Apples are not only delicious and an easy snack, but also very healthy in numerous ways. What are the main benefits of eating apples? What are some great apple recipes?

Apples are a great source of dietary fiber. As a result, they are believed to reduce the risk of some cancers, they improve the functioning of the intestines, eliminate cholesterol from the digestive tract, cleanse the lungs and colon, and help to prevent and potentially cure appendicitis.

Apples are linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, stroke, asthma and Type 2 diabetes. Moreover, as Healing with Whole Foods reports, due to all the pectin apples contain, they can help to reduce blood cholesterol and remove toxic metals from the body such as lead and mercury. In addition, apples are also found to play a very beneficial role in cleansing the liver.

I love to eat apples with peanut butter. It’s one of my favorite breakfast combinations. But here are a couple of interesting apple recipes that go beyond my apple and peanut butter dish. Enjoy a rice casserole with apples or apple noodle pasta for lunch or dinner sometime!

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The study compared chlorine pools with a healthier and more eco-friendly option, pools sanitized with copper and silver. Researchers suggest that the chlorine causes changes in the airway, promoting the development of allergic diseases. While more research is still needed, 20% of Olympic swimmers have asthma. Interesting, right?

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You may remember the post regarding feminist Joan Wolf, who believes there are very few benefits of breastfeeding, very much in the same style of Hanna Rosin.

In the same Times article, Dr. Michael Kramer was “grossly misrepresented”. He said that the Times completely misquoted him and that he still very much believes in the benefits of breastmilk. He is quite angry at being put on the other side of what he sees as part of his life work. From the Independent:

There really isn’t any controversy about which mode of feeding is more beneficial for the baby and the mother, but when you read the article in The Times it sounds like there is. I’m not aware of any studies that have observed any health benefits of formula feeding. That’s important, and any mother weighing the benefits of breastfeeding vs formula feeding needs to know that.

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Power plants play a huge role in emitting pollutants that make up the ozone. This pollution browns and blackens our horizons. We call it smog. Smog has been linked to premature deaths, thousands of emergency room visits, and tens of thousands of asthma attacks each year. Pollution in the ozone is particularly dangerous to small children and the elderly, who are often warned to stay indoors on days with poor air quality due to pollutants.

Not only are the pollutants spewed out by power plants bad for our health, but they contain greenhouse gases that have been linked with climate change; thus they are killing the world as we know it as well.

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Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.

Tuesday night saw the end of two years of negotiations between the Port of Oakland, environmentalists, truckers and West Oakland residents, with a vote to reduce toxic emissions from trucks serving the busy shipping center.

The Comprehensive Truck Management Plan aims to reduce the levels of diesel particulates in the air around the port, by banning diesel trucks built before 1994 — as well as newer trucks that lack air filters.

The plan also authorized a registration system for all trucks doing business with the port, and $3 million for independent truckers who need to upgrade their vehicles.

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West Oakland is pinned between the Bay Area’s largest, busiest port and two major commuter freeways, and is home to decades of legacy pollution, making this marginalized but determined community a hotspot for childhood asthma and other illnesses.

Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.

Talking to Dr. Washington Burns the other day I learned some pretty shocking information: 37 percent of the adults and 20 percent of the kids living in West Oakland have asthma and children living in this community are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for breathing related illness than any other children in California.

And Alameda County as a whole is no prize, with one of the highest overall hospitalization rates among 5-17 year old youth.

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Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.

Just about any long-term West Oakland resident can rattle off a list of health issues effecting their community: toxins from cargo ships docking at the nearby Port of Oakland, diesel smoke from Port-bound trucks, pollution from the two freeways that border the neighborhood, illegal dumping, and lack of accessible health care.

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Global warming causes you may not have known about

You’re likely aware that many of your daily activities — driving your car, cooling and heating your home, operating electronic devices — produce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. You may not, however, be aware of some other major global warming causes that you encounter regularly. For instance,

• The meat on your plate: Deforestation, especially of tropical rainforests, is one of the major causes of global warming, and residents of countries such as Brazil and Costa Rica often destroy these forests to create grazing space for cattle. Choosing to eat less meat, and purchasing the meat you do eat from local sources, should be a part of your plan to lighten your own carbon footprint.
• The food and yard wastes you throw away: When you send food wastes, grass clippings, and other organic materials to the landfill, they’re much more likely to end up producing methane because they’ll decompose in an anaerobic (or oxygen-free) environment. Composting those wastes, whether by sending them to a large-scale operation, or adding them to your own compost pile or bin, will allow for oxygen-rich decomposition… which prevents methane emissions, and “closes the loop” by creating material you can use for garden and plant fertilizer.

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All kids in the study had lab-confirmed influenza, but the ones who got the shot ended up at the hospital more. And not because they had better health insurance, either.

