Cleansing Blog

This holiday season, make the planet merry too. Holiday traditions can take their toll on the Earth (think of all the wrapping paper, ribbons, Styrofoam peanuts, and even discarded trees making their way to the landfill). So go green this year, with these incredibly easy steps that will give everyone something to celebrate.

1. Wrap recycled. Instead of buying shiny, glossy, non-recyclable wrapping paper – which costs a fortune, anyway – be creative. Turn your brown grocery bags into festive and totally original gift wrap with some scissors, tape, and markers, crayons or watercolor paints. Who wouldn’t rather get a gift wrapped with one-of-a-kind paper than some store-bought stuff that anyone could buy? Or try other common household items as gift wrap: newspapers, magazines, outdated road maps…or make a patchwork wrapper out of the holiday gift wrap you saved and put away last year. Make paper ribbons using the same materials – or tie your present with a pair of funky shoelaces that can be put to use afterward.

2. Donate to a good cause. Don’t empty your whole wallet on merchandise. Think how great you’ll feel if you share the love this year by making a donation to an organization that’s helping to make the planet a little better. You can even make a donation in a friend’s name instead of buying them a physical present; nothing gives warm-fuzzies like a letter saying a donation was made in your name. (I know: I recently got one from the local humane society after someone contributed in honor of my beloved dog that died this summer. I cried.) For a truly touching gesure, donate to a local organization in a friend or family member’s neck of the woods. There are hundreds of local wildlife rescue groups, land trusts, conservation organizations, animal shelters, and other local nonprofits that need resources; ask friends or try a Google search.

3. Mulch your tree! Christmas trees can easily be turned into mulch, putting their valuable resources back into the natural system. Many cities now have tree recycling programs, and mulch made from Christmas trees is often given back to local communities (or sold for a small fee). Check with your local trash pickup or sanitation department. Or try a different tree option this year: the San Jose Mercury News ran a story this week about “renting” Christmas trees (the trees are replanted after the holidays as part of urban renewal efforts). Also, check out Ideal Bite’s guide to green holiday trees here.

going green

I’m making my holiday gift list, and I’m checking it twice. Especially since, this year, it is so much easier to find eco-friendly goodies out there to give.

At the same time, I’m trying to wade through the hype to assess whether a potential gift is as eco-friendly as it’s marketed to be.

For example, there are now plenty of organic bath and beauty products that would be perfect for a friend. But often their ingredients sound less than all-natural to me.

I found some gorgeous gift wrap that comes from “sustainable forestry practices.” Should I keep shopping for gift wrap made from recycled paper? Should I use brown paper bags?

I’m not the only one who’s confused by the eco-chatter. A friend mentioned that when he was wandering near some plasma TVs at an electronics store, a salesman told him that it’d be green to get a pre-owned, refurbished plasma screen.

The truth is, my guard has been up since I read an article in The New York Times alerting consumers that green marketing is one of the season’s biggest retail trends, and that the claims often fall short.

A report by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing offers guidelines for shoppers, asking us to be mindful of the Six Sins of Greenwashing. Here are the six marketing ploys to keep in mind:

• The Sin of the Hidden Trade-off (A refurbished plasma TV might reduce the need for materials at first, but plasma screens are energy hogs.)
• The Sin of the No Proof (Can a third party verify claims such as “organic” or “all-natural?)
• The Sin of Vagueness (Beware of products claiming to be chemical-free or all-natural)
• The Sin of Irrelavance (Claims that have no relationship to the product or can be made with any other product in the same category—such as CFC-free shaving gel)
• The Sin of Fibbing (a falsehood that can’t be backed up at all, such as “certified organic” when no such certification exists)
• The Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils (an attempt put a green twist on a product that’s inherently harmful to the environment—e.g., organic cigarettes)

going green

Funny stuff

A recent survey of U.S. doctors found that nearly two out of three believe it is permissible to use placebos. Fully 50 percent of U.S. doctors prescribe placebos to their patients. Surveys of physicians in Israel, Denmark, and Great Britain all had similar findings.

This research has prompted well-known author Dr. Sally Satel to denounce the use of placebos as “disquieting, even unethical.”

However, studies have indicated that placebos are effective up to 70 percent of the time. A review of many prescription drugs reveal efficacy rates that are in fact much lower than that of the placebo. Placebos provide an opportunity to integrate the mind-body connection into the practice of medicine, and to harness its health benefits.

