Tattoo Alert!

I continue to be amazed at the number of men and women who are turning their bodies into billboards by tattooing. Who under the age of 40 doesn't have at least one? I've got three and regret the fact I ever got one, much less three. It's all about vanity, plain and simple. The following raises some legitimate health concerns about this increasingly popular practice.

Can Tattoo Ink Lead to Cancer?

It has been said that “tattoo ink is remarkably nonreactive histologically, despite the frequent use of different pigments of unknown purity and identity by tattoo artists.” ¹
However, University of Bradford researchers using an atomic force microscope (AFM) that allows them to examine skin with tattoos at the nano-level have found evidence that suggests otherwise. In a preliminary study (the first to use an AFM to examine tattoos), the researchers found that the tattoo process remodels collagen (your body’s main connective tissue).²
Further, nanoparticles from tattoo ink were found to exist in both the collagenous network of the skin as well as around blood vessels. This suggests that the ink particles are leaving the surface of your skin and traveling elsewhere in your body, where they could potentially enter organs and other tissues.
This is problematic because tattoo inks are largely unregulated and known to contain cancer-causing compounds. The researchers believe the issue could become a significant public health concern given the rise in tattooing in the last decade, noting:

“We need to do more work, but there is no question that these substances can be toxic. It takes a long time for the multi-step nature of cancer to show its face and I don’t think we should wait to see if there is anything wrong with these ingredients.”

Nanoparticles in Tattoo Ink May be Carcinogenic

Nanoparticles are ultramicroscopic in size, making them able to readily penetrate your skin and travel to underlying blood vessels and your bloodstream. Evidence suggests that some nanoparticles may induce toxic effects in your brain and cause nerve damage, and some may also be carcinogenic.
In 2011, a study in The British Journal of Dermatology revealed that nanoparticles are indeed found in tattoo inks,³ with black pigments containing the smallest particles (white pigments had the largest particles and colored pigments were in between).
With the exception of the white pigments, the researchers noted that “the vast majority of the tested tattoo inks contained significant amounts” of nanoparticles. “The black pigments were almost pure NPs [nanoparticles], i.e. particles with at least one dimension <100 nm,” they said.

Black-Ink Tattoos May be the Riskiest

The black ink is the color most often linked to potential adverse health effects, although all tattoo inks have toxic potential, including:

• Potentially carcinogenic⁴
• May cause inflammation and DNA damage⁵
• May contain carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) like benzo(a)pyrene (a Class 1 carcinogen according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer)

Since black ink may contain a significant amount of nanoparticles, it is likely that such toxins could find easy entrance into your bloodstream, perhaps worsening their effects. Writing in Experimental Dermatology, researchers highlighted the dangerous potential of tattoo inks (particularly black) even beyond nanoparticles:⁶

“Black tattoo inks are usually based on soot, are not regulated and may contain hazardous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Part of PAHs possibly stay lifelong in skin, absorb UV radiation and generate singlet oxygen, which may affect skin integrity.

… Tattooing with black inks entails an injection of substantial amounts of phenol and PAHs into skin. Most of these PAHs are carcinogenic and may additionally generate deleterious singlet oxygen inside the dermis when skin is exposed to UVA (e.g. solar radiation).”

While so far incidences of skin cancer appearing on tattooed skin has been deemed coincidental,⁷ it is largely unknown whether the inks may be contributing to cancers, or other health problems, elsewhere in the body. It’s known, for instance, that some tattoo pigment may migrate from your skin into your body’s lymph nodes.⁸ According to Dr. Samuel Epstein, a well-respected professional in cancer prevention:

“… the evidence which we’ve accumulated so far, is largely restricted to the fact that they [nanoparticles] get into your bloodstream and reach organs throughout your body. And as far as the brain is concerned, we have actual evidence of entry into the brain and producing toxic effects -- lesions, small lesions, toxic effects in the brain.”

Tattoo Inks are Not Regulated in the US, Most are Industrial-Grade Products

Inks and ink colorings (pigments) used for tattoos are technically subject to regulation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as cosmetics and color additives. However, the Agency states that because of other public health priorities and a “previous lack of evidence of safety concerns,” they have not traditionally regulated such products.⁹ As such, many dyes used in tattooing are actually produced for industrial uses such as car paint or printers’ ink, for instance.
To date there have been no systemic studies to look at the safety of injecting such inks into the body, although the National Center for Toxicological Research is conducting research to determine:

• The chemical composition of tattoo inks and how they break down in your body
• The short-term and long-term safety of tattoo inks and pigments
• How your body responds to the interaction of light with the inks

The Friends of the Earth – a global network of grassroots groups – is among those now calling for proper regulation of tattoo inks amidst the new findings that they may contribute to cancer.¹⁰ In the meantime, it may be wise to “think before you ink,” as the FDA recommends, at least until further research is completed (and remember that permanent makeup is also a form of tattoo

Think About It

"There is no greater affliction then trying to become something you are not."


You must be who you are, not someone that family, friends or others think you should be.


Live the life you love.

Attitudes and Longevity

Some thoughts on longevity---As in anything---the proof or the merit of something is in....the proof, not the claim of someone who says they know. If I told you that eating only raw foods for the rest of your life would make you healthy and long lived, I would hope that you'd ask me, who are the people who have lived long lives doing so? It is only common sense that something which purports to be so has a factual basis for such a claim.
With that said, research was done on people who lived long vigorous lives. Researchers wanted to see if there were any qualities that were prevalent among them, this is what they found. It is by no means a comprehensive list but here are some of the similar characteristics:
"A study was done to find out what long lived people have in common. There are a few interesting things that stand out:

• They mistrust doctors, preferring to do their own research about their body and get second and third opinions before taking a course of action.
• They have a great sense of humour.
• They are quite naughty, and playful in their attitude to life.
• They are rebels, preferring to follow their own inner inspiration rather than being sheep following the flock.
• They have a deeply intuitive sense about life, