The IPCC Report was characterized as the final warning before 1.5C of warming is locked in, from which point effects on the climate become irreversible.   We are currently at a 1.1 C increase, and the IPCC concluded that GHG increases must stop by 2025 to have any chance to stay below the 1.5 C target and that dramatic action is needed.   To keep within the 2.7 F  (1.5 C) increase, emissions need to be reduced by 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 and at least 60% by 2035.  

Everyone Should be Part of the Solution

The Secretary-General called on CEOs of all oil and gas companies to be part of the solution and present plans detailing actual emission cuts for 2025 and 2030 and efforts to change business models to phase out fossil fuels and scale up renewable energy.  Key measures to achieve the reductions include:

The report also found that losses and damage disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable populations, creating a tipping point toward more poverty.

Adaptation options that are feasible and effective today will become constrained and less effective with increased global warming.   The report also notes that while measures are being taken to address adaptation, the financial resources committed to the effort fall far short of what is needed. Investments in innovations will be vital to reaching ambitious goals. Companies with innovative climate solutions can differentiate themselves in the market.

The post UN Panel Warns of the Dire Consequences of Climate Change appeared first on Medika Life.

Now our world, and our bodies, even our blood, are carrying an unholy load of this material, and many will go to our graves with plastic as part of our remains. The price to be paid for plastics that pollute on the micro-level is becoming apparent, but what can we do, and how much damage will it cause every living thing on Earth?

Prior research on the ocean floor had discovered that microplastics and nanoplastics had settled and become a part of the aquatic environment. Once there, they were incorporated into both bacteria and filter-feeding phytoplankton, which were then ingested by filter-feeding sea creatures.✓

Seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean have been doing their best in the war against plastic ocean pollution. Mysterious orbs, named “Neptune balls,” appearing on beaches along the Spanish coast have revealed their true intent — survival of the oceans.

The oceans themselves have a solution that has been working against the hidden toxicity escaping our peering eyes. Now the ocean’s answer is becoming apparent. Seagrass meadows not only protect delicate beaches but the sea as well.

The removal of microplastic accumulation in the marine environment is facilitated by the development of microbial biofilms that form on the microplastic surface. The production of these biofilms is through colonization by microorganisms. This film then provides a sticky matrix, perfect for adhesion to ocean vegetation.

But the meadows themselves may be under attack by another force — urbanization. The decline of these meadows has been noted, and some recovery is shown, but only by decreasing urbanization nearby.

The advent of synthetic fibers to make fabric for clothing in the 1930s was the dawn of the microplastic pollution era. Cleaning clothing in washing machines or any vigorous movement to launder them, especially polyester, polyester-cotton blends, and acrylic fibers, releases microplastic into the wash water.

Natural fibers have contributed their share of pollution in the environment. Research “studies on the transport of hazardous chemicals by natural fibers in aquatic environments are rare….” However, they are still pollutants through the chemicals they may contain or the cleaning processes.

When you eat any foods caught from the seas, farmed in ocean bays or inland tanks, or in feedlot operations, the danger still lurks, safe from the naked eye as it enters the food chain. 

When plastic ends up in the environment, it tends to bind with environmental pollutants. With plastic that moves through the food chain, the attached toxins can also move and accumulate in animal fat and tissue through a process called bio-accumulation.

Whether you eat fruits or fish, you may still not be safe from plastic consumption because it’s used everywhere. The plasticizers and pesticides (PE and PP) are being ingested with every bite. You are then giving those toxic products access to every square inch of your body, and they will deposit or transform in you. How can they harm you?

The harm included cell death and allergic reactions, and the research is the first to show this happens at levels relevant to human exposure. However, the health impact to the human body is uncertain because it is not known how long microplastics remain in the body before being excreted.

Estimates are that 50K particles a year are consumed by humans, and they are found in everything from drinking water to beer, sugar, salt, and shellfish. Ever wonder if that luscious fresh mussel was safe? Maybe not.

According to the study, the authors of the study found the microplastics found in the mussels were from single-use plastic products, fabrics, and ropes from the fishing industry. The findings were published online recently in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Is pollution a problem for the third-world or each one of us? If you eat, it’s a problem for you, and I don’t know that organic products might not contain some form of plastic pollution. Are you sure that olive oil is safe?

The post Eating Plastic in Every Bite We Take and Never Knowing the Effect on Our Health appeared first on Medika Life.

There are myriad diseases that are currently linked to the impact of environmental toxins, but it doesn’t end there. There are more important long-term issues that will only grow progressively more challenging in the coming decades. These exist alongside the toxic climate we have created for our health. Issues like access to clean potable water, population density, plastics, and a host of other challenges.

