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Basic Pillow Maintenance to Avoid Allergies

Your pillow is a source of soft comfort and a good night's sleep. But it can also be a source of allergens, primarily dust mites. Because your face and head rest on the pillow all night, your exposure is inescapable. You spend about 1/3 of every day lying on your pillow. So if you have allergies, it's a good idea to maintain an allergy-free pillow along with the rest of your bedding. * Washing - If you have allergies, you probably already wash your bedding in hot water each week. Include your pillow case in this washing. While hanging clothes out to dry saves energy, skip this step with your bedding if you are allergic. Run your pillow case through the dryer on a hot setting. Wash your pillow itself every month or so (if it is washable - check the tag). Some experts say washing pillows every three months will suffice. Either way, use hot water and the dryer as well. Run them through the rinse cycle twice. * Freeze your pillow - Place your pillow in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for 24 hours. This will kill dust mites. If you have a deep freeze or case ...

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Pesticides and ADHD – Is There a Link?

Parents struggle daily with the challenges of raising a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Adding to the frustration is that no definite cause has been found for this problem. Some possibilities are coming to light, however - among them is the possible link between pesticide exposure and the development of ADHD symptoms. The kind of pesticides in question are organophosphates, a group of pesticides commonly used in agriculture. The presence of these types of pesticides was tested on more than 1000 children (ages 8-15) and the results published in the May 2010 issue of Pediatrics. The findings were rather startling. Of the children tested, those who had the highest level of pesticide by-product in their urine were the most likely to exhibit behavior consistent with ADHD. Even those children with low-level exposure who had only the barest trace of pesticide by-product in their urine were still twice as likely to exhibit ADHD symptoms as those with no pesticide exposure. Organophosphates are commonly found on fruits and vegetables, and have been implicated in behavioral and cognitive problems in children before. In those studies, however, the test subjects lived in agricultural communities where pesticide exposure is obvious and frequent. What makes this May 2010 study so ...

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Why Overnight Shipping Is Bad for the Environment

Oh no! You forgot your dad's birthday or Mother's Day, and by the time you remember, it's the day before! To get your gift there on time, you'll need overnight shipping, right? That's true, but see if Dad or Mom will be forgiving if you send them their gifts via ground delivery. Why? Because overnight shipping is so much worse for the environment. Here are some reasons why. Extra Packaging Overnight shipping often involves extra packaging materials. Items intended for next-day delivery need to be in a special box or envelope, and the package is usually padded extensively. Overnight packaging is generally not reusable, having seals that require destroying the packaging to open them. Bleached paper is commonly used to make boxes and envelopes intended for overnight shipping. Emissions Airplanes use a lot of fuel, and they produce a lot of emissions. Being so high up in the atmosphere, airplanes deliver their combustion emissions directly into the higher areas of the atmosphere. Currently, airplanes account for only 2% of total global CO2 emissions. By choosing delivery methods besides overnight air, the total can be even lower. Airplane fuel is expensive, too, which partially explains why overnight shipping costs so much. Faster Is Not Always Better You choose overnight ...

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Microwave Radiation – Do We Have to Be Worried

A "microwave" is a wave of electromagnetic radiation. These waves are shorter than radio waves, and, besides their use in microwaves ovens, are used in radar and transmitting data. In a microwave oven, these waves pass through the food, which is heated via dielectric heating. This basically means that the molecules in the food are agitated in order to align themselves with the frequency of the microwaves. But do the microwaves stay in the oven, or do they radiate throughout the room? Should you be concerned? Human Exposure to Microwave Radiation If the human body is exposed to high levels of microwave radiation, the waves will be converted into heat, just as with food. The eyes and brain are most vulnerable to damage from this type of heat, because these organs can not cool themselves as efficiently as other organs. The cornea and lens of the eye do not have the blood vessels necessary to remove heat. The inner ear, too, has been known to sustain damage from microwave radiation, particularly as it is used in radar. Parts of the inner ear expand in response to the heat, causing clicking or buzzing sounds that interfere with normal hearing. Some effects of excessive exposure are ...

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Top Twenty Sources of Iron

Men and post-menopausal women need about 10 milligrams of iron daily, and pre-menopausal women need 15 milligrams. It's not a large number, but it is an important mineral. There are two basic sources of iron: heme and non-heme. "Heme" sources are those of animal origin. "Non-heme" refers to vegetable sources of iron. Some experts say that the iron in vegetables and fruits is not as easily absorbed by the body. Here are two lists of the top sources of iron - a list of ten heme sources and ten non-heme sources. Heme Sources 1. Oysters - One-half cup of oysters has 8 milligrams of iron. 2. Steamed Clams - Four ounces of steamed clams have 3 milligrams of iron. 3. Venison - A 4-ounce serving of venison has 8 milligrams of iron. 4. Liver - Both chicken and beef liver are high in iron. Four ounces of chicken liver has 10 milligrams of iron, and the same amount of beef liver has 6.5 milligrams. Calf's liver has 16 milligrams per 4-ounce serving. 5. Beef - In a 4-ounce serving, beef contains 3.5 milligrams of iron. 6. Lamb - Cooked lamb has almost 2 milligrams of iron per 4-ounce serving. 7. Eggs - One whole chicken egg has 1 milligram of ...

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