Lindane: Banned Pesticide, but Safe for Lice?

Here's some important information that I received from the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health.

Lindane is a toxic pesticide that has been banned for use in more than 50 countries and the state of California, and is no longer used on pets, in agriculture or in the military anywhere in the US, according to the EPA. But you can still put lindane on children's heads or whole bodies as part of a treatment for head lice or scabies. Even with proper use, this pesticide can be absorbed through the skin and misuse can result in serious side effects. Lindane has been labeled a "Bioaccumulative Chemical of Concern" in the Great Lakes.

We need your help to pass HB 4569 to establish commonsense measures in Michigan to require use of lindane only under a doctor's direct supervision. Health professional organizations like Michigan's Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics support the legislation, noting the availability of safer, effective alternatives.

Of course, the opposition has hired high-powered lobbyists in Lansing to fight the legislation. So, please help today by sending an e-mail to your state Representative asking Michigan's House Committee on Great Lakes and the Environment to pass this important bill!

Take Action NOW!

Thanks for your support!

Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health

In lean times, biotech grains are less taboo

Soaring food prices and global grain shortages are bringing new pressures on governments, food companies and consumers to relax their longstanding resistance to genetically engineered crops.

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My Comment:

For the unsuspecting reader of the article, you would assume that GMO's (genetically modified organisms) are cheaper to grow. However, it is actually more expensive to grow genetically engineered corn and other GMO's.

From: http://www.keepmainefree.org/corn.html
Contention: “Genetic engineering ... will enable us to create more food more cheaply.”
Response: This much-toutd promise certainly hasn’t been borne out with the crop in question, Bt corn. The December 13, 2001 report, “When Does It Pay to Plant Bt Corn?” by Dr. Charles Benbrook, former Executive Director of the National Academy of Sciences Board of Agriculture, found that from 1996-2001, American farmers paid at least $659 million in price premiums to plant Bt corn, while boosting their harvest by only 276 million bushels-worth some $567 million in economic gain. The bottom line for farmers was a net loss of $92 million-about $1.31 per acre. Benbrook observed that the “jump in per acre seed expenditures with Bt corn is by far the biggest in history linked to a single new trait.” Good news for Monsanto, bad news for farmers.

From: http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Newsletter/Jan06Un-SpinningtheSpinMasters/index.cfm
According to the April 13, 2005 Deccan Herald, “A study that tracked genetically modified Bt cotton crop for three years in Andhra Pradesh has proved conclusively that it has failed on all fronts including yield, cost of cultivation, returns to farmers and resistance to pests. On the other hand, the non-Bt cotton performed better on all counts.”[19] This was the only independent study “on Bt cotton done on [a] season-long basis continuously for three years in 87 villages.” Conducted by Dr Abdul Qayoom, former Joint Director of Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh, and Mr Sakkari Kiran of the Permaculture Institute of India, the study showed that growing Bt cotton cost 12% more, yielded 8.3% less, and the returns over three years were 60% less.[20]

Boom in camps for chronically ill kids

Summer camps just for kids with chronic diseases are booming — places to learn about epilepsy or finally meet someone else with Tourette's tics or slice open a cow's heart to see what's wrong with their own.

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My Comment:
Are there enough chronically ill kids to create a business around creating camps? I guess so. And I don't think this is just because kids are "better diagnosed". I really think there are more sick kids out there.

Hopefully these camps aren't sponsored by the drug industry. My concern is that these camps help brainwash these kids about the medical industry. It would be unfortunate if these kids walk away feeling that it's "normal" to take drugs for their condition.

Maybe there is an opportunity for a holistic practitioner to open up a camp that shows how healthy eating can improve and/or eliminate chronic conditions.

UK to Ban Food Additives to Reduce Hyper Activity in Kids

Additives DO harm children - and a ban could cut child hyperactivity by a third, say scientists

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) wants six artificial colourings to be removed from products after an official study branded them as damaging to children's brains as the lead in petrol.

Removing the chemicals could also help reduce anti-social behaviour in teenagers, according to the researchers from the University of Southampton, led by Professor Jim Stevenson

Professor Stevenson and his team discovered that food chemicals caused "psychological harm" to normal healthy children.

Two groups of children showed changes in behaviour when given the additives during controlled trials. They found it hard to sit still and concentrate, they had problems reading and became loud and impulsive.

Professor Stevenson said: "We now have clear evidence that mixtures of certain food colours can adversely influence the behaviour of children.

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My Comment:
This story helps remind us that not only what we eat can and does impact our behavior, but more importantly, that processed foods are full of chemicals. Most people get lulled into believing that they are eating "food", because it looks and tastes like food, but in fact are ingesting all sorts of chemicals that have no place in our bodies.

For more information on food chemicals and artifical food colorings:
"In September 2007, scientific research confirmed that mixtures of artificial food colourings and a commonly used food preservative can increase hyperactive behaviour in susceptible children."
http://www.actiononadditives.com/

That website has over 1,000 products listed (albeit mostly UK products), but I did find something interesting in the product listing...

Drugs that contain additives that cause children to explode in rage and have uncontrolled emotion. Here's a link to Amoxicillin 125mg/5ml Oral Suspension BP Sugar Free:
http://www.actiononadditives.com/Comments/?id=285

Study says fasting may reduce chemo side-effects

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A few days of fasting might help protect patients from some of the unpleasant and dangerous side-effects of cancer chemotherapy, researchers reported on Tuesday. They said mice given a high dose of chemotherapy after fasting...

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My Comment:

This relates back to an early blog post. Sugar feeds cancer cells. Starve them of sugar, and any cancer treatment will benefit. How do you starve them of sugar? I suppose you could fast, but I would rather eat lots of fat! Like butter, coconut oil and avacados.
http://blog.corganic.com/2007/09/can-high-fat-diet-beat-cancer.html