Currently, ginger supplementation is being evaluated in a phase II trial to investigate ginger’s potential as a colon cancer preventative.

In animal models of diabetes, glutamine supplementation was shown to decrease markers of oxidation and glycation end-products. The researchers go on to suggest that these effects may reduce renal damage caused by excessive oxidative stress.

Source: Effects of glutamine supplementation on oxidative stress-related gene expression and antioxidant properties in rats with streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetes

As the school year wound down, Matthew’s health worsened. He was out for two weeks in the spring with pneumonia and then developed a sinus infection so severe he needed to spend the night at the hospital, where he received intravenous antibiotics and breathing treatments.

In all, Matthew missed 53 days of school.

But over the summer, a strange thing happened. Matthew was healthy. He was energetic. He could ride his bike for hours at a time.

“When we put him back in school this year, within three weeks, he missed 10 days with a respiratory infection,” Melissa Asselin said. That’s when Matthew’s mother had an a-ha moment.

“When he was out of school, he was well. When he was in school, he became ill,” Asselin said.

Matthew’s parents concluded that the 9-year-old’s school, Hinsdale Elementary, was making their son sick.

Indoor air problems

Figures are hard to come by, but studies have estimated that a third or more of U.S. schools have mold, dust and other indoor air problems serious enough to provoke respiratory issues like asthma in students and teachers.

A national survey of school nurses found that 40% knew children and staff adversely affected by indoor pollutants.

Indoor air affects more than health. A growing body of research suggests students also perform better in schools with healthier air.

“If you get an unhealthy building, you’re not going to have a successful school,” said Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the United States.

“Asthma is the number one chronic illness that keeps kids out of school, and it’s growing,” Eskelsen added.

About one in 10 children in the United States now has asthma, which causes them to miss an average of four days of school a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. John Santilli, a Connecticut allergist, says he has treated dozens of students sickened by school air. Even when children don’t miss school, he said, the medications they take for asthma and conditions like rhinitis, an allergic reaction to mold or dust, can make it harder for them to do their best work.

“They’re on antihistamines, they’re on nasal sprays, they’re on asthma medications, and this limits their ability to perform,” Santilli said. “These kids can’t concentrate. They can’t focus on what’s going on.”

Dr. Santilli says about 20% to 30% of people are susceptible to mold or dust, which triggers an allergic reaction. The resulting symptoms can include itchy eyes, runny nose, coughing, headaches, fatigue, even memory problems and slowed thinking.

“It takes a lot to make you sick, but it takes very little exposure once you’re sensitized to provoke symptoms,” Santilli said. “As time goes on, it takes more and more out of you, and you get sicker and sicker.”

A growing problem

Researchers and others who follow the issue say school air problems have probably been exacerbated in recent years by funding cutbacks that have resulted in less money for building upkeep and maintenance.

In Reading, Pennsylvania, the school board cut $18 million from the 2011-12 budget — more than $1,000 per student — which left acting Superintendent Drue Miles with little money to fix problems among aging buildings.

At Reading’s Southern Middle School, for example, water pours into an upstairs classroom through holes in the roof when it rains. There’s no money to replace the roof, only patch it, Miles said.

“The buildings continue to deteriorate, and we only have a small amount of dollars to spread to do just some minimal things,” Miles said.

Researchers at the New York state Health Department found a correlation between building maintenance at the public schools and hospitalizations for asthma. The condition of roofs, windows, walls and boilers were all related to the health of children at the school, researchers found.

A similar study in Boston schools found a link between asthma rates and leaks, mold, lack of repairs and visible signs of insects or rodents.

Children are particularly at risk because their bodies are still developing and they breathe in more air, pound for pound, than adults.

“Schools are more densely occupied than office buildings, and children aren’t little adults. They’re uniquely vulnerable,” said Claire Barnett, founder and executive director of the Healthy Schools Network a nonprofit group focused on environmental health in schools.

Teachers at risk

Kids aren’t the only ones affected by school air.

