Revealed... the 515 chemicals women put on their bodies every day

Women and beauty products - it's a love affair that's been going on for centuries. And no wonder. There's nothing like a new lipstick or favourite perfume to make us look and feel good. Or so we thought...
In fact, according to a new report, most of our favourite cosmetics are cocktails of industrially produced and potentially dangerous chemicals that could damage our health and, in some cases, rather than delivering on their potent 'anti-ageing' promise, are causing us to age faster.
Research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found that the average woman's daily grooming and make-up routine means she 'hosts' a staggering 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body every single day.

Many of those are also used in products such as household cleaners, and have been linked to a number of health problems from allergies and skin sensitivity to more serious hormonal disturbances, fertility problems and even cancer.
Parabens, for example, which are designed to preserve the shelf-life of your cosmetics, are one of the most widely used preservatives in the world, and are found in shampoos, hair gels, shaving gels and body lotions. But their use is becoming increasingly controversial - a range of different studies has linked them to serious health problems including breast cancer, as well as fertility issues in men.

Research from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine suggests that some parabens we had previously presumed to be safe, such as Methylparaben, may mutate and become toxic when exposed to sunlight, causing premature skin ageing and an increased risk of skin cancer.
Methylparabens are found in more than 16,000 products, including moisturisers and toothpastes. Cosmetic producers have always defended their use of parabens on the grounds that they can't be absorbed into the body.
But many leading researchers disagree, including Dr Barbara Olioso, an independent professional chemist, who says: 'Research shows that between 20 and 60 per cent of parabens may be absorbed into the body.'

There are a number of laws designed to protect us from dangerous chemicals in cosmetics, but researchers worry that they don't go far enough. For example, cosmetic manufacturers are required to list their ingredients, but they don't have to tell us about any impurities found in the raw materials or used in the manufacturing process, so long as they don't end up in the finished product.
The industry insists that our cosmetics are safe. The Cosmetic Toiletries and Perfumery Association said last night: 'Stringent laws require all cosmetics to be safe, and each product undergoes a rigorous safety assessment. The number of ingredients in a product, or whether it is natural or man-made, has no bearing on how safe it is.'
They also say that any chemicals are present in safe doses that can't harm us. While that may be true, there is some disagreement over what constitutes a 'safe' level - for young people and children, or sensitive adults, these levels may not be so safe at all.

And even if the relatively small amounts in individual products don't hurt us, there is growing concern over the number of products women use daily, and the cumulative effect of so many chemicals being used all over our bodies every day, for many years.
As Charlotte Smith, spokesperson for Bionsen, says: 'Women have never been more image-conscious and their beauty regimes have changed over the years, from a simple "wash & go" attitude, to daily fake-tan applications, regular manicures, false lashes and hair extensions.
'Lots of the high-tech, new generation cosmetics and beauty "wonder" treatments naturally contain more chemicals to achieve even better results, which, of course, means women apply more chemicals than ever before.'

If you want to protect yourself from chemical overload, reduce your overall cosmetics usage; switch to natural or organic products, and read the labels on your beauty and grooming products with care.

Grandmother who was sterilised 13 years ago gives birth to 'miracle baby'

A grandmother has just given birth to a 'miracle' baby boy 13 years after being sterilised twice.
Debbie Amos, 43, had the operation to stop her falling pregnant again after having her first three children.
But three months ago she felt strange movements in her stomach and a test revealed she was six months pregnant.

Now she is mother to health baby boy Connor, born last week and weighing in at 8lbs 8oz, who is younger than her grandchildren.
Mrs Amos, of Colchester, Essex, said: 'At the end of July, I started feeling tired and then felt movements in my stomach.
'I thought I could feel something - I thought it was wind at first but I I was tired as well so I thought I better do a test.
'I did a pregnancy test, which was positive. I still didn't believe it and I had to sit down for about half an hour.

