Joey Velasco 2009 Calendars

October 1, 2008 at 3:25 am · Filed under Joey Velasco ·Tagged , ,

Joey Velasco 2009 Calendars

Joey Velasco is a social-realist artist. He possesses a profound sensitivity to the human drama. He touches the mystery of God in what is otherwise ugly and mundane.

His paintings are a momentary peek into eternity, a passing moment that captures the meaning of ordinary life in all its grandeur. The human soul finds genuine rest in the love of the Almighty. Hope beats with courage again. I call it inspiration; and we all need it.

Joey acknowledges that his profoundest gain from the Salesians is acquiring a heart for the poor. Having given some of his best years to the apostolate in the Don Bosco Youth Centers, he has never forgotten the faces of poverty and uncertainty that stared back at him. His paintings in oil convey messages of life-giving especially to the unfortunate.

I purposely placed the sample pictures of the paintings of Joey Velasco in my blog in order to sell it online especially among the people in the provinces or outside the country who are interested with the 2009 set.

Thank you very much!


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Lethal bacteria also found in tainted milk

September 30, 2008 at 2:55 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged


Pathogen in some Sanlu formulas can cause meningitis or gut infections

Reuters, Associated Press

In another blow to China’s food safety record, the Gansu authorities revealed that a pathogenic bacteria has been found in Sanlu’s milk powder that was also contaminated with melamine, the Lanzhou Morning Post reported.

This latest revelation came as China said yesterday that the melamine-tainted milk scandal had been brought under control and recently tested liquid milk samples showed no traces of the toxic chemical.

The Gansu Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision in north-western China issued an emergency notice on Sunday saying that Sanlu’s formulas for older babies contained enterobacter sakazakii as well as the toxic chemical melamine, the newspaper said.

The bacteria, enterobacter sakazakii, can cause meningitis or severe gut infections. It is a new species defined in recent years and recognised by the World Health Organisation as one key pathogen that leads to infant mortality.

This is not the first time that the bacteria is found in powdered infant formula. In September 2002, the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department found enterobacter Sakazakii in a German infant formula Special Batch Milupa HN25.

It is not yet known when, and how the bacteria entered the Sanlu formula, the Lanzhou Morning Post said.

The Gansu authorities have sent the test results to the national-level food quality and safety inspection centre for further action.

Besides affecting premature babies, the bacteria is also harmful to people of all ages, particularly those with weakened immune systems.

So far, there have been no reports of sickness or deaths triggered by enterobacter sakazakii infection involving Sanlu’s products, according to the Post.

In a bid to assure the world that Chinese products are safe, China’s national quality watchdog chief inspection official Xiang Yuzhang told reporters in Beijing: ” There is no problem.”

” It has been brought under control, more or less. There are no more problems in the market. As far as I know, there will be no more bad news.”

China’s quality control agency said on it’s website ( http://www.aqsiq.gov.cn ) that 235 samples of carton milk and drinking yogurts produced since last Sunday and sold across the country had shown no signs of melamine.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told an audience in New York that China would strive to bring its food safety standards up to international levels, describing as a painful lesson the more than 50,000 children sick from drinking chemical-laced milk, which also left four dead.

Speaking to China, where United States and European officials were attending seminars on product safety, Ms Nancy Nord, acting head of the US Consumer Products Safety Commission, said: ” The melamine situation just underscores the message that we are trying to deliver, and that is you have to know what’s coming into your factory and what’s going out of your factory.”

Yesterday, Mr Li Weiyi, a spokesman for the Cabinet-level Taiwan Affairs Officers, issued a public apology to consumers in Taiwan as the authorities there ordered China-made milk products and vegetables-based proteins off store shelves.

Taiwanese officials say at least seven Taiwanese companies have imported contaminated proteins from China. They say the proteins are made from corn or other vegetables but may be mixed with tainted milk products to improve their favour.

Global consumer goods giant Unilever also said it had removed its Lipton green milk tea product from store shelves in Taiwan as it might have used tainted milk from Chinese companies.

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday called for the creation of a food safety hot-line with China.

Further away, British supermarket chain Tesco removed White Rabbit Creamy Candies from its shelves after tests elsewhere found traces of melamine in the Chinese-made sweets.

From Ivory Coast in West Africa to Tanzania in the east, governments have also joined the list of countries blocking Chinese milk imports over concerns that they could be contaminated.

Sanlu Group, the Hebei-based dairy at the centre of the scandal, will not recover from the damage it has suffered, its New Zealand partner said yesterday.

The Chinese government has now taken control of Sanlu –43 per cent owned by New Zealand’s Fonterra Cooperative –and shut down its operations, Fonterra Chief Executive Andrew Ferrier said at a briefing.

According to the Cabinet probe, Sanlu had received complaints about its infant formula as early as December last year. It discovered melamine in its milk powder in June but did not alert the government officials until Aug 2.

Nitrogen-rich melamine has been added to substandard or watered-down milk to fool quality checks, which often use nitrogen levels to measure the amount of protein in milk.