Joellen Lawson was a special education teacher at a Fairfield, Connecticut, elementary school so plagued with mold that it robbed Lawson of her health. Officials finally decided to tear it down and start from scratch, costing the district more than $20 million.

“I’ve never recovered fully, and I’ve also never had a pain-free day,” said Lawson, who is on permanent disability with a host of ailments including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition that has left her with 50% of her lung capacity.

According to a survey of teachers in the nation’s capital, two-thirds reported air quality at their schools of either fair or poor. More than half of Chicago teachers responding to the same survey also reported fair or poor school air quality.

More than a quarter of Chicago teachers surveyed said they had suffered adverse health effects because of the school environment; a third of the Washington teachers also reported these adverse health effects.

One family’s solution

Tests this fall at Matthew Asselin’s school, Hinsdale Elementary, showed elevated levels of mold in the gymnasium/cafeteria and two other areas, and the school district spent $16,000 for a thorough cleaning. The school board is also considering whether to close the school temporarily to replace a leaky roof and make other repairs.

Matthew’s parents aren’t taking any chances with their son’s health. They pulled him from Hinsdale. His mother, Melissa, who received her degree in elementary education last year, is now home-schooling the 9-year-old.

The change has been a financial burden on the family, but Asselin says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“He’s a different child,” she said. “Now he’s so healthy and happy. I can’t put a price on that.”

Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/14/health/school-indoor-air-pollution/index.html

U.S. PIRG says this year’s key findings include:

Lead Continues to be a Hazard in Toys

Exposure to lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body, especially the central nervous system. Lead is especially harmful to the brains of young children and has no business in children’s products.

This past year our investigators found 2 toys whose lead levels exceeded the current 300ppm standard set by the [Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act] and one additional toy that exceeded its prospective 100ppm standard;  4 additional toys were found that exceeded the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that lead levels in toys should not exceed 40ppm.

Phthalates in Toys

Numerous studies have documented the potential negative health effects of exposure to phthalates in the womb or in child development. U.S. EPA studies show the cumulative impact of different phthalates leads to an exponential increase in harms including premature delivery and reproductive defects. The CPSIA permanently banned toys containing three phthalates and set temporary limits on three others, while tests continue. No toy or childcare article can contain more than 1000ppm of each of the six phthalates.

This past year, two toys were found that laboratory testing showed to contain 42,000 ppm and 77,000 ppm levels of phthalates. These products exceed limits allowed by the CPSIA by 42 and 77 times, respectively.

Choking Hazards

Choking on small toy parts, on small balls, on marbles and balloons continues to be the major cause of toy-related deaths and injuries. Between 1990 and 2010, over 200 children died from a choking incident.

This past year several toys were found that violated CPSC’s small parts for toys standard intended for children less than 3 years old. Also found were  “near small part” toys that – while not in violation of current regulations – support the call for the small parts test to be made less permissive. Finally, toys that were intended for older children that failed to provide choking hazards warnings required for small parts or small balls.

Noisy Toys

Research has shown a third of Americans with hearing loss can attribute it in part to noise. The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed one in five U.S. children will have some degree of hearing loss by the time they reach age 12; this may be in part due to many children using toys and other children’s products that emit loud sounds such as music players. The National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders advises that prolonged exposure to noise above 85 decibels will cause gradual hearing loss in any age range.

1 toy was foundon store shelves that exceeded the recommended continuous exposure to 85-decibel limit and 2 close-to-the-ear toys that exceeded the 65 decibel limit when measured with a digital sound level meter.

As often happens, the toys singled out by U.S. PIRG tend to be inexpensive – this year’s top price for “potentially toxic toys” is $11.99 – and seemingly innocuous.  And it’s true that the annual report draws some criticism as alarmist, perhaps because of its perennial title.

This past year was no exception. Even before U.S. PIRG released this year’s report, the Toy Industry Association was ready with a statement warning: “During the holiday season, consumers are frequently targeted by activists who take advantage of the high visibility of toys and the opportunities they offer for media coverage.”

