Eczema Cure ? Link to the Water you Drink- try Revived Water.

Dr Mark Porter visits the Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology in Nottingham to find out about the latest reasearch into treating the symptoms of eczema.

One in five children and one in twelve adults are affected by eczema, the dry, cracked and itchy skin commonly found in the crooks of the elbows and knees. Many children grow out of the disorder, but others face a lifetime of creams, moisturisers and trying not to scratch.

There is a lot of conflicting advice about childhood eczema, so Mark visits the Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology to examine the known causes and the best ways of treating the disorder. Will changing your child's diet or getting rid of the family pet make any difference? And what is the safest and most effective way to use steroid creams?

The Centre is also investigating new treatments. Prof Hwyel Williams is currently running a trial to find out if installing a water softener in the home can improve symptoms. But having eczema isn't just about the skin. Mark also finds out about the psychological scars caused by having a severe skin complaint in school, and speaks to a mother and son who are doing their best to keep eczema under control. Broadcast on:BBC Radio 4, 9:00pm Tuesday 4th August 2009 Duration: 30 minutes Available until: 12:00am Thursday 1st January 2099 Categories:Factual, Health & Wellbeing

Tapped Out Consumers Spurn Bottled Water

Tapped Out Consumers Spurn Bottled Water
Environmental And Economic Concerns Have The Thirsty Favoring The Kitchen Faucet

With a day's worth of bottled water - the recommended 64 ounces - costing hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the brand, more people are opting to slurp water that comes straight from the sink.

The lousy economy may be accomplishing what environmentalists have been trying to do for years - wean people off the disposable plastic bottles of water that were sold as stylish, portable, healthier and safer than water from the tap.

Heather Kennedy, 33, an office administrator from Austin, Texas, said she used to drink a lot of bottled water but now tries to drink exclusively tap water.

"I feel that (bottled water) is a rip-off," she said in an e-mail. "It is not a better or healthier product than the water that comes out of my tap. It is absurd to pay so much extra for it."

Measured in 700-milliliter bottles of Poland Spring, a daily intake of water would cost $4.41, based on prices at a CVS drugstore in New York. Or $6.36 in 20-ounce bottles of Dasani. By half-liters of Evian, that'll be $6.76, please. Which adds up to thousands a year.

Even a 24-pack of half-liter bottles at Costco Wholesale Corp., a bargain at $6.97, would be consumed by one person in six days. That's more than $400 a year.

But water from the tap? A little more than 0.001 cent for a day's worth of water, based on averages from an American Water Works Association survey - just about 51 cents a year.

U.S. consumers spent $16.8 billion on bottled water in 2007, according to the trade publication Beverage Digest. That's up 12 percent from the year before - but it's the slowest growth rate since the early 1990s, said editor John Sicher.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the biggest bottler of Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani, recently cut its outlook for the quarter, saying the weak North American economy is hurting sales of bottled water and soda - especially the 20-ounce single serving sizes consumers had been buying at gas stations.

"They're not walking in and spending a dollar plus for a 20-ounce bottle of water," said beverage analyst William Pecoriello at Morgan Stanley. Flavored and "enhanced" waters like vitamin drinks are also eating into plain bottled water's market share.

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)Pecoriello said Americans' concern about the environment was also a factor, driven by campaigns against the use of oil in making and transporting the bottles, the waste they create and the notion of paying for what is essentially free.

The Tappening Project, which promotes tap water in the U.S. as clean, safe and more eco-friendly than bottled water, launched a new ad campaign in May. The company has also sold more than 200,000 reusable hard plastic and stainless steel bottles since last November.

Linda Schiffman, 56, a recent retiree from Lexington, Mass., bought two metal bottles at $14.50 each for herself and her daughter from Corporate Accountability, a consumer advocate group, after she swore off buying cases of bottled water from Costco.

"I've been doing a lot of cost-cutting since I retired," said Schiffman, a former middle-school guidance counselor. "Additionally, I started feeling like this was a big waste environmentally."

Aware of those concerns, some bottled water makers are trying to address the issue.

Nestle says all its half-liter bottles now come in an "eco-shape" that contains 30 percent less plastic than the average bottle, and it has pared back other packaging. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have also cut down on the amount of plastic used in their bottles.

While it is difficult to track rates of tap water use, sales of faucet accessories are booming.

Brita tap water purification products made by Clorox Co. reported double-digit volume and sales growth in May and have seen three straight quarters of strong growth.

