Ananda Shankar Jayant fights cancer with dance

Inspiring talk, amazing performance… gotta watch this!

Do you drink tap water? Think twice.

That Tap Water Is Legal but May Be Unhealthy

Irfan Khan/The Los Angeles Times, via Associated Press

This Los Angeles reservoir contained chemicals that sunlight converted to compounds associated with cancer. The city used plastic balls to block the sun, but nearby homeowners asked why, if the water didn’t violate the law.

The 35-year-old federal law regulating tap water is so out of date that the water Americans drink can pose what scientists say are serious health risks — and still be legal.

Only 91 contaminants are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, yet more than 60,000 chemicals are used within the United States, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Government and independent scientists have scrutinized thousands of those chemicals in recent decades, and identified hundreds associated with a risk of cancer and other diseases at small concentrations in drinking water, according to an analysis of government records by The New York Times.

But not one chemical has been added to the list of those regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2000. read more

Yoga saves hospitals money

posted by ebean

…and probably does other good stuff too.  well, maybe.

Skin Food – What’s in my beauty products? (alternative title: skin terrorists)

posted by ebean

I searched far and wide for skin care recipes that I could make at home and was totally overwhelmed.  From oat and honey this to egg whites that I had to wonder if someone was playing a practical joke on unsuspecting beauty tree huggers.  Until I was ready to pick my poison, I thought, why not go see what I can buy, figure out what they are putting in and why, and maybe this would give me a little direction.  Here is what I found.

Freeman’s Feeling Beautiful Facial Clay Mask Avocado & Oatmeal
At only $3.99, the price is right, but what about the ingredients?  The package boasts that the mask will “purge pores, firm and smooth skin” and that it “contains natural ingredients”.  The ripe avocado on the product’s front side lures me in…  But if I’ve learned anything from my adventures in eating it is this: natural doesn’t mean what we think it means.  As we will discover, yes, the product does contain natural ingredients, among other less friendly…stuff.

Note:  This is on my face as I write this.

Ingredients:

• Water
• Hydroxyethyl cellulose:  A thickening agent derived from cellulose.  Seems to be plant-based.  Read more.
• Tertra sodium edta:  A water softener.  Prolonged contact may cause irritation.  Tested on animals and in REALLY obscenely large doses, could kill you.
• Bentonite:  Clay from volcanic ash.  Is sometimes eaten as a digestive cleanse.  Can block pores and cause other nasty stuff.
• Glycerin:  Prevents dryness.  Can come from animal lard or plants. (The product did not specify!)
• Propylene Glycol:  Alcohol.  Can cause allergic reactions, is “generally regarded as safe” because of its low levels of toxicity.  Hello – - that means it is still toxic!  Is also commonly used in antifreeze.  May cause backaches, among other physical reactions.  One site notes that “The Material Safety Data Sheet warns users to avoid skin contact with propylene glycol as this strong skin irritant can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage.”

Note: I’m going to wash this stuff off now…

• Methylparaben:  antifungal and preservative used in food and cosmetics derived from Benzoin tree gum.  Parabens are being linked to cancer.
• Titanium dioxide:  White pigment and sunscreen.  Possible link to cancer.
• Kaolin:  Clay mineral.  Used in paint to extend titanium dioxide.  Astringent.
  

  Can I recycle this?

Let’s stop there. I’ve listed just 9 of 35 ingredients in this product and am completely disgusted.  Way to be sleazy Freeman!  Using the exquisite innocence of clay, oatmeal, and avocado to sell your foul product — you should be ashamed!