Fish Oil May Prevent Alzheimer's

3 Fish Oil Omega:

Do Fish Oils Prevent Alzheimer's Disease?

Another Powerful Study Shows A Markedly Reduced Risk of Alzheimer's with Fish Oils (Omega-3 Oils).

Natural Substances or Prescription Drugs for Alzheimer's Disease?

by Jay S. Cohen, M.D
www.MedicationSense.com

If a drug company announced that a new drug had reduced the incidence of Alzheimer's disease by 60% in a large, impressive study, the news would create a sensation. TV news programs and newspaper headlines would broadcast the discovery everywhere. But what if the discovery wasn't a new drug, but a natural substance: would it get the same attention?

The natural substance is fish oil (omega-3 oils). A growing number of studies are showing that fish oils may help treat mild Alzheimer's disease and may even prevent Alzheimer's from developing. The most impressive study I have seen is a prospective study that followed 815 older people over 4 years.

By following the people prospectively, that is, before any illness had developed, the researchers were able to identify the factors associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease in some participants. The researchers reported:

"Participants who consumed fish once per week or more had 60% less risk of Alzheimer's disease compared with those who rarely or never ate fish.1"

The results were even better for people who ate the most fish. They had a 70% reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The positive results also correlated with people who consumed omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a component of fish oils -- and a major component of human brain tissue.

A Series of Impressive Studies

These findings arrived on the shoulders of other impressive studies. A study published in 2003 found reduced levels of DHA in the blood of people with Alzheimer's disease.2 In 1997, a prospective study of people age 55 and older in the Netherlands found the same thing: an inverse relationship between fish consumption and dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease.3 The more fish people ate, the less the likelihood of Alzheimer's disease.

In 2002, a 7-year study of 1674 people over age 67 found that those who had the greatest fish consumption also had the lowest incidence of dementia. The authors of this study commented:

"Elderly people who eat fish or seafood at least once a week are at lower risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.4"

The authors concluded that fish is beneficial because its omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation in the brain and assist the regeneration of nerve cells.4

A 2006 study found that supplementation with fish oils could slow cognitive decline in people with mild Alzheimer's disease.5

All of these positive findings may be due to the ability of fish oils to reduce inflammation. Experts believed that much of the degeneration of aging is due to chronic inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect of fish oils or other forms of omega-3 fatty acids has been proven in studies of people with inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.6-8

Natural Substances vs. Prescription Drugs

People's awareness of the benefits of fish and fish oils is rising, but it has taken many years to accomplish this, and many people still have not heard. Many doctors still do not recommend fish or fish oils to patients. There is no national public health initiative to spread the word. Yet, if a drug is ever developed that reduces Alzheimer's risk by 60%, it will receive the full treatment. Headlines. Interviews on television. Full-page print advertisements and unrelenting television ads. Thousands of drug sales reps will inundate doctors' offices, touting the drug's benefits so enthusiastically that they might forget to mention the inevitable side effects and exorbitant cost.

Good alternatives are available today. Fish oils,1-4 folic acid,9,10 alpha lipoic acid,11 curcumin and L-acetyl carnitine12 are believed to offer some benefit for Alzheimer's disease. The evidence is not complete, but it is promising, more promising than many of the drugs that are frequently prescribed today. Moreover, coenzyme Q10 has shown benefit in Parkinson's disease.13

Moreover, a recent study has shown that people who eat a Mediterranean diet have a substantially reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.14 In addition, a Mediterranean diet provides other benefits: reduced cholesterol levels, reduced incidence of heart attacks and hypertension, improved glucose metabolism.

Additional Benefits of Fish Oils

There are other reasons to get enough fish oils in your diet. Studies have demonstrated convincingly that fish oils reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death, which kills 250,000 Americans a year, by 40%-80%.15-17 For this reason, experts recommend that people should eat fish at least once a week or take fish oil supplements (1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids) daily.

