Low-dose food contaminants trigger sex-specific, hepatic metabolic changes in the progeny of obese mice

Low-dose food contaminants trigger sex-specific, hepatic metabolic changes in the progeny of obese mice
http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2013/06/11/fj.13-231670.abstract

FASEB Journal.  Published online before print June 11, 2013, doi: 10.1096/fj.13-231670

Danielle Navilleet all

 

Abstract
Environmental contaminants are suspected to be involved in the epidemic incidence of metabolic disorders, food ingestion being a primarily route of exposure. We hypothesized that life-long consumption of a high-fat diet that contains low doses of pollutants will aggravate metabolic disorders induced by obesity itself. Mice were challenged from preconception throughout life with a high-fat diet containing pollutants commonly present in food (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyl 153, diethylhexyl phthalate, and bisphenol A), added at low doses in the tolerable daily intake range. We measured several blood parameters, glucose and insulin tolerance, hepatic lipid accumulation, and gene expression in adult mice. Pollutant-exposed mice exhibited significant sex-dependent metabolic disorders in the absence of toxicity and weight gain. In males, pollutants increased the expression of hepatic genes (from 36 to 88%) encoding proteins related to cholesterol biosynthesis and decreased (40%) hepatic total cholesterol levels. In females, there was a marked deterioration of glucose tolerance, which may be related to the 2-fold induction of estrogen sulfotransferase and reduced expression of estrogen receptor α (25%) and estrogen target genes (>34%). Because of the very low doses of pollutants used in the mixture, these findings may have strong implications in terms of understanding the potential role of environmental contaminants in food in the development of metabolic diseases.—Naville, D., Pinteur, C., Vega, N., Menade, Y., Vigier, M., Le Bourdais, A., Labaronne, E., Debard, C., Luquain-Costaz, C., Bégeot, M., Vidal, H., Le Magueresse-Battistoni, B. Low-dose food contaminants trigger sex-specific, hepatic metabolic changes in the progeny of obese mice.

Toxic chemicals found in newborns: report

Toxic chemicals found in newborns: report

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/toxic-chemicals-found-in-newborns-report/article12833927/

 

"Detectable levels of a large number of environmental chemicals have been found in the cord blood of some newborns, raising concerns that Canadian children already carry toxins in their bodies at birth, a report says."

Global Treaty to Curb Mercury-Except When It Comes to Children's Vaccines

Global Treaty to Curb Mercury–Except When It Comes to Children's Vaccines
http://www.fairwarning.org/2013/06/global-treaty-to-curb-mercury-except-when-it-comes-to-childrens-vaccines/

"Mercury is notorious for damaging the developing brains and nervous systems of babies and children. Concern about the serious effects of mercury pollution brought delegates from more than 140 nations to Geneva this January to put the finishing touches on a global treaty to minimize emissions. But there's a form of mercury that the treaty won't touch – one that is injected, in tiny amounts, straight into young kids' bodies.  Some common vaccines that prevent such diseases as diphtheria, whooping cough and meningitis contain thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that fights bacteria and fungi. Thimerosal is also used in the production of certain vaccines, which retain trace amounts of the compound."

EPA defends chemical testing of low-dose hormone effects

EPA defends chemical testing of low-dose hormone effects
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2013/epa-low-dose

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that current testing of hormone-altering chemicals is adequate for detecting low-dose effects that may jeopardize health. This comes in response to a report written last year by 12 scientists who criticized the government's decades-old strategy for testing the safety of many chemicals found in the environment and consumer products. The scientists specifically focused on a phenomenon called "nonmonotonic dose response," which means that hormone-like chemicals often do not act in a typical way; they can have health effects at low doses but no effects or different effects at high doses. The EPA's conclusion was commended by the chemical industry, which called the evidence "at best, very weak." But a Tufts University scientist said it "flies in the face of our knowledge of how hormones work.""

Nitrates in mom's drinking water linked to birth defects in kids.

Nitrates in mom's drinking water linked to birth defects in kids.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2013/06/nitrate-in-moms-drinking-water/

"Babies whose mothers consume nitrates in drinking water have a higher risk of spina bifida, cleft palate and other birth defects, according to a large study of children in Texas and Iowa. Used as fertilizers on crops, nitrates are one of the most widespread chemical contaminants in aquifers around the world. The study is the first to compare birth defects in kids to their mothers' consumption of nitrates-tainted drinking water during pregnancy."

Dramatic increase in hospitalization of US children with inflammatory bowel disease

Dramatic increase in hospitalization of US children with inflammatory bowel disease
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130625141208.htm

"The largest investigation to date has found a dramatic increase in the number of hospitalizations for children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the past decade in the United States."

Gagged by Big Ag

Gagged by Big Ag
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/06/ag-gag-laws-mowmar-farms

 

"Horrific abuse. Rampant contamination. And the crime is…exposing it?"

