Lead in Lipstick - Chumbo no Batom

Lead in Lipstick

Lead in lipstick? Turns out, the ur­ban legend is true. In October 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 33 popular brands of lipsticks at an independent lab for lead content. The results: 61 percent of lipsticks contained lead, with levels ranging up to 0.65 parts per million. Lead-contaminated brands included L'Oreal, Cover Girl and even a $24 tube of Dior Addict. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration promised it would conduct an investigation, but dragged its feet in doing so. It took nearly two years, pressure from consumers and a letter from three U.S. Senators, but in 2009 the FDA released a follow-up study that found lead in all samples of lipstick it tested, at levels ranging from 0.09 to 3.06 ppm – levels four times higher than the levels found in the Campaign study. FDA found the highest lead levels in lipsticks made by three manufacturers: Procter & Gamble (Cover Girl brand), L'Oreal (L'Oreal, Body Shop and Maybelline brands) and Revlon. Yet FDA has thus far failed to take action to protect consumers. No Safe Dose  The recent science indicates there is no safe level of lead exposure. “Lead builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels. The latest studies show there is no safe level of lead exposure,” according to Mark Mitchell, M.D., MPH, president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice. “Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language and behavioral problems such as lowered IQ, reduced school performance and increased aggression. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, because lead easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain where it can interfere with normal development,” according to Dr. Sean Palfrey, a professor of pediatrics and public health at Boston University and the medical director of Boston's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. “Since recent science suggests that there is truly no safe lead exposure for children and pregnant women, it is disturbing that manufacturers are allowed to continue to sell lead-containing lipsticks." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states: “No safe blood lead level has been identified.” The agency suggests avoiding all sources of lead exposure, including lead-containing cosmetics. (Read CDC's lead exposure prevention tips.) Status Update The Campaign continues to pressure the FDA to set a maximum limit of lead in lipstick, based on the lowest lead levels manufacturers can feasibly achieve. Thus far the agency has failed to take action to protect consumers. A state bill to ban lead from lipstick passed the California Senate in 2008, but died after a massiveindustry lobby effort. What You Can Do  Because lead is a contaminant not listed on lipstick ingredient labels, it's next to impossible for consumers to avoid. But don't let that dissuade you from doing something: E-mail, call or write to the companies that make your favorite lipstick shades and tell them that lead-free products are important to you. Send friends and family an e-card letting them know about this issue. Sign our petition for safe cosmetics.

Alimentação do brasileiro é pobre em nutrientes, revela pesquisa

		Quarta-feira, 26 de Setembro de 2007

Alimentação do brasileiro é pobre em nutrientes, revela pesquisaEstudo aponta consumo de cálcio três vezes abaixo do recomendado internacionalmente e até seis vezes menos vitaminas D, E, A, K

São Paulo- O prato de comida dos brasileiros contém pouquíssimos nutrientes. Segundo uma pesquisa realizada em todo o País e divulgada ontem, há vitaminas essenciais que são consumidas em quantidade insuficiente por 99% da população. É o caso das vitaminas D e E, que são encontradas naturalmente nos alimentos. A ausência desses dois nutrientes provoca problemas graves de saúde, como osteoporose, doenças cardiovasculares, diabete e câncer. O cálcio, por exemplo, não está presente nas quantidades necessárias na alimentação de 90% dos brasileiros. A lista dos nutrientes em falta continua com a vitamina K (81%), a vitamina C (80%), o magnésio (80%) e a vitamina A (50%). A ausência deles também provoca doenças. O estudo foi realizado por pesquisadores da Universidade de São Paulo (USP) e da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp) e envolveu 2.420 pessoas com mais de 40 anos de todas as regiões do País e todas as classes sociais. Elas tiveram de dizer o que haviam comido nas 24 horas anteriores. ''Foi uma fotografia do prato do brasileiro'', diz o médico reumatologista da Unifesp Marcelo Pinheiro, um dos líderes do estudo. Recomenda-se que um adulto consuma 1,2 mil miligramas de cálcio por dia. No Brasil, o índice médio não passa dos 400 miligramas. No caso da vitamina D, o recomendado são 10 microgramas diários. Na maior parte do País, o consumo é de, no máximo, 1,9 microgramas. a ingestão é ligeiramente mais alto na região Norte - 2,3 microgramas -, possivelmente porque peixe e castanha fazem parte do cardápio regional. Como são calculados em miligramas e microgramas, esses nutrientes são conhecidos como micronutrientes. Segundo Andréa Ramalho, pesquisadora e professora de Nutrição na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) e consultora do Ministério da Saúde, um dos grandes problemas na alimentação do brasileiro é a ausência de frutas, verduras e legumes, principais fontes de micronutrientes. ''Muitas vezes as pessoas têm a consciência de que precisam mudar seus hábitos alimentares de alguma forma. Mas não é uma tarefa fácil.'' ''Há casos em que falta a oportunidade para uma alimentação balanceada'', acrescenta João César Castro, endocrinologista e nutrólogo da Unifesp, que não faz parte da equipe que realizou o estudo. ''Muitas pessoas comem fora e, preocupadas com a higiene dos alimentos, não gostam de comer salada, por exemplo. Elas vão ter deficiência de micronutrientes.'' Ricardo Westin Agência Estado