Reuters, Associated Press

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WHO–Melamine and Cyanuric acid: Toxicity, Preliminary Risk Assessment and Guidance on Levels in Food for everyone

September 30, 2008 at 2:49 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

Last reviewed/updated
25 September 2008
Melamine-contamination event, China, September 2008

Melamine and Cyanuric acid: Toxicity, Preliminary Risk Assessment and Guidance on Levels in Food

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/Melamine.pdf

25 September 2008

Description of the event

Nearly 40 000 cases of kidney stones in infants with three deaths (and one unconfirmed) related to the consumption of melamine-contaminated powdered infant formula have been reported from across China as of 21 September 2008. Almost 12 900 are currently hospitalized. Kidney stones in infants are very rare.

While the exact onset date of illness resulting from contamination and the beginning of the contamination itself remain unknown, a manufacturer (Sanlu) received a complaint of illness in March 2008.

Chinese media reported at the beginning of September that Sanlu brand infant formula produced by Hebei-based Sanlu Group was contaminated with melamine. Sanlu’s powdered infant formula is widely consumed by infants across China because the product is relatively affordable compared to others.

Following inspections conducted by China’s national inspection agency, at least 22 dairy manufacturers across the country were found to have melamine in some of their products.

Two companies, Guangdong Yashili and Qingdao Suokang, exported their products to Bangladesh, Burundi, Myanmar, Gabon and Yemen. While contamination in those exported products remains unconfirmed, a recall has been ordered from China.

Other countries, however, have also reported finding melamine in dairy products manufactured in China.

So far, contamination has also been found in liquid milk, frozen yogurt dessert and in coffee drink. All these products were most probably manufactured using ingredients made from melamine contaminated milk.

In 2007, melamine was found in pet feed manufactured in China and exported to the United States of America, and caused the death of a large number of dogs and cats due to kidney failure.

Melamine contamination

Presentation of melamine

Melamine is a chemical compound that has a number of industrial uses, including the production of laminates, glues, dinnerware, adhesives, molding compounds, coatings and flame retardants. Melamine is a name used both for the chemical and for the plastic made from it. In this event, all references are to the chemical. There are no approved direct food uses for melamine, nor are there any recommendations in the Codex Alimentarius. Melamine is illegally added to inflate the apparent protein content of food products. Because it is high in nitrogen, the addition of melamine to a food artificially increases the apparent protein content as measured with standard tests.

Source of the contamination

In this event, contamination appears to have happened as fraudulent contamination in primary production. Chinese government officials have pinpointed milk collecting stations as the sites where the melamine was added. According to Sanlu, contaminated milk was used in the manufacture of powdered infant formula processed before 6 August 2008 and the tainted milk powder has also been used in the manufacture of a number of other products.

Contamination levels

There are a total of 175 infant formula manufacturers across China, of which 66 have halted production and the remaining 109 manufacturers have undergone inspection due to the current events of melamine contamination. The inspections’ results presented by the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) show evidence of the presence of melamine. Out of 491 batches tested, 69 of them, produced by 22 companies, tested positive for Melamine.

According to the State Council of China, the levels found in the batches ranged between 0.09 mg/kg and 619 mg/kg. Batches from the company Shijiangzhuang Sanlu Co. contained the highest levels, up to 2563 mg/kg.

Toxicology of melamine

Based on the previous incidents of melamine contaminated pet food and the development of kidney stones and subsequent acute kidney failure in cats and dogs, it appears that melamine and its structural analogues, such as cyanuric acid, may act together to form crystals. This crystal formation occurs at very high-dose levels and is a threshold and concentration dependent phenomenon, which would not be relevant at low levels of exposure (US FDA/CFSAN Interim Melamine and Analogues safety/risk assessment http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamra.html).

Exposure

Consumer exposure to melamine is considered to be low, but may occur through the extraction of melamine from compression moulds by acidic foods, such as lemon or orange juice or curdled milk, at high temperature. Taking into account these sources the estimated oral uptake of melamine is around 0.007 mg melamine/kg/day (OECD 1998).

Toxicity of melamine

Melamine is not metabolized and is rapidly eliminated in the urine. No human data could be found on the oral toxicity of melamine but there are data from animal studies. These show the compound to have a low acute toxicity, with an oral LD50 in the rat of 3161 mg/kg body weight. In animal feeding studies, high doses of melamine have an effect on the urinary bladder, in particular causing inflammation, the formation of bladder stones and crystals in the urine. Analysis of the bladder stones has shown that these are a mixture of melamine, protein, uric acid and phosphate. Animal studies have generally not shown any renal toxicity or the formation of kidney stones.

Carcinogenicity

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that there is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of melamine under conditions in which it produces bladder stones. There is inadequate evidence for carcinogenicity in humans.

Role of melamine in the formation of kidney stones

Animal data have not shown that melamine alone causes renal failure or the formation of kidney stones. Evidence from an earlier outbreak of acute renal failure in cats and dogs associated with contaminated pet food suggests that a combination of melamine and cyanuric acid does cause renal toxicity. Both of these compounds were found in the pet food together with other triazine compounds. Subsequent experimental studies in animals have shown that when they are fed a mixture of melamine and cyanuric acid this causes the formation of crystals in the tubules of the kidneys, eventually blocking them and causing renal damage and renal failure. The source of the cyanuric acid in the pet food was unknown but it may have been present as a contaminant of the melamine that had been illegally added to wheat gluten used in formulating the petfood. In the current event in China, the presence of cyanuric acid has not yet been confirmed.

Health-based Guidance Values

Following the petfood incident in 2007 described above, several authorities have preformed preliminary risk assessments.

