Are energy-saving bulbs safe?

Energy-saving and money-saving bulbs, the compact fluorescent bulbs are not safe to incandescent light bulbs which we used for decades. The fused incandescent bulbs can be thrown to the waste and it is not dangerous to the environment or persons dealing with these wastes. On the other hand, the energy-saving and money-saving compact fluorescent bulbs are not safe for the environment and to humans. The reason is this energy-saving bulb contains mercury, a toxic metal.

Why do the energy-saving bulbs need mercury? Compact fluorescent light bulbs are tubes containing mercury and noble gases, mostly argon. When the bulb is switched on, electrons stream from a tungsten-coated coil. They collide with mercury atoms, exciting their electrons and creating flashes of ultraviolet light. A phosphor coating, mostly composed of metal oxides or phosphates, on the inside of the tube absorbs this light and re-emits it at visible wavelengths. That is why without mercury there are no energy-saving bulbs. The new generation bulb has 5 mg mercury. The first-generation CFL bulbs had 100 mg mercury.

If an energy-saving bulb is broken in a room the whole room will be contaminated with mercury. You cannot clean this room by yourself. You need special companies who decontaminate the whole room that costs you a fortune, around $ 2000. If you cannot afford this, the contaminated room can only be sealed.

If we throw the used bulbs in the garbage the broken bulbs can release mercury. This can contaminate the environment, soil and even the ground water. Persons who collect the garbage or sort them out are also in danger with mercury.

There are already studies that prove the adverse effects of these energy-saving and money-saving bulbs. We must save energy, but not at the cost of our health. These bulbs must be treated as special wastes, collected and recycled. Unfortunately, the available recycling facilities and capacities are not worth to mention.

The industry must produce only safe products. If profit is the only aim then such things happens quickly in the name of energy-saving. The consumers must be careful and the law-makers should not forget their responsibilities.

What are the common toxic heavy metals in our food?

Although iron is essential it is also toxic and the toxic metals include:

• Arsenic
• Lead
• Mercury
• Cadmium
• Iron
• Aluminium

Arsenic - It is the most common cause of acute heavy metal poisoning. It is released from different industries to the environment. Shellfish, cod and haddock contain arsenic. Paints, rat poison, fungicides are the other sources. The target organs are kidneys, central nervous system, digestive tract and skin.

Lead - It accounts for most of the cases of paediatric heavy metal poisoning. It reduces the intelligence of the children. The old houses still have the lead pipes. Industry produces every year 2.5 million tons of lead and most of this is used in batteries. Bones, brain, kidneys and thyroid gland are the target organs. The paints also contain lead salts to dry them quickly. Therefore children should not be allowed to lick painted doors or windows. It is a problem throughout the world. Back hair dye and black printing ink have also lead.

Mercury - Its emissions are there from nature as well as from the industry. Chloralkali plants and paper industries are significant polluters. Dental amalgam is also a source of pollution. Fishes have more mercury. Target organs are the brain and kidneys. The present problem of mercury in our environment is the incandescent light bulbs, which we use in our houses. Some politicians want to ban these bulbs because they consume much more electricity. Politics and industry, therefore, recommend energy saving compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. But, the problem is they keep silent about the mercury present in these energy saving CFL bulbs which then could become one of the serious environmental contamination to our soil and ground water. When these bulbs are used up, they form solid wastes. In Western countries we can give back fused bulbs where we bought them and it is the law which regulates this. What will happen in other countries where there are no such possibilities? People simply throw used up bulbs with their household waste or near their houses, the mercury goes to the soil and ground water. The plants take these metals and the animals along with their feed or grass and we are the last in this chain to get it from our food. We must be very careful to keep ourselves and our families free from such poisons.

Cadmium - it is used in nickel-cadmium batteries, PVC plastics and paint pigments. Cigarette (tobacco) also contains cadmium. The absorption is through respiratory system. Liver, placenta, kidneys, lungs, brain and bones are the target organs.

