A National Academies workshop examined the evidence of epigenetic effects and considered whether the thousands of chemicals in use today should be tested for them. Some pollutants and chemicals don’t kill cells or mutate DNA. Instead, they may be more subtle, muting genes or turning them on at the wrong time, which can lead to diseases that are passed on for generations. Asthma in New York City children exposed to traffic exhaust is an example, experts say.

By Bette Hileman
Environmental Health News
Aug. 3, 2009

Each of us starts life with a particular set of genes, 20,000 to 25,000 of them. Now scientists are amassing a growing body of evidence that pollutants and chemicals might be altering those genes—not by mutating them, but by sending subtle signals that silence them or switch them on at the wrong times.

Last week, several dozen researchers and experts convened by the National Academies tackled this complicated topic, called epigenetics, at a two-day workshop in Washington, D.C. They discussed new findings that suggest chemicals in our environment and in our food can alter genes, leaving people vulnerable to a variety of diseases and disorders, including diabetes, asthma, cancer and obesity. They also considered whether regulatory agencies and industry should start testing the thousands of chemicals in use today for these effects.

“There is little doubt these epigenetic effects are important. The next question is how we test for effects,” said William H. Farland, professor of environmental and radiological health sciences at Colorado State University. “We don’t need to abandon current approaches to chemical testing. When testing chemicals in animals, we may just need to add some new endpoints.”

Liinda S. Birnbaum, Director, NIEHS

Linda S. Birnbaum, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Exposure to gene-altering substances, particularly in the womb and shortly after birth, “can lead to increased susceptibility to disease,” said Linda S. Birnbaum, who was named director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and of the National Toxicology Program in December. “The susceptibility persists long after the exposure is gone, even decades later. Glands, organs, and systems can be permanently altered.”

Animal studies indicate that some environmental chemicals cause epigenetic changes that trigger breast and prostate cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and learning disabilities, she said. And some new human studies are now adding to the evidence.

“There is a huge potential impact from these exposures, partly because the changes may be inherited across generations. You may be affected by what your mother and grandmother were exposed to during pregnancy,” Birnbaum said. “There is a huge potential impact from these exposures, partly because the changes may be inherited across generations. You may be affected by what your mother and grandmother were exposed to during pregnancy.” Linda Birnbaum, Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

What a pregnant mother eats and the chemicals she is exposed to can affect her offspring without causing mutations in the DNA, the experts said. Instead, such exposures can disrupt the way that genes behave, according to both animal and human studies. These changes, in turn, can be passed on to the next generations.

Some environmental chemicals enable methyl groups (carbon atoms with three hydrogen atoms attached) to attack genes, which turns them off or mutes them, at a time when they should be turned on. When genes are turned off, they can’t direct the manufacture of proteins that are essential for proper cell function. Chemicals also can uncoil parts of the chromosome, causing genes to be expressed, or turned on, at inappropriate times.

An example is asthmatic children. Wan-Yee Tang, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati, found that children in New York City exposed in the womb to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), common air pollutants from traffic, were much more likely to have asthma than those who were not exposed. By studying cord blood, she found that a particular gene (ACSL3) was methylated in the asthmatic children and unmethylated in the unexposed children, and concluded that the abnormal methylation patterns probably caused the asthma.

The finding could in part explain why worldwide asthma rates have skyrocketed in much of the world, reaching epidemic proportions among children. In the boroughs of New York City with the worst air pollution, about 25 percent of children are asthmatic.

Epigenetic changes also have been observed in children conceived with assisted reproductive technologies, said Richard Meehan of the Medical Research Council in Scotland.

One of the disorders that occurs at a higher rate in these children is Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which is characterized by abdominal wall defects and a higher risk of certain childhood cancers. The culture medium where fertilized eggs are grown for several days before implantation probably causes the syndrome, he said. It appears that all the different media used for the eggs might be problematic because they contain chemicals that stimulate the addition of methyl groups to the cells.

The scientists at the workshop said it’s important to understand epigenetics not only to figure out which chemicals might endanger public health, but to find new ways to prevent or treat diseases.