The US FDA has published an interim safety/risk assessment on melamine and structural analogues and has established for melamine a tolerable daily intake TDI of 0.63 mg per kg of body weight per day.

The European Food Safety Authority has published a provisional statement and recommended to apply a TDI of 0.5 mg per kg of body weight per day as tolerable intake value for melamine.

Epidemiology and treatment

Suggested surveillance case definition

Identification of possible cases related to the consumption of melamine-contaminated products from China

Member States should be aware of the possible distribution of the contaminated products either through formal or informal channels, because of the large quantities involved and the seriousness of the public health consequences of this event. The period of production of contaminated product is uncertain and the incriminated raw material and products may have been exported as infant formula or other milk containing products to other Member States. Therefore WHO is suggesting this surveillance case definition to Member States to increase their awareness of signs that their population may be affected.

Clinical description

The following symptoms have been observed in infants affected by the melamine-contaminated infant formula in China:

  • Unexplained crying in infants, especially when urinating, possible vomiting
  • Macroscopic or microscopic haematuria
  • Acute obstructive renal failure: oliguria or anuria
  • Stones discharged while passing urine. For example, a baby boy with urethral obstruction with stones normally has dysuria
  • High blood pressure, edema, painful when knocked on kidney area

WHO experts believe an additional symptom may be unexplained fever arising from urinary tract infections/bacteraemia secondary to urine stasis resulting from obstruction.

Surveillance case definition

A case is defined as an infant with kidney stones or other kidney problems (e.g. anuria, renal failure) having consumed powdered infant formula produced in China before 6 August 2008, and where other potential causes of kidney stones have been excluded by differential diagnosis.

Treatment

The World Health Organization has agreed to circulate the information contained herein regarding the treatment plan that is being implemented in China by the Ministry of Health. The information below does not reflect the rules, regulations, policies and guidelines of the World Health Organization.

The following regimen has been issued by the Ministry of Health, China.

Clinical manifestations

  • Unexplained crying, especially when urinating, possible vomiting
  • Macroscopic or microscopic haematuria
  • Acute obstructive renal failure: oliguria or anuria
  • Stones discharged while passing urine. For example, a baby boy with urethral obstruction with stones normally has dysuria
  • High blood pressure, edema, painful when knocked on kidney area

Key diagnostic criteria

  • Been fed with melamine-contaminated infant milk formula
  • Having one or more of the above clinical manifestations
  • Laboratory test results: routine urine tests with macroscopic or microscopic haematuria; blood biochemistry; liver and kidney function tests; urine calcium/creatinine ratio (usually normal); urinary red blood cell morphology shows normal morphology of red blood cells (not glomerular haematuria); parathyroid hormone test (usually normal).
  • Imaging examination: preferably ultrasound B exam of urinary system. If necessary, abdominal CT scan and intravenous urography (not to be used in case of anuria or renal failure). Kidney radionuclide scans can be used where available to evaluate renal function.
  • Ultrasound examination features:
    • General features: bilateral renal enlargement; increased echo on solid tissue; normal parenchyma thickness; slight pyelectasia and calicectasis; blunt renal calyx. If the obstruction locates in the ureter, then the ureter above the obstruction point dilates. Some cases have edema with perinephric fat and soft tissue around the ureter. As the disease develops, the renal pelvis and ureter wall may have secondary edema. A few cases have ascites.
    • Stone features: most stones affect the collecting system and ureters on both sides. Ureteral stones are mostly at pelviureteral junction, the part where the ureter passes across iliac artery, and ureter-bladder junction. Stones stay collectively, covering massive areas. Lighter echo in the background. Most stones are different from the calcium oxalate stones. Urinary tract is mostly completely obstructed by the stones.

Differential diagnosis

  • Haematuria differentiation: need to rule out glomerular haematuria.
  • Stone differentiation: the stones are normally radiolucent and have a negative image on urinary tract x-ray. This feature differentiates the stones from those of radiopaque stones of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate.
  • Differentiation of acute renal failure: need to rule out pre-renal and renal failure.

Clinical treatment

  • Immediately stop using melamine-contaminated infant formula milk powder.
  • Medical treatment: use infusion and urine alkalinization to dispel the stones. Correct the water, electrolyte and acid-base imbalance. Closely monitor routine urine tests, blood biochemistry, renal functions, ultrasound findings (with particular attention to the renal pelvis, ureter expansion, and the change of the stones in shape and location). If the stones are loose and sand-like, they are very likely to be passed out with urine.
  • Treatment of complicated acute renal failure: priority should be given to the treatment of life-threatening complications such as hyperkalemia. Measures include the administration of sodium bicarbonate and insulin. If possible, blood dialysis and peritoneal dialysis can be used early. Surgical measures can be taken to remove the obstruction if necessary.
  • Surgical treatment: if medical treatment is not effective, and hydrocele and kidney damage present, or blood dialysis and peritoneal dialysis are not available in case of renal failure, surgical methods can be considered to remove the obstruction. Stones can be removed by different methods including cystoscope retrograde intubation into the ureter, percutaneous kidney drainage, surgical removal and percutaneous kidney stone removal. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripter (ESWL) is greatly limited in its application, because the stones are loose and mainly composed of urate, and the patients are infants.

Follow-up

Once the urinary obstruction is relieved, and the general condition and renal function and urination are back to normal, the children can be discharged.