Additional benefits of fish oils include reduction of triglyceride levels, improved glucose metabolism, improved vascular flexibility, and reduced blood pressure. Fish oils many also help prevent some cancers. Fish oils also have antithrombotic effects, that is, they cause a slight thinning of the blood. People with bleeding disorders or taking Coumadin (warfarin) or other blood thinners, or even aspirin, should check with their doctors before taking fish oils.

REFERENCES

1. Morris, MC, et al. Consumption of fish and n-3 fatty acids and risk of incident Alzheimer's disease. Archives of Neurology 2003;60:940-946.
2. Tully, AM, et al. Low serum cholesteryl ester-docosahexaenoic acid levels in Alzheimer's's disease: a case-control study. British Journal of Nutrition 2003;89:483-489.
3. Kalmijn, S, et al. Dietary fat intake and the risk of incident dementia in the Rotterdam study. Annals of Neurology 1997;42:776-82.
4. Barberger-Gateau, P, et al. Fish, meat, and risk of dementia: cohort study. British Medical Journal 2002;325:932-933.
5. Freund-Levi Y, Eriksdotter-Jonhagen M, et al. O-3 fatty acid treatment in 174 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Archives of Neurology 2006;63:1402-1408.
6. Cleland L, James M, Proudman S. The role of fish oils in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Drugs 2003;63(9):845-53.
7. Kremer, JM, et al. Effects of high-dose fish oil on rheumatoid arthritis after stopping nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Arthritis and Rheumatism 1995;38(8):1107-14.
8. Lau, CS, Morley, KD, Belch, JJ. Effects of fish oil supplementation on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug requirement in patients with mild rheumatoid arthritis--a double-blind placebo controlled study. British Journal of Rheumatology 1999;32(11):982-9.
9. Seshadri, S, Beisir, A, Selhub, J, et al. Plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. New England Journal of Medicine, Feb. 14, 2002;346:476-483.
10. Rydlewicz, A, Simpson, JA, Taylor, RJ, et al. The effect of folic acid supplementation on plasma homocysteine in an elderly population. QJM 2002;95(1):27-35.
11. Hager K, Marahrens A, Kenklies M, Riederer P, Munch G. Alpha-lipoic acid as a new treatment option for Azheimer type dementia. Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics 2001;32:275-282.
12. Spagnoli A, Lucca U, Menasce G, et al. Long-term acetyl-L-carnitine treatment in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 1991;41(11):1726-32.
13. Shults, CW, Oakes, D, Kieburtz, K, et al. Effects of coenzyme Q10 on early Parkinson's disease: evidence of slowing of the functional decline. Archives of Neurology 2002;59:1541-1550.
14. Scarmeas N, Stern Y, et al. Mediterranean diet, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular mediation. Archives of Neurology 2006;63:published online 10/9/06, www.archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/63.12noc16109.
15. de Lorgeril, M, Salen, P, Defaye, P, et al. Dietary prevention of sudden cardiac death. European Heart Journal 2002;23:277-285.
16. Albert, CM, Campos, H, Stampfer, MJ, et al. Blood Levels of Long-Chain N-3 Fatty Acids and the Risk of Sudden Death. New England Journal of Medicine 2002;346(15):1113-18.
17. Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Lancet 1999;354(9177):447-55.

Copyright 2004, Jay S. Cohen, M.D. All rights reserved. Readers have permission to copy and disseminate all or part of these articles if it is clearly identified as the work of: Jay S. Cohen, M.D., the MedicationSense E-Newsletter, www.MedicationSense.com. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

Seafood Versus Depression and Inflammation

Omega 3 Depression:

Seafood Versus Depression and Inflammation

Omega 3s Gain Medical Ground

by Craig Weatherby
Courtesy of Vital Choice Seafood

In fall 2004, one “superstar” drug after another fell from its pedestal, the victims of exaggerated claims and unforeseen side effects.

Vioxx was the first to fall, followed quickly by Celebrex. New information showed that each of these “COX-2” anti-inflammatory pain relievers appear to pose greater health risks than the far cheaper generic pain relievers—aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.—they were supposed to improve on. Even the primary reason for their introduction—reduced risk of gastric bleeding in comparison with aspirin and ibuprofen—has since proven false.

