Author Archives: Dr. Helena

The Floor is Just the Start

The recent CBS 60-Minutes Report on Lumber Liquidators  is just the latest example of how a healthier home can be a key ingredient in a Wellness Lifestyle.Unknown-1

The report left no doubt that contractors play a key role in creating healthier buildings. This leads to a key question:  Should a building contractor’s job estimate come with a warning label?

After all, like the drugs prescribed by medical professionals, the work being done has the potential to adversely impact the health and wellbeing of every family member.

The contractor will be ripping open walls and ceilings, uncovering previously hidden potential dangers such as mold, dust, or even asbestos. They will ‘repair’ the damage according to specifications you outline, by introducing materials, adhesives, and coatings which can introduce chemicals which might outgas dangerous chemical indefinitely.

The reality is that few homeowners question what materials, or chemicals will be used to build or remodel their homes. So, the issue becomes, what responsibility does the contractor have to make their clients aware of the long-term implications of the work being one.ibe-house

Increasingly contractors have begun to realize that homeowners cannot be expected to understand the building biology that will become their environment for a significant portion of each day. Building biology deals with the relationship between humans and their building environment. The concept originated over 20 years ago in Germany but has now spread worldwide as people realize that their health, and the health of their families, are tied to their home environment.

The impact might be an asthma attack in a youngster allergic to dust, or a reaction to mold spores that had lain dormant since the home was constructed years before. More serious implications such as sick building syndrome, or serious disease touched off by multiple chemical sensitivity are all possible, but are rarely covered by any construction contract.

Whether it’s the water we drink, the air we breathe or the unseen electromagnetic energy sources that inundate us daily, the impact can be substantial.

It’s doubtful that a contractor would want to cast him or herself into the role of lecturer, imposing a code of standards that home owners would have to fulfill to take advantage of the skills necessary for remodeling. But at the very least, they should offer resources to their clients and make sure they know that cleaner, healthier and safer alternatives exist.

Very often these alternative have financial implications and even more often, they are beyond the local building code requirements. But like doctors, who have an obligation to inform patients of all the alternative available, contractors need to make sure, consumers are making informed decisions.

Contractors don’t need to be experts, there is a whole new burgeoning industry of experts trained to help consumers, – but carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other professionals need to know where these resources can be found.

imagesIf there were no health implications building materials should be designed so that they can return to the earth to be reused by future generations. The United States has long been criticized as a disposable society, ignoring the long-term social cost, of having the latest and greatest new invention. But slowly, the tide is turning and we are all becoming attuned to what will happen to our gadgets once we’ve tossed them aside.

The same should be true of buildings. Will the wood coated with preservatives ever decompose? Can materials be broken down by living organisms once it’s consigned to a landfill. If not, should we have been exposing humans to that chemical for 75 or 100 years when the house was inhabited.

Unfortunately for humans, the impact of out-gassing chemicals can be cumulative. Each one may be tested by a state or federal agency but, until recently, no one has measured the cumulative impact of the chemicals contractors use every day.

Now there are adhesives and bonding agents which produce few, if any, harmful gas as they cure. There are cost effective insulation and coatings that do not release chemicals into the home environment. There are finish materials such as no-VOC paints and sealants that don’t leave the finished project smelling like a chemical factory.

There are steps homeowners and contractors can take that go beyond ‘greening’ and energy efficiency that make the home less toxic in the long run.

Gone are the days when America consumers longed for that ‘new car smell’ when dad took everyone for a ride in the latest release from Detroit. Now we know that the smell was really the out-gassing of the many synthetic substances used to catch our attention on the dealer showroom.

No, contractor’s estimates don’t need a new warning label, but contractors and consumers need to know that they bear some responsibility for creating healthy living environments that will be safe as we live in them today and safer for future generations.

The next time you consider a kitchen or bathroom remodel, or your family outgrows your home and you decide that an addition is needed, ask your contractor about building biology and how it might impact your project.

 

The Problem with Canola Oil

Recently I went to dinner with friends. As usual, I questioned our server extensively about the kitchen’s use of canola oil. My purpose is not to disparage restaurants, but I would urge you, not to always believe what your server reports.Unknown

Almost every restaurant uses canola oil, either by itself or to cut costs by combining it with more expensive olive oil.

I urge all my clients to reject canola oil and do what ever they can to avoid using it. Here’s why.

Hundreds of years ago, humans were processing rapeseed to extract the oil. It was not used as a food product but as a lubricant. Usage increased as the Industrial Revolution gathered steam and it also became particularly useful in keeping machine parts clean.

