“This study suggests that a common chemical pollutant—lead—can build up in mom’s bones and then increase their daughter’s risk of developing hypertension, the most important risk factor for stroke and heart disease,” says Howard Hu, professor of public health at the University of Michigan.

“It further increases the importance of reducing such exposures. It also significantly increases the pressure to study how such risks get transferred so we can develop better methods of treatment, including better drugs.”

Using data from the Early Life Exposures in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants project, researchers examined the relationship between prenatal lead exposure and blood pressure in 457 children ages 7-15. Researchers measured the lead accumulations in both bone and in the umbilical cords of mothers in the study.

Among female offspring, a 13 ug/g increase in maternal tibia lead was associated with an increase of 2.11 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure, and an increase of 1.60 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure.

To put those numbers in perspective, Hu says, consider that previous studies have shown that a 2 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure results in a 7 percent increase in the risk of death due to ischemic heart disease and a 10 percent increase in the risk of death due to stroke.

Published online in Environmental Health Perspectives, the study is the first to examine the association of a mother’s bone lead levels with blood pressure in her children. The significant gender disparity was a surprise, Hu says.

“We had not previously seen a gender disparity in lead’s impact on blood pressure, and had published studies showing that adult lead exposure was a risk factor for hypertension in both adult men and women.

“But there’s been an increasing amount of evidence for gender differences in susceptibility to environmental toxicants, and our study suggests this is true for offspring when the exposure is prenatal, meaning from mom’s bones.”

It’s been long known that the prevalence of hypertension and heart disease differs between men and women, but scientists don’t know why.

“This promises to shed light on causes of hypertension, for which there currently remains relatively little insight based on many genetic studies and other studies of risk factors in adults,” Hu says.

The findings could mean that higher bone lead in mothers may result in increased risk of hypertension in the women, themselves, but also affect the cardiovascular health of their daughters, and it also highlights the need for secondary preventative measures, such as dietary calcium supplementation.

The study doesn’t mean that boys are totally exempt from lead exposure in utero, Hu says.

“Given that this is the first study to investigate these relationships using the methods we used, it really needs to be reproduced and in other populations before one can conclude that boys are less susceptible.”

Futurity.org – Lead in moms hikes girls’ hypertension risk.

By now we’re all familiar with the warnings about mercury in fish and canned tuna fish – that deli counter staple – has been particularly targeted by these warnings because of how frequently most of us consume it. Now it seems we should be even more cautious when it comes to tuna fish as the canned variety has been found to have even more mercury than previously thought.

Consumer Reports recently tested 42 samples of tuna from cans and pouches and found that every sample contained mercury, in amounts ranging from 0.018 to 0.774 parts per million. While the FDA won’t issue a recall unless the mercury content reaches 1 ppm or more, the levels found in this test amount to more than we should consume. Just 2.5 oz of white tuna exceeds the EPA safety threshold while 5 oz of light tuna (which is generally lower in mercury than the albacore variety) would be over the limit. The levels of mercury found in white tuna were also higher than previous tests performed by the FDA in 2002-2004.

Mercury, which finds its way into our waterways from coal plants, volcanos, and other sources, accumulates in fish in the form of methylmercury. Large fish, like tuna, have higher levels of mercury because they live longer and also ingest smaller fish that contain mercury, allowing the heavy metal to build up. When we eat the fish, we ingest the mercury as well. The primary danger of overexposure to mercury is neurotoxicity. Fetuses, infants and children are  most susceptible to the effects of mercury, and it’s consumption can lead to developmental delays including impaired cognition, motor skills, memory, language, attention and visual spatial skills.

This is not to say that we should eliminate fish from our diets altogether. Fish, after all, is an important part of a healthy diet, providing a great source of protein and heart-healthy, brain-boosting omega-3 fats. Although the following guidelines for fish consumption have been established with children and women of childbearing age in mind, everyone should make low-mercury choices when possible:

• Light tuna is usually lower in mercury than white tuna, and therefore a better choice.
• When it comes to canned tuna, young women and children should limit their intake.
• Children under 45 lbs should consume less than 4 oz of light tuna or 1.5 oz of white tuna per week.
• Pregnant and breast feeding women should eliminate tuna from their diets entirely.
• Avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel, orange roughy, marlin, and tilefish
• Eat up to 12 oz (~2 servings) of low-mercury fish per week. Low-mercury fish include salmon, shrimp, catfish, pollock, anchovies, crab, haddock, sardines, oysters, tilapia, and trout
• Check with your local advisory about fish caught by family and friends in area waters

Via fyiliving.com

Last night on the Late Show, Piven said “20 years of eating only fish” also lead to Epstein-Barr, heart arrhythmia, and back spasms. Piven also says that he got the best tests in the world at Quest Diagnostics, which can be found on just about any street corner in Manhattan.

He’s sticking by his story why he couldn’t continue doing eight shows a week of Speed the Plow, and a arbitrator recently cleared him of any wrong-doing in leaving the Broadway show two months early. Because every celebrity becomes a crusader for the disease he suffers from, Piven is now fighting the injustice of fetid fish across the globe.

Dave was very sympathetic to his condition, and the interview couldn’t be classified as anything but softball. Piven even got in a few good laughs.