'I thought it must be a big mistake. When I showed my husband he said, "whose is that?"
'I didn't really believe it until he came out.'
Mrs Amos made a trip to the doctor who told her he thought she was about 18 weeks pregnant but a scan revealed she was actually 23 weeks pregnant.
Mrs Amos and her husband Melvyn, 57, a transport manager, had trouble conceiving when they first got married because of her irregular periods.
She took fertility drug Clomid to speed up ovulation when she was 19 which helped her get pregnant with daughter Kerri, 24.
Mrs Amos, who works as a pharmacy assistant in Boots, then took two more years on the drug to conceive son Glen, now 19.


She said: 'I didn't ovulate and my eggs weren't any good so they gave me Clomid to make me ovulate.'
The couple then decided not to have any more children so came off the drug but were surprised when she fell pregnant for a third time with daughter Rebecca, now 16.
Mrs Amos said: 'They said I wouldn't fall pregnant without taking Clomid, so I didn't take any precautions because I was off the drug. Then four years later I fell pregnant with Rebecca.'
Not wanting to risk a further unplanned pregnancy, the couple decided the mum-of-three would get sterilised and she underwent an operation at Colchester General Hospital.
Mrs Amos said: 'I was doubly sterilised - my fallopian tubes were both cauterised and clipped so I thought there was no way i could get pregnant again.

'And as you get older it is harder to conceive anyway, so it is the last thing I expected.'
Thirteen years on, the couple got the shock of their lives when they discovered they were to be parents for the fourth time.
Mrs Amos said: 'I think I cried for a week. I thought I'd been doubly sterilised and I had had no symptoms, such as sickness, which I did with my other children.
'I never really had periods. They were very irregular, so I didn't give it any thought that I had missed one until I felt the movement.'
But when baby Connor arrived at Colchester General Hospital last Thursday, the couple were just happy he was healthy.

Mrs Amos said: 'We were very relieved he is fit and healthy. I didn't have any tests as I didn't know I was pregnant until so late on and there were obviously added risks because of my age.
'When you think of all the things that could have gone wrong, he is just a little miracle.
'We are getting used to the nappies and the lack of sleep - my husband has taken to it again and he is coping well.

'We wouldn't change him for the world.'
The couple are already grandparents to Kerri's children, Callum, three, and ten-month-old Courtney, but now have their own bundle of joy to fuss over.

Mrs Amos said: 'When I last changed nappies they were terry nappies - now I am asking my daughter for advice.'

After discovering the sterilisation had failed, Mr and Mrs Amos considered taking action against Colchester General Hospital but have now ruled it out because they had been warned the procedure might only be 99 per cent effective.
The procedure involves blocking the fallopian tubes so the eggs are unable to pass into the womb and be fertilised.

Mrs Amos said: 'My doctor said maybe the tube had grown back, but we don't know.
'My husband was thinking about retiring from his job as a transport manager when he was 60 but that won't be happening now.
'If you think about the fact I needed fertility treatment for the other two, then the odds of me having Connor are just huge.
'Obviously, I would not be without him for anything now, but it has been a massive shock.
'Maybe he was just meant to be here.'

Girl must spend EVERY night of her life in hospital after developing unique diabetic condition

Alice Halstead is only 18 years old, but will have to sleep in hospital for the rest of her life because a single night out could kill her.While girls her age are going to university and discovering bars, Alice has never got drunk, gone clubbing, or stayed out late.She treats each day as if it is her last due to her unique and unpredictable condition that has baffled doctors around the world.Alice having a Plasma exchange in 2007. The teenager has spent two and a half years in hospital due to her unique diabetic condition. Despite her illness she is determined to raise money for charity.

Alice has an extreme form of diabetes, that if treated does not limit her life expectancy, but meand she has to be monitored around the clock.The one in 6.7billion condition causes the teenager's blood sugar to vary wildly and she needs hourly treatment to stop her slipping into a diabetic coma.

Without a cure Alice has told she faces every night of her life in a hospital bed.In a unique twist the vital insulin pumped into Alice to control the diabetes and save her life also makes her extremely poorly - reacting and causing potential deadly blood clots.This Christmas will be her third in hospital and she has spent the last two and a half years there.Alice has never had a boyfriend, never been to a pub and has only ever had once drink of alcohol - a glass of champagne on her 18th birthday, which had to be when she was supervised and surrounded by doctors.

