Changes to your housing can be exciting and sometimes stressful life events. Whether you’re moving into a new home, doing renovations, evaluating your home’s current condition, or selling it, there’s one important action item you should include on your to-do list: testing your house’s radon levels. Radon is an invisible, odorless, and tasteless gas that [...]
Many women have questions about what is safe and healthy to eat when they’re pregnant. The information about eating fish can be confusing. The good news is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have issued new advice regarding fish consumption. The information is meant for women who [...]
There was good news this week about preconception health. A report just out from the EPA found that more women of childbearing age have been avoiding eating the kinds of ocean predators that typically contain mercury (Hg). This is important because mercury can affect the baby’s brain being developed during pregnancy. Mercury is found in [...]
The first thing that you learn in a Toxicology 101 class is the old saying coined by the Renaissance German scientist Paracelsus that: "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose permits something not to be poisonous." We've shortened that to: 'the dose makes the poison". Anyway... a key question for [...]
All of us are exposed to natural radiation on a daily basis. It mostly comes from space (called cosmic rays) as well as natural radioactive materials found in the soil, water and air. People can also be exposed to radiation from human-made sources like X-ray machines. Radiation doses are usually measured in units called milli-Sieverts. On [...]
This month the EPA and HHS proposed a change that would lower the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water. A small amount of fluoride is good in drinking water because it prevents tooth decay. The idea is to maximize the health benefits of water fluoridation by continuing to prevent tooth decay while reducing the possibility of too much fluoride exposure for [...]