Scientists are just now beginning to figure out normal methylation patterns in the genome so they can learn what is abnormal, said Karl T. Kelsey, professor of community heath and pathology at Brown University in Rhode Island. As a result of this new understanding, epigenetic therapies have been developed for some types of cancers, and some have been successful in clinical trials, he said. Unlike traditional cancer drugs, which kill cells, the new drugs simply change how the cells act.

Research with rats shows that gene-altering chemicals can change animals’ brains—in some cases, in a beneficial way.

Moshe Szyf, a pharmacology and therapeutics professor at McGill University Medical School in Montreal, found that rats that received healthy doses of maternal licking as pups grew up to be calmer than pups who had inattentive mothers. The maternal grooming brought about a chemical change in the part of the pup’s brain that produces stress hormones, he said.

The rats reared by attentive mothers had different levels of corticoid gene expression and lower levels of stress hormones than those reared by inattentive mothers. Szyf found he could cure the stressed rats by injecting a chemical called TSA into their brains, which reversed the inappropriate methylation caused by inattentive mothering.

This understanding of epigenetics may lead to new medications for treating human problems. By using approaches similar to those used in the rat study, Szyf is hoping to find drugs that will help alleviate human psychiatric conditions.

Szyf also studied the preserved brains of suicide victims and of people who died suddenly from causes other than suicide. He found that certain genes in the suicide victims were methylated, or turned off. In contrast, those same genes were not methylated in the victims who died by other means. Abnormal methylation patterns could cause depression in some people, he said.

Some compounds, such as nickel, chromium and arsenic, are well-known carcinogens—not because they are toxic to cells but because of their epigenetic effect, said Max Costa, a New York University professor of environmental medicine and pharmacology. They increase DNA methylation, which results in gene silencing and cell transformation and leads to cancer, he explained.

Researchers at the meeting spent a great deal of time discussing whether and how to test chemicals for their ability to cause epigenetic changes.

Most researchers there agreed that compounds need to be tested for epigenetic effects. But practical testing of the 80,000 or so chemicals in commerce would require rapid screens that would prioritize the compounds into high, medium, and low-risk groups. Those at high risk for epigenetic effects could then be subjected to more definitive and expensive tests.

John M. Greally, associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, pointed out that no single test is ideal for detecting epigenetic effects.

“All of the assays have drawbacks,” he said. For example, one assay requires immediate sample processing so it cannot be used on stored samples.

Nevertheless, many researchers said that testing chemicals for epigenetic changes can begin soon.

“The fact that we don’t know a great deal about this area doesn’t mean it’s daunting,” said George Daston, research fellow at Procter & Gamble. “We just need to build on what we have. Microassays already show how chemical exposures change the gene expression in certain parts of the genome. The fact that we don’t know a lot doesn’t mean we can’t start testing quickly.”

Birnbaum, who formerly was head of experimental toxicology at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said regulators and industry don’t have to start from square one.

“We’re already marching down this road,” said Birnbaum. “The National Toxicology Program is already talking about including some epigenetic studies in the program.”

The most important public health issue that arises from epigenetics, Birnbaum told Environmental Health News, is that the current environment may not be the crucial factor to consider when examining what causes diseases.

“Asking heart attack victims what they ate this year or last may be far less important than what they were exposed to in the womb and shortly after birth,” she said.

“It sounds like a B movie, millions of males vanish, the fact is, there aren’t as many now adays.  Not human males, not frogs, not fish. Chemicals are moving us to the most rapid evolution this species has ever experienced.   From toys to shampoo, we’re awash in strange new compounds.  We’re only just learning that males are being hit hardest.

There are many warning signs, a growing body of evidence shows that something is wrong with the sexual health of human males. Sperm counts world wide have been cut in half over the past 50 years.  Sperm abnormalities and male rates of infertility have radically increased.  Rates of testicular cancer have doubled in the last 20 years.  The question is: why?

Scientists now believe that certain man made chemicals are now to blame.  They interfere with the male hormonal system and are playing havoc with the basic building blocks of male sexual development.  The problem is, these chemicals are everywhere.”