Key issues to follow-up

Urine routine tests; ultrasound of urinary system; renal function tests; IVP (intravenous pyelogram) if necessary.

Actions taken by INFOSAN

INFOSAN is working directly with Ministry of Health (MoH), China in collaboration with the WHO Country Office in China. Through the INFOSAN Emergency surveillance system, WHO has learned of the contamination of infant formula with melamine and requested further information about the event on the 11 September 2008. MoH confirmed on 12 September 2008 that incriminated products from the Sanlu Company had not been exported and provided WHO with a description of the development of the event. Through further interaction between INFOSAN and MoH the issue of potential other use of the contaminated milk powder as well as parallel (illegal) distribution of contaminated milk powder was raised. An INFOSAN alert was subsequently distributed to the entire network on the 16 September 2008 alerting members of the event and of the possibility of contaminated products finding their way to other markets.

INFOSAN has several times during the past week, kept the entire network informed of developments in relation to this event as well as additional information on other products being found contaminated, information about the toxicity of the melamine and other information to help Member States better understand and assess the potential risks associated with melamine contaminated products.

The Chinese authorities, in their on-going investigation, discovered that 2 producers found to have products contaminated with melamine had exports going to five countries, INFOSAN informed these five countries of the situation.

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/infosan_events/en/print.html

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A Proud Mother’s Daughter – Rebecca

June 18, 2008 at 7:42 am · Filed under Breastfeeding in the Philippines

This is a touching story of mother and child that strikes us to the core.

(The story was lifted from inquirer newspaper – http://globalnation.inquirer.net/mindfeeds/mindfeeds/view/20080117-113028/Rebecca)

Read on and share your thoughts.

Rebecca

By Rose Beatrix C. Angeles
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:56:00 01/17/2008

Sa aking pagtulog na labis ang himbing
Ang bantay ko’y tala
Ang tanod ko’y bituin
Sa piling ni Nanay
Langit ang buhay
Puso kong may dusa
Sabik sa ugoy ng duyan mo Inay
Sana narito ka Inay

“Sa Ugoy ng Duyan” – Lyrics by Levi Celerio, Music by Lucio San Pedro,
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother,
What would I be?

“Que Sera, Sera”- Lyrics by Jay Livingston, Music by Ray Evans
Once upon a time a little girl was born with a birth defect so severe, no less than four major operations were necessary for her to have a chance to grow normally. After those four operations, she was to undergo another three, after four years. The birth defect is known as VACTERL association, which is a group of birth defects that appear together in children of diabetic mothers or children born with chromosomal defects. She had the latter.

She had an imperforate anus (no hole); some portions of her spinal cord were stuck onto some vertebrae and she had a discontinuous esophagus (the esophagus or food tube did not reach the stomach). Her heart however was fine, as were her kidneys and her brain.

Despite all these defects, she was so pretty and otherwise alert and attentive that the nurses of the different divisions of the two hospitals she was treated in would come from different wings just to see the poor beautiful baby. Her mother would visit her for hours everyday, defying neo-natal ICU rules. Nanay would sing Sa Ugoy ng Duyan or bring a tape of the Canon in D by Pachebel. Songs the little girl must have heard in utero.

Her first operation was performed only hours after she was born. Her Nanay saw her for the first time when the little girl was wheeled into the O.R. By that time, she had a name –
Rebecca.

She survived that colostomy operation where doctors created a hole in her side so she could get rid of wastes despite lacking a perforation in her anus. A few weeks later, she had her second operation to connect her esophagus to her stomach.

Before this second operation, she was fed through a tube in her side that led directly to her stomach. Nanay’s breast milk was poured into that tube until after the second operation. After which Rebecca had to learn to suckle. Not long after that, she went home to her brothers and sister.

Nanay’s insistence on using the breast pump very often to store milk for her, was a practice honed on three older children, and she had milk to spare. Some of that milk was donated to the Philippine General Hospital’s Neonatal ICU for infants whose parents often had to work very hard just to buy synthetic milk.

Rebecca was back in the hospital before she was two months old. While waiting for her next major operation, she somehow contracted pneumonia less than two weeks after her last operation. She could not breathe. Despite all positive signs, Becca died shortly before Christmas, leaving behind a family devastated by her loss.

At less than two months of age, Becca did not make much of an impression on world affairs. Her birth and death were marked only by her family. But so great was the void she left that her mother could not cope with her own grief.

Nanay refused to take medication to stop her breast milk. She continued to pump her milk, donating them to the PGH Neonatal ICU. One time, she stopped by the unit and after asking permission, selected a very sick infant and breastfed him. This happened a few times more.

Several babies were sustained by Becca’s breast milk, which lasted several months. Some of those babies were so sick, they, like Becca, died anyway. But the others survived. Those babies would be about eight or nine years old this year. Hopefully they are good, intelligent, boisterous, healthy and active kids. Someday I hope that they will know that they survived in part because a dead baby’s mother’s milk sustained them.

***

The recent Supreme Court decision that voids the total ban on milk formula advertising instituted by the Department of Health in effect allows the advertising of breast milk substitutes. The advertisements add the weight of big business against the myriad existing discouragements for breast feeding.

