Marcia Zimmerman

Salt – A Deadly Delicacy

September 1, 2011

Salt.  A simple nutrient, which has been both praised and maligned in various ways for centuries.  Salt is truly one of the delicacies of the world (it was one of the first preservatives discovered, and for a time was valued higher than gold), yet what price does this delicacy have on our health?  Sodium levels in food have continually risen in both food preparation and human consumption for decades.  More and more research is being conducted which links higher salt levels in humans to higher mortality rates: namely, in the areas of cardiovascular and heart disease.  While this should be enough on its own to deter sodium junkies from getting their fix, another nutrient—potassium—has been decreasing steadily in Americans for just as long.  The combination of rising sodium levels and decreasing potassium levels is far more deadly than either is alone.

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Toxic Kids – Part Two

August 22, 2011

Lately parents have been hit with alarming information about potential dangers to their children. First it was lead contamination from toys manufactured by our most trusted companies.  This was the topic of Toxic Kids Part I. Next it was super antibiotic resistant bugs that might lurk in day care centers and in schools. The latest, and of greatest concern, is that every study performed in recent years has found that children’s cough and cold remedies are ineffective and potentially dangerous.

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Toxic Kids – Part One

August 15, 2011

Toys are serious business especially around the holidays. The 2007 discovery that lead contamination in toys appears to be widespread had parents and grandparents in a panic. Some of the most trusted names in the toy business have had to recall long standing favorites. Fisher-Price alone recalled 967,000 toys. That got everyone’s attention! It seems the availability of less expensive plastic toys made outside the United States may not be such a bargain after all. Parents are turning increasingly to wooden toys stained with vegetable dyes – the old fashioned – and more expensive way.

Lead has gotten most press exposure, but knowledgeable parents have been trying to avoid pthalates – a chemical used to make toys, bottles, and baby equipment soft and pliable. Pthalates and other toxins will be the subject of Toxic Kids parts II and III. Now let’s focus on lead, its sources (not just toys), health effects, testing, and what you can do about it.

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