The Toxins in Your Body Say Whether You're Rich or Poor -- Which Are You?

woensdag 7 augustus 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Maressa Brown 12 hours ago We've been told that our chances of getting this disease or that illness are based on genetics or environment. But it may also have something to do with our bank accounts. And I'm not talking about being able to afford better health care! How rich or how poor we are may be a factor leading to whether we end up suffering from Alzheimer's or infertility. That's because, according to University of Exeter researchers who used data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, rich and poor people have different toxins in their bodies.

For instance, compared to poorer people, the wealthy had higher levels of mercury, arsenic, caesium and thallium, all of which tend to accumulate in fish and shellfish. Thus, people who can afford to eat lots of pricey sushi, lobsters, and shrimp are at higher risk. The rich also had higher levels of benzophenone-3, AKA oxybenzone, which some experts say may actually encourage skin cancer. Grrreat!

Maybe because they're slathering it on while on fancy vacays? (Although I'd argue that a lot of people are starting to realize that old school zinc's where it's at.)

As for the poor? They're apparently smoking more, so they have higher levels of lead and cadmium. Poor people in America also had higher levels of hormone and fertility-disrupting Bisphenol-A (BPA), because it's often used in plastic food containers and cans. Ugh.

While I'm sure there's SOME merit to learning what your wealth says about your toxic burden, overall, this seems pretty silly, amirite? How does it really help to know this? Ultimately, we're all human and we're all being POISONED by our environment! No one -- rich or poor -- should have to worry that the "healthy" fish they're eating is actually poisoning them with neurotoxic mercury. No one -- rich or poor -- should have to be concerned about BPA in their lunch. And yet, we're ALL being exposed to these things right and left.

No one is helped by knowing that being rich or poor will raise their risk of carrying around this or that toxin. No one toxin is better or worse than another. In the end, all of these man-made pollutants are horrible and, geeze, now whether you're rich or poor, I guess you have a reason to be depressed.

How do you feel about this study?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Maressa Brown

has enjoyed reporting and writing for a variety of entertainment and women's magazines and websites. More often than not, you'll find her blogging, hitting the gym, reading, researching something on her iPhone, laughing, chatting at an above-"normal" volume, or getting her caffeine fix.

More
?

reacties | | Read More...

Moms’ Personality Quirks Can Predict Whether They’ll Give Baby Bottle or Breast

dinsdag 6 augustus 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Nicole Fabian-Weber 3 hours ago

A new study has found that a mom's personality traits play a big role in whether she breastfeeds her baby or gives the little cutie a bottle. Apparently, women who are extroverts have more of a propensity toward nursing, while women who are prone to anxiety are more likely to feed their child from a bottle.

While I think a million and one things go into a woman's decision to breastfeed -- and keep breastfeeding -- I'm not so sure "being an extrovert" plays a role. However, anxiety? Yes, definitely.

Most moms I know nursed their second (or third or fourth) children longer than their first. In fact, I know many women who nursed their first kids a little more than a few weeks, and breastfed their next well into toddlerhood. And I get this. Big time. My nursing experience wound up being nothing like I imagined. And I think -- actually, I know -- anxiety and general on edgeness from having a baby who cried a lot (and no help) had something to do with it. If I have another child, I'm fairly certain that things will be much, much different than they were with my first. In many aspects of parenting, not just with breastfeeding, I think I'd be a much more confident parent to a newborn if I had another -- because I've been there. And everything, including nursing, wouldn't come as such a shock.

I'm not so sure I fully buy the "extroverts are more likely to nurse" conclusion, as this hasn't been the experience in my life at all. I know many introverts who breastfeed their children and many outgoing people who do not. Perhaps extroverts are more likely to nurse in public, but I can't see the overall connection.

We all know there are a variety of things that go into a woman's decision to breastfeed or not, but it's interesting to see, in writing, that nervousness plays a role. It may, in some small way, give hope to women who didn't successfully breastfeed their first child to do so with their next.

Did you have different nursing experiences with your children?

Image via Maja/Flickr

Click the "Like" button below to get Natural Parenting stories on Facebook.
?

reacties | | Read More...