Nicole Bijlsma - Healthy Home Guru

Overweight has become synonomous with living in the 21st Century - but what if there was more to addressing weight than just lifestyle and diet?

More than 50% of Australians are overweight or obese (ABS, 2008) which is similar to stats in other western countries. Diet and lifestyle however does not sufficiently explain the 70% increase in infant obesity in the past 20 years. There is a growing body of evidence and scientific researchers investigating the impact of obesogens - endocrine disrupting chemicals that are suspected to program us to be fatter. The accidental discovery was made by several scientists investigating the impact of hormone disrupting chemicals commonly found in foods and household products, only to discover they were causing an epidemic of fat lab animals. Stay tuned - we are going to hear alot about this! Watch the trailer for the new documentary: Programmed to be Fat? by Dreamfilm Productions.

A recent investigation conducted by the Breast Cancer Fund and Choice reveals the presence of the hormone disrupting chemical BPA (bisphenol A) in tinned food found on supermarket shelves. BPA is associated with breast and prostate cancer, infertility and early puberty in girls to type-2 diabetes, obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

For more infomration, click here.

Here is my recent interview on Channel 7 Sunrise on Natural Cleaning.

A recent investigation by Greenpeace and the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) found up to one third of children's products sold in China contained heavy metals in their paints including lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, antimony or chromium. These metals cause learning and behaviourhal problems in children. China currently produces two thirds of the world's toys. Despite strict regulations to ban these metals, most western countries don't have the resources to screen every shipping container relying instead on product recalls (of which there have been many!). For more information click here.

Around 10 years ago I had my hair analysed for heavy metals and minerals. The reading that came up highest was arsenic which was well above the normal limit. I always suspected that it came from years of drinking apple juice which I pretty much grew up on. My hunch is likely to be accurate in light of the new evidence that 10% of apple and grape juices tested had total arsenic levels of 10 parts per billion (ppb) and 25% had lead levels higher than the 5 ppb. This type of arsenic is carcinogenic. Best to stick with filtered water especially for children and pregnant women who are most at risk. Read more

Polypropylene (number 5 plastic) commonly used in everything from food storage containers, nappies, water pipes and clothing has recently raised concerns amongst scientists because it has been found to leach quaternary ammonium biocides and oleamide the adverse health effects of which are unknown. Concerns were first raised this week when it blocked an enzyme in a laboratory experiment.

I have classified polypropylene as a safe plastic in my book, however this news should raise alarms about all plastics (see my interview on The Circle). Once again, go back to basics, store your food and beveriges in glass, stainless steel, pyrex and ceramics. Read more.

Victorians can now sign an online petition against smart meters at the link at a
great new website: http://stopsmartmetersau.com/

There is also space to enter your specific concerns, which will give added
weight to the petition (look at Signatures at the bottom of the petition webpage
to see other people's comments). You can also register yourself at the new website if you wish to be informed of updates posted to the site.

Halt Smart Meters would appreciate it if this information is distributed to as
many Victorians as possible, as quickly as possible.