by Marlene Affeld More and more environmentally concious people are choosing to avoid the risk of chemical contamination of their bodies, families and homes. Fortunately, solutions for addressing change exist and are within easy access. Choosing eco-friendly alternatives allows us to live a natural, green lifestyle. The benefits of eating organic foods, wearing organic clothing and choosing organic bedding are numerous. Organic Foods The Organic Food Association tells us: It is common sense;

For reasons scientists cannot yet explain, Utah’s Great Salk Lake is laden with toxic mercury. Exactly where the poison is coming from, and how much danger it poses to the millions of migratory birds that feed on the Great Salt Lake, are now under investigation.

Three years ago, tests by the federal Geological Survey showed the lake had some of the highest mercury readings ever recorded in a body of water in the United States. The state warned people not to eat certain kinds of ducks because of the mercury.

The mercury may be accumulating naturally, from some as-yet-unknown source in the ground, or it could be the result of industrial pollution. Mercury released into the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants, gold mines, or industrial facilities may be settling in the lake.

Obesity may be contagious — because most people feel good about themselves if they are about as heavy as the people around them, according to new research.

This could explain the rapid rise in obesity around the world. The norm that most people compare themselves to has become fatter and fatter, feeding a cycle of “imitative obesity.”

In the current analysis, researchers analyzed data from several sources on body mass index (BMI) and people’s perception of their weight for 29 European countries. For women, satisfaction with their weight own depended on their BMI in relation to the average BMI for a woman of their own age living in the same country. Men who were overweight also tended to be happier if the people around them were overweight too.

A study has suggested that it may take only one tobacco cigarette for some people to get addicted to nicotine, because of how their brains are wired.

By manipulating receptors in the brains of rats, researchers were able to control whether the first exposure to nicotine was enjoyable or repulsive. They experimented on two types of receptors for dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain’s reward circuitry.

By blocking the receptors, the researchers were able to switch how nicotine was processed — from repulsive to rewarding or positive. The natural variations that occur between people may therefore explain why some are more likely to become addicted to nicotine.

A study shows that eating two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic than those who eat a bagel breakfast of equal calories. This study supports previous research which showed that people who ate eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied and ate fewer calories at the following meal.

Compared to the subjects who ate a bagel breakfast, men and women who consumed two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet:

• Lost 65 percent more weight
• Exhibited a 61 percent greater reduction in BMI
• Reported higher energy levels

The egg and bagel breakfasts provided the same number of calories.