Integrative medicine has been dismissed time and again as “the placebo response.” Yet patients now flock to the doors of integrative physicians. They know that the mind-body connection is vital to health. Treating patients by merely “following the numbers” of cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and PSA readings, appears to be significantly less effective and fails the test of scientific scrutiny more often than does a more holistic, integrative approach.

Health News

At the risk of sounding a bit Grinch-y, I have seriously mixed feelings about getting a Christmas tree.

I like trimming the tree, and look forward to pulling out dusty ornaments acquired over the years, some dating back to Girl Scout macaroni crafts. I like the perennial colored lights vs. white lights debate, and seeing the lights flicker on. And, of course, I like to see lots of presents piled up under the tree, especially the ones for me.

What I don’t like is the sharp pangs of guilt that hit me at the Christmas tree lot, and again when it comes time to mulch the thing before its dried out needles fall off.

A recent conversation with some friends confirmed that I’m not the only one who experiences tree guilt. Several of them were similarly conflicted about having a tree, real or plastic. In most cases, they weren’t sure which was the better option, and for good reason: There are pros and cons to both.

In general, the eco-consensus is that a real tree is better for our planet (and our homes). Tree farms ensure that millions of trees are planted annually, which supports both farmers and eco-systems. They are a renewable resource. But it’s important to remember that as an agricultural product, most are grown with conventional farming methods, although there are a few organic tree farmers out there.

Fake trees can’t compete on the eco-front, because they aren’t biodegradble and most are grown in factories from petroleum-based (and unsustainable) plastic, PVC, aluminum, or other less-than-green materials.

There’s a more in-depth look at organic Christmas trees as well as the real vs. fake tree debate at Grist. The National Christmas Tree Association, (which, of couse, favors the use of real trees) has an overview on the subject.

Personally, I’ve found a few work-arounds over the years. My favorite is chopping down my own in the nearby mountains; each year the state park service issues permits as part of a controlled forestry plan to minimize the risk of wildfires.

And for years now, I’ve decorated a six-foot tall ficus tree in my living room with ornaments and lights. I also like the idea of ornament trees (like the one pictured) and decking the halls rather than a tree. Besides, I appreciate the trees that I see at the homes of friends and family.

I realize that most people — especially kids — still want to wake up to a traditional tree on Christmas morning. Still, as Charlie Brown showed us, “pitiful” trees have a charm of their own.

going green

Funny stuff

Many people who eat organic food and use natural products are trying to avoid pesticides that are linked to cancer and other diseases. Now Japanese researchers say there is another advantage to “going green” and avoiding toxins and chemical additives in the environment. A common pollutant has been found to have a potent effect on gene activity and could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.

According to an article published in the December issue of the journal Bioscience, the chemical tributyltin affects sensitive receptors in the cells of a host of animals, ranging from water fleas to people. What’s more, tributyltin has an impact at extremely low levels — a thousand times lower than pollutants that are known to interfere with the sexual development of wildlife species, for example. The chemical is known to be damaging to the liver as well as the nervous and immune systems in mammals . But what has just been recognized is that tributyltin also has powerful effects on the cellular components known as retinoid X receptors (RXRs) in a range of species. That’s important because RXRs can move into the nuclei of cells and turn on genes that cause the growth of fat storage cells and regulate whole body metabolism. This raises a disturbing possibility: The pollutant could be harming humans by causing slowed metabolism and weight gain.

Scientists Taisen Iguchi and Yoshinao Katsu of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan, who wrote the BioScience article, point out that effects of tributyltin on RXR-like nuclear receptors could be widespread throughout the animal kingdom, including the human species. And they note that the enormous rise in obesity over the past four decades coincides with the increased use of industrial chemicals over the same period.

Several other ubiquitous pollutants with strong biological effects, including environmental estrogens such as bisphenol A and nonylphenol, also have been found to stimulate the growth of fat storage cells in mice. In a statement to the mediam Iguchi and Katsu said it is “plausible and provocative” to associate the obesity epidemic to chemical triggers found in our modern, polluted environment.

Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to avoid tributyltin — it is frequently used as a preservative in paints for boats, wood and textiles and it is also used as a pesticide on high-value food crops. And if you are expecting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make sure you are protected from this potentially dangerous chemical , think again.

A new report just released by the National Research Council warns the EPA’s process of generating risk assessments of the adverse effects posed by harmful chemicals found in the environment is bogged down. The EPA is rarely able to connect available scientific data with the information officials need for an accurate risk assessment. The reports states the EPA is struggling to keep up with demands for hazard and dose-response information and doesn’t have enough resources to adequately cope.

