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Honesty Can Make You Feel Better
Lying, even telling "little white lies" may be taking a toll on your health. A new study from Notre Dame showed that when participants in a truth-telling experiment stopped telling major and minor lies for 10 weeks they reported less tension and feelings of melancholy as well as fewer sore throats and headaches. The researchers recruited 110 people for the study. Most (66 percent) were college students and the rest were adults living in the surrounding community. The participants were divided into two groups. Members of one group were told to stop telling major and minor lies for 10 weeks; the others received no special instructions about lying. All participants took weekly polygraph tests to assess the number of major and minor lies they had told that week. The purpose of the study was to find out if being more honest could lead to better health. In weeks when participants told fewer lies, they reported that their close personal relationships had improved and that their social interactions overall went more smoothly. The study was presented at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in August. Source: Dr. Weil's Weekly Newsletter - http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/WBL02312/Qigong-Eases-Fibromyalgia-Pain.html
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SCORE!!! Johnson and Johnson pledges to remove cancer-causing toxins from their products!!!!!!!!8/16/2012 Another win is occurring in the House - The Safe Chemicals Act was passed out of committee and is headed to the Senate floor. This is the 1st chemicals act to pass in 36 years. I could not be more excited! These are HUGE wins for those working to create a safer, healthier world for ourselves and future generations! Read on! For Immediate Release: August 15, 2012 Contact: Shannon Coughlin 415/336-2246, scoughlin@breastcancerfund.org Alex Formuzis 202/667-6982, alex@ewg.org San Francisco — Prompted by growing concerns raised by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), makers of Aveeno, Neutrogena, and Johnson’s Baby Shampoo,announced today that it will be removing carcinogens and other toxic chemicals from its baby and adult products globally. “This is a major victory for public health,” said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast Cancer Fund, a co-founder of the campaign. “We applaud Johnson & Johnson for its leadership in committing to remove cancer-causing chemicals from its products. We will be vigilant in making sure it meets its commitments and will continue to encourage it to remove other ingredients of concern. And we call on other cosmetics giants—Avon, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble and Unilever—to meet or beat J&J’s commitments and signal they take consumer safety as seriously as their competitor. As always, we encourage consumers to seek out the safest products for their families and support companies that are avoiding chemicals of concern.” The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of more than 175 nonprofit organizations working to protect the health of consumers and workers by eliminating dangerous chemicals from cosmetics and led by the Breast Cancer Fund, Clean Water Action, Commonweal, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth and Women’s Voices for the Earth, will launch a national campaign this week challenging L’Oreal (Maybelline, Garnier, Kiehl’s, The Body Shop, Softsheen-Carson), Procter & Gamble (CoverGirl, Pantene, Secret, Old Spice), Estee Lauder (Clinique, MAC, Prescriptives), Avon, and Unilever (Dove, Ponds, St. Ives, Axe) to follow J&J’s lead and commit to removing carcinogens and other harmful chemicals from cosmetics and specify a timeline for removal. Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest companies in the world, told the Campaign it will reformulate its hundreds of cosmetics and personal care products in all the markets it serves in 57 countries around the world. J&J has confirmed to the Campaign that it has set an internal target date of reformulating adult products by the end of 2015, and it will use safe alternatives when reformulating. It will: • Reduce 1,4 dioxane to a maximum of 10 parts per million in adult products; • Phase out formaldehyde-releasers in adult products; • Limit parabens in adult products to methyl-, ethyl- and propyl-; • Complete phase-out of triclosan from all products; • Phase out Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) from all products (no other phthalates are currently used); • Phase out polycyclic musks, animal derived ingredients, tagates, rose crystal and diacetyl from fragrances. Johnson & Johnson’s announcement follows the company’s November 2011 commitment to globally reformulate its baby products to remove carcinogens 1,4 dioxane and formaldehyde by the end of 2013, which was triggered by years of campaigning and dialogue by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and allies including the American Nurses Association, including the release of two reports Toxic Tub and Baby’s Tub is Still Toxic, which showed Johnson & Johnson baby products contain these carcinogens. Both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane cause cancer in animals, and formaldehyde was recently classified as a known human carcinogen by the U.S. National Toxicology Program. Phthalates, parabens, triclosan and polycyclic musks are all considered to be likely hormone disruptors and have been linked to a variety of health problems ranging from birth defects to diabetes, obesity and breast cancer. “While J&J still has work to do, we support its efforts and will keep working with the company to make improvements,” said Erin