Pharmaceutical companies that produce such “milk” stand to gain millions if allowed to advertise. The advertising misleads many mothers, especially the poor and uneducated, into believing that such substitutes are better for their babies. Yet by now, all the studies lead us to the conclusion that breast milk substitutes are an expensive but very poor substitute for mother’s milk. Impoverished mothers, who work for a mere pittance, are enslaved by the vicious cycle of being separated from their newborns and working for only enough wages to buy breast milk substitutes. Yet, by such advertising, these same mothers believe that staying home to breastfeed their babies is a waste of time or inadequate mothering

In Third World countries where such products are usually imported, they represent an unnecessary drain on dollar reserves while compromising on the health of the most helpless next generation.

Support the movement to enact pro-breastfeeding legislation. Amend the Milk Code to prevent pharmaceutical companies from advertising their insidious products.

Rebecca Katrina Cruz Angeles (26 October-22 December 1999) was the columnist’s fourth child.

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Study: Breastfeeding may improve IQ scores

May 8, 2008 at 12:30 am · Filed under Breastfeeding in the Philippines ·Tagged

Children who were breastfed exclusively for at least three months had better intelligence scores later in life than those who received formula, according to the largest study on the subject.

Breastfed children received better results in verbal, non- verbal and overall intelligence tests and significantly higher academic ratings in reading and writing at the age of six than those who received formula, according to a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund promote breast-feeding, which they say is cheaper, more convenient and may be healthier and better for cognitive development. The study’s findings confirm results from other research that has suggested a positive effect of breast-feeding on intelligence.

“These results, based on the largest randomized trial ever conduced in the area of human lactation, provide strong evidence that prolonged and exclusive breast-feeding improves children’s cognitive development,” said study author Michael Kramer from the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The researchers looked at 17,046 healthy infants who were breastfed at maternity hospitals in Belarus and followed up 13,889 of these at the age of 6.5 years. They studied IQ scores on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence and teacher evaluations of performance in reading, writing and mathematics.

Children who were breastfed scored 7.5 points higher on verbal intelligence scores, 2.9 points higher on non-verbal intelligence scores and 5.9 points higher on tests measuring overall intelligence.

The study is limited by the fact that the researchers don’t know whether the positive effect on intelligence scores comes from breast-feeding or from characteristics of the mothers who are more likely to nurse. The researchers didn’t include the cognitive abilities of the parents.

Scientists also can’t tell whether the benefits of breast-feeding are because of some constituent of breast milk such as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids or if they are related to the physical and social interactions inherent in breast-feeding.

The number of mothers who start breast-feeding has increased substantially over the last 30 years, Kramer said. Much less progress has been made in increasing the exclusivity and duration of the practice, Kramer said.

“Because protection against infections in developed country settings doesn’t have the life-and-death implications for infants and child health that it does in less-developed settings, cognitive benefits may be among the most important advantages for breastfed infants in industrialized societies,” Kramer said.

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Local Governments take Initiative to Support Breastfeeding

May 7, 2008 at 1:46 pm · Filed under AN ACT ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING LACTATION STATIONS, Breastfeeding in the Workplace ·Tagged ,

In the cities of Makati, Caloocan, and Taguig, expect more breastfeeding rooms to be set up not only in public places like malls, supermarkets, and fast food chains, but also in the workplaces.

This is part of their decrees that help create enabling environments that support, promote, and protect breastfeeding practice in their cities.

Makati and Caloocan passed City Resolutions while Taguig City developed a City Ordinance that are in line with the Department of Health and World Health Organization’s recommendation on appropriate infant and child feeding practices. These are the preparation and initiation of exclusive breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years and beyond along with the introduction of appropriate complementary food.

Apart from the creation of breastfeeding rooms, the provisions also include:
• Strict enforcement of Section 8 of Executive Order 51, or the Milk Code, wherein health workers shall encourage and promote breastfeeding
• Arrangement of meetings, symposiums, seminars, and trainings among health workers regarding relevant breastfeeding legislations
• Engagement in massive promotion and support projects regarding breastfeeding
• Establishment of community support groups that aid pregnant and new mothers with breastfeeding and complementary feeding problems
• Monitoring and reporting of Milk Code Violations

The three cities also made clear pronouncements that their respective local governments, barangays, communities, workplaces, and health facilities will:
• Ban milk companies from supporting their activities, in line with the new implementing rules of EO 51
• Disallow health workers from promoting or selling infant formula and other breastmilk substitutes; and
• Prohibit marketing materials of infant formula and other breastmilk substitutes in public places

The DOH and WHO welcomed and praised these initiatives.

“We are very pleased with these encouraging developments,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque said. “We give due credit to the local governments for recognizing the urgency of improving breastfeeding statistics in the country and the positive health impact of breastfeeding to infant and child health.”

The National Demographic and Health Survey show that only 16.1% are exclusively breastfed for 4 to 5 months of age and 13% of Filipino babies were never breastfed. As a result, many Filipino children suffer from diarrhea, pneumonia, asthma, allergies, chronic diseases, and even lower intelligence.

According to Sec. Duque, the local efforts will greatly help in curbing the rampant and invasive tactics by milk companies at the barangay level.

“We receive continuous reports on how milk companies do tactical marketing of their products in the guise of health seminars, parenting, family nutrition and child care,” he said. “They even scour confidential data on pregnant women and new mothers in communities to target them for their promotional efforts.”