As you may know, the CDC now recommends that all children, up to age 18, receive the flu vaccine. Because, as a Harvard study showed last year, kids carry germs. Adults who live in a population more concentrated with kids are more likely to get sick.

Get the flu shot; don’t mind the mercury.

While everyone is waiting impatiently (or quite patiently, in my case) for the swine flu vaccine, there is something y’all should know: the seasonal flu vaccine isn’t all that effective. And for kids, it just might increase the chances that you get a bonus trip to the hospital.

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Infants and toddlers who had vinyl floors in their rooms were twice as likely to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than those with wood or aluminum floors.

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Jon McKinney, a junior at Missouri University of Science and Technology, is helping to develop the science of building forensics by identifying the chemical fingerprints of foam components present in common furniture items.

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If your child watches more than two hours of television a day, his or her risk for asthma is doubled, according to a study published in the journal Thorax.

The UK study monitored over 3,000 children from birth until nearly twelve years old.  Beginning at the age of 3 and a half, researchers questioned parents annually on television viewing habits and symptoms of wheezing. 

Those children who watched more than two hours of television a day were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with asthma at age 12 than those children who watched less, prompting the researchers to suggest that “breathing patterns associated with sedentary behavior could lead to developmental changes in the lungs and wheezing illnesses in children“.

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The study, published in PLoS ONE Journal, looked at ACSL3, a gene expressed in the lung, and its association with asthma in children at or around age 5. The mothers’ exposure (while pregnant) to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was recorded, and the umbilical cord blood from their children was examined for the modified gene.

“Our data support the concept that environmental exposures can interact with genes during key developmental periods to trigger disease onset later in life, and that tissues are being reprogrammed to become abnormal later.” - Dr Shuk-mei Ho, study leader and director of the Center for Environmental Genetics at the University of Cincinnati.

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Hybrid cars and all-electric vehicles are the solution of the future, but right now they are beyond reach for many of us.  Let’s read on to check out some no-cost and low-cost ways you can help reduce the impact of idling on children’s health.

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Come December 31, all albuterol inhalers in the U.S. will be a little bit greener— and a lot more expensive. The inhalers will stop using chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that damage the ozone layer, and will be powered by hydroflueroalkane (HFC) instead. While the new inhalers will benefit the environment, they will also cost $30 to $60. CFC inhalers cost only $5 to $10.

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SimplyNeutral received the Co-Op America Seal of Approval because they are a company dedicated to these philosophies. The company was founded by Maggie and later joined by Sara. Together, this dynamic duo created natural cleaning products that really work.

My favorite product on the website are the Biodegradable Wipes. These wipes can be used on people (think baby wipe replacement) or for cleaning purposes. They are gentle, non-toxic, biodegradable, bleach free, durable and 100% natural. To expand the little disc, simply add a tablespoon of water. These are great to carry in handbags, diaper bags, the glove box, etc… The company carries a select few products (like these wipes) which are produced by other companies and filled a needed niche).

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Unfortunately, most buses are powered by diesel engines that actually pollute the air inside the bus. Studies show the pollution gets trapped inside the bus, where kids breathe it in.

Dr. John Balbus, EDF’s chief health scientist, answers common questions about school bus pollution and your child’s health.

Q:  I don’t see billowing clouds of black smoke behind the school bus. Does that mean the bus exhaust is clean?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Even clean-looking exhaust from tailpipes, and from the engine itself, can contain small particles and other toxic pollutants that can get inside the school bus, and in children’s lungs.

Q: How does diesel pollution get inside a school bus?

Diesel pollution can enter a school bus from both the tailpipe and the engine. In school buses, the engine is in the front, right near the door, so every time the door opens, engine and tailpipe exhaust get sucked inside.

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Naturally Clean is written by Jeffrey Hollender, Geoff Davis, Meika Hollendar, and Reed Doyle. The book is divided into seven sections:

1. Case for Change at Home: These chapters are about the chemicals in household cleaners and the negative effects they have on our health, including cancer, asthma, hormone disruptions, and multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS).
   

   Like almost anything else, there is a good side and a bad side to all the molecular manipulation chemists practice. There are safe chemicals, and there are unsafe chemicals. Our problem today is that we don’t really know which are which.

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Well yes, easy access but not so great for your children’s health. Research studies have shown that environmental pollution, like exhaust particles, can leave school age children more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.

“This is a major public health concern that should be given serious consideration in future urban development, transportation planning and environmental policies,” says Sergey Grinshpun, PhD, principal investigator of the study and professor of environmental health at UC. To protect the health of young children with developing lungs, he says new schools should be built further from major highways.

This research examined 8000 schools serving 6 million school age children across the country, in Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis and San Antonio and indicates that the problem is far more widespread than was previously thought. Asthma is at epidemic levels in this country and part of the reason, especially for children is homes and schools built in increasing proximity to highways.

Close to 6.3 million children in the U.S. under 18 currently have asthma!

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