This Doc Zone asks: Where have all the boys gone.  Watch the 45 minute documentary that discusses the growing scientific evidence that something is wrong with the sexual health of human males.

Watch now:

The Disappearing Male, CBC documentary

Martin Mittelstaedt Environment Reporter

From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail Monday, Jul. 06, 2009 06:55PM EDT

A true enterprise is an expression of the individual’s purpose in life. Like water, business has to keep moving to remain useful. If it stands too long, it stagnates and goes into ‘liquidation’. But, without water, nothing would survive. So, water shows us that to fulfil our business goals, we must both advance and benefit society. This is indeed the true nature of business.

The business of the future will pursue a far greater vision than its own survival to deliver products with social and environmental advantages. Part of that vision will involve education, for it is through education that business can make its greatest impact. The education of society is the responsibility of everybody who interacts with it – both social or corporate.

2 Webinars have been scheduled:

Australia    Wednesday 20 May     11:00am - 12:00pm (EST Brisbane)   &  7:00pm - 8:00pm (EST Brisbane)

Europe      Wednesday 20 May      2:00am - 3:00am (BST London)    &    10:00am - 11:00am (BST London)

North America    Tuesday 19 May    6:00pm - 7:00pm (PDT Los Angeles)    &    2:00am - 3:00 am (PDT Los Angeles)

http://onegroup.acrobat.com/eactivism/

From Democracy Now with Amy Goodman

Is your lipstick laden with lead? Is your baby’s bottle toxic? The American Chemistry Council assures us that “we make the products that help keep you safe and healthy.” But U.S. consumers are actually exposed to a vast array of harmful chemicals and additives embedded in toys, cosmetics, plastic water bottles and countless other products. U.S. chemical and manufacturing industries have fought regulation, while Europe moves ahead with strict prohibitions against the most harmful toxins. The European Union says regulation is good for business, inspiring consumer confidence and saving money over the long term.

Most people would be surprised to learn that the cosmetics industry in the United States is largely unregulated. Investigative journalist Mark Schapiro is the author of “Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power.” In the absence of oversight, researchers and journalists like Schapiro and grass-roots organizations have stepped into the breach.

Schapiro told me, “Whether it is your nail polish, eye shadow, shampoo, essentially personal-care products [are] not regulated by the [Food and Drug Administration]. … Numerous times in the Senate, over the last 50 years, there have been efforts to expand the purview of the FDA, and it’s been repeatedly beaten back by the cosmetics industry.” Details on the toxins are hard to come by. Schapiro continued, “The reason I even know what kind of material is in cosmetics is not because the FDA has told us; it’s actually because the European Union has taken the action to remove that stuff, and they have a list.”

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics lists numerous toxins that appear regularly in cosmetics and personal-care products, among them lead and phthalates. Phthalates are linked to birth defects, including disruption of genital development in boys, decreased sperm counts and infertility. Lead appears in lipstick and hundreds of other products. The CSC reports that “lead … is a proven neurotoxin—linked to learning, language and behavioral problems … miscarriage, reduced fertility in both men and women, hormonal changes, menstrual irregularities and delays in puberty onset in girls.” This is the stuff women and girls are putting on their lips all day, licking it off and reapplying.

The European Union, with 27 member nations representing almost half a billion people, is asserting itself on issues of toxins, using serious economic muscle. Stavros Dimas, European Union commissioner for environment, explained the long-term benefits of regulation: “The medical expenses for chemical-related diseases will be less. Medicines will not be needed. We will not lose working hours, and productivity will be better. So the overall benefits will by far outweigh costs to the industry.”

Interestingly, because European countries pay a far larger share of their citizens’ health-care costs than does the U.S., they want to keep costs down and they expect to save upward of $50 billion in coming decades, says Schapiro, as a result of the improved health and environmental conditions brought about by stricter chemical regulations.

