Letters to the Editor

Jack Layton Gets Tough on Asbestos

Dear Helke Ferrie,

Thank you for taking the time to send me your article on asbestos (Vitality, March 2009). We know that asbestos is the single greatest industrial killer the world has ever known. In Canada, workplace asbestos-related diseases account for more than 60% of all deaths from occupational diseases and more than 100,000 deaths each year around the world.

Shamefully, while the rest of the developed world is banning all forms of asbestos, Canada is busy exporting more than 220,000 tonnes per year into under-developed and Third World countries, where health and safety regulations are non-existent or not enforced, thereby exposing millions of ill-informed and unsuspecting people to its hazards.

For years, New Democrats have called on successive Canadian Governments to start taking asbestos disease seriously. Although the Canadian asbestos industry has sustained generations of miners and processors, the moral costs of asbestos are simply too high to justify. And given the World Health Organization’s conclusion that there is no safe exposure level, my team of New Democrats is again calling for an end to asbestos exports and an improvement of health services for asbestos-related diseases, including better diagnosis and treatment. We are putting forward the following plan:

· An Asbestos ban by phasing out its use and export —as ethically required by the precautionary principle.

· A Just Transition Program to protect and create opportunities for workers and communities dependent on the asbestos industry.

· An Asbestos Abatement Program to test for and safely remove asbestos from homes and buildings across the country.

· Promotion of the safe cleanup of asbestos-laden sites that threaten human health or the environment.

· An end to the Canadian government’s attempts to block improved international health and safety conventions, such as the Rotterdam convention.

· Cooperation with provinces to develop a national asbestos disease registry.

Please visit our website at: www.ndp.ca to learn more about the latest work being done by our team.

Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth). Leader, Canada’s New Democrats
 
Use the Sun Wisely to Make Your Own Vitamin D

I really enjoyed reading the fabulous article Vivacious Vitamin D by Helke Ferrie in the June 2009 edition of Vitality. I have known about this wonder vitamin for some time. I am studying nutrition and like to read the sources used for the article. I visited the Vitasearch website first and found only one article about sunscreen and sun protection which was directly opposite to Helke’s good advice. I wanted to give you a heads up that the information is contradictory. I really enjoy Helke's point of view. Thank you again for the fabulous life enhancing article. 

- Louise Laporte RN

Helke Ferrie Responds:

Vitasearch, while an excellent publication which I have been receiving for a long time, is not the only reliable source on such issues as sunscreen. I read the fine print on many sunscreens and found not even one I would put on my or anybody else’s skin, because they all specifically state that they block out UV radiation — the one we so badly need.

It will take another decade before the radio no longer announces that the UV index is high and to be careful — that’s when you are supposed to soak some of it up!    
 
Except for the natural oils such as coconut oil, shea butter, pure vitamin E oil (natural source only!), and pure zinc or titanium ointments – all other sunscreens are designed to help you tan, i.e. stay in the sun longer without burning. Many contain outright toxins and bug repellants that are more dangerous to you than to the bugs they are supposed to repel.

UV radiation is good for you and blocking it out in order to tan is the main reason for skin cancers. However, it is essential you know your skin type and determine how long it takes before your skin slightly reddens — that’s your individual limit of exposure. According to Dr. Holick, you are not supposed to stay in the sun long enough to allow your skin to burn, only long enough to absorb maximal UV in your individually healthy range.  In his book, The UV Advantage (available in bookstores and on amazon.com) he has tables outlining the different skin types and how to handle the sun according to your type. The natural vegetable oils not only protect you from burning but also nourish the skin.

That said, I also suggest to always check the primary literature on any issue. Vitasearch is secondary reporting, as am I. Check me out too, absolutely, because I might have misunderstood the primary sources from which I work.  

- Helke Ferrie

(Editor’s note: To get my daily prescription of solar power, I like to do yoga in the sun every morning. I find that 10 minutes of exposure on the front of my body, and 20 minutes on the back, is just about perfect. This allows time for my kidneys to get some much needed solar nourishment, and my skin to feel sun-kissed but not burned. And I always wear a hat because I believe that the head is very vulnerable to sunstroke in full sun.)

Attention readers: To review either of the articles mentioned above, go to our website and type “asbestos” or “vitamin D” into the search engine on our home page. To have your say, email your letters to: letters@vitalitymagazine.com.