Switalski, executive director at Women’s Voices for the Earth, a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. “In addition to being a real win for public health, we believe that these commitments will bode well for J&J’s bottom line, too. Consumers are simply looking for the safest products out there.” “While voluntary action on the part of manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson indicates that some in the cosmetics industry are getting the message that consumers want safer products,” said Cindy Luppi, director at Clean Water Action, a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “only stricter regulation of this $50 billion industry will ensure that all consumers are protected.” The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, currently circulating in Congress, will phase out chemicals linked to cancer and reproductive harm; implement a strong safety standard designed to protect children, pregnant women and workers; require full disclosure of ingredients; and give FDA the authority to recall dangerous products. “Today’s action by Johnson and Johnson is another example of a company responding to their customers and the public interest community,” said Nneka Leiba, senior analyst with Environmental Working Group, a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. “Unfortunately, not every company will take similar steps to protect consumers from potentially toxic ingredients. That is why we need Congress and the cosmetics industry to support the Safe Cosmetics Act that will require substances be safe for human health before being used in the products we all use every day.” ### The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a national coalition of more than 175 nonprofit organizations working to protect the health of consumers and workers by eliminating dangerous chemicals from cosmetics. www.safecosmetics.org Again, the importance of eating breakfast cannot be overstated! Just do it and watch your extra pounds melt away (and decrease your risk of Type 2 Diabetes...as below). :) Source: Medscape - http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765390?src=nl_crb June 9, 2012 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — Eating breakfast is associated with a decreased chance of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), according to results of a new study. Andrew Odegaard, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, presented the research here at a poster session at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 72nd Scientific Sessions. Nutritional guidelines have long recommended that people eat breakfast, but there has been little research on the relationship between morning eating habits and development of T2D. The researchers conducted an analysis of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which is a longitudinal study of 5115 black and white women between the ages of 18 and 30 years who were initially examined in 1985 through 1986. To date, participants have been reexamined at year 2, year 5, year 7, year 10, year 15, and year 20 (2005 - 2006). Data collected include a number of cardiac risk factors, including smoking, blood pressure, and cholesterol, as well as behavioral and psychological data and a dietary history questionnaire that recorded dietary caloric intake and breakfast frequency. In the current study, researchers looked at 3598 participants who did not have T2D at the time of their year 7 examination in 1992-1993 (age, 25 - 37 years; average age, 32 years; body mass index [BMI], 26.7 kg/m2; breakfast, 4.1 days/week). T2D was defined as a fasting glucose level of 126 mg/dL or higher, 2-hour postchallenge glucose level of 200 mg/dL or higher, HbA1c level of 6.5% or higher, or taking antidiabetic medication. The researchers used Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for T2D, adjusting for year 7 age, sex, race, clinic, alcohol intake, smoking, physical activity, diet quality, fast food visits/week, and total energy intake. For each additional day/week of breakfast intake, there was a 5% decrease in risk of developing T2D (HR, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91 - 0.99). Compared with participants who ate breakfast between 0 and 3 times per week, those who ate breakfast 5 times or more had a 31% reduction in T2D risk (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54 - 0.88). They also gained less weight (0.5 kg/m2 less weight gain; P = .01). Those with higher diet quality had lower incidences of T2D, but breakfast frequency was more important, as it predicted T2D risk across diet quality score quartiles. When the researchers adjusted for year 7 BMI, the risk reduction for breakfast 5 or more days/week was less and no longer statistically significant (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.68 - 1.10). "Overall, our findings show an inverse relation between increasing breakfast frequency and T2D, probably mediated by BMI," the researchers write in the abstract. Dr. Odegaard has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. American Diabetes Association (ADA) 72nd Scientific Sessions: Abstract 1364-P. Presented June 10, 2012. |
AuthorDr. Maltz earned a Medical Degree and Master in Public Health from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, TX. She completed a combined Internal and Preventive Medicine Residency at UTMB in June, 2011. She then completed a 2-year Integrative Medicine Fellowship at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT, during which she simultaneously underwent an intensive 1000-hour curriculum created by The University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Program founded by Dr. Andrew Weil. Archives
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