Galen's Watch

Reducing Our Chemical Body Burden- Don't Get Overwhelmed

Read or listen to this podcast at Enviromental Health Perspectives  (EHP) interviewing Drs. Tracey Woodruff and Rachel Morello-Frosch on the Chemical Body Burden in Pregnant Women.

I really enjoyed the common sense approach to reducing unwanted chemicals in our lives given by Dr Woodruff:

One of the things that’s a little bit challenging about this research is it does make you start to think about all the things in your house and whether you are doing the things that can maximize the health of your family. So I know from my own personal experience we didn’t do this like, one day I got up in the morning and tried to accomplish everything that we recommend in our own fact sheets, because that actually would be too difficult. That’s just not realistic.
So it kind of evolved over time, but I stopped microwaving in plastic, then I switched out some of my containers. We don’t have any pesticides in our home. We clean more often because there’s a lot of—OK, that’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but . . . There’s a lot of chemicals that are in dust, so the more you keep dust levels down in your house, wash your hands more often . . . There’s some very simple things you can do to actually reduce some of your exposures to different types of environmental chemicals. And then slowly over time we buy certain foods organic, slowly over time we’ve made lifestyle changes that have been borne out in many different studies to show that you can reduce your exposure to some of these different environmental chemicals.
People don’t have to do all these things at once or even in sequence. Even things like I said, like washing your hands and keeping your house clean, can actually lower exposures to a number of these different chemicals. Also, eating a healthy diet can help mitigate effects of exposures to environmental chemicals. So people can take things slowly, and they can still see results over a certain time period.

Listen or read more here

Sabra

Sabra Way MNIMH Editor in Chief and Founder, Galen's Watch
 Galen's Watch: A Journal Watch for Integrative Health Professionals

Favourites of the week

Every week I read a number of articles and blogs and these are the ones that held my attention the longest.

Clues to Gluten Sensitivity

"For the first time, we have scientific evidence that indeed, gluten sensitivity not only exists, but is very different from celiac disease," says lead author Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research.

The Complex Origins of Food Safety Rules--Yes, You Are Overcooking Your Food

You might think that scientific evidence would constitute the “last word” when food safety rules are made, but in fact it’s only the beginning. Policy makers take many other factors into consideration, including tradition, cultural trends, political expediency, and pressure from industry.To some extent, it’s reasonable to apply these modifiers because public health, not scientific purity, is the ultimate goal of food safety regulations. But this approach sometimes imposes arbitrary and scientifically indefensible restrictions that limit food choices, confuse the public, and prevent cooks from preparing the highest-quality meals.

Low Cholesterol and Suicide. Your brain needs cholesterol - don't go too low.

Chinese Medicine Quarterly is a digital magazine that seeks to inform, connect and inspire students & practitioners of Chinese medicine who want to root deeply in the ancient traditions while thriving in the contemporary world.

Podcast from the Healthy Skeptic-In this week’s show we discuss the similarities and differences between the Paleo, GAPS and Weston A. Price approaches to nutrition. Specifically, we explore:

     ▪     The health of traditional cultures studied by Weston A. Price
     ▪     Raw dairy, IGF-1 and cancer
     ▪     Signs and symptoms of raw dairy intolerance
     ▪     Properly prepared grains – worth the trouble?
     ▪     How to reintroduce and test your tolerance for dairy
     ▪     A1 vs. A2 milk: significant difference or bogus theory?
     ▪     Which is best: Paleo, GAPS or WAPF?


Webecena- Webicina.com curates online medical resources in social media for patients and medical professionals for free in over 15 languages.

Sabra

Sabra Way MNIMH Editor in Chief and Founder, Galen's Watch
 Galen's Watch: A Journal Watch for Integrative Health Professionals

Ina May Gaskin: Midwifery Podcasts

This is a great opportunity to listen to Ina May Gaskin speak about her experience in midwifery. Posted on MIDIRS (Midwives Information and Resource Service). There are several podcasts to enjoy.

Ina May Gaskin is highly regarded amongst midwives and practitioners, and is often described as the ‘mother of authentic midwifery’. As founder and director of The Farm Midwifery Centre, Tennessee, which has handled more than 2,200 births with remarkably good outcomes, Ms Gaskin is also author of several books, the most highly recognised being 'Spiritual Midwifery', now in its fourth edition and 'Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth'. She has lectured all over the world at midwifery conferences and at medical schools, both to students and faculties and was President of Midwives' Alliance of North America from 1996 to 2002. Ina May's work in helping women to reduce their fear of childbirth by regaining confidence in their bodies' ability to give birth is truly inspiring and their success in achieving this is supported by The Farm’s maternity statistics.

Sabra Way MNIMH

Editor in Chief and Founder, Galen's Watch

Galen's Watch reports on complementary and alternative medical literature that is relevant to CAM practitioners. Visit our journal watch service and see the medical journals we scan regularly

Midwifery Podcasts

Midwives Information and Resources Service [MIDIRS] is now offering informative podcasts. The service is new but there are already about 10 podcasts available.

• Reading Midwifery Research

• Cup Feeding

• Ina May Gaskin Interviews

• and more

MIDIRS aims

To be the leading international information resource relating to childbirth and infancy, disseminating this information as widely as possible to assist in the improvement of maternity care' We aim to fulfil this mission by providing a range of services, all of which are featured on this site. If you have any questions, please phone or e-mail us and we will be pleased to help. Please use the links at the top of the page.

 

They also have a free newsletter

Sabra Way MNIMH

Editor in Chief and Founder, Galen's Watch

 Galen's Watch reports on complementary and alternative medical literature that is relevant to CAM practitioners. Visit our journal watch service and see the medical journals we scan regularly.