In the wake of the 2007 China toy recall in the U.S. (because of lead found in the toys), Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. A key provision, mandating a ban of phthalate- and lead-containing products intended for children 12 years of age and younger, went into effect Feb. 10. If you bought a plastic toy before that date, beware: After the law passed last summer, some stores stuffed their shelves with tainted toys and sold them at fire-sale prices to unload their inventory.

Safe alternatives for toys, cosmetics, shampoos and other products are becoming increasingly available as demand for organic products grows. The difference between market forces limiting toxins and a law doing it, Schapiro says, is “if you have a law, it makes it far more equitable, because everybody gets the same protections, whether you have the resources or the knowledge to pursue the alternatives.”

That is where the EU comes in, with its expansive and world-leading regulatory system in place (called “REACH,” for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of CHemical substances). Schapiro notes, “The European-led revolution in chemical regulation requires that thousands of chemicals finally be assessed for their potentially toxic effects on human beings and signals the end of American industry’s ability to withhold critical data from the public.”

Tough regulations on toxins are not only essential to saving lives; they also make good business sense. The U.S. now has an opportunity to catch up to our European partners—and make changes that are more than just cosmetic.

Click here to listen to podcast with Amy Goodman and Mark Shcapiro

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InLiven DETOX Plan

Only what is on this list is legal to eat during the detox.

Have as much or little as you like of all of the following organic foods
for a minimum of 30 days.

Eat 3 times one teaspoon In-Liven and 3 times 25 ml Fast-Tract every day.

One teaspoon In-Liven can be mixed in purified water or 2 cups certified organic apple juice, no banana, however certified organic strawberries are okay if you wish to blend up a smoothie.

Drink 25 ml Fast-Tract 3 times a day.

It is best to make the organic juice yourself and drink
it fresh - this way all the nutrition will be in it including vitamins and active
enzymes (pasteurization destroys them) and there will be no additives to
preserve its color, etc.

Certified organic short grain brown rice
Certified organic cold pressed oil (preferable sunflower or sesame)
Certified organic tamari (naturally brewed soya sauce)
Certified organic miso paste for soup (Barley, Genmai, Hatcho, etc.) -

no white or yellow carrots:

(from Venus about the carrots: The reason for no white or yellow carrots is that they are highly hybridized (to achieve these colors) and have lost their nutrients in the process. The original carrots were red purple on the outside and when people ate or cut them it looked like they had blood on their hands, but the carrots were very nutritious. For this very stupid reason (that their juice looked like blood and some considered them to have to do with witchcraft for that reason) they started to hybridize them. Now the usual carrots are orange which is closer to the original ones although still much less nutrition.)

These foods are OK:

certified organic onion, certified organic leaf lettuce (not head lettuce), certified organic silver beet, certified organic radish, certified organic garlic, certified organic apples, certified organic strawberries.

Certified organic rice cakes with certified organic tahini on top.

Certified organic tahini
Sea Salt
Organic Gamesomo (roast organic sesame seeds with sea salt and crush)

Certified organic rice creme (you can make your own by simply grinding
raw brown rice to a powder. It is like eating cream of wheat, but tastier!
Mix in boiling water to make a breakfast cereal.

Certified organic millet
Certified organic buckwheat flour for pancakes mixed with a little certified
organic brown flour
Certified organic brown rice syrup sometimes called “Yinnie Syrup”, use
sparingly.
Certified organic aduki beans (Adzuki) (Dried, soak overnight and cook
next day or pressure cook.)
Organic seaweeds (Wakame …. Aramae…. Hijiki…. Kombu…)
Certified organic ginger root
Certified organic ginseng
Certified organic Bancha Tea …… Mu Tea…. Red Clover Tea… Chaparral Tea

Drink plenty of ONLY Purified Water or Filtered Water

Eat ONLY what is on the list above.

No Peas, Corn, Potato, Eggplant, Tomatoes
No Black Pepper
NO ALUMINUM PANS OR COOK WEAR!
NO NONSTICK COOK WEAR!
NO MICROWAVE OVENS!