The railroad used it extensively to clean engines and as a lubricant. Rapeseed was too high in a number of substances (uric acid among them) to be used as a food source.

Researchers at the University of Manitoba reengineered the seed, using hybridization techniques, to create a seed that had fewer harmful chemicals and was much closer in taste to olive oil.

This is what we now call canola oil, a name created by marketing types to separate it from the reputation of rapeseed oil. “Canola” stands for Canadian Oil (some believe it stands for Canada Oil, Low Acid).

These days the rapeseed is created by plants using GMO techniques. Since 1995, according to Kris Gunnars of Authority Nutrition, Monsanto has manufactured rapeseeds that are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide RoundUp.

Today, about 90% of the world’s canola crop is genetically modified.

Additionally, the extraction of the oil involves chemical separation using hexane – a known carcinogen.

Production of the oil is a very technical process, unlike the simple processes used to make other popular fats/oils, such as butter, olive oil or coconut oil.

The fact that it is exposed to high heat can be problematic since the oil is high in polyunsaturated fats, which are very sensitive to high heat and easily become oxidized (rancid).

Hexane is used to extract the oil from the seeds and trace amounts of it have sometimes been found in the final product.

You just can’t tell how much of the final product is damaged during the manufacturing process because the oil is also deodorized, which removes the smell.

One study analyzed canola and soybean oils found on store shelves in the U.S. They found that up to 4.2% of the fatty acids in them were toxic trans fats.

While the Canola industry claims it is entirely safe, others point to the Hexane residue and GMO sourcing as major problems.

By comparison, cold-pressed and organic canola oil has not gone through the same process and won’t contain so many oxidized fats or trans fats.

Unfortunately, the great majority of rapeseed/canola oils are made with the industrial processing method.

Is Fluoride the Answer or the Problem?

A recent article in Great Britain’s Daily Mail pointed out that in some parts of the United States naturally occurring levels of fluoride in well water may be reducing IQ levels in children.Fluoride

Forgetting for a minute, the continuing debate over what IQ levels really measure, the article does raise, once again, the continuing controversy over whether there is really any safe level of fluoridation.

Europe has largely banned the practice, but in the US it continues, with proponents saying that it prevents tooth decay. Opponents, including me, contend that there is no safe level of chemicals to be added to water especially if children are involved.

Studies, which the FDA and local municipalities choose to ignore, suggest that any benefit of fluoride, are more than offset by long-term nuerological problems which are just beginning to surface.

It’s tough to do a double-blind study on children raised on water with and without floride, but I believe strongly that fluoride is among a host of chemicals contributing to the widespread increase in autism, ADHD, and a number of other disorders.

I urge all my clients to avoid fluoridated water, especially in children. You can either buy a whole house filter to get ride of it, or simply use bottled water for anything going in your mouth.

This is just one more step toward wellness for you and your children.

Cell phones in the bedroom

A recent MacWorld Magazine article guided readers on how to choose the right application for white noise to help them get to sleep.

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Unfortunately the editors completely ignore the fact that your smartphone (whether Android or Apple) should not even be in the bedroom, much less sitting on your night stand. Unfortunately smartphones might let you download an application to help you sleep, but the device itself broadcasts EMF radiation, which does exactly the opposite.

EMF’s destroy the melatonin that helps get you to sleep. The dangers of EMF are well documented, and while some localities have tried to get manufacturers to put warning labels on phones, the industry has fought back and will not even tolerate labels which list radiation levels.

This means that even everyday use of cellphones can be dangerous, but that’s a subject for a future post. My point here is to warn you away from keeping your cellphone anywhere near your bedroom. This means that you should not use it as an alarm clock or to help you get to sleep.

Certainly allowing youngsters to keep their phones by their bed, for late night texting or web browsing, should be strictly prohibited. It won’t be a poplar decision, but the damage to young brains can be even more harmful.

It’s tempting to put your phone on ‘airplane mode’ so no signal is sent, but that won’t negate the impact of the electronics in the phone. The best option is to turn it off completely and leave the phone in another part of the house.

The Right Choice

It’s easy to get confused about the right approach to your wellness. Every day it seems there’s another theory about the perfect program for health living.

The reality is that there is no “one size fits all” model for wellness. Everyone’s history, background and genetic makeup is different, so it’s important to work with someone who knows you and your family.

It’s important that you have confidence in the guidance you get and that you ask your wellness advisor about any issues that concern you. The absolute worst scenario is to jump from one approach to another.

There may be multiple theories ad they may be in conflict. Often, one approach might actually interfere with the goals of another. The result can be confusing and in some cases, dangerous.

To get the results you want you need consistency, that’s the only way any program will have long term results.