Time to Break Your Multivitamin Habit?

Time to Break Your Multivitamin Habit?

For years multivitamins have been touted as a smart, safe step, but it may be time to say goodbye to the one-size-fits-all approach to supplements.

If you're like many Prevention readers, multivitamins have been a key part of your daily routine since... well, forever. As recently as 2002, no less an authority than the Journal of the American Medical Association recommended that "all adults take one multivitamin daily." We at Prevention have suggested them to you dozens of times over the years as well. And many doctors and nutritionists still urge a multivitamin to any "less-than-perfect eater" to compensate for dietary shortfalls.

The best vitamins for women.

But today, a tsunami of scientific data has resulted in a reversal in thinking among many experts in the health and nutrition community, including Miriam Nelson, PhD, director of the John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity at Tufts University. "The multivitamin as insurance policy is an old wives' tale, and we need to debunk it," she says.

The sea change is supported by two massive studies. The first, a review of 63 randomized, controlled trials (the gold standard research method) on multivitamins, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, found that multis did nothing to prevent cancer or heart disease in most populations (the exception being developing countries where nutritional deficiencies are widespread). In the second paper, published last year, scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center followed 160,000 postmenopausal women for about 10 years. The researchers' conclusion: "Multivitamins failed to prevent cancer, heart disease, and all causes of death for all women. Whether the women were healthy eaters or ate very few fruits and vegetables, the results were the same," says the lead author, Marian Neuhouser, PhD.

Maybe you never expected your multi to prevent breast cancer or head off a heart attack. Maybe you just felt that taking one would make you healthier by boosting your immunity or energy level. But research on those benefits is equally discouraging, especially in specialized groups on which you'd expect them to have an impact. For instance, a British review of eight studies found no evidence that multis reduced infections in older adults. Another study found that the vitamins didn't improve fatigue among breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. And inner-city schoolchildren who took a multi did not perform any better on tests or have fewer sick days than students who didn't take one.

Try the anti-cancer diet.

"There is even a small body of evidence that may suggest harm from a multi," says David Katz, MD, MPH, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. A 2010 study of Swedish women found that those who took multivitamins were 19% more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer over a 10-year period than those who didn't. A 2007 paper in the Journal of the National Cancer Institutefound that men who took multivitamins along with other supplements were at increased risk of prostate cancer. And other research has linked excessive folic acid intake to higher colon cancer risk in people who are predisposed. "In terms of a risk-benefit ratio," says Dr. Katz, "why would you accept even a tiny risk if you're not getting any benefit?"

So why were earlier researchers so wrong? One reason is that they were studying the wrong people. It's now well known that people who take vitamins tend to be some of the planet's healthiest to begin with. Researchers have shown that vitamin takers tend to be leaner, more affluent, and more educated. They drink and smoke less; they exercise and go to the doctor more. In other words, they're healthy despite their use of multis.

12 Myths about breast cancer you should ignore.

In addition, the very concept of a multivitamin as nutrient delivery system is limited. We now have a much better understanding of how well whole foods deliver their nutritional benefits. A typical multi contains 10 to 25 isolated nutrients, but fruits and vegetables have hundreds of active compounds with a long list of health properties. "The vitamin C in a multivitamin is likely just not as effective as the vitamin C in a citrus fruit, where it's also surrounded by fiber and flavonoids and carotenoids. All these nutrients working together is what really keeps you healthy," explains Dr. Neuhouser.