Toxic

Did you know? Microwave popcorn gives off a toxic, lung-damaging gas when cooked

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You might be reassured to learn that the buttery flavor in microwave popcorn typically comes from a chemical actually found in butter, but you shouldn’t be. This chemical, called diacetyl, is so toxic that it commonly destroys the lungs of workers in microwave popcorn factories, afflicting them with the crippling and irreversible disease known as bronchiolitis obliterans. Bronchiolitis obliterans is so rare outside of this context that it has become more commonly known as “popcorn lung,” after the primary cause of the disease.

Regulators and health professionals have known of this risk for decades, but always assumed that it would only affect people breathing in especially high concentrations in factory settings. Then in 2007, a man who regularly ate two bags of microwave popcorn every day was diagnosed with popcorn lung, indicating that diacetyl enters the air and lungs when microwave popcorn is cooked. Anxious to reassure consumers, most microwave popcorn companies phased out diacetyl — only to replace it with chemicals that have the same effects.

Today, you can still find diacetyl in many flavored snack foods and even in some so-called “natural” foods. Make sure you read the ingredients of any food you intend to consume, and make sure it contains no diacetyl (and no “yeast extract” for that matter, either).

Top Tips to Limit Your Exposure to Aluminum and Lead – Natural News Blogs

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In this modern age, there seems to be an increasing list of toxins in the environment that people who are health-conscious need to look out for. Among the most serious of these toxins are heavy metals like aluminum and lead. Although these metals occur naturally in the environment, they are also extremely toxic and can build up in the system. High levels of these metals in the body can lead to liver and kidney damage, neurological problems like Alzheimer’s and other diseases which cause cognitive deficits. It can even lead to the onset of cancer. There are however, steps that everyday people can take to help limit their exposure to these dangerous metals. These steps are outlined below.

Choose Personal Care Products Wisely

Using organic, all-natural personal care products like deodorants, creams, moisturizers and lotions can help reduce exposure to aluminum in particularly, which is a frequently additive to this kind of merchandise. Even when buying these natural products, however, be sure to read the label carefully before purchase to make sure it is aluminum-free. These kinds of products are some of the most common ways in which people are exposed to aluminum.

Avoid Using Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil is a very common household product that is probably in every American home and is used to wrap up food or to bake it in the oven. However, particularly when heated, aluminum can leach out of the foil and into the food and can over time build up in various organs like the liver. Consider alternative forms of food storage and preparation. For example, using a covered roast pan to bake or roast meals instead of covering the pan with aluminum foil.

Do Not Use Aluminum Nonstick Cookware

While nonstick cookware may seem like a great thing in the kitchen, it is actually quite dangerous. Not only can aluminum leach into the food that is being prepared, but heating such pans releases dangerous volatile chemicals that are then inhaled and taken into the lungs, where they can cause respiratory damage. Be sure to use iron, glass or porcelain-coated skillets instead.

Avoid Canned Food

The aluminum used to make tin cans is also capable of leaching into the food that is stored inside it. What’s more, BPA is found in most tin cans as a liner and can also leach into the food; it has been associated with neurological problems and cancer and has been banned in many countries as a result. Consider using frozen or pickled foods instead: frozen foods retain all the nutritional value of the fresh product, while fermented foods also provide the body with healthy probiotic bacteria.

Most of these recommendations are not drastic or radical. They largely involved changing purchasing habits and finding alternatives to household and personal care products that reduce the exposure to aluminum and other toxins as well. However, though these changes seem small, they can have a big impact on long-term health.

Michigan approves law to spread toxic, mercury-contaminated coal ash across the state .

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New legislation approved by the Michigan House of Representatives would repurpose coal ash produced by power plants as a base for roads across the state, as well as parking lots.

The three-bill package would reclassify coal ash and a few other byproducts that are presently classified as hazardous waste, which would essentially treat them as low-risk materials that are suitable for certain “beneficial use” projects.