The risk assessment for trichloroethylene is an example cited by the report. A chemical used to remove grease from metal parts and an ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction fluids, and spot removers, trichloroethylene has been associated with cancer, heart problems and liver and lung damage for decades. However, although a risk assessment for trichloroethylene has been under development since the 1980s, official EPA risk management decisions about the chemical is not expected until 2010.

What not to eat...

People who drank goji berry juice for two weeks experienced improvements in several measures of overall physical and psychological well-being, in a study funded and conducted by the goji berry juice company FreeLife International and published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

Researchers assigned 35 healthy adults to consume 120 milliliters of either FreeLife GoChi juice or a similarly colored and flavored placebo for two weeks. This followed a two-week washout period, during which participants had not consumed any dietary supplements, energy drinks, green tea, or products containing goji berries.

Both at the beginning and end of the study, participants were asked to rate their general feelings of well-being, their neurological and psychological states, and any health problems including those of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal or musculoskeletal systems.

After two weeks, eighty percent of participants in the berry juice group reported improved sleep quality, 50 to 60 percent reported improved feelings of contentment, happiness and good health, and 50 percent reported increased athletic performance and energy and decreased fatigue. There were also significant improvements in calmness, ability to focus on activities, and gastrointestinal function.

Non-significant verbally reported benefits included healthier skin, harder nails, an increase in sexual activity and performance, and a decrease in menstrual pain.

Participants in the placebo group reported a significant increase in feelings of happiness and a significant change in heartburn frequency.

Goji berries have been used in the traditional medicinal practices of China and other Asian countries for more than 2,500 years to improve the health of the eyes, kidney and liver and to fight the effects of aging. The current study is the first outside of China to scientifically examine the effects of goji berry juice consumption. The amount of juice used was equivalent to 150 grams of fresh fruit, the same amount recommended in traditional Chinese medicine.

Remedies

Doctors have used a revolutionary stem cell treatment to restore the power of speech for stroke victim Walter Bast. Bast also regained the use of his right arm after the operation, which placed a ‘teabag’ of stem cells in his brain.

If further trials prove the treatment’s worth, it could be available to other stroke victims in as little as five years. Currently, the only treatment options have a variable success rate. Only one in 20 patients recover to the extent of Mr. Bast.

The CellBeads treatment involved the implantation a teabag-like sachet filled with tiny capsules, each containing about a million stem cells. The stem cells, taken from bone marrow, have been genetically engineered to make a drug that protects brain cells from dying. This lets the cells rejuvenate and repair the damage done by the stroke.

The stem cells are encapsulated in beads to hide them from the immune system and ensure they are not rejected by the body. It also allows the surgeon to easily remove it at the end of the treatment period.

news

Maybe we should add cranberries to the long list of things to be grateful for at Thanksgiving.

Cranberries — a staple food source with settlers and Native Americans in the northeast — were valued for their thick skins, allowing them to survive harsh winter climates.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, our predecessors regularly made pemmicam, a cake of nuts, cranberries and dried, gamy meats, such as venison and bear.

Back then, cranberries was also prized for their medicinal properties. They were prescribed to treat fevers, stomach upsets, as well as swelling and inflammation. And for centuries, people turned to cranberries as a natural way to prevent urinary tract and bladder infections.

Today, a growing body of scientific research is proving what they understood all along: Cranberries help fight infections and disease.

Studies confirm that cranberries may fight a range of infections, from strep and E. coli to oral bacteria that cause cavities. But we’re also learning that cranberries are a very rich source of polyphenol antioxidants, a class of phytochemicals that researchers think could have significant benefits to our cardivascular and immune systems.

According to WebMD, they contain three different types of flavonols that are shown to suppress the growth of some cancer cells.

Scientists also have a better understanding of how cranberries work in our systems. The berry contains chemical compounds known as proanthocyanidins, which bind to bacteria and coat them, preventing them from forming colonies in our bodies.

Cranberry juice can help people with the H. pylori, the bacteria strain that leads to ulcers, and sticking to the linings of the stomach and intestines.

Like any “medication,” be aware that they could have negative side effects. Some people can’t tolerate them as well as others, and are prone to stomach upsets and diarrhea. Also, there’s evidence that blood-thinning drugs are contraindicated in some cases.

Nutritionally, cranberries are loaded with vitamin C and a good source of fiber. A half-cup only has 23 calories.

And as we all know, a low calorie count is always a welcome relief around the holidays.

What to eat