Are you bathing your baby in cancer?
By WC Douglas
Daily Dose

“It was easier in those days”. I’m sure you’ve heard this before from a parent or grandparent. Unfortunately, progress comes with complications and an immediate example of this is the increase of allergies and asthma in children. Today’s children come into contact with many toxins, some of which are in popular, brand-name baby products including lotions and shampoos.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) carried out studies on 48 baby products. 66% of them contain trace levels of 1,4-dioxane, a peroxide classified as an ether, known to irritate the eye and respiratory tract. 47% of the products had levels of formaldehyde and 37% had detectable levels of both of these chemicals.

Of course the chemicals are by-products of the manufacturing process but the point is that they’re detectable amounts of potential carcinogens that many parents are exposing their children to on a daily basis.

The implicated companies protest that they’ve done nothing wrong and that the levels are safe. However, a level of 1,4-dioxane as an ingredient in personal care products has been banned in Europe. A study conducted in 1982 showed that the substance can penetrate the skin when it’s used in lotions.

The CSC admits that the study found very low levels of the two carcinogens but that doesn’t mean they’re safe because in most cases there’s repeated and frequent exposure to the chemicals. “They’re not the safest and purest products, and parents ought to know that”.

If you're worried about the products you're using on your infant, visit www.cosmeticdatabase.com. It's a consumer-safety website that rates the safety of nearly every beauty product available on the market. Here's to a safer bath routine!

No more migraines - here's how in 5 simple steps

Q: I was recently diagnosed with ophthalmic migraines. One of the main symptoms is flashing zig-zags of light, which last for 15-20 minutes and then go away for day or even weeks. Once I even lost vision in my left eye for two to three minutes. The flashing light is usually followed by what my doctor referred to as a "hatband distribution" of pain. Do you have any suggestions for combating these attacks?

Dr. Wright: Ophthalmic and other varieties of migraines are frequently helped by the same general five-step approach that's effective in treating "regular" migraines. It's outlined as follows:

1. Have food-allergy and sensitivity screening done. (Contact the South African Society of Integrated Medicine, (021) 887-5364, for a list of doctors in your area who can help you with this and other testing/screening procedures.)

2. Have your doctor screen for hormone allergy and sensitivity.

3. Test for hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).

4. After allergy/sensitivity screening and hypoglycaemia testing, please see a nutritionist to make a diet plan, which can help you desensitise or eliminate food allergens.

5. After screening the following to make sure they're not on your list of allergies and sensitivities, use the following supplements: 200 milligrams of magnesium citrate twice a day, 200 milligrams of vitamin B6 twice a day, three feverfew capsules (which usually contain 100-125 milligrams of feverfew per capsule) twice a day, 200 milligrams of riboflavin (vitamin B2) two or three times a day, and a hypoallergenic multiple vitamin/mineral combination.

The natural route does take time. But it gets to the root of the nutritional deficiencies and other triggers that are actually causing your headaches, so you can clear them up for good, rather than temporarily masking the symptoms with patent medications. And when you rid yourself of food allergies and give your body the nutrients it needs, you'll likely notice some other great health benefits too.

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