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As reported by Michigan Live:

State Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), who sponsored one of the bipartisan bills to amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, said the byproducts that could be re-used under the legislation, including coal ash, pose little threat to the public.

“We have the testing standards in place, and we’re doing the same thing as surrounding states,” said Schmidt. “We’re not going to be putting it into playground sand or anything like that. We’re making sure it’s used for roads or projects where it can be contained in a safe way.”

Reports said that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is supporting the package of bills, each of which have passed the GOP-controlled House in a series of 68-42 and 66-44 votes that mostly fell along party lines. A few Democrats co-sponsored the bills but at least two of them wound up voting against them when they came up on the floor.

Groups like the Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan Groundwater Association and the Michigan Manufacturers Association backed the bills during committee hearings last month, MLive reported.

‘Those roads will eventually crumble’

Environmental groups, however, have expressed concerns saying that the coal ash could potentially contaminate ground water. Also, they are worried that the potential impact of new federal regulations that are designed to reduce mercury levels in coal plant smokestack emissions.

James Clift, the Michigan Environmental Council policy director, says that much of the mercury will be captured in the coal ash, meaning that coal ash used beneath roads and parking lots could contain dangerously elevated mercury levels.

“Those roads and parking lots will eventually crumble,” Clift said in testimony in April. “Some will be rebuilt, others will be left for future generations to figure out how to repurpose. The placement of industrial byproducts at those sites will make their redevelopment more challenging and be a burden on local units of government.”

In addition, a group of environmental activists from separate organizations converged on the state capital in Lansing to provide lawmakers with copies of “Toxic Trash Exposed,” which is a 2013 report prepared by the Clean Water Fund documenting state coal ash pollution. The group, noting that the proposed bills exempt companies from legal liability on any byproducts that have been cleared for “beneficial use,” heavily criticized the House vote.

“It’s unconscionable that our legislature continues to protect the coal industry instead of the hardworking people of Michigan,” Margi Armstrong of Michigan Clean Water Action Lake St. Clair said in a statement. “We have very little knowledge about the potentially devastating impacts that these bills will have on our water, our health, and our communities.”

‘Full of chemicals’

As further reported by MLive:

The legislation would also allow byproducts like cement kiln dust, pulp and paper mill material, scrap wood, sand, asphalt shingles and sludge from the treatment of petroleum contaminated soil to be repurposed in various ways rather than end up in landfills.

The bills are similar to laws that have already been put in place by neighboring states, Schmidt said. He added that opposition from some environmental groups was itself a byproduct of general animosity towards coal-fired power plants.

“I think the main goal for many of those radical environmental groups is their war on coal,” he said. “What we’re dealing with is beneficial use of byproducts making sure that it’s used in a safe and beneficial way.”

According to the environmental legal group Earth Justice, coal ash “is full of chemicals that cause cancer, developmental disorders and reproductive problems. It poisons our water and kills fish and wildlife.”

The EPA says that some 70 percent of coal ash that is repurposed “was for concrete, blended cement and structural fills/embankments. The remaining usage was as road base, in snow and ice control, for mining applications and as an aggregate.”

Sources:

http://www.mlive.com

http://earthjustice.org

http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/coalandcoalash.html

6 Reasons Why You Should Let Go of a Toxic Relationship.

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“There comes a time in your life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it and surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good. After all, life is too short to be anything but happy.” ~ Karl Marx(composer)

I have been in a toxic relationship for almost 10 years and I know how challenging it may be to find the courage and strength to tell yourself: “I’ve had enough. There has to be a better way. I deserve better than this. We both do” and to finally let go of someone you once loved, and maybe still do.

6 Reasons Why You Should Give Up a Toxic Relationship

You let go of a toxic and unhealthy relationship not because you are weak, not because you no longer love the other person, but because you are strong enough to understand that there are times when two people will be a lot happier if they go separate ways than if they stay together. There comes a time in our lives when we have to do what’s right and to honor not only ourselves, but also the people around us.

