For good reasons and bad, there's no doubt nanotechnology will change our lives. Using a toxic sunscreen chock full of titania (titanium oxide), however, is one of the bad ones that may cause neurological damage, according to EPA researchers.
Titania, the same material used to make white pigment in paints, is also found in sunscreens, touted for its ability to absorb ultraviolet light. Such "protection" comes with a price based on previous reports: Toxicity when titania is intermingled with various cell types, including skin, bone and liver.
Scientists exposed titania nanoparticies (some 30 nanometers big) to the microglia cultures (cells that protect brain neurons from harm) taken from mice. Over the short term, the mouse microglia protected neurons from titania by releasing natural chemicals to destroy them.
Because it takes more than hour for those microglia to do the job, however, scientists believe this prolonged chemical reaction sets the stage for oxidative stress, the root of terrible conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
No one knows how nanoparticles applied to the skin via conventional sunscreens, already filled with toxic chemicals, will affect your brain. If you work or play for long periods in the sun, however, look for safe, non-toxic sunblock products like the ones I sell in my Web store.
CosmeticsDesign.com June 21, 2006
An interesting column on the MSNBC Web site demonstrates the ongoing and outrageous fear campaign by groups like the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to discredit the advice of Dr. Michael Holick, one of the world's leading vitamin D researchers who advocates getting the right amount of it naturally through daily sunshine exposure.
So much so, that the reporter received a strong scolding from the AAD, because advocating time in the sunshine "endangers America's health." The association's stance has much to do with its success in scaring people away from the sun and endangering their health by pushing toxic sunscreen concoctions.
The sad fact about all this unnecessary hoopla: Although Dr. Holick's detractors believe his philosophy is scientifically sound, that didn't prevent him from being forced to resign from his position in the dermatology department at Boston University.
The AAD's argument against sun exposure is one of fear and abstinence, Dr. Holick says, and not moderation. The trick about getting enough vitamin D naturally is to limit your sun exposure at the beginning to no more than 10 minutes a day -- a very conservative approach -- then progressively increasing it over time.
Chlorinated Swimming Pools Jump-Start Asthma
With temperatures exploding to record highs in many parts of the United States, you may be tempted to beat the heat and get some exercise at the same time in an indoor pool, but that's not the healthiest choice due to chlorine, according to a new study.
Scientists blame chlorine bi-products in indoor pool water for the rapid rise in asthma problems among European children, based on a comparison of asthma statistics among teens in 21 countries and the number of chlorinated pools per capita.
Considering asthma has risen by 50 percent over the past quarter-century and some 150 million suffer from it worldwide, asthma and wheezing increased as much as 3.4 percent for each additional chlorinated indoor pool.
The probable reason: Your body absorbs more chlorine after one hour in a swimming pool than you would from drinking unfiltered local tap water for a week.
Safer alternatives -- ozone and Baquacil -- kill microorganisms just like chlorine and are becoming more common in public pools.
Occupational and Environmental Medicine July 17, 2006
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