Omega-3s discourage depression

Now, the ubiquitous anti-depressant drug Prozac has taken an image hit. First came evidence that Prozac may cause violent and suicidal behavior. In October of 2004, the FDA ordered drug companies to place "black box" warnings on the labels of the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants—serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SRRIs—including Prozac, stating that antidepressants increase the risk of "suicidal thinking and behavior in children and adolescents."

Then, an article in the January 1 issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) alleged that Prozac patent holder Eli Lilly & Company had long concealed evidence of this problem. British medical regulators were especially upset over the alleged concealment by Lilly, since they had recommended that many antidepressants not be prescribed for children and teenagers, but had not included Prozac in those advisories.

According to news reports, some of the documents cited by the BMJ article date back to the 1980's and include memos between Eli Lilly employees that show a link between Prozac and violent or suicidal behavior among people taking the drug.

DHA considered vital to mood control

The omega-3 fatty acid known as DHA is a major component of cell membranes in the brain, and dietary DHA has been found to improve the symptoms of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. A growing body of evidence indicates that omega-3 fatty acids—especially DHA—offer a promising dietary defense against depression. (DHA is found only in seafood, and is concentrated in fatty, cold water fish like salmon, sablefish, and tuna.)

Research over the past few years yielded these highly suggestive findings:

• People suffering from major depression generally have lower-than-average body levels of omega-3s (especially DHA).
• Omega-3s alleviate major depression, according to the results of the first placebo-controlled clinical trial, published in 2003. As the authors concluded, “From the preliminary findings in this study, omega-3 PUFAs could improve the short-term course of illness and were well tolerated in patients with major depressive disorder.”
• People in geographic areas where consumption of DHA is high enjoy decreased rates of depression, according to most studies. (A recent population study in Finland found no connection.)
• People who typically have below-average tissue levels of DHA—such as alcoholics, and women in the postpartum period—suffer higher than average rates of depression.

This is not to say that people diagnosed with depression can safely toss their prescriptions in favor of eating lots of fish: researchers say that controlled clinical trials comparing DHA against standard antidepressants are required before doctors can prescribe DHA as an effective and safe alternative therapy for depression and related mood disorders, such as anxiety.

That said, increased DHA intake is certainly a safe preventive measure. As researchers at Harvard Medical School noted in a year 2000 review article, “Considering that natural medications generally seem best for treating mild to moderate illness, the role of DHA as a therapy for minor and subsyndromal depression also should be considered.”

Omega-3s seen as anti-arthritis ally

Osteoarthritis affects an estimated 21 million Americans, most of them over the age of 45. This most common type of arthritis is caused by gradual degradation of the cartilage in people’s knees, hips, backs, and ankle joints. Loss of cartilage results in two sources of pain: 1) rubbing of bone against bone, and 2) indirect pain from the inflammatory response the body mounts in response to injury of tissues surrounding the joint. (Cartilage itself has no nerve endings.)

While their modes of action remain a bit of a mystery, aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), Vioxx and Celebrex provide effective relief from osteoarthritis pain, primarily through their anti-inflammatory actions. (Vioxx was withdrawn from sale last fall following reports of its risks to heart health.)

Omega-3s also dampen inflammation, but not strongly enough to provide the kind of pain relief people get from taking pharmaceutical drugs.

However, dietary omega-3s exert physiological effects that can help slow the progress of osteoarthritis, and limit related pain and immobility. Test tube studies involving cartilage cells (chondrocytes) show that omega-3s decrease the cartilage degradation and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis. As the authors of one study put it, “… our data provide evidence supporting dietary supplementation of n-3 PUFA [omega-3s], which in turn may have a beneficial effect of slowing and reducing inflammation in the pathogenesis of degenerative joint diseases in man.”

What about the far less common, far more debilitating disease known as rheumatoid arthritis (RA)? This highly painful condition is caused by a mysterious malfunction of the immune system that causes the body to mount an inflammatory attack its own joint tissues. Since omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, it’s no surprise that most clinical studies show that people with rheumatoid arthritis report substantial relief from dietary omega-3s.