Robin Jaeger of Needham, Mass., fills her kids' reusable bottles with water from the house's faucet. But she doesn't use water straight from the tap.

"My kids have come to the conclusion that any water that's not filtered doesn't taste good," she said.

Quote
It's becoming chic to say, 'Oh no, I don't drink bottled water, I'll have tap water.'

Tony Winnicker, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Her reverse-osmosis filter system costs about $200 every 18 months for maintenance - still cheaper than buying by the bottle.

Kennedy, the tap convert from Texas, has a filter built into her refrigerator. She also recently bought a reusable aluminum bottle made by Sigg, a Swiss company which has stopped selling its $19.99 metal bottles from its Web site, saying demand has swamped its supply.

While Brita is the dominant player in water filtration, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Schmitz, sales of P&G's Pur water filtration systems are also growing. Sales from the Pur line have increased almost every month since mid-2007, said Bruce Letz, its brand manager. He declined to give sales figures but said "the water filtration category is expanding very rapidly."

"There's a backlash against the plastic water bottle," Schmitz said.

Cities and businesses, big to small, have also gotten in on the action.

Marriott International Inc. distributed free refillable water bottles and coffee mugs to the 3,500 employees at its corporate offices in Bethesda, Md., and installed multiple water filters on every floor. The Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., got rid of bottled still water in the summer of 2006 and started sparkling its own water in early 2007.

"Does it make sense to bottle water in Italy, trek it to a port, ship it all the way over here, then trek it to our restaurant?" said Chez Panisse general manager Mike Kossa-Rienzi. "We were going through 25,000 bottles a year. ... Someone has to end up recycling them."

Many cities, including New York, have enacted pro-tap campaigns, and some have stopped providing disposable water bottles for government employees.

Chicago started a 5-cent tax on plastic water bottles in January. San Francisco has done away with deliveries of water jugs for office use, instead installing filters and bottle-less dispensers, and banned the purchase of single-serving bottles by city employees with municipal funds. The city has already cut its government water budget in half, to $250,000 a year, said Tony Winnicker, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

"It's becoming chic to say, 'Oh no, I don't drink bottled water, I'll have tap water,' " he said.

H2O Researchers: Drink Tap over Bottled

H2O Researchers: Drink Tap over Bottled
New Reports Say Bottled Water Should Get Stricter Labeling


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Video http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/08/health/main5144349.shtml

Bottled H2O Backlash

Millions of Americans prefer bottled water over tap. But as Kelly Wallace reports, a new congressional report indicates there is little evidence as to what is actually inside those bottles.


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Bottled Water Impure Too, Study Finds
Bottled Water Debate Splashes Congress
(CBS/AP) Consumers know less about the water they pay dearly for in bottles than what they can drink almost for free from the tap because the two are regulated differently, congressional investigators and nonprofit researchers say in new reports.

Both the Government Accountability Office and the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, recommend in reports released Wednesday that bottled water be labeled with the same level of information municipal water providers must disclose.

The researchers urged Americans to make bottled water "a distant second choice" to filtered tap water because there isn't enough information about bottled water. The working group recommends purifying tap water with a commercial filter, however.

Both reports were released at a congressional subcommittee Wednesday morning.

Jane Houlihan of the Environmental Working Group says consumers drinking a bottle of Dasani water don't even know where it comes from, reports CBS Radio News' Bob Fuss.

"On this label you'll see that the product is pure and it's crisp and it has a fresh taste, but no where on this label will you find the source of that water," Houlihan said.

The GAO told the committee that the safety and consumer protection are "less stringent" for bottled water than they are for tap water, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace.

Sarah Walton never gives her young son bottled water and stopped drinking it herself before she got pregnant last year.

"I think the biggest danger is just not knowing what's in it," she said.

Dozens of other moms told CBS News via Twitter they agree.

At today's hearing, the Government Accountability Office said bottled water should be regulated as stringently as tap water.

Currently tap water must be tested in certified labs - not the case with bottled water; and tap is checked for maximum levels of DEH, a potentially dangerous chemical - not bottled, Wallace reports.

Bottled water - an industry worth about $16 billion in sales last year - has been suffering lately as colleges, communities and some governments take measures to limit or ban its consumption. As employers, they are motivated by cost savings and environmental concern because the bottles often are not recycled.

Bottled water sales were growing by double-digit percentages for years and were helping buoy the U.S. beverage industry overall. But they were flat last year, according to trade publication Beverage Digest.

Beverage Digest editor John Sicher said some consumers are turning on the tap during the recession simply because it's cheaper. Many restaurants and businesses are no longer buying bottled water - choosing to filter their own instead.

