This just in: need-to-know news about your health diet, mind, body and the world you live in

Cancer to Go A chemical used in making Teflon, Scotchguard and StainMaster products but also found in carry-out paper and cardboard food cartons (to help repel grease) is "likely to be carcinogenic to humans," according to a draft report issued in June 2005 by an independent advisory board to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Although perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) appears in carpets and raincoats, its use in food containers may explain why it is showing up in the blood of humans throughout the United States. The report also says that PFOA is a "persistent" chemical, taking decades to break down. If the EPA accepts the board's report, it will investigate the levels at which the chemical is dangerous to humans.

Danger Zone The rate of illness from exposure to pesticides in schools jumped 39 percent from 1998 to 2002, according to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study published in the July 27, 2005 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. School employees were more likely than students to suffer pesticide-related illnesses--27.3 cases per million for employees to 7.4 cases per million for students. Although lead researcher Walter Alarcon, MD, tells VT that "the rate of cases is very low, and the vast majority (89 percent) were of low severity," he nevertheless recommends that schools adopt pesticide-spray buffer zones. Smart.

No Loss Women who take the pill can counteract bone loss associated with oral contraceptives simply by making sure they get the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium. And young women taking the pill may be able to actually reduce their risk of osteoporosis by 3-10 percent in just one year by getting their RDA of calcium. In a 12-month study at Purdue University, 135 users of oral contraceptives who took in 1,000-1,300mg of calcium a day were almost 100 percent more likely to increase the bone mass in their hips and spines than those who got fewer than 800mg of calcium. The calcium RDA for women aged 19-50 is 1,000mg; for girls 9-18 it's 1,300mg.

The research appears in the July 2005 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Good Earth Organic farms can produce corn and soybeans in yields as great as those of conventional farms--while using 30 percent less energy, less water and no pesticides--according to a study that puts to rest a longstanding objection to chemical-free agriculture. Although early yields were not as abundant on the organic acres studied by David Pimentel, PhD, a professor of ecology and agriculture at Cornell, they quickly caught up. Wind and water erosion degraded the soil on the conventional farm that Pimentel monitored, while the soil on the organic farm improved. "Because erosion was controlled," Pimentel tells VT, "more nutrients were left in the soil." The study appears in the July 2005 issue of the journal BioScience.

Watery Grave Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are increasing the ocean's acidity levels at the fastest rate in millions of years, making it harder for coral, shellfish and other marine creatures to form shells. In addition, squid and other large animals may face extinction as they find it harder to extract oxygen from sea water and to find food, announced the Royal Society, the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences, on June 30, 2005. "Reducing C[O.sub.2] emissions to the atmosphere appears to be the only practical way to minimize the risk of large-scale and long-term changes to the oceans," the group's report warns.

Meat and Cancer Eating as little processed meat as one hot dog a day--about 1.5 ounces--increased the risk of pancreatic cancer by a startling 67 percent in a University of Hawaii study of 191,000 men and women. "We cannot attribute the increase to total fat, saturated fat or cholesterol," lead researcher Ute Nothlings, DrPH, of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, tells VT. The culprit, the researchers told a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in April 2005, appears to be sodium nitrite, which is used as a preservative in hot dogs, sausages and other meat products. After it's eaten, sodium nitrite forms compounds called nitrosamines which promote cancer growth. (Nitrosamines are also found in beer and tobacco products.) Makes a veg diet sound better and better!

Pachyderm Poaching Despite efforts to crack down on Chinas illegal ivory trade, black market dealers in some Chinese cities outnumber legitimate ones by more than seven to one, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) reports. Black market traders sell ivory from elephants poached in Africa and Asia to workshops, where it's carved into jewelry, knickknacks and other decorative items. These are then sold to otherwise law-abiding tourists and Chinese citizens, entangling them in a complex network that is difficult to police. "This report clearly links the legal and illegal ivory trades," says Peter Pueschel, IFAW program manager, who called for banning all ivory sales when he announced the results of the group's investigation on June 28, 2005. "There is simply no way to stop the illegal sale of ivory as long as legal sales continue."