Remember, it’s the relationship that you are letting go of but not the love you have for the other person. I still care about my ex boyfriend and I know that I will love him for as long as I live, but that doesn’t mean that we should be together. We tried, it didn’t work and we had to let it go, and I hope you will find the strength and courage to do the same.

Here are 6 reasons why you should let go of a toxic relationship and allow yourself to be happy:

1. Life is too short to be anything but happy

Don’t make the same mistake I have made. Don’t cling on to unnecessary pain. If it hurts and is a constant struggle… If it’s hard and makes you unhappy, then you need to just let go. Life is too short to be anything but happy.

“One of the simplest ways to stay happy is to just let go of the things that makes you sad.” ~  Nishan Panwar

2. It is better to be alone than in bad company

Don’t you think, not even for a single moment, that it is better to cling on to a toxic and unhappy relationship than to be alone with your own magnificent Self!

There is something so beautiful, so powerful and so unique in each and every one of us and the more we cling on to toxic relationships, the harder it will be for us to tap into our own greatness.

Detach, let go and learn to love yourself for who you are and not for who others want you to be.

“You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.” ~ Wayne Dyer

3. Who you are is enough

Way too many people cling on to toxic and unhealthy relationships just because they think that without the other person they will be nothing and their life will be worthless. Total nonsense!

I used to think that way as well. I used to believe that if me and my boyfriend broke up, my life would be worthless and that nothing would make sense anymore, but guess what? Ever since I managed to let go, my life became more meaningful than ever and you know why? Because I have learned to love and appreciate myself and to stop looking for my “salvation” somewhere out there, in other people.

Believe me when I say that who you are is more than enough and that you don’t need another person to complete you, but to help you see how beautiful you already are and how much you have to offer.

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” ~ Buddha

4. Holding on to toxic relationships keeps you from growing

Don’t get me wrong, I love challenges and I have this incredible ability to turn every experience, whether good or bad, into a valuable life lesson, but this doesn’t mean that I should make my life harder by clinging on to toxic relationships and drama. I believe that things should flow and they should be easy, and when they aren’t, that means something is wrong.

After being in an unhealthy relationship for almost 10 years, I have learned that if a relationship is hard, if it’s stressful, and if it takes a lot of energy and effort to try to make it work, you have to let it go, for the sake of both parties.

I came to the conclusion that if a relationships doesn’t make you a better person, if it doesn’t challenge you to grow and evolve into a happier and more loving human being, it is not worth holding on to. If a relationship makes you bitter, but not better, then you are in the wrong one.

“Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.” ~ Robert Tew

5. Face the “ugly truth”

Accept the “ugly truth” – you can’t change the other person, you can only change yourself.

I used to think I could change my boyfriend and my boyfriend believed that he could change me. Guess what? Nobody was able to change anybody and the more we tried to change one another, the more resistant and more resentful we became towards one another.

We got so busy trying to control and change everything that we forgot how to live. We forgot how to love.

“Never underestimate your power to change yourself. Never overestimate your power to change others.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

6. When you let go of a toxic relationship you make room for a healthy one

There is someone out there who is looking for somebody just like you…

By clinging on to something you need to let of and by staying in a toxic relationship long after you tried everything to make it work, you deny yourself the right to be loved, to be happy and at peace. You deny yourself the right to be with someone who will respect and appreciate you for who you are. You deprive yourself of the gift of love and happiness.

Don’t let that happen to you. Give yourself permission to live life fully. To be free and to experience the many wonderful gifts that come from being in a healthy and loving relationship with someone who doesn’t try to control your every move. Be with someone who allows you to be who you are without trying to change and “correct” you. Life is too short to waste your precious time by clinging on to toxic relationships.

Let go and be happy!

Why do you think so many of us are afraid of giving up toxic relationships? I would love to know what are your thoughts on this topic and whether this is something you have been experiencing yourself.