Yet, for a purely non-medical reason, omega-3s remain an under-prescribed therapy for either form of arthritis. As the authors of a recent research paper explained, “Since fish oils do not provide industry with the opportunities for substantial profit associated with patented prescription items, they have not received the marketing inputs that underpin the adoption of usual pharmacotherapies.” In other words, drug companies can’t make money selling natural products like omega-3s, because they cannot be patented and, compared with novel drugs, offer little profit potential.

Safety first

Last, but not least, one huge advantage of fish oil over nearly every pharmacological solution is its safety. Only a fishy aftertaste (“repeat”) occurs with some brands, which is completely harmless and usually passes quickly—a very small price to pay for fish oil’s manifold, well-proven benefits.

Sources:

• Mischoulon D, Fava M. Docosahexanoic acid and omega-3 fatty acids in depression. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2000 Dec;23(4):785-94. Review.
• Su KP, Huang SY, Chiu CC, Shen WW. Omega-3 fatty acids in major depressive disorder. A preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2003 Aug;13(4):267-71.
• Colin A, Reggers J, Castronovo V, Ansseau M. [Lipids, depression and suicide] Encephale. 2003 Jan-Feb;29(1):49-58. Review. French.
• Hibbeln JR. Seafood consumption, the DHA content of mothers' milk and prevalence rates of postpartum depression: a cross-national, ecological analysis. J Affect Disord. 2002 May;69(1-3):15-29.
• Hakkarainen R, Partonen T, Haukka J, Virtamo J, Albanes D, Lonnqvist J. Is low dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids associated with depression? Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Mar;161(3):567-9.
• Curtis CL, Rees SG, Cramp J, Flannery CR, Hughes CE, Little CB, Williams R, Wilson C, Dent CM, Harwood JL, Caterson B. Effects of n-3 fatty acids on cartilage metabolism. Proc Nutr Soc. 2002 Aug;61(3):381-9.
• Adam O. Dietary fatty acids and immune reactions in synovial tissue. Eur J Med Res. 2003 Aug 20;8(8):381-7. Review.
• James MJ, Proudman SM, Cleland LG. Dietary n-3 fats as adjunctive therapy in a prototypic inflammatory disease: issues and obstacles for use in rheumatoid arthritis. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2003 Jun;68(6):399-405. Review.
  

AlterNet.org

FOOD

AlterNet / By Ari LeVaux

Organic Meat and Dairy Are About to Be History, But There Are Two Ways You Can Help Stop It

Even as the Obama administration is starting to look like the Monsanto administration, we can still fight back.

February 11, 2011 |

The Obama administration struck a blow to freedom in the realms of food and agriculture late January, when the USDA deregulated genetically modified (GM) alfalfa seed. The agency's decision threatens to deprive farmers of the right to produce GM-free milk and meat and deny consumers the right to purchase it. It also threatens the relevance of the USDA's organic program.

Then, on Feb. 4, the USDA did it again, this time by partially deregulating GM sugar beet seed.

Both announcements were great news for Monsanto, which owns both types of GM seeds -- and USDA chief Tom Vilsack as well, apparently. Vilsack's trips on the Monsanto corporate jet while governor of Iowa are well documented, and his "Governor of the Year" award from the Biotechnology Industry Association was surely well deserved. Indeed, both of Vilsack's recent deregulations were big victories for the biotech industry as a whole. And the sugar beet move is especially chilling to those harboring fears of a GM planet. The USDA's deregulation of sugar beet seed defied an order from a San Francisco District Court demanding an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be produced before USDA deregulated the seed.

USDA deregulated it anyway. And even if the agency is ultimately penalized for this intransigence, the seed will have been planted, which is a significant gain of ground for GM agriculture-lovers.