To cook brown rice and millet (the two mixed together are really nice):
One and a half cups filtered Water….to same amount of rice or millet.
Wash brown rice or millet 3 times till water is clear and floaters are gone…
Bring rice and or Millet to boil… never remove lid or you will lose the
pressure.
Simmer for 45 to 50 min. Or if you have a pressure or rice cooker, then
25 minutes.

Place uneaten balance in glass containers and refrigerate for later use.

May make larger quantity for time saving meals later…

Make burger-like patties out of short grain brown rice using egg (free range grass fed) to hold together, add shredded carrots and onions, etc.

Bake them or fry crisp.

Now if you have questions about the use of InLiven for Candida sufferers take a look at thie following conversation from the Organic Alliance social network:

Question:

“I’ve just ordered a tub of InLiven but I’ve struggled with candidiasis for a few years now and have been on the Candida Diet which can be quite strict. On the diet no malt, molasses or fermented products are allowed so I’m just wondering if InLiven or Fast Tract are any good for candida sufferers given that they contain these ingredients? I was lead to believe that these things actually feed the yeast. Is there anyone else out there that have had success with these products for candida?”

Answer:

“I used to have chronic candida and now am free of it, thank heavens. Well as free of it as anyone is as we all have it in our gut, it is simply when allowed to proliferate through stress, poor diet that problems and illness occurs.

I use InLiven each day and have no problems at all with it. I also like the Fast Tract very much as a seasonal boost, or if I am travelling on an aeroplane or have a time of stress. I am a firm advocate of making sauerkraut which I believe really helps with InLiven and Fast Tract’s efficiency.

The biggest factors to avoid, as you most likely know, with candida albicans are stress, sugar and bread. Avoiding chemical toxins is paramount…”

What if it worked for you?

add InLiven to your regieme, make sure you put “marpromo” when you check out.

Click Here to get your InLiven Triple Pack now.

Biodegradeable Dishwashing Concentrate

The myth that’s out there is that we need toxic substances to have our quality of life. Green Chemistry is dispelling that myth everyday and the more awareness we have of the power and potential of green chemistry the greater the rate of adoption and implementation is going to be toward a sustainable civilization.”

Paul Anastas, the father of Green Chemistry

Green Chemistry sounds like a contradiction in terms. The chemicals we find in our food, consumer products, pharmaceuticals and so much else are complex synthetic compounds far removed from their sources in the natural world. And for all their effectiveness and convenience they’re also often toxic to nature and some to the human body. Not just the ones in the products we use but those that are used and discarded in the manufacturing process which often linger long afterward in the environment.

But imagine a world where our man made chemistry is benign and as elegant as nature’s own patterns because it’s modeled on natural processes.

The chemicals we manufacture for modern needs are complex synthetic compounds. Most are untested and some are toxic to nature and the human body. But the new science of green chemistry offers the possibility of products that are “benign by design,” modeled on natural processes. Join us as we explore how by following the lead of nature we may be able to transform petro-chemistry into biochemistry. To learn more, listen to the audio presentations about Green Chemistry availalbe from A World of Possibilities, links below.

Green Chemistry Better Living Through Nature

Guests:
Janine Benyus, President of the Board, Biomimicry Institute
Dr. Paul Anastas, Director for the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering; Professor in the Practice of Green Chemistry, Yale University
Beverley Thorpe, Director, Clean Production Action (International)
Dr. John Warner, President and Chief Technology Officer, Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry

(Click on a guest’s name to listen to their full unedited interview.)

In 2007, I attended the annual Bioneers conference with Narelle and Colin Chenery, directors for ONEgroup. Paul Anastas was a plenary speaker at the conference that year.

While all the products that ONEgroup manufactures already fit in the category of Green Chemistry, Colin and Narelle were particularly inspired after hearing Paul’s presentation at the conference. They returned home to Australia that fall with the intention of creating a new cleaning product specifically formulated using the 12 principles of Green Chemistry.

Thus the creation of Biodegradeable Dishwashing Concentrate by ONEgroup.

Click Here to PURCHASE Biodegradeable Dishwashing Concentrate

More on Paul Anastas and the theory of Green Chemistry.

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