Early-life Air Pollution Linked with Childhood Asthma in Minorities, in Study

Early-life Air Pollution Linked with Childhood Asthma in Minorities, in Study
http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/06/106861/early-life-air-pollution-linked-childhood-asthma-minorities-study

"A research team led by UC San Francisco scientists has found that exposure in infancy to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a component of motor vehicle air pollution, is strongly linked with later development of childhood asthma among African Americans and Latinos. The researchers said their findings indicate that air pollution might, in fact, be a cause of the disease, and they called for a tightening of U.S government standards for annual exposure to NO2."

NIH Launched Dietary Supplement Label Database

NIH Launched Dietary Supplement Label Database
http://www.dsld.nlm.nih.gov/dsld/

"Searchable collection contains product information and ingredients from labels of dietary supplements sold in U.S.  Researchers, as well as health care providers and consumers, can now see the ingredients listed on the labels of about 17,000 dietary supplements by looking them up on a website. The Dietary Supplement Label Database, free of charge and hosted by the National Institutes of Health."

Ohio Environmental Council Environmental-Conservation Briefing Book 2013

Ohio Environmental Council Environmental-Conservation Briefing Book 2013

http://www.theoec.org/sites/default/files/BriefingBook2013.pdf

 

MCS document appears on pages 21 and 22.

Scientists say new study shows pig health hurt by GMO feed

Scientists say new study shows pig health hurt by GMO feed
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/us-gmo-pigs-study-idUSBRE95A14K20130611

"Pigs fed a diet of only genetically modified grain showed markedly higher stomach inflammation than pigs who dined on conventional feed, according to a new study by a team of Australian scientists and U.S. researchers."

Landslide Vote for GMO Labeling in Maine Legislature

Landslide Vote for GMO Labeling in Maine Legislature
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/06/11-6

"In a landslide 141-4 vote, the Maine House of Representatives voted Tuesday to advance bill LD 718, which would require special labeling for seeds and foods made with genetically modified (GMO) ingredients."

Mercury linked to neural tube defects in Chinese newborns.

Mercury linked to neural tube defects in Chinese newborns.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2012/12/2013-0522-mercury-pregnancy-higher-risk-neural-tube-defects/

"Babies with two serious neural tube birth defects had higher levels of mercury in their placentas than babies without the birth defects, according to a study conducted in China.The infants with spina bifida and anencephaly were 12 times as likely to have higher-than-average mercury levels. The rural region studied has a high prevalence of neural tube defects and heavy pollution from coal-burning plants, a major source of mercury. However, the babies from this region did not have unusually high mercury exposures."

Lautenberg's death leaves chemical safety bill hanging

Lautenberg's death leaves chemical safety bill hanging
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Lautenberg-s-death-leaves-chemical-safety-bill-4577160.php?t=b3728060f34d372650&t=b3728060f3

"The death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., at 89 came just as he was shepherding what some believe - and others fear - may be the most significant federal law in his considerable political career.  Lautenberg's priority for more than a decade had been modernizing the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, one of the country's bedrock environmental laws, and one that experts across the health and industrial spectra agree is hopelessly out of date."

U.S. orders new safety upgrades at nuclear plants

U.S. orders new safety upgrades at nuclear plants
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/us/nuclear-reactors-upgrades/

"U.S. regulators are directing 31 nuclear reactors similar in design to the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan, where an earthquake and tsunami caused a meltdown two years ago, to take additional steps to help contain radiation and other damage from any accident that is not quickly halted."

Common solvent linked to liver cancer risk

Common solvent linked to liver cancer risk
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/06/us-health-solvet-cancer-idUSBRE95516520130606

"Scandinavian workers exposed to a common industrial cleaning fluid showed higher risk for developing cancers of the liver, kidneys and cervix in a large new study."

Indoor Air Pollution | PSR

Indoor Air Pollution | PSR
http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/environmental-health-policy-institute/indoor-air-pollution.html

"Americans spend the majority of our time indoors, whether it's in our home, school or office.

Yet indoor air is estimated to be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency lists poor indoor air quality as the fourth largest environmental threat to our country. It has been associated with a range of symptoms including headache, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Specific diseases such as Legionnaires' disease, asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and humidifier fever have been directly traced to specific building-based problems. In addition, exposure to toxins such as asbestos and radon may not cause immediate symptoms but can lead to cancer years after exposure.

Other building-related concerns that can affect health include poor lighting, excessive noise and heating and cooling issues.

How is it that the buildings we spend the most time in -- raising our families, learning, earning a living -- can be the most toxic? What can we do about it, what sort of recourse do we have? Please read on, as the contributors to this month's Environmental Health Policy Institute aim to answer those questions."

Toxic Chemicals: Are Stricter Regulations Needed?

Toxic Chemicals: Are Stricter Regulations Needed?
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/05/30/toxic-chemicals

"A new big push is on to rewrite federal regulations on the toxic chemicals in our lives. We'll look at whether it's a great compromise or a great sellout.
When it comes to toxic chemicals, you might think there's somebody looking out for you, your health, your basic safety.
You might be wrong.
The 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, which governs American chemical regulation, is widely considered a joke.  Out of 85,000 registered chemicals in the US, the federal government has required testing of only 200.  Only five have been banned as dangerous. And we wonder what's in our environment.
New legislation would update controls.  But is it a real fix?"