Alongside these issues, racial disparities in health and society disproportionately shift the outcome of these pollutants and challenges onto the shoulders of racial minorities. Wealth acts as insulation, allowing access to superior levels of care, organic foods, and healthy lifestyle choices, including the ability to locate your family to areas where pollutants are less dense.

Poorer communities are however locked into a narrow band of choices, none of which are beneficial to their health.

These issues must be addressed. We can no longer afford to ignore them as chronic disease becomes our new normal. We believe that this is where the real challenge to our societal and global health will lie in the coming years. We also believe we’ve passed a tipping point and only desperate and immediate action will enable us to claw back a vestige of the damage we have inflicted, both to our home and ourselves.

If like us, you have concerns or would like to raise awareness, share a passionate and well-researched point of view on diseases and the environment, or other relevant environmental issues, then we would love to provide an audience for your thoughts. We’re also really big on solutions, which are in short supply, and FINN Partners is offering an added incentive to the best article we receive.

Our appreciation to frequent Medika Life contributor Gil Bashe, FINN Partners, Global Health Chair, and colleague Bob Martineau, JD, Senior Partner, Environmental and Sustainability, for their articles, commitment to EcoHealth, and support for this new editorial section.

A word from FINN Partners

For decades we have thought, written, and studied how environmental conditions and social determinants influence public health. Now as fires rage across the Pacific Northwest United States and floodwaters rise in Central Europe we see how environmental sustainability impacts human survival across developing and developed nations. 

Environmental health links directly to global public health. Medika Life has been serving as an editorial meeting ground for health professionals across the spectrum to explore how health is central to all human progress and continuity. 

Medika Life’s editors determined we will champion greater editorial discussion with a new section dedicated to EcoHealth. To encourage editorial submission, Medika Life and FINN Partners will honor an outstanding editorial contribution with a $500 donation made in the author’s honor to a global non-profit dedicated to environmental public health. 

Submissions

If you are active on Medium, please submit a draft of your work to Medika’s publication on Medium, BeingWell. If you’re not already a contributing author, please reach out to BeingWell’s EIC, Dr Jeff Livingston who will happily assist you in the process.

You can email Jeff at jefflivingmd@medika.life or reach out to our other editors, Dr. Hesham A. Hassaballa, Lisa Bradburn or Dr. Patricia Farrell.

If your article is one of those selected it will be published immediately on Medika Life and scheduled for subsequent publication on BeingWell. We will set up a dedicated author profile for you or your organization on the Medika site and you can submit additional material at your convenience.

Please note that as Medika caters to medical and health professionals, we will only consider materials from appropriately qualified authors and stakeholders. If you have questions or pitches you’d like to discuss, you can contact Medika’s EIC, Robert Turner, or reach out via email to robertturner@medika.life.

If you are not on Medium, you can submit articles directly to Robert on the email above. Please submit attachments in Word format or you are welcome to provide a link to a shared Google document.

The winning article will be selected by an editorial team from both Medika Life and Finn Partners and will be announced on the 31st of August, 2021. The relevant author will be notified by email and the article will be extensively advertised across social media. 

All rights are retained by authors on materials published to Medika Life.

The post The Environment and Our Health. Medika’s Open Call for Articles from Stakeholders appeared first on Medika Life.

A friend of mine also read the article, he is an OBGYN and his response bothered me. “Yes, we know about this, I just have no idea if we can fix it.”

So is it fixable? The research I referenced above was only looking for very specific contaminants, namely PFA’s. There are more, quite a lot more, as it turns out and I’m not even going to go down the route of listing these additional environmental toxins and I’ll explain why.

It’s pointless. As hard as it to acknowledge this fact, it’s the truth. While legislation lags about twenty years behind the industries that poison us, even if we were to pass a blanket ban today on everything we know to be harmful, contamination of our environment and us is complete and absolute. 

It would take two or three generations, perhaps longer, to cleanse ourselves and the planet of the poisons we have been spreading and consuming for decades.

That’s assuming a complete and immediate cessation of all manufacturing of plastics etc and harmful chemicals, pesticides, veterinary antibiotics (fed to our food), and a host of other materials. Never happening, so discussing it is moot. We need to accept the situation and deal with it. 

So do I breastfeed?

Yes is the answer to the question asked by moms either breastfeeding now or considering it. Breastfeed, please. I’ll explain why and the answers, which may appear simplistic on the surface are based on common sense and risk management. 

1. The Immunity Issue

This is a biggie and for a good reason. Your newborn is delivered into a world it’s completely unprepared for. The baby’s immune system is not functioning yet and it will take months and years to mature into a properly functioning system. Your milk contains your baby’s first-ever “vaccination”, courtesy of nature.