From 1997 to 2007, the amount of bottled water consumed per person in the U.S. more than doubled, from 13.4 gallons to 29.3 gallons, the GAO report said - to an average of 200 bottles for every man woman and child in this country.

The issue before a subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee was less about waste and water quality concerns and more about the mechanics of regulating bottled water.

As a food product, bottled water is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and required to show nutrition information and ingredients on its labels. Municipal water is under the control of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The two agencies have similar standards for water quality, but the FDA has less authority to enforce them, the GAO said, and the environmental agency requires much more testing.

Subcommittee chairman Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said the subcommittee was requesting information Wednesday from a dozen bottled water companies on their water sources, treatment methods and two years' results of contaminant testing. It was not immediately clear which companies were being contacted.

"Consumers may not realize that many regulations that apply to municipalities responsible for tap water do not apply to companies that produce bottled water," he said in statements opening the hearing.

The GAO noted the FDA has yet to set standards for DEHP, one of several chemicals known as phthalates that are found in many household products, while the EPA limits the presence of phthalates in tap water.

In a survey of officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the GAO found they think consumers are misinformed about bottled water.

"Many replied that consumers often believe that bottled water is safer or healthier than tap water," according to the GAO report.

The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group said in its report that consumers do not get enough information to determine which water is best for them.

Both groups said some bottled water brands include the same information required of tap water providers on either labels or company Web sites.

The GAO called for more research but said the FDA should start by requiring that bottled water labels tell consumers where to find out more.

Community water systems must distribute annual reports about their water's source, contaminants and possible health concerns.

Consumers should know where all their water comes from, how it is treated and what is found in it, said Richard Wiles, senior vice president for policy and communications for the Environmental Working Group.

"If the municipal tap water systems can tell their customers this information, you would think that bottled water companies that charge 1,000 times more for this water could also let consumers know the same thing," he told The Associated Press.

The bottled water industry's trade group, the International Bottled Water Association, planned to testify Wednesday that the product, - subject to the same regulation as other soft drinks, teas, juices and other beverages - is safe. Additional standards apply for bottled water products labeled as "purified water" or "spring water," among other labels, because they must prove a connection to those sources, according to planned testimony from Joseph Doss, president and chief executive of the International Bottled Water Association.

Doss said consumers can learn about bottled water by contacting the company, reading its Web site and visiting sites run by state governments.

State safeguards for bottled water often exceed the federal, though they are less stringent than for tap water, the GAO wrote.

The trade group declined to comment on the reports before they are released.

Bottled Water Impure Too, Study Finds

Bottled Water Impure Too, Study Finds
Finding Of Contaminants Challenges Popular Impression That Bottled Water Is Better Than Tap


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Bottled Water Debate Splashes Congress
Tapped Out Consumers Spurn Bottled Water
(AP) Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group.

The findings challenge the popular impression - and marketing pitch - that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.

However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking water. Two violated a California state standard, the study said.

An industry group branded the findings "alarmist." Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, said the study is based on the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern "even if it does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been set."

The study's lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38 chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap water that some companies use for their bottled water, other contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers said.

"In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better," said Jane Houlihan, an environmental engineer who co-authored the study.

The two-year study was done by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group, an organization founded by scientists that advocates stricter regulation. It found the contaminants in bottled water purchased in nine states and Washington, D.C.

Researchers tested one batch for each of 10 brands. Eight did not have contaminants high enough to warrant further testing. But two brands did, so more tests were done and those revealed chlorine byproducts above California's standard, the group reported. The researchers identified those two brands as Sam's Choice sold by Wal-Mart and Acadia of Giant Food supermarkets.

In the Wal-Mart and Giant Food bottled water, the highest concentration of chlorine byproducts, known as trihalomethanes, was over 35 parts per billion. California's limit is 10 parts per billion or less, and the industry's International Bottled Water Association makes 10 its voluntary guideline. The federal limit is 80.

Wal-Mart said its own studies did not turn up illegal levels of contaminants. Giant Food officials released a statement asserting that Acadia meets all regulatory standards. Acadia is sold in the mid-Atlantic states, so it isn't held to California's standard. In most places, bottled water must meet roughly the same federal standards as tap water.