Nearly all the beet seed in the country -- seed for conventional and organic alike, sugar and table beets both -- is grown in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The reason is simple: It's the nation's best spot to grow beets (and chard, too, which cross-pollinates with beets). Once GM beets are planted in the Willamette Valley, non-GM beet (and chard) growers may be forced out or overtaken, voluntarily or otherwise, by genetically modified sugar beet DNA.

In the case of GM alfalfa, even the corporate-rights activist group also known as the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that deregulated alfalfa presented unacceptable risks to the environment, consumers, and business-three pillars of American greatness. Last summer the court ruled that USDA must complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before deregulating GM alfalfa seed.

In response to this ruling, USDA dutifully held a public comment period and drafted an EIS, which contained plenty of reasons to be wary of GM alfalfa. The agency then proceeded to ignore these warnings and grant full deregulation to GM alfalfa.

In choosing this path, USDA chose against the option of partial deregulation, which would have provided mechanisms for keeping track of what happens to the genes that Monsanto will be releasing into the environment.

Such oversight, at a minimum, is a good idea, since GM alfalfa is to organic dairy what the Trojan Horse was to Troy. Alfalfa is pollinated by bees, which have a five-mile range. When non-GM alfalfa is pollinated with pollen from GM alfalfa plants, seeds containing the lab-modified DNA sequences are produced. Alfalfa is a perennial that can generate 15,000 seeds a year and live for decades, even centuries. Once GM pollen is out of the bag, putting it back in would be like repacking Pandora's box. It's not going to happen. It's a matter of when, not if, GM alfalfa DNA starts showing up in the feed of organic dairy cows. The AP reported on Feb. 7, "Contamination of organic and traditional crops by recently deregulated, genetically modified alfalfa is inevitable, agriculture experts said, despite Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's recent assurances the federal government would take steps to prevent such a problem."

When the genes escape, organic regulators will find themselves in a tricky spot: Either revoke organic certification from the "offender"-who's actually a victim of GM contamination-or broaden organic standards to allow GM in. The latter would be a dream come true for the biotech seed industry. Thus, GM alfalfa may represent a foot in the door of the coveted organic market-the food industry's fastest-growing segment.

The USDA's deregulation of GM alfalfa and sugar beet seed threatens the rights of those in the agriculture business to produce meat and dairy that's free of the mark of genetic modification, and all of the unknown possibility that mark entails. Once the first crop of GM alfalfa goes to seed, the prospects of a future with non-GM meat and dairy will dim considerably, taking with it the consumer freedom to eat non-GM meat and dairy. And once the GM sugar beets go to seed, finding non-GM beets or chard will become difficult if not impossible.

It appears that USDA's goal was getting both alfalfa and sugar beet seed planted as soon as possible. It was able to do so legally, if sleazily, with alfalfa, but not with sugar beets. Perhaps the urgency, from Monsanto's perspective, is that Vilsack only has two more years of guaranteed influence. After the 2012 election, who knows? Since beets take two years to flower, Vilsack's golden window closes this spring. Planting now gives the beets enough time to contaminate the Willamette Valley with their pollen before the possible arrival of a new USDA chief, who might not be in Monsanto's front pocket.

While GM alfalfa threatens to blanket the country with GM pollen that will eventually find its way into dairy and meat supplies, GM sugar beet seed is an efficient surgical strike at beet central. Either way, more genetically modified DNA is poised for injection into the food chain and the environment.

Tom Philpott, food editor at Grist.org, points out that we can find a bit of comfort in the fact that sugar beet seed deregulation is partial, meaning USDA is supposed to monitor where the GM beets are planted and make sure the genes don't spread. But the genes will spread, no matter how carefully USDA and Monsanto try to prevent it.

The genes will spread because that's what genes do.

Those who oppose the planting of GM alfalfa and sugar beet seeds have two significant milestones to consider in their planning. The first is preventing the seeds from being planted. If that fails, the next and final chance will be to make sure the plants are destroyed before they flower. After that, once the pollen gets released, game over. Food and Water Watch has launched a petition to tell the White House how you feel about GM foods. But it may fall on deaf ears. Philpott recently presented evidence that the White House may be even more pro-GM than USDA.

