Consumer Tox
angrytoxicologist | August 22, 2007From Rueters:
Healthy subjects who received daily caffeine-free green tea extract capsules had an increased production of detoxification enzymes, which may provide some cancer-fighting benefits, study findings show.
"Concentrated green tea extract could be beneficial to those who are deficient in the detoxification enzyme and shouldn't be harmful for those who have adequate detoxification enzyme," lead investigator Dr. H.-H. Sherry Chow, of the University of Arizona, Tucson, told Reuters Health.
Boneheaded. Let me tell you why. First, we already went over how green tea supplements are actual…
angrytoxicologist | August 16, 2007It's cheap, durable, and beautiful. I was going to post on this next week, but Slate beat me to the punch. So instead of reinventing the wheel I'll send you over there. One thing that most people don't think about is the fact that tons of painted items not meant for kids and ceramics not meant for eating are painted/glazed with lead paint/glaze all the time. So it's a good idea to keep kids' mouths off of brightly painted plastics/metals that are not kids toys and any ceramics that aren't made for food (for some questionable items like pitchers, check to see if it is labeled food safe,…
angrytoxicologist | August 15, 2007Friends of Earth put out a report on nanotechnology and sunscreens recently. They bungled it. Big time.
A little background.
Zinc (Zn) and Titanium (Ti) Oxides are the best sun protectants known. They don't break down in the sun and they have broad UVA UVB coverage. However, they are bright opaque white (you remember the thick white stuff lifeguards put on their noses and ears?). If you make it small enough, though, the solution will be clear, not white, and still do a good job. Most nanoparticles in sunscreen may be nano in terms of size, but nanotechnology (from a toxicology perspective)…
angrytoxicologist | August 14, 2007Most cities and towns use chlorine or bromine to disinfect water. When the water is polluted, chlorine or bromine reacts with the pollution (agricultural runoff is probably a bigger problem here than traditional industrial pollution) to create what are called disinfection by-products (DBPs). DBPs are associated in humans with adverse pregnancy outcomes (usually miscarriage)*. Since DBPs damage DNA and are considered carcinogens at some level, researchers thought that it was likely that DBPs would affect sperm as well. Rodent studies show that some DBPs do harm sperm quality; however, there…
angrytoxicologist | July 19, 2007A study this month ($) in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety (just rolls off the tongue doesn't it?), looked at poison control data during 2001 for two herbal supplements: St. John's wort and Echinacea.
There were 356 contacts for SJW and 406 contacts for Echinacea. That's not what interests me; we know the compounds are bioactive and have toxicities associated with their use (See here for the adverse effects seen from these contacts). SJW is even implicated in suicidal and aggressive thoughts (Nanayakkara et al. 2004. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 149; 1347-1349) and interferes with many…
angrytoxicologist | May 10, 2007Poison ivy, nightshade, cobras, green tea.
Uh, green tea?
Yeah, you heard me right. Don't put down your cup of tea just yet, but if you're near a GNC please run, don't walk, the other way (good advice anytime).
A review ($) came out in one of my two favorite journals, Chemical Research in Toxicology (the other being VQRÂ - you've got to keep your nerd in check), on the chemicals found in green tea that are supposed to so healthy, polyphenols. A bit of background first. The major polyphenols found in green tea called catechins have shown some anti-cancer activity in vivo (in a living thing). A…
angrytoxicologist | May 1, 2007Why, yes it is, and that's why I've got a stupid product for you not to buy (not that my above-average-intelligence audience would anyway ;)Â ).
The POD, or Personal Oxygen Device, by GO2, is simply that: portable oxygen for you to "energize" and "refresh, restore, renew your mind and body on the cellular level with oxygen". Ooooo...cellular. Sounds scientificy, let's get it!
First I have to note that if your body is short on oxygen, you'll simply breathe harder.
Now, why is the product harmful?
Oxygen is reactive, our bodies exploit this aspect by having O2 accept the energy that we use…