radical: of or going to the root or origin; fundamental. forming a basis or foundation. existing inherently in a thing or person.

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In This Issue:

• Help Your Baby's Vision
• Preventing Cancer
• Don't Use Bottled Water
• Out of the Pool!
• Exercise Only Helps

Be sure to visit our website www.b2bwa.com and blog www.b2bwa.blogspot.com

Another Reason to Breastfeed: Helping Your Baby's Vision

Adding to the many reasons why breastfeeding is superior to formula-feeding, a new study found that breast-fed children have better eyesight than formula-fed kids. When tested, the kids who were breast-fed were significantly more likely to have greater stereo-acuity, an important measure of depth perception, than children who were fed formula.

The researchers believe the fatty acid DHA, which is found in greater concentrations in breast milk than in formula, may be responsible for the beneficial effect.

Along with improving eyesight, breastfeeding provides your child with a range of health benefits, including a strong immune system, better brain function, a reduced risk of obesity and emotional bonding. Breastfeeding is beneficial for mom too, reducing her risk of breast and ovarian cancers and osteoporosis later in life, while helping her to return to her pre-pregnancy weight faster.

There are at least 400 nutrients in breast milk that are not found in formula, and I encourage all new moms to breastfeed their child. The longer you do this, the better, but even a short time of breastfeeding is better than none at all. That said, I understand that there are certain conditions and circumstances that may prevent you from being able to breastfeed. If this is the case, you can make a healthy infant formula using raw milk (and should completely AVOID soy infant formula at all costs).

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition January 2007, Vol. 85, No. 1, 152-159

Yahoo News February 7, 2007

More Evidence Vitamin D Prevents Cancer

Two new meta-analysis studies (which combine data from multiple reports) have found even more evidence that vitamin D is an important cancer-fighting tool. The first study examined nearly 1,800 records and found that:

• People with the highest blood levels of vitamin D had the lowest risk of breast cancer
• The opposite was also true: those with the lowest vitamin D levels had the highest rates of breast cancer

The second study, which looked at nearly 1,500 people, found similar results. Raising vitamin D levels (serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D) to 34 ng/ml reduced rates of colorectal cancer by half, while raising levels to 46ng/ml cut the risk by two-thirds.

Optimizing your sun exposure and levels of vitamin D may, indeed, be one of the most important physical steps you can take in support of your long-term health, but it is important to understand that the ideal and STRONGLY preferred method of increasing your vitamin D level is through appropriate sun exposure. When your sun exposure is lacking, an excellent source of vitamin D is cod liver oil - be sure you use high quality cod liver oil such as Carlson's.

Science Daily February 8, 2007

Why You Should NOT Use Bottled Water Whenever Possible

Drinking pure water is easily one of the best things you can do for your health, particularly when you drink it instead of sugary drinks like soda or juice. But relying on bottled water to do this is not the answer, as this excellent commentary points out.

People pay premium prices for exotic bottled water brands like Fiji and Evian in the hopes that it is more pure than water from nearby sources. However, this puts a giant strain on both the environment and your pocketbook. Consider the calculations from the article linked below

• A bottle that holds 1 liter of water requires 5 liters of water in its manufacturing process
• Assuming Fiji must import plastic bottles for their water from China, this uses 2.3g of fossil fuels and 20g of water, and outputs 4.3g of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), per bottle delivered to Fiji from China.
• The total amount of water used to produce and deliver one bottle of imported water from Fiji to the United States is 6.74kg, and the amount of GHGs released amount to 250g.

Aside from the huge environmental strain, these imported waters are expensive. It’s estimated that a $1.50 bottle of water costs just $0.22 to produce and deliver, leaving $1.28 per bottle in profits. Meanwhile, bottled water is not an assurance of purity. In fact, up to 40 percent of bottled water is bottled tap water that may or may not have received additional treatment. On top of that, it may also be contaminated with the metal antimony.

So where can you find clean, affordable, environmentally friendly water supplies? Your best bet is to filter your own water at home. Seychelle makes inexpensive filtration products. Ecoquest provides expensive water filtration products with lots of bells and whistles.