'I do find myself thinking that in many respects I am very lucky'At the age of 16, she was a normal, healthy teenager with hardly a care in the world .

When she started feeling weak and lethargic blood tests revealed her unique condition.Speaking from the hospital bed in Airedale Hospital in Keighley, West Yorks, she said: 'My condition is one of a kind. Nobody knows if I will ever get out of hospital, I could spend the rest of my life here - it's a terrible thought.'I spent 16 living a healthy, normal life and I never thought I would be in the situation I am in now or spend years in hospital.

'I was diagnosed with Type One diabetes on June 7, in 2006, but very quickly it became apparent this wasn't an ordinary form of the condition.'It's been an absolute rollercoaster since I first went to my doctors and after taking tests I could see from his face something wasn't right.'I was told that it was very serious and rushed to the paediatrics ward. I sat there in a daze, with my legs trembling trying to contemplate what the future held for me - I had no idea what it all meant and how it could change my life.

'I had central lines put into my heart - these are tubes that administer the insulin directly. But my weak immune system meant infections kept coming back, and I have also been diagnosed with Endocarditis, a infection of the heart valve.'I've now had 22 central lines put in, and have three blood clots, which makes it very difficult to insert another one - which I need to give me my insulin intravenously.'I am completely unique, no medical professionals have found anyone else like me.'

Alice Halstead has baffled doctors with her condition, which means she must spend every night in hospital.

On the rare occasions Alice goes shopping, she has to be incredibly careful to avoid crowds of people who could knock over the pump she is constantly attached to.

She has been unable to take her GCSEs or A Levels and at the start of her diagnosis, none of the doctors knew what was wrong.A series of blood tests were taken in March 2007 and her blood was sent around the world - results showed she was totally unique antibody levels in her body had rocketed. Her insulin level was mindboggling high at 85,000 milligrams - a normal person's insulin levels should be between 0 and 120. And the insulin she was being given to keep her alive was actually making the condition worse. It was being bound to the antibodies, stored and then released later, causing her blood sugar to plummet. An intravenous dextrose drip was also attached to her in the hope that it would maintain her blood sugar levels.

Various drugs were also pumped into her body in the hope that something would work and keep the dangerous antibodies away. Eventually they began to slowly disappear but Alice's condition stayed the same and she now has the immune system of a newborn baby. Doctor Phillip Holland, who treats Alice at Leeds General Infirmary, said he had never seen a similar case.
He said: 'Alice's condition is unique in the way that it binds a large quantity of insulin. 'Alice and her family have coped remarkably well with everything - I hope in part it is because we have always been open and honest with her. She has taken a very pragmatic and sensible approach to it all.

'We are all hoping that the antibodies stay away and that Alice can one day live a normal life.'
Alice has used her time in hospital to raise awareness of others with the same condition.
She was granted a wish by the Rays of Sunshine charity and was taken to London in July 2009 to see the Lion King.
'You never know what's going to happen however poorly or well you are, so I just enjoy each day like it's my last'
She was so inspired by her experience and by meeting other ill children in hospital that she began to tirelessly raise money for the charity and has already collected £11,000.
She said: 'Spending two years in hospital makes you realise that there is always someone worse off than yourself.

'I have met so many ill children and their families and sadly not all those children have survived.
'After my trip I wanted other children to be able to have a similar opportunity to me.
'Despite all the problems I have, I do find myself thinking that in many respects I am very lucky - mainly because of all the support I get.
'I do believe that being ill makes you a better person, you appreciate what you have in life and enjoy the simple things that mean so much to you as a individual.
'We don't always have the opportunity to choose what happens in our lives but we do have the choice to make a difference to what really matters.

'It's hoped that one day I might be able to lead a normal life, but you never know what's going to happen however poorly or well you are, so I just enjoy each day like it's my last.'

