BIOPHILE 16 — JUNE/JULY 2007 R25 - Biophile Magazine

BIOFILESWhy are swimmingpool workers moreprone to colds?Swimming teachers, and otherswho spend time near chlorinatedpools, face an increased risk ofbreathing problems.Chlorine reacts with urine andsweat to create chemicals calledchloramines that irritate therespiratory tract. A research teamsurveyed more than 600 swimmingpool employees and measuredlevels of trichloramine, the mostvolatile type of chloramine, at 38swimming pools.Swimming instructors weremore than twice as likely to sufferfrequently from sinusitis or sorethroat, and more than three timesas likely to have chronic colds, thanpool workers with less trichloramineexposure, such as cateringemployees or receptionists.Compared to the general population,employees with high levelsof exposure were at a 40 percentgreater risk for tightness of thechest, and were over 700 percentmore likely to suffer breathlessnesswhile walking.In addition to the problemsmentioned in the linked study,chloramines also leach lead andcopper into the water supply. Leadin water has been linked to kidneydamage, miscarriages, nervoussystem damage, anemia, highblood pressure, brain damage andreproductive difficulties, as well aslearning and behavioral problemsin children. Long-term exposureto high levels of copper can causeliver damage, kidney damage,headaches, stomach problems anddizziness, among others.Chloramines can also createbyproducts, such as N-nitrosodimethylamine,which is a humancarcinogen. Some research linkschloramines to bladder cancer.Please remember that your bodyabsorbs more chlorine swimmingin a public pool in one hour thandrinking unfiltered tap water fora week.Last year I purchased a homeand inherited a swimming pool sofinding a practical alternative becamea recent practical challenge.After carefully evaluating the optionsI elected to install an ozonegenerator as the way to keep thewater clean. This radically reducedthe amount of chlorine use andseems to have been working quitenicely for the few weeks that I havehad the pool operating.So if you have a pool that issomething you might want toconsider.[Dr Mercola]Turning highways into wind farmsClogged highways usually don’t conjureup thoughts of green, but it seemslike these very roads could become thesource of a lot more energy.Several recent designs have proposedthat major roadways be retrofittedwith various forms of wind energycollection devices, ranging fromoverhead turbines that collect energyfrom quickly-moving cars below tobarrier panels that harness the windfrom closely passing vehicles movingin opposite directions.Ideally, the wind energy could thenbe sent back out to the grid to powernearby communities and light-railtransportation systems, or even intelligentbillboards. [Source: Engdaget]ArtificialfoodcolouringwarningParents are being advised byexperts not to give their childrenfood containing certainadditives until the results ofa new study are published.UK researchers tested theeffects of a range of artificialcolourings on children’sbehaviour. It is understoodthe results back previousresearch linking additivesto hyperactivity and poorconcentration.A team at the Universityof Southampton tested theadditives tartrazine (E102),ponceau 4R (E124), sunsetyellow (E110), carmoisine(E122), quinoline yellow(E104) and allura red AC(E129) on both three-yearolds and eight-to-nine yearolds. The amounts used inthe study were those that anaverage child might consumein a day.A source at the Universitytold food industry magazinethe Grocer that theirresults supported findingsfirst made seven years agothat linked the additives tobehavioural problems suchas temper tantrums, poorconcentration, hyperactivityand allergic reactions.Professor Vyvyan Howard,one of the experts on theFSA’s Additives and BehaviourWorking Group said: “Itis biologically plausible thatthere could be an effect fromthese additives. While youYou are responsible for your lifeIf you don’t run your own life, somebody else will.If you want to see a change for the better, you have to takethings in your own hands.To affect the outcome of anything, you must control the actionat the point of decision making.You’re in control of your life to the degree that you make thedecisions.If you let others make decisions for you, you have no control.When you control your decisions, you control the actions.are waiting for the results tocome out you can choose notto expose your children tothese substances.“These compounds haveno nutritional value and Ipersonally do not feed thesesorts of foods to my 15-month-old daughter.”[Source: BBC News]Going green beats thebluesA walk in the country is an effectivealternative to chemical antidepressiontreatment, a leadingmental health charity has said, callingon British doctors to prescribeoutdoor activities.The Mind charity said so-called“ecotherapy” could help millionsof people with mental healthproblems after two studies it commissionedsuggested it could havesignificant benefits for sufferers inmost cases.Prescription of care farms as atreatment has been highly successfulon mainland Europe, butBritain has failed to follow theexample, it added as it launcheda report “Ecotherapy: the greenagenda for mental health”.Mind chief executive Paul Farmersaid: “Mind sees ecotherapy as animportant part of the future formental health.“It’s a credible, clinically-validtreatment option and needs to beprescribed by GPs, especially whenfor many people access to treatmentsother than anti-depressantsis extremely limited.”[Source: IOL]Biophile Issue 1613