The researchers also said the Wal-Mart brand was five times California's limit for one particular chlorine byproduct, bromodichloromethane. The environmental group wants Wal-Mart to label its bottles in California with a warning because the chlorine-based contaminants have been linked with cancer. It has filed a notice of intent to sue.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Shannon Frederick said the company was "puzzled" by the findings because testing by suppliers and another lab had detected no "reportable amounts" of such contaminants. She said Wal-Mart would investigate further but defended the quality of its bottled water.

The researchers recommend that people worried about water contaminants drink tap water with a carbon filter.

Cure Diabetes With Alkaline Water

By Ranju Kumar | Published 06/22/2009 | Wellness | Unrated

Ranju Kumar


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Syndicate Ranju Kumar Articles Cure Diabetes With Alkaline Water
Diabetes influences the way in which the body handles digested carbohydrates. If deserted, it can cause serious health complications, ranging from blindness to kidney failure. If you are a diabetes patient, then you might be suffering from 2 major categories.

First type is even known as Insulin Dependent Diabetes. Normally appears in young age group and is 2nd most usual chronic disease which is seen in children, where the first one is considered to be asthma. When a person is facing this type of condition then their pancreas produces minimum amount of the insulin as well as every day injections are required to fulfill the deficit.

Second type is even known as Adult Onset Diabetes. This is seen particularly in adults & is usually triggered by the dietary habits that constantly spike blood sugar & ultimately exhaust pancreas.

However here is shocking truth about the recent result of the kid's life style as well as their dietary habits. Kids whose age ranges between fifteen to nineteen years are presently considered to be quickest growing group.

The second type is presently accounts for 90 per of every cases as well as in the place like North America, it is rapidly growing disease. However here is one more shocking reality. The second type can't be avoidable this has been seen to be totally reversible in several, several cases utilising totally natural methods with no drugs. That is right alkaline water, healthy diet, exercise and healthy well balanced life style could develop outstanding reversals in the condition in extremely short time.

Most of the scientists currently have an opinion that second type of diabetes is not controllable but it could reversed with no drugs. Insufficient hydration and acid pH - balance in your body, combined with the gratis radical damage, have presently considered main culprits in growth of the diabetes.

Clinical test of the diabetic patients had been run in the Korean hospital & reported in the program known as Truth about Water of Life by the MBC TV. Patients had been divided in 2 groups, first group took the normal insulin protocol and the second one stopped with the insulin injections & had just alkaline water.

Dr. Won H. Kim, who was doctorate in biochemistry from the Oxford University and now he is working at Medical School in Yonsei University of Seoul as a Professor. Water of Life, which was written by him, he states that in less than one month the blood sugar level of the group drinking alkaline water had amazingly decreased in contrast to that of the insulin-injection group. Daily fluctuations in blood sugar continued to occur in the case of the insulin group, while those drinking the alkaline water maintained remarkably stable levels.

The result is considered to be extremely extraordinary.

The normal tap water could be flown through the ionizer alkaline water and generate both long term and short term aid for patients. This alkaline water ionizer is considered to be rich in the negative ions that act as strong anti oxidant in order to neutralize hordes of gratis radicals in the bodies.

Why Alkaline/Kangen/Revived Water?

You are able at this point to make the most of one of the most important and abundant natural resources of our planet - Water. The majority of our body is comprised of about 70% water and our brain is composed of about 80% water. A large portion of our body’s functions are regulated by water, the pH balance, the waste removal system, the body’s temperature are all affected heavily by our water intake, both the amount and the quality.

You can drink normal tap water, but then you will be losing out on almost all its benefits and you will also be receiving many things that you would not get in ionized water, unfortunately none of those things are beneficial to your health, in fact they can endanger your health. Water ionizers are different to water filters because the water you get from an ionizer has undergone an improving scientific alteration, while a filter merely filters out harmful elements from your tap water.

Water undergoes a scientific process to become alkalized, micro-clustered and ionized. This process occurs within the actual ionizers. This is a unit that is attached to your kitchen water supply and will dispense ionized water at the touch of a button. The unit is easy to attach and the benefits it will provide you with are immeasurable. The water enters the water ionizer chamber and undergoes the process of electrolysis or ionization. This process causes approximately 70% of the water flowing into the ionizer to become OH- , which is alkaline water. The other approximately 30% of the water is converted to OH+ , which is acidic water. The acidic water can be collected and utilized around the house and used on plants, while the alkaline water is for drinking and cooking.

Alkaline water, produced by the water ionizer, helps to enhance the taste of food cooked in it and it enhances all the natural benefits of drinking water. Ionization also changes the molecular structure of water, leaving it with just 6 or 7 molecules per cluster as opposed to the average 12 or 13. This allows our body to become hydrated more quickly. This faster hydration helps to regulate our temperature. The alkalinity of the water can help to move our body’s pH level closer to the level that it should be.