“That’s why the efforts of Makati, Taguig, and Caloocan come at a very opportune time,” WHO country Dr. Soe Nyunt-U stated. “We hope that more cities follow their example as a concrete contribution to achieve the country’s goals on breastfeeding and improve the welfare of Filipino children.”

WHO estimates that 16,000 Filipino children under the age of five die each year due to inappropriate feeding practices. Medical studies show that these deaths could have been prevented with breastfeeding.

http://www.abs-cbnglobal.com/ItoangPinoy/News/PhilippineNews/tabid/140/ArticleID/1692/TargetModuleID/516/Default.aspx

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FDA Relied on Industry Studies to Judge Chemical Safety

April 30, 2008 at 1:10 am · Filed under Breastfeeding in the Philippines

This post has been lifted from the savebabies coalition groups.

For IBFAN’s working group on contaminants,
This posting shows how important it is for us to work on the problem of Bisphenol A in cans containing formula, baby bottles etc., because the picture is clearer now that we know how the evidence was flawed.

Posted on: Saturday, 22 March 2008, 03:00 CDT

Ignoring hundreds of government and academic studies showing a chemical commonly found in plastic can be harmful to lab animals at low doses, the Food and Drug Administration determined the chemical was safe based on just two industry-funded studies that didn’t find harm.

In response to a congressional inquiry, Stephen Mason, the FDA’s acting assistant commissioner for legislation, wrote in a letter that his agency’s claim relied on two pivotal studies sponsored by the Society of the Plastics Industry, a subsidiary of the American Chemistry Council.

One of the studies has never been published, and therefore never subjected to peer review; the second has been heavily criticized by researchers who say the results are inconclusive because of flawed experimental methods.

“The FDA is really going to have problems over this,” said Frederick vom Saal, a bisphenol A researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

In January, Michigan Democrats Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. Bart Stupak, who leads a subcommittee, launched an investigation into the use of bisphenol A in cans containing baby formula and other products aimed at infants and toddlers.

Studies have shown that bisphenol A causes breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes and hyperactivity in laboratory animals. Two government panels, including one that has come under fire as being biased in favor of chemical-makers, have warned that bisphenol A might be dangerous to developing fetuses and children younger than 3.

Bisphenol A was developed in 1891 as a synthetic estrogen but came into widespread use in the 1950s when scientists realized it could be used to make polycarbonate plastic and some epoxy resins to line food and beverage cans. More than 6 billion pounds of bisphenol A are produced annually in the United States, for use in an array of products, including dental sealants and baby bottles.

The chemical has been found in the urine of 93% of Americans tested.

Companies questioned

The Michigan politicians sent letters to seven major manufacturers of infant formula, including Nestle USA and Abbott, demanding answers about the companies’ use and knowledge of the chemical bisphenol A.

They also sent a letter to the FDA, requiring the agency’s commissioner to show the scientific support for its position on the chemical’s safety.

On Feb. 25, the FDA responded. The letter appeared on the Web site of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week.

According to the letter, the FDA based its claim that there is no “safety concern at the current exposure level” on its own studies, conducted in the 1990s, which indicated that people were exposed to small amounts of the chemical.

They gathered that information by testing products such as aluminum cans and baby bottles to see how much of the chemical was leaching. Then they looked to the two chemical industry studies to see if those exposure levels could cause harm.

The two studies said the chemical caused no harm to rodents at low doses.

Effects on rats

One of those studies has been criticized by researchers who say it contained flawed experimental methods.

Because bisphenol A is believed to behave like the hormone estrogen, scientists need to show that the animals they are using in an experiment will respond to estrogen. If they don’t, then it is unlikely that they will respond to bisphenol A, either.

Some research indicates that one strain of rat, the Charles River Sprague-Dawley rat, responds to estrogen only at high doses — doses higher then what’s typically found in a birth control pill.

The industry study that the FDA relied on looked at the effects of bisphenol A on Sprague-Dawley rats, but neglected to expose any rats in the experiment to estradiol, a strong synthetic estrogen. Therefore, critics of the paper say the results are inconclusive.

Surprised by admission

Anila Jacob, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, said she was surprised that the FDA so openly admitted to relying on those two studies, particularly when one of them has never been published or released to the scientific world for review.

“There’s a lack of transparency here,” she said, adding that the agency’s reliance on these studies “doesn’t serve the public.”

Officials at the FDA or the House Energy and Commerce Committee could not be reached for comment Friday.

In December, the Journal Sentinel reported that another government program, the National Toxicology Program, gave more weight to industry-funded studies and more leeway to industry-funded researchers in its review of the chemical.
Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1307078/fda_relied_on_industry_studies_to_judge_chemical_safety/#

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Famous Nursing Mothers

April 17, 2008 at 4:03 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

There are many famous moms who have breastfed or are currently breastfeeding.
Here is a list of actresses, singers and other famous people who proudly breastfed their little ones. Most are from countries abroad apart from the Philippines.


I hope we can have also a list of famous breastfeeding mothers coming from our country and not just bottle fed celebrity mom-endorsers.

It will be good if we can have a poll of who’s who among the Filipino Mom’s that breastfeed.

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Adrianne Barbeaux – Actress, over 50 and nursing her twin sons.

Andie McDowell – Model and actress.

Angelina Jolie – Actress, partner to Brad Pitt.

Angie Harmon – Actress.

Anita Baker – Singer.