The TIA says:

The reports of such organizations ignore that toys are highly regulated and do not contain hazardous substances to which children may be exposed. They ignore that the U.S. government consistently lists toys among the safest of 15 common consumer product categories in the home. And they ignore that less than half of one percent of the estimated three billion toys sold each year in the United States are recalled.

You can read the rest of TIA’s statement here, and the group’s own safety advice here. The organization is right to recommend that toy risks be understood in their context, but wrong to say flatly that toys “do not contain hazardous substances to which children may be exposed.”

Plainly, sometimes they do – if you have any doubts, look at the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s list of toy recalls, which includes the recall of lead-painted toy cars as recently as Sept. 28.  And take note of the math: Less than half of 1 percent sounds low, but the group could also say “fewer than 15 million toys.” (Actually, I’d be surprised if the number were anywhere near that high.)

Moreover, the relative rarity of problem toys, and their low prices and ordinariness, are sort of the point.

Yes, most toys sold in the United States are safe. But at least a few aren’t, and the results can be tragic.  Do you want someone you love needlessly exposed to choking hazards or to risky substances such as lead, phthalates or cadmium?

This year’s “Trouble in Toyland” contains a wealth of information about real risks in the marketplace that are easily overlooked, including toys that violate legal standards or recommendations of authorities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics. The report may reflect the perspective of “activists,” but it’s also a good primer on the underlying policy debates over how to best limit risks imposed on consumers by the occasional manufacturer or importer who violates the rules or pushes the limits.

“Trouble in Toyland” is worth a look, especially in light of recent changes in product safety standards. (You can find it here.)

“The bottom line is that parents still need to be aware,” says Alana Miller, program associate at PennPIRG, U.S. PIRG’s Pennsylvania affiliate. “It shouldn’t be a partisan issue that toys on store shelves should be safe.”

A new study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has found that a group of volunteers who consumed a serving of canned soup each day for five days had a more than 1,000% increase in urinary bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations compared with when the same individuals consumed fresh soup daily for five days. The study is one of the first to quantify BPA levels in humans after ingestion of canned foods.

The findings were published online November 22, 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and will appear in the November 23/30 print issue.

“Previous studies have linked elevated BPA levels with adverse health effects. The next step was to figure out how people are getting exposed to BPA. We’ve known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body. This study suggests that canned foods may be an even greater concern, especially given their wide use,” said Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH and lead author of the study.

Exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical BPA, used in the lining of metal food and beverage cans, has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animals and has been linked with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity in humans. In addition to the lining of food and beverage cans, BPA is also found in polycarbonate bottles (identified by the recycling number 7) and dentistry composites and sealants.

The researchers, led by Carwile and Karin Michels, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology, set out to quantify whether canned-soup consumption would increase urinary BPA concentrations relative to eating fresh soup.

They recruited student and staff volunteers from HSPH. One group consumed a 12-ounce serving of vegetarian canned soup each day for five days; another group consumed 12 ounces of vegetarian fresh soup (prepared without canned ingredients) daily for five days. After a two-day “washout” period, the groups reversed their assignments.

Urine samples of the 75 volunteers taken during the testing showed that consumption of a serving of canned soup daily was associated with a 1,221% increase in BPA compared to levels in urine collected after consumption of fresh soup.

The researchers note that the elevation in urinary BPA concentrations may be temporary and that further research is needed to quantify its duration.

“The magnitude of the rise in urinary BPA we observed after just one serving of soup was unexpected and may be of concern among individuals who regularly consume foods from cans or drink several canned beverages daily. It may be advisable for manufacturers to consider eliminating BPA from can linings,” said Michels, senior author of the study.

Support for this study was provided by an Allen Foundation grant and a Training Grant in Environmental Epidemiology from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

“Canned Soup Consumption and Urinary Bishphenol A: A Randomized Crossover Trial,” Jenny L. Carwile, Xiaoyun Ye, Xiaoliu Zhou, Anotonia M. Calafat, Karin B. Michels, JAMA, online Nov. 22, 2011; in Nov. 23/30 print issue.