The court system offers the best legal opportunity to achieve one of these defensive stops, and that possibility is real. The Center for Food Safety may be an underdog against Monsanto and USDA on the GM sugar beet and alfalfa fronts, but the nonprofit is, as they say in Vegas, a live dog. CFS is active in both GM alfalfa and sugar beet litigation, and contributing to its legal fund probably provides the most bang for your buck-short of buying land upwind from a Monsanto field and spraying obscene amounts of nasty pesticides on windy days, and then suing Monsanto for stealing the chemicals that land on its plants.

That would be really fun, but my money's on the Center for Food Safety, though. Less potential downside -- blowback, as it were. I'll be including a dollar for every commenter, below, who pledges to donate too.

Ari LeVaux writes a syndicated weekly food column, Flash in the Pan.

The Drug Store in Your Tap Water

The Drug Store in Your Tap Water

by Martha Rosenberg / February 12th, 2011

You don’t have to eat cattle who have worn trenbolone ear implants to end up with the growth stimulating androgenic hormone in your body reported the Associated Press in 2008.

Water taken near a Nebraska feedlot had four times the trenbolone levels as other water samples and male fathead minnows nearby had low testosterone levels and small heads.

Nor do you have to see a doctor to imbibe a witch’s brew of prescriptions like pain pills, antibiotics and psychiatric, cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy and heart meds in your drinking water, says the AP. Free of charge.

Other “biosolids” found in drinking water include anti-fungal drugs and the toxic plastic, Bisphenol A, from some bottled waters which people ironically drink to avoid tap water.

While pharma and water treatment professionals routinely deny the existence of prescription drugs in public waterways and drinking water — easy to do when they are not tested for anyway! — Mary Buzby, director of environmental technology for pharma giant Merck, was a little more candid in 2007.

“There’s no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they’re at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms,” she remarked at a conference in 2007, says the AP.

And if we need a second opinion from the antibiotics found in Tucson drinking water, sex hormones in San Francisco drinking water and seizure and anxiety meds in Southern California drinking water, there’s the animals themselves.

Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants near five major US cities had residues of cholesterol, high blood pressure, allergy, bipolar and depression drugs reported Discovery news in 2006.

Male fish in the estrogen-saturated St. Lawrence River around Montreal are developing ovaries, reported Daniel Cyr, at Quebec’s National Institute for Science Research according to the Independent Post in 2008.

And now fish in the same area are showing signs of the antidepressant Prozac in their systems says the University of Montreal.

(And that’s not counting the feminized frogs with both female and male sex organs which are increasingly found in US waterways and even suburban ponds, an ominous “canary-in-the-water” trend that indicates serious ecological damage say scientists.)

When scientists studied hybrid striped bass exposed to Prozac at Clemson University, SC they found the fish maintained a position at the top of the water surface, sometimes with their dorsal fin out of the water unlike the fish not on Prozac who remained at the bottom of the tank. Staying near the top of the water and maintaining “a vertical position in the aquaria” could increase the bass’ susceptibility to predators and decrease their survival reported the researchers. Nor did the bass eat as much as non-Prozac fish.

A similar loss in survival behaviors has been seen in shrimp exposed to Prozac who are five times more likely to swim toward light than away from it, making them also more susceptible to predators reports the Southern Daily Echo News.

”Crustaceans are crucial to the food chain and if shrimps’ natural behaviour is being changed because of antidepressant levels in the sea this could seriously upset the natural balance of the ecosystem,” says Dr Alex Ford, from the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Marine Sciences.

For years public health officials have told people that just because the bass and other fish in their waterways are contaminated with chlordane, PCBs and methylmercury it doesn’t mean the drinking water is unsafe. But the prescription drugs levels in fish are precisely because the drinking water is unsafe.

Martha Rosenberg is a columnist/cartoonist who writes about public health. She can be reached at: martharosenberg@sbcglobal.net. Read other articles by Martha.

This article was posted on Saturday, February 12th, 2011 at 8:00am and is filed under Pharmaceuticals, Water.