SA's Children Suffer

Today, two-thirds of children in South Africa are living on R 7.75 a day - more or less the international poverty line. Children in female-headed households are more likely to go hungry, while the number of children living in households with even one employed adult is decreasing as unemployment spreads.



As such 20 November, Universal Children's Day, "provides a moment to reflect upon the effectiveness of South Africa's collective spend, both public and private, on the lives of our children," said Julie Fredericks, Chairman of Alexander Forbes Community Trust.Unicef reports that South Africa has successfully increased access to support grants from 2.5 million beneficiaries in 1998 to more than 12.3 million in 2008 - with female and granny-headed households receiving a larger than average share of social grants. Furthermore, child support grants now reach more than 8 million children each month, compared to 22,000 in 1998. The organisation also reports that more than 90% of the adult beneficiaries of child support in South Africa are women, significant in that children's nutrition has been shown to improve once their primary caregiver starts receiving child support.

Yet the nutritional status of South African children has not changed over the past ten years. The National Food Consumption Survey, released in 2007, found that one child in ten was underweight while most South African children lacked micronutrients such as vitamin A and iodine.


Furthermore, rates of sexual assault in South Africa are amongst the highest in the world with children most at risk. Some 40% of reported cases of sexual assault are committed against children. In some centers for survivors of rape and sexual abuse, up to 80% of the victims are children. In South Africa, 28% of pregnant women are infected with HIV, bearing some 300,000 HIV positive babies every year. The 2005 Household Survey of HIV and AIDS Prevalence estimated that 3.3% of children aged two to 14 years in South Africa were living with HIV. In short, AIDS has become one of the leading causes of death amongst mothers and children in South Africa, accounting for 20% of maternal deaths.South Africa now has the largest antiretroviral programme in the world, yet it is falling far short of reaching all those, especially children, in need of treatment.

According to the country's recent UN General Assembly Special Session report, the estimated number of people needing treatment in 2007 was 889,000, of which 55% enrolled and 42% started on the antiretroviral therapy programme. Among children under 15 years of age needing treatment, 49% received treatment in 2007.

The Actuarial Society of South Africa reports that some 1.2 million children in South Africa have lost their mothers as a result of AIDS.But the low number of social workers and the slow rate at which they are produced mean that, in reality, AIDS orphans are cared for by community-based organisations, NGO's, community workers, volunteers and, increasingly importantly, corporate social investment programmes. Figures from the recent Making CSI Matter Conference indicate that CSI spending escalated from about R1, 5-billion in 1998/99 to more than R4-billion in 2007/08. "Compared with the government's 2009 Budget allocation of R115, 2 billion to health and HIV AIDS alone, total CSI spend pales in comparison to government spend," said Fredericks.

Marketers, NNPC trade blames as fuel crisis worsens

By Yemie Adeoye & Luka Binniyat
LAGOS —


LONG fuel queues have hit Lagos State and other major cities across the country, as the problem of logistics hinders efforts by the Pipeline Products and Marketing Company, PPMC, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to discharge products from its imported cargoes for distribution to marketers.
However, major and independent marketers, who spoke to Vanguard, punctured the claim by NNPC that it has products on the high sea.

According to them, such claim does not translate to products availability at the filling stations.One of the independent marketers also said that his company loaded only 30 trucks yesterday as against an average of 80 trucks it used to load when products were available.“If NNPC has products on the sea, can we go there to get the products? They have to discharge the products to the private depots they hired for us to go there and lift products. The problem is the same at MRS and Oando. They have paid for the products and they have NNPC tickets but have not been able to get products for the past four days. Before now, once you pay and NNPC gives you ticket, you go to any of the private depots and lift products within 14 hours. But now it takes up to one week to get products after you have paid,” he explained.Also, a highly placed official of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity claimed that the NNPC is simply trying to deceive the Presidency that it has enough products in stock. If they have enough products then why are there queues? He queried.
According to him, “you can only claim you have products when they are available in the tanks, if they are on the high sea, how can you take that into account as part of your stock. As a government agency in charge of these products, they are simply to ensure that there are no queues in the country, and that has failed”. He said.