The additional hydration of water from water ionizers can also help the digestion system to digest our food better and help our waste removal system to function better by helping the organs to function more efficiently. This allows the body to get rid of more toxins in our body, which can leave us healthier and can help us to lose weight as the high intake of ionized water has been linked to the gradual decrease in fatty deposits in the body.

A water ionizer is a good investment to make because it can eliminate the contaminants from the water flowing into your house, while also ensuring all the valuable minerals are still passed through to you. The unit is small and easy to use and the investment you make in will be repaid many times over in the benefits you receive by drinking this improved water.

Alton man fights cancer with lifestyle changes

June 23, 2009 - 2:33 PM
By DAN BRANNAN
The Telegraph
ALTON - Every day when the sun rises, Alton's Bill Pierson conveys thanks for another day.

Pierson marked his 64th birthday on Father's Day and said he feels better today than he did 10 years ago, despite battling highly aggressive Stage 4 lung cancer.

"It astounds my friends when I talk about how I feel with the cancer," he said. "A lot of it has to do with a lifestyle change. The whole change, I think, is because of nutrition and exercise. The chemotherapy makes you feel downright nasty, but with impacting it with nutrition and exercise, my body does begin to rebuild itself."

Pierson was diagnosed with cancer in mid-February while working as dean of community and workforce education at Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, N.C.

"I was astonished with what happened," he said. "When I was diagnosed with cancer in mid-February, the college community simply rallied around me, and across the board, some folks I hadn't met personally donated time to me so I could be on half-time sick leave.

"My fiancee, Donna Perdun, lives here in Alton. She worked for a telecommunications company in Oregon when we met, before I moved to North Carolina."

Once Pierson was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to return to Alton, Perdun's hometown, and seek cancer treatment at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He has undergone chemotherapy treatment at Barnes.

He said when he was diagnosed with cancer, he expected it, because he had a growth on his chest.

"I knew something wasn't right," he said. "I had an unbelievable sense of calm when my doctor told me. My first words to the oncologist were, ‘What do we do now?'"

Since the diagnosis, Pierson has been fighting back, and to date, it is working. His cancer has reduced, and he said he is feeling better than he has in years.

He also has worked with a physician in Fairbault, Minn., Dr. Mark Cochran, for nutritional guidance.

Each day, Pierson drinks a shake consisting of all green material: a lemon, half a grapefruit, half an apple, two stalks of celery, three leaves of Romaine lettuce, three Swiss chard and three leaves of curly kale. He blends the ingredients each morning and evening and consumes them in a 14-ounce drink.

Each day, Pierson's breakfast is fruit-based. At midday, he has a protein meal consisting of fish or small steak, fresh vegetables and salad.

For dinner, he consumes carbohydrates in either a sweet potato, potato or some type of pasta, followed by a fresh vegetable and a green salad.

"All of these foods we are talking about - with the exception of the protein and the carbohydrates - are foods that form acids in the body," he said. "So, the strategy is to neutralize the acids and keep the body in more of an alkaline state. Cancer doesn't live in an alkaline state."

The new Alton resident swims several times a week and has worked his way up to 70 laps each time.

"I also ride the bike as much as I can," he said. "I love the swimming. I swim at the YWCA. The primary reason for the swimming was to keep the respiratory system functioning at a high level, given it is already under attack with lung cancer. I started with 15 to 20 laps a day, and every day, I have tried to add two or three laps. I have yet to reach a point where I'm physically exhausted when I come out of the water."

Pierson has two adult children in Oregon, David and Victoria, and a grandchild, Oliver, 14 months old.

He said his fiancee has been extremely supportive during his cancer battle, as has his church, River of Life Church in Alton.

"I love churches that are spirit-filled," he said. "I have known the truth and reality of the Lord for a long time. Life tricks us into getting blase about things we don't pay as much attention that we should be. The River of Life people have just been a blessing. They have been as supportive of me as the folks in North Carolina."

Pierson doesn't consider the cancer a curse, but a blessing.

"I have found I have been so blessed, and I think I can say this pesky disease has been one of the greatest blessings of my life," he said. "It opened doors and unlocked parts of me that I had ignored for a long time. Without God's hand, I think I would be close to death already."

Pierson's plan is to keep training, eating properly and fighting the cancer.

"My goal is to eventually be cancer-free," he said.

dan_brannan@thetelegraph.com