While it adapts, your bundle of joy is going to need a little help from mom. You can provide this via your breast milk, particularly for the first few days after birth, even if you decide later to switch to formula. Your initial supply of milk is loaded with extra colostrum, a sticky substance that is loaded with your antibodies and sIgA. Nature knows it needs to help the newborn and colostrum is how it achieves that. 

Colostrum is also called beestings or first milk and to understand just how magical it is, refer to this article. Please also read the note in the footer of this article on colostrum supplements.

By sharing your immunity with your baby you’re providing an invisible shield that will help the child ward off diseases and other nasties floating about. You’re providing your child’s throat and nasal passages extra protection and helping to populate the child’s gut biome. Your colostrum gives the baby’s own immune system a helping hand, in effect kick starting it with a helpful supply of data. 

Incidentally, natural birth also boosts a child’s immunity as they are exposed to a whole host of bacteria on their trip out the womb that stimulate their immune systems. Babies born by Caesarian Section (CS) lack this added boost, so the argument for breastfeeding CS babies is possibly even stronger.

2. Breast milk versus formula

Yes I know there are some fantastic products out there and for mothers that cannot breastfeed, out of choice, or because of issues like lactose intolerant infants or supply issues, these are a godsend. 

They aren’t however breast milk. It’s very rare to see an obese baby if it’s breastfed. Formula babies tend to pack on the pounds and regulating the baby’s weight is an important part of forming a healthy adult. Many parents don’t. A lot of this has to do with supply and demand. It’s hard work breastfeeding for a little mouth, whereas with a teat-and-bottle, supply often exceeds demand.

Also, formulas cannot provide antibodies. That’s a job for breast milk and only breast milk. Depending on where you live and the quality controls put in place by regulators, you also have to rely on manufacturers ensuring their products don’t contain anything that impacts your child’s health, both now and in later life. Breastmilk doesn’t suffer from this issue.

3. Futility

Yes, there’s that reason again and this is why it is futile. Whatever toxins your breast milk contains I can assure you that the benefits of your milk To the child far outweigh the risks it carries. 

There are risks. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. We know they exist, but if science is honest about it, it’s just not a field anyone is interested in. Short-sighted? Yes, horribly so, and sadly unlikely to change in the near future. 

Many of our adult diseases may and probably do stem from childhood exposure to environmental toxins. There is money to be made in treating the sick adult, while very little profit exists in keeping the child healthy. 

Another reason linked to futility is this. If you don’t poison your child with your breast milk, you’re sure to get him as soon as he starts eating. 

The plastic bottles and teats used for their formula contain contaminants, the utensils and pans you cook with are loaded with plasticizers that leech into everything. The food you buy is contaminated and even produce marked as organic is tainted. There is no escaping this, which is why your breast milk really matters to your child.

You want to give them the best start you can in life. A real fighting chance to equip them for what lies ahead and the best way you can do this is with your breastmilk Breast really is best.

Don’t Stress it

If you want your milk to dry up or for supply to become erratic, try stressing. You’ve got more than enough to worry about over the next few months as the baby grows and breastfeeding honestly shouldn’t be on this list. Yes, you may be imparting toxins and chemicals to your baby via your breastmilk, but the baby will be exposed to these in their very near future in any case. 

As we’ve pointed out, unless you’re going to move in with Heidi in some remote hut in the Alps, drinking from underground streams, and churning yak milk for cheese, you’re going to be contaminated with these pollutants.

By offering your child your breastmilk you’re actually enabling an incredibly adaptable little system with the best possible chance it may have to combat these pollutants later in life. So hand out that free shield mom, you’ve been given the amazing ability for a reason. Don’t ever doubt it.

Colostrum Supplements

Medika Life isn’t here to sell you anything, our only concern is your health and your ability to make informed choices about it. Colostrum supplements are a huge waste of money. There is no real documented science to suggest drinking cow-derived (bovine) colostrum later in life is of any real and lasting benefit. In fact, it may even be harmful. You’re consuming antibody proteins derived from a non-human source.

Questions exist as to your body’s ability to be able to actually absorb these ingredients at all and if you manage that, what the outcomes will be. Colostrum supplements are also very pricey, so not only are you wasting your money, you may be exposing your health to indeterminate risks. Every other mammal on the planet enjoys a limited supply of colostrum at the point in their lives when they need it, and never again.

Once this time has passed, your body arguably may not tolerate or absorb the ingredient or may in fact perceive the foreign proteins as a threat. We are not, after all, cows. Please don’t bother replying to this with links to colostrum research, we’ve seen it and none of it proves anything.

The post Is it Safe to Breastfeed my Baby? Breastmilk and Environmental Toxins appeared first on Medika Life.