Contamination

Atherosclerosis is the main cause for heart attack and strokes. The endothelium is inner lining of blood vessels. This lining tissue generates the powerful arterial vessel dilator nitric oxide (N.O.). The endothelium also produces prostacyclin which slows the clotting of blood and also causes beneficial dilating of arteries. The third important endothelial product is heparin which prevents clots from forming without causing bleeding. Excessive deposition of heavy metals in the endothelium diminishes the endothelium's ability to produce nitric oxide, prostacyclin, and heparin.

Activists Push for Safer Ingredients in Makeup

It's the beauty industry's ugly secret. For decades, cosmetic companies have made products containing chemical compounds that have been linked to reproductive birth defects and cancer. The compounds are phthalates (pronounced THA-laytes) and they help cosmetics adhere without smudging.

The European Union has banned phthalates from all cosmetics and now a coalition of advocacy groups has given U.S. companies a deadline of Monday, May 3 to support a ban.

It sounds noble: a cosmetics company promises that if you buy one of its products, a portion of the sale will go toward “the fight against breast cancer.”

But what if that cosmetic contains chemicals that might actually increase your risk of developing the disease?

Many cosmetics contain chemicals known as parabens and phthalates, which recent studies indicate may be linked to cancer development.

February 5, 2010

At Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong First Nations in Ontario, Canada, many people have been diagnosed with Minamata disease (mercury poisoning). Many people in these two communities also have Type 2 diabetes.