Brandy – American R&B singer-songwriter

Brittney Spears – Singer, breastfed both boys for a short while.

Brooke Burke - Model.

Brooke Sheilds – Actress

Carly Simon – Singer, ex wife to James Taylor, long term breastfeeder.

Carrie-Anne Moss – Actress, still nursing her one year old son.

Catherine Bell – Actress.

Catherine Zeta-Jones – Actress, wife to Michael Douglas.

Cathy Rigby – Gymnast, Olympic gold medalist.

Celine Dion – Singer.

Cheryl Swopes – BB player.

Christie Brinkley - Model.

Christina Aguilera – Singer.

Cindy Crawford – Model

Connie Seleca - Actress, wife to John Tesh.

Courtney Cox-Arquette – Actress, nursed for over one year.

Courtney Thorne-Smith – Actress.

Cybil Shepard - Actress, nursed twins.

Debra Messing – Actress.

Demi Moore – Actress.

Diane Lane – Actress.

Diane Sawyer - Broadcaster.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck – Co-Host of The View.

Elizabeth Hurley – Model and actress.

Elle McPherson – Actress and super model.

Erykah Badu – American R&B, soul, and hip hop singer and songwriter.

Faith HIll – Singer.

Gabrielle Reece – Superstar volleyball player, breastfed both her children.

Gloria Estefan – Singer.

Goldie Hawn – Actress.

Gwen Stefani – Singer, nursed for over one year.

Gwyneth Paltrow – Actress.

Helena Bonham Carter – Actress, breastfed both her children.

Hillary Clinton – Former First lady.

Holly Robinson – Actress and nursing twins.

Jacqueline Smith – Actress.

Jada Pinkett Smith – Actress and wife of Will Smith.

Jane Kaczmarek – Actress.

Jane Pauley – American television journalist.

Jane Seymour - Actress, nursed twins.

Jayne Kennedy - Actress.

Jenna Elfman – Actress.

Jennie Garth - Actress.

Jerry Hall  - Mick Jagger’s wife.

Joan Lunden – American broadcaster.

Joan Rivers – Talk show host and comedienne.

Jodie Foster - Actress.

Julianne Moore – Actress.

Julia Roberts – Actress, nursed twins.

Karenna Gore Schiff – The eldest daughter of former Vice President Al Gore.

Kate Hudson – Actress.

Kate Winslett - Actress.

Katherine Ross – Actress.

Kathie Lee Gifford – Talk show host and singer.

Kathy Ireland - Actress.

Katie Couric - Host , Today Show.

Katie Holmes – Model, actress and wife to Tom Cruise.

Keely Shaye-Smith - Companion of Pierce Brosnan.

Kelly Carpenter – Wife of Rosie O’Donnel.

Kelly Rippa – Actress and talk show host.

Laura Bush – First Lady of the United States.

Laurie Metcalf – Actress.

Linda Kelsey - Actress.

Lindsay Frost - Actress, Betsy on ATWT.

Lindsay Wagner – Actress, extended breastfeeder.

Lisa Kudrow – Actress.

Madonna – Singer and actress.

Margaret Thatcher – Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Maria Shriver - First Lady of California, wife to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mariette Hartley – Actress.

Marilu Henner - Actress.

Markie Post – Actress.

Mary Lou Retton – Gymnast, Olympic gold medalist.

Melanie Griffith – Actress.

Melissa Gilbert – Actress.

Meryl Streep - Actress.

Mia Farrow – Actress.

Nancy O’Dell – Access Hollywood host.

Nicole Simpson – Murdered ex-wife of American football player O.J. Simpson.

Nicole Richie – Actress.

Pamela Anderson – Actress, model, managed to breastfeed with implants.

Patricia Richardson – Actress, nursed twins.

Reese Witherspoon – Actress.

Rita Wilson – Actress and wife to Tom Hanks.

Roseanne Barr - Actress.

Ruth Pointer – Singer, nursed twins.

Sandra Day O’Connor – The first woman justice to sit on the Supreme Court.

Sarah Jessica Parker – Actress.

Sarah MacLachlan – Singer.

Susan St. James – Actress.

Sophia Loren - Actress.

Susan St. James – Actress.

Tammy Lynn Michaels – Wife of rocker Melissa Etheridge, nursed twins.

Thandie Newton – Actress and model.

Tipper Gore – Wife of former Vice President Al Gore

Tori Amos – Singer.

Tracy Pollen – Actress and wife to Michael J. Fox.

Trista Sutter – Reality star.

Uma Thurman – Actress.

Ursula Andress – Actress.

Valerie Bertinelli – Actress.

Victoria Beckham – aka ‘Posh Spice’ wife to David Beckham.

Mary, Mother of Jesus

Princess Grace of Monaco

Princess Caroline of Monaco

Diana, Princess of Wales

Queen Elizabeth II of England – Breastfed Prince Charles.

Queen Sirikit, of Thailand

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Malunggay for Nutrition and Health

April 2, 2008 at 8:24 am · Filed under Malunggay Capsules ·Tagged ,

The Many Names of Malunggay

 In the Philippines, it is better known as Malunggay, in India it is called Sajina, and in English is called Moringa.

