Sick-building defense
Contaminated indoor air can be nasty, bringing on such symptoms as skin irritations, asthma, headaches and fatigue. “Sick” buildings often include hotels, libraries, antique stores, hospitals and health clubs, says Jeffrey C. May, owner of an air-quality-assessment company in Cambridge, Mass., in the September issue of Bottom Line Personal.
In hotel rooms, the biggest problems stem from mold and cleaning residue in carpeting and the heating/cooling system. May suggests requesting a room on the second floor or higher and one that is away from any waterfall, fountain or indoor pool. Don’t turn on the air conditioner, which may be moldy. Open a window, if possible, for fresh air.
Library books can harbor allergen-filled dust. May says to open and close the books vigorously when you get outdoors to rid the books of allergens. Antique-store furniture may have mold spores, which you can avoid by wearing a face mask while browsing there.
When selecting a fitness center, choose one built above ground level. Those that sit at or below ground level encourage mold growth. At medical facilities, where chemical fumes may be trapped in the air-tight buildings, wear a charcoal mask, which traps gases and chemical vapors.
Sister study on cancer
A sister study being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is looking into the impact environmental exposures and genes may have on breast cancer development. The study is following 50,000 American women who have no breast cancer but are twice as likely to develop it because they have sisters who have had breast cancer, says epidemiologist Dale Sandler in the September issue of More magazine.
The researchers are looking at how these women live, work and play and what household products they use. They also want to know about anything that may have affected their mothers’ pregnancies, possibly exposing the women in utero. The aim is to identify the links between sisters’ shared environmental and lifestyle factors and disease.
Says Sandler: “Trends in cancer rates over time and place are consistent with an environmental role, and some environmental exposures–such as radiation–have been consistently linked with breast cancer. The timing and dose of your exposure to environmental risks, combined with your genetic makeup, may play critical roles in your disease susceptibility.”
To join the sister study, you must be 35 to 74 years old and have had a sister with breast cancer but no breast cancer of your own. Contact sisterstudy.org or call 877-474-7837.
Tooth-drilling drinks
What you drink can rot your teeth, say researchers from the University of Maryland in the September issue of Men’s Health. Of the 12 beverages they compared, Snapple lemonade proved the most erosive.
Other bad choices, in descending order, are Red Bull, lemon-lime Gatorade and Arctic Shatter Powerade. Hovering in the somewhat corrosive middle ground are AMP Energy, Nantucket Nectars Half and Half, lemon Propel Fitness Water and Fanta Orange. The least corrosive were Coca-Cola, black tea, Arizona Original Iced Tea and Nestea Sweetened Lemon.
Vitamin overdose
Hold on there, pill-popper. You may be swallowing too much of a good thing when it comes to daily vitamins, says Diane Birt, a dietary-supplement specialist at Iowa State University at Ames. In the September issue of Women’s Health, she names five nutrients you could be overdoing:
Beta-carotene: Top limit is 600 milligrams. Too much of it mixed with cigarette smoke can raise lung cancer risk.
Calcium: Top limit is 2,500 milligrams. Excesses can cause kidney stones, calcium deposits in arteries and even weaker bones.
Iron: Top limit is 45 milligrams. High blood levels of iron can put you at risk for heart disease.
Vitamin A: Top limit is 30,000 milligrams. Too much can cause liver and bone-density problems and birth defects.
Zinc: Top limit is 40 milligrams. With an overload of zinc in some cold-relief lozenges, watch for hair loss, ovarian cysts and muscle spasms.