TriplePundit.com February 5, 2007

Everybody Out of the Pool (and the Shower)!

As HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., pointed out, swimming pools and hot tubs are loaded with chlorine. And absorption through the skin isn't the only concern - we also inhale chlorine in the shower and from the steam that percolates from the hot tub.

So what's the problem with our continuous intake of chlorine? It may be prompting atherosclerosis - narrowing of the arteries.

Dr. Spreen offered these disturbing details from a book titled "Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine" by Dr. Joseph Price: "The highly reactive nature of the chlorine molecule scars the arterial intima [the inner lining of the artery]. The body protects itself by painting a thin film of cholesterol over the damaged area. It's not the cholesterol that kills, it's the continual need for protection against the scars that eventually gets out of hand."

But as disturbing as this is, it's only part of the chlorine danger.
Lifetime exposure

An issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology published this month features a study from the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona. The Barcelona team begins by stating that bladder cancer has been associated with chlorination by-products, especially chemicals called trihalomethanes (THMs).

STUDY ABSTRACT
  * More than 1,200 bladder cancer patients were interviewed to assess their lifetime exposure to THMs
  * More than 1,270 people without bladder cancer were also interviewed
  * Researchers also assessed average THM levels in the water in more than 100 municipalities where subjects lived
  * Subjects with long-term exposure to high THM levels (more than 49 micrograms per liter, mcg/L) were twice as likely to develop bladder cancer compared to subjects with low exposure (50 mcg/L is a common level in industrialized nations)
  * Subjects who frequently swam in swimming pools increased bladder cancer risk by nearly 60 percent

Researchers also noted that when THM is inhaled or absorbed through the skin, carcinogens bypass the liver where they might otherwise be detoxified.

Additional dangers

Increased risk of bladder cancer and atherosclerosis are excellent reasons to reduce exposure to chlorinated water. But the good reasons don't end there.

A 2003 report titled "Trihalomethanes and Our Water Supply," written by John Capece, Ph. D., of Southern DataStream (a water resources research consulting firm), offered this chilling comment: "Some investigations have found that chlorination by-products may be linked to heart, lung, kidney, liver, and central nervous system damage."

Dr. Capece goes on to detail a California study that showed miscarriage risk to be significantly higher among women with a daily consumption of five or more glasses of water containing high THM levels.

You can protect yourself and family in the shower by installing shower filters. Seychelle makes a great one at a very reasonable cost. It has replaceable filter cartridges that you simply change out when the water flow significantly diminishes.

One final note for anyone who takes regular dips in swimming pools: For many years, ozone generators have been used in Europe to kill bacteria, viruses, mold, and other contaminates in swimming pools - eliminating the need for chlorine. Fortunately, this safe and effective method of ensuring water purity is starting to catch on in the U.S. It may be a little difficult to find ozone treated pools and hot tubs, but the search will be worth it.

Sources:
"Bladder Cancer and Exposure to Water Disinfection By-Products through Ingestion, Bathing, Showering, and Swimming in Pools" American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 165, No. 2, 1/15/07, aje.oxfordjournals.org
"Chlorinated Water Exposure may Boost Cancer Risk" Reuters Health, 1/18/07, reutershealth.com

Don't Blame Exercise

Don't blame your knee pain on exercise. Physical activity neither hurts nor helps when it comes to knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to researchers. The finding holds true even for people who are overweight.

Previous studies have suggested exercise can protect against the development of knee pain, while others have concluded it may lead to the condition, especially in people who are obese or overweight.

That's the conclusion of a recent study in which Boston University School of Medicine researchers examined nearly 1,300 subjects over a 10-year period. The Boston study, reported last month in Arthritis Care & Research, is confirmed by similar research from the Netherlands that found no link between physical activities, such as jogging or walking, and knee OA development.

Typically, knee pain, hip pain, shoulder pain, etc, are caused by nerve deficiency or severe body imbalance, both of which can be helped by chiropractic intervention. Physical activity makes you stronger not weaker.

 "Exercise a Wash for Knee Pain" Ivanhoe Newswire, 1/31/07, Ivanhoe.com