Malunggay is a popular tree. Many Asians use the leaves like spinach and also the fruit it produces as a vegetable like asparagus. Both leaves and fruits are very nutritious which contain Vitamin C and other minerals. is a wonder

Malunggay Description:

MORINGA, MALUNGGAY, SAJINA

Moringa is the English name. It is called Malunggay in Philippines and Sajina in Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. It grows very wildly in hot tropical climate.

Moringa is a wonderful herb known all over the world– but only recently in the U.S. It may provide the boost in energy, nutrition and health youíve been seeking.

Moringa is a remarkable discovery, which can make a tremendous difference in your health and quality of life. Mounting scientific evidence shows what has been known for thousands of years by people in the tropical parts of the world: Moringa is natureís medicine cabinet.

It is best known as an excellent source of nutrition and a natural energy booster. Loaded with nutrients, vitamins and amino acids, it replenishes your body and provides what you need to get through a hectic weekday or active weekend.

As the candles multiply on top of your birthday cake, you may find yourself slowing down and saying, ìI just donít feel eighteen any more.î Moringa gives back some of the energy you thought was lost.

Yet this is not a sugar-based energy. Itís not something, which makes you hyper for some period of intense activity then leaves you drained. In fact, Moringa is also relaxing…it helps to reduce blood pressure and assure a good nightís sleep. How does it contribute more energy and greater relaxation at the same time?

The answer seems to be Moringaís well-documented detoxifying effect. University laboratories around the world have studied Moringaís ability to purify water…attaching itself to harmful material and bacteria, and allowing them to be expelled as waste. The evidence points to this same process going on inside your body.

It produces long-lasting energy without hyperactivity… a nerve system at rest… a blood system not under pressure…a gland and hormone system in balance.

Other health benefits identified by people who use Moringa continue this same pattern: immune system strengthened, skin condition restored, blood pressure controlled, headaches and migraines handled, diabetes sugar level managed, inflammations and arthritis pains reduced, tumors restricted and ulcers healed.

A body thatís not fighting damaging internal elements is better able to use the nutrients, which come into it to build healthy skin, bone and muscles, as well as the all-important hormones, which keep your body in balance.

And Moringa is loaded with nutrients. Each ounce of Moringa contains seven times the Vitamin C found in oranges, four times the Vitamin A of carrots, three times the iron of spinach, four times as much calcium as milk and three times the potassium of bananas.

One of the best attributes of Moringa is that it is also quite tasty and a welcome addition to your kitchen. The leaves, pods and flowers of this versatile tree are all edible, each with its own flavor. They can be served fresh with meals, or be reduced to powder and used as a food supplement.

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Breastfeeding as Birth Control – The Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM)

April 2, 2008 at 8:18 am · Filed under Breastfeeding as Birth Control, The Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM)

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Mothers who exclusively breastfeed following certain criteria have a 98% effective form of birth control during the first six months of their baby’s life.

In the 1970′s and 1980′s researchers from around the world began publishing studies demonstrating a contraceptive effect of breastfeeding. In 1988 many of these researchers met in Italy at the Rockefeller Bellagio Conference Center. The findings they presented resulted in the codification of a family planning method known as the Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM).

In 1995 many of the same researchers met once again in Bellagio to share additional information and further confirm their previous findings. Now health professionals around the world teach mothers how to correctly use this method.. The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine also recognizes the Lactational Amenorrhea method as a highly effective form of birth control.

Requirements for LAM Success

Many mothers do get pregnant while they are still nursing. Therefore, the misconception exists that breastfeeding can’t help prevent pregnancy. The following three conditions must exist for a mother to use this method:

  • The mother must not have resumed menstruation. Any bleeding after 56 days postpartum is considered a return of menstruation.
  • The infant must be exclusively breastfed…no supplements, no water, no juice, no solids. He must receive all his meals from his mother’s breast on demand, both day and night. Nighttime nursing is an important part of LAM.
  • The infant must not be more than 6 months old.

When all of these criteria are met, LAM is as effective as the birth control pill. With no more than a 1-2% chance of pregnancy, a new mother can feel confident in her choice. However, as soon as her period returns or she begins to give her baby any kind of supplement, she must find another form of birth control.

Why LAM Works

When a mother nurses her baby, his suckling actually suppresses the release of hormones that cause ovulation. The more frequently she nurses, and the more vigorously her infant suckles, the less likely she is to ovulate. According to one study, mothers who exclusively pump do not have the same protection. Their protection level is only about 96%.

When to Find Another Birth Control Option

Each of the three criteria listed above must be in place for LAM to be effective. Therefore, parents need to think about what options they will use when LAM is no longer a possibility. They should talk with their health care provider in advance about their decision so that they will be ready with a backup plan.

As soon as a mother has her first period postpartum, she will not be able to rely on LAM anymore. Usually the first menstrual cycle is anovulatory (ovulation doesn’t take place before the period strarts), especially for women who are exclusively breastfeeding. However, after she has had her first cycle, a woman must consider herself fertile.

When the infant begins solid food or begins taking any kind of juice or supplement, he is no longer exclusively breastfeeding. At that point the mother can no longer rely on LAM to protect her from pregnancy. Furthermore, if he is no longer nursing at least six or seven times every twenty-four hours, the likelihood of menstrual cycles returning increases.

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LAM is a highly effective form of birth control for mothers in the first half year after giving birth. During this time mothers who meet the LAM criteria can be confident that their risk of pregnancy is as low as it would be (perhaps lower) with any other method of birth control.

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