Meanwhile, a close source at the NNPC told Vanguard on phone that the present scarcity of petroleum products across the country is due to the scheme by marketers not to lift products as well as their refusal to sell the stock in their tanks thereby hoarding the products.

Another marketer told Vanguard that if the marketers, both majors and independent, had been given products, there would be no queues.

He stated that under the new arrangement, it is only the NNPC that imports products, adding that the corporation claims to have enough on the high seas but none at the filling stations owing to the problem of distribution.
He stated that though the government has given the marketers approval to import, it will take a few weeks before the cargoes start coming in.

“We were only given approval last week and it takes sometime, to open letters of credit. You have to negotiate with the banks”, he said.
Executive Secretary of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Mr. Femi Olawore, also punctured the claim by the NNPC that it has enough products, adding that it was only on Sunday that some marketers started receiving products from PPMC.
“If anybody tells you that he has 40 days sufficiency, ask him where he is hiding the products,” he said. He however, noted that since the majors cover over 50 percent of the supply chain and have concluded lifting by yesterday the scarcity would still be a thing of the past and the queues would also disappear.

But the Public Affairs Manager of PPMC, Mr. Ralph Ugwu insisted that PPMC has 40 days sufficiency and argued that there was no need for the queues.
“As far as we are concerned, we have maintained the same level of supply as before. We have a robust supply and the queues are uncalled-for. We have over 40-day sufficiency and we have not changed our distribution system. There has not been any change in the supply situation”, he said.
Efforts to reach NNPC’s Levi Ajuonuma proved abortive as he was said to be in a meeting at the time of filling this report.

Woman Survives Being Thrown Off 200-Foot Bridge

by Ron Hogan
In some ways, Kavisha Seevnarain is a lucky woman. I mean, sure she got robbed, carjacked, and thrown off a bridge, but other than that she’s pretty blessed. Why? Because she was thrown off a 200-foot bridge into a mostly dry river, yet she survived.


While driving to a friend’s house in Durban, South Africa, Kavisha was ambushed and kidnapped by four armed men. They drove her around until 2 AM, forcing her to withdraw money from her bank account. When she hit her daily limit (or they got tired of dragging her around), the thugs dragged her to the parapet of a bridge and callously tossed her over the edge. She fell a staggering 200 feet, landing in a few inches of water.

It wasn’t enough water to cushion her fall, but it was enough to drown her if she lost consciousness, but she was able to stay awake and drag herself to the edge of the riverbank, where her cries attracted attention and help. She broke seven ribs, fractured her pelvis, and injured her lower spine, but she’s alive. Had the water been higher, she would have been swept out to sea. Had she landed wrong, she would have lost consciousness and drowned (assuming she didn’t die on impact).

Céline Dion's Pregnancy Fails

MONTREAL - Céline Dion’s publicity firm, Le Bureau de Francine Chaloult, has confirmed the singer is not pregnant.
That her in vitro fertilization procedure was not successful. However, the couple is determined to keep trying to get pregnant. "We are living the reality of the majority of couples who have to use (IVF)," René Angélil, 67, told the Journal de Montréal. "But today, we are full of confidence — Céline is more determined than ever."

A rep for the pop singer announced in August that Dion was pregnant and was due in May. However, Angélil told the Journal that it was a misunderstanding."Dr. Zev Rosenwaks believed that the procedure/pregnancy took, but that wasn't the case," he said. "We found out some days later. We were shocked. But you know Céline. She doesn't let go."

Dion, 41, had some of her embryos frozen when she was trying to conceive her first child, René-Charles, now eight years old. The My Heart Will Go On singer consulted with fertility doctors once her Las Vegas concert run was finished, but due to Angélil’s battle with cancer, it’s still unsure whether the couple will be able to produce another child.

"I admire all the women who go through such a tough process. Since April, [Céline] has undergone numerous examinations, multiple hormone injections and blood tests," Angélil told the Journal. "Céline and I didn't get discouraged ... we put our faith in life and in the stars."