! This is a concern that naturopathic doctors deal with frequently as permanent weight loss has huge implications in a person's overall health.
So why is it that so many patients attend clinic after clinic and fail to maintain the weight goals they strived so hard to achieve?! I hear of patients who spent their entire lives on programs like Weight Watchers, Zone, LA Weight Loss etc... only to become discouraged with themselves.
Here are the top 7 items most naturopathic doctors will address in natural weight-loss programs:
1. Emotional Eating
2. Brain Chemistry Imbalances
3. Food Sensitivities
4. Nutritional Deficiencies and Low-Calorie Dieting
5. Hormone Deficiencies
6. Detoxification
7. Lifestyle Modification
In combination, when done safely, addressing the above items will lead most successfully to permanent weight loss.
So there you have it - the missing links ;)
So why is it that so many patients attend clinic after clinic and fail to maintain the weight goals they strived so hard to achieve?! I hear of patients who spent their entire lives on programs like Weight Watchers, Zone, LA Weight Loss etc... only to become discouraged with themselves.
Here are the top 7 items most naturopathic doctors will address in natural weight-loss programs:
1. Emotional Eating
2. Brain Chemistry Imbalances
3. Food Sensitivities
4. Nutritional Deficiencies and Low-Calorie Dieting
5. Hormone Deficiencies
6. Detoxification
7. Lifestyle Modification
In combination, when done safely, addressing the above items will lead most successfully to permanent weight loss.
So there you have it - the missing links ;)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Painkillers MAY prevent cancer
Vancouver Sun, Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 - FRONT COVER
Yesterday I came across the front page of the Vancouver Sun and was astounded to see a picture of Advil tablets, an Advil bottle, and the words prevent cancer!
For those of you who did not get a chance to read the newspaper, there was a 42 year observational study showing that women who took more anti-inflammatory painkillers had a modest 12% less chance of breast cancer development.
For decades, Naturopathic doctors have been working with their patients to reduce inflammation in the body to either decrease signs and symptoms of, or prevent chronic diseases. Some examples of chronic diseases involving inflammatory pathways include diabetes, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, infertility, cancer, bowel disease (i.e. inflammatory bowel disease.)
The point here is that drug companies are catching on to what naturopathic doctors have always known in order to increase their profit. Rather than taking Advil or Aspirin which have reported adverse reactions ranging from stomach upset, to stroke and death, ask your naturopathic doctor how you can reduce inflammation in your body. The good news is that we have safe means to address inflammation.
To prevent, or reduce, chronic disease it is important to know where the inflammation is, why it is occurring, how to eliminate "bad" inflammation, and how to avoid re-inflammation.
In closing, I think that it is about time that the public is aware that cancer may be linked to inflammation - now they just have to learn how to reduce their risk of cancer naturally, through lifestyle, diet, exercise, and supplementation.
Take home message: Before you go out and buy more Advil or Aspirin, consult with an expert on inflammation, your naturopathic doctor.
Yesterday I came across the front page of the Vancouver Sun and was astounded to see a picture of Advil tablets, an Advil bottle, and the words prevent cancer!
For those of you who did not get a chance to read the newspaper, there was a 42 year observational study showing that women who took more anti-inflammatory painkillers had a modest 12% less chance of breast cancer development.
For decades, Naturopathic doctors have been working with their patients to reduce inflammation in the body to either decrease signs and symptoms of, or prevent chronic diseases. Some examples of chronic diseases involving inflammatory pathways include diabetes, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, arthritis, infertility, cancer, bowel disease (i.e. inflammatory bowel disease.)
The point here is that drug companies are catching on to what naturopathic doctors have always known in order to increase their profit. Rather than taking Advil or Aspirin which have reported adverse reactions ranging from stomach upset, to stroke and death, ask your naturopathic doctor how you can reduce inflammation in your body. The good news is that we have safe means to address inflammation.
To prevent, or reduce, chronic disease it is important to know where the inflammation is, why it is occurring, how to eliminate "bad" inflammation, and how to avoid re-inflammation.
In closing, I think that it is about time that the public is aware that cancer may be linked to inflammation - now they just have to learn how to reduce their risk of cancer naturally, through lifestyle, diet, exercise, and supplementation.
Take home message: Before you go out and buy more Advil or Aspirin, consult with an expert on inflammation, your naturopathic doctor.
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