Iron - it is a heavy metal of concern because iron supplements may acutely poison young children, 5 to 9 years. If the children consume 30mg iron tablets per day, it may spoil their health. The health problems associated with free radicals are dangerous to children. Too much of iron supplement is not healthy for adults. It accumulates in liver, heart muscles, kidney and other organs, rusting a reddish brown oxide coating forms on iron by the action of oxygen and moisture there and producing countless number of free radicals.

Aluminium - it is not a heavy metal but it is ingested through the use of food additives, antacids, nasal sprays and antiperspirants. Other sources are drinking water automobile exhaust, tobacco smoke, aluminium foil, aluminium cookware, ceramics and fancy fire works. Target organs for aluminium are the central nervous system, kidney and digestive system. The question of Aluminium and Alzheimer’s disease is not yet answered. It is proved that aluminium could cross the blood-brain barrier without any problem.

Fish and omega-3 fatty acids – what is the origin of these fatty acids?

It is a good question. The human beings could not synthesize the omega-3 fatty acids. That is why we have to take them from our food.

Salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines and anchovies are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Other fatty fish have lesser amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. The important question is whether the fish could synthesize omega-3 fatty acids or not.

The fish could not synthesize the omega-3 fatty acids like human beings. What is the origin of omega-3 fatty acid then? The orign is the food habits of fish. Their diets contain much plankton and algae and the fish gets the omega-3 fatty acids from them.

Fish is very healthy, but some precautions must be taken by us. Too much of fatty fish are not good for our health. It is because they could contain lot of poisonous heavy metals like cadmium, arsenic, mercury etc. and the fat soluble chlorinated chemicals like many pesticides, PCBs and dioxins.

But the benefits of fish intake generally outweigh the potential risks. But persons with problems with environmental poisons must be careful with fish consumption. As you know always the dose makes the poison. Twice in a week, 150 to 200 g fish is good for all.

Amalgam fillings of the holes in your teeth

Organic mercury compounds are very toxic. Inorganic mercury is mixed with other metals together to form an alloy. This is normally used in teeth fillings.

The other metals used with Mercury are silver, copper, indium, tin and zinc. But mercury is always the major component here.

Mercury will be free if the quality of the fillings is not good and swallowed with the saliva. The amount liberated in the mouth could be estimated with the so called “chewing gum” test.

Many people have no problems and others have lot of health problems. A part is excreted in the urine and a major part is accumulated in the tissues. During the process of removing the amalgam fillings, lot enters inside our body. This could be removed only with the help of the chelating agents. If you are allergic to mercury, these fillings must be removed and with other metals such as gold or platinum replaced. But these are very costly compared to amalgam, but very good.

The amalgam fillings must be removed by an experienced dentist. The doctor who removes the mercury deposited in your tissues must be very careful because during this process many of the essential minerals are also eliminated from the body. Necessary minerals supplements must be given before the beginning of the detoxification. The kidneys must be 100% healthy. The clinical toxicologist plays an important role. He supervises the analysis of mercury in blood, urine and in the hair before and after the detoxification. Essential minerals like copper and zinc are also controlled in the blood after the detoxification.

For the removal of toxic metals from our body we need selenium from our food. Food always plays an important role in removing the poisons from our body.

Today there are many alternatives to amalgam. Ceramic is one of the best.

Are there any heavy metal pollutants in mother’s milk?

We belong to countries where cadmium, lead and mercury are present in breast milk and things must be avoided to reduce the contamination of these metals from water and food. The other two metals found are arsenic and manganese.

Most of the countries have banned lead from petrol and lead pipes in the houses. These have reduced the amount of lead in breast milk. Cadmium is accumulated quickly in the kidneys, thus only in low levels in blood as well as in breast milk are present. The prenatal trans-placental exposure to an infant is a much greater concern. Drinking water can be a source of heavy metal exposure. Methyl mercury comes from fishes and cadmium exposure from shell- fish is high. The baby instant food is a source of exposure for many metals including cadmium, aluminium and others.

Tobacco smoke contains also cadmium.

The millions of small batteries what we use and throw also contain lot of poisonous trace elements like lead, cadmium, etc. If possible use only rechargeable batteries.

Energy saving bulbs contains mercury and all these wastes are normally special poisonous wastes which should be destroyed in a careful way. Here recycling means getting raw materials from the poisonous waste.

Thermo papers for your laser printer contain mercury.

Lead salts with other salts are added with paints to make them dry quickly. Lead salts are sweet and the children like this taste and lick them. Observe them when they stand near the painted windows.

Reduce known exposure to poisonous metals as for as possible.

Is breast milk free of pollutants, toxins and heavy metals?

It is not pure and can contain several chemicals residues and few heavy metals. Still, our recommendation is to breastfeed as long as you can because the advantages are more than the disadvantages.
All the breast milks in this world contain residues of DDT or their metabolites, other pesticide residues and pollutant toxins such as dioxins. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzofuranes (PCDFs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) are also often present. These are accumulated in the fat of the human beings. The simple way to minimise this risk is to increase the weight of the mother so that more body fat is available for the same amount of chemical residues in her body, thus the fat of the breast milk also contains less pesticide residues. This should be carefully planned with the help of your doctor and dietician because factors such as pregnancy high blood pressure and diabetes must be considered very cautiously.

Diet is a main factor which influences breast milk levels of persistent organic pollutants which come from fish consumption or living near agricultural land where pesticides and other chemicals are indiscriminately used.

Could you compare the situation in India and Germany?

In India doctors advise working mothers to breastfeed for at least for 6 months. But it is difficult for the working mothers here – they cannot get six months leave because of several reasons. This gives them and the babies many problems.

In Germany the situation is entirely different. The mothers’ jobs are protected from the law for 36 months. This means a mother can decide how long she would stay with her child. Within 36 months she could join at any time without problems. For the first year they get financial support from the government. This is called the so called “Baby Year” in Germany. Now-a-days there are husbands who opt for this “Baby year”. The reason is the far better income of the wife.

With all these facilities a German mother breastfeeds her child normally for four months.

What is the recommendation for breastfeeding?

The World Health Organization (WHO) urges its member states to strengthen activities “to protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding for six months as a global public health recommendation and to provide safe and appropriate complementary foods, with continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond”. It is because of the fact that breast milk provides the most complete form of nutrition for infants, protects from chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes. The benefits to the mother are the improvement of maternal health through the physiologic responses associated with breastfeeding. The German mothers breastfeed their infants normally for four months.

My personal opinion is 12 months. Such children have no or fewer allergies. Allergies are one of the biggest health problems today. If you have allergies your life quality comes down drastically. Why not 12 months?

Could cow milk be given at any time to an infant?

Cow milk could be given when the infant is more than one year old, otherwise the infant may develop an allergy to milk and milk products if the cow milk is given too early.

Moreover, the protein content of the cow milk is higher than that of the breast milk which can also give problems to the baby. Cow milk contains almost the same components of the breast milk. However, the amount of some components varies considerably and the antibodies which must protect them till they develop their own immune system are absent in cow milk.

What are the benefits to the infant?

The infant has to work hard to get the milk from mother’s breast. It helps the proper development of the jaws. The risk of allergies, asthma, respiratory and other infections can be decreased.

The infant has reduced risk for overweight, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.The infant has strong immune system and the risk of sudden infant death syndrome is decreased.

Breast milk and breast feeding

Breast milk contains the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, digestive proteins and hormones which the babies need. Apart from this, breast milk contains antibodies from the mother which can help the baby to resist infections. These are not present in any of the infant’s formula.

What are the benefits to the mother?

The risk of osteoporosis, ovarian and breast cancer and the risk for diabetes-2 are decreased. The mother’s weight comes down quickly to pre-pregnancy level, uterus reaches its original size earlier and the menstrual cycle becomes also normal quickly.

The bond between mother and the baby becomes stronger. There is no or less depression after the child birth.

Mother milk costs nothing to other formula milks. Moreover, the milk bottle makes the baby lazy and that is not good for the whole life.