6.7 Obesogens

 Locally grown foods usually find their way to your table within 61 miles according to the Seasonal Foods document. Fruits that are currently in season include: pomegranates, cranberries, and persimmons.

I think it is important for hospitals to incorporate seasonal/local foods into their menus for several reasons. They can help reduce transportation emissions by not shipping in fruit outside of a certain radius, they can support their local farmers and agricultural workers and invest back into their local communication, and they can expose their patients to real, wholesome, foods that are nutrient dense.


I had heard of obesogens before reading this article, but had only a vague understanding of what they were which was mostly due to their tell-tale name. The key new factor that I learned from this article was that obesogens are "dietary, pharmaceutical, and industrial compounds". I suppose I had not given much thought as to WHAT these things were - only that they were bad and had adverse effects on health and weight in both animals and humans. Still, I wasn't surprised that these things are manufactured as so many of the terrible things we ingest are manufactured by organizations making money on our failing health, growing waistbands, and desire for convenience and flavor.


 I chose to look at dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene.
What I found in the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives was that this chemical pesticide is a DDT breakdown product and it has been linked to an increased BMI in children and insulin resistance in rodents. Most known obesogens (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene included) are endocrine disruptors which means that they alter the bodies endocrine system function and can cause cancer and/or tumors. Animal studies have done a great deal to link dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene to obesity though, interestingly, the animals often have fewer fat cells but these cells are much larger in size than normal fat cells so the animals end up with a higher BMI than desired.

6.6 Use of Antibiotics

Well, well, well...we have moved to the topic of superbugs and antibiotics. When you think about a superbug, you probably don't think you'll be affected by it, but low and below based on these articles we should all be aware and a bit concerned.

The MedicineNet article warns about Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus or MRSA spreading to people that live near livestock. MRSA is a hard to kill gram positive cocci and isn't something you want to pick up as you are walking home and walking past that stinky farm in your neighborhood.

The biggest key take away I got from these readings was-everyday things I thought were normal can really be the ones making you sick. For example; bacterial wipes! I personally use wipes once every few days to clean my desk down. In my mind, I am wiping away all the harmful bacterias and leaving it nice and clean for tomorrow. The feeling of a freshly wiped down house is one that makes me happy from within. After learning that the main compound in the wipes is triclocarban, I have a new outlook about these cleaning products. This product has been researched to actually not cause as much as bacteria to die than I thought! 

M5.5 Campaign for Tap Water

Greeting readers!

I want to talk about campaigning against bottle water and being for TAP WATER! Yes I said it. TAP WATER!

Don't believe me? Start by watching this video. Once you're finished come back so we can talk about it.

Ok, now that you are done, what do you think? IS bottled water a big scam? What are some alternatives to bottled water. 

We have tap water, we have tap water with filter and we have carbonated water or soda stream for us that love our sparkling water. 

When thinking about a slogan for a water campaign these are the two I came up with:

"Leave big box behind and choose the planet, drink pure and plastic free, drink tap water!" and 

"Save money and save the planet, choose tap over bottled water".

Comment and let me know what you think and also give me some ideas for what your slogan will be.

6.4 Industrial Farming

I currently live in Alameda County and although there are no animal farms in my county, this map shows that almost all the counties surrounding Alameda County have animal farms which means we are definitely affected by either smells, manure and the negative effects of high dense farms.

As far as composting goes, I used to compost. I am a gardener and I took 6 classes about permaculture which is essentially giving back to the earth the nutrients you are taking from it. So composting is a large part of the permaculture movement. Once I am completely finished unpacking from my move, I will start composting again. It isn't hard to do and it helps the soil and environment.

5.2 Public Health importance of safe drinking water

Today, I want to take some time to blog about the importance of clean water. Here are some fun facts about water in relationship to the human body.
Water is important to us because it keeps us going. It serves a very serious purpose. I posted a photo that speaks to the importance of water for us as humans.

• A vital nutrient to the life of every cell, acts first as a building material.
• It regulates our internal body temperature by sweating and respiration
• The carbohydrates and proteins that our bodies use as food are metabolized and transported by water in the bloodstream;
• It assists in flushing waste mainly through urination
• acts as a shock absorber for brain, spinal cord, and fetus
• forms saliva
• lubricates joints

Seeing that water is a vital part of our lives. It is very necessary that the water that we consume doesn't harm us with microbes, disease causing agents and poisons. We depend on our government to protect us and put laws in place that will prevent us from ingesting harmful toxins in our water. So, with that being said, we absolutely need SAFE DRINKING WATER!

M5.7 My Sewage Facilities

In Oakland, California where I live we have one main sewage company. That company is the East Bay Municipal Utility District also referred to as the East Bay Mud.  EBMUD treats wastewater from Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Kensington, Oakland, Piedmont and parts of Richmond. I've attached a link if you are interested to find out all that they do to turn waste water into a reusable source and also attached a map of the area that EBMUD serves. 

EBMUD service area

M4.5 Indoor Air Quality

Today, I'll be sharing ideas for the basis for a chemical and fragrance policy in order to eliminate and decrease our body burdens and exposures. I currently work in a hospital and although I don't have direct contact, I wonder if we actually have a fragrance policy for the employees that actually have direct patient contact. 

For the hospital I work in, I would implement a fragrance free policy in the emergency room and in the department that deals with respiratory illnesses. The other parts of the hospital (Admin, laboratory, maintenance) doesn't need a strict fragrance policy, but in the overall hospital I would discourage the use of fragrances. With any policy it is helpful to provide employees with information regarding why the policy is in effect, so I would provide a fact sheet about the negative effects of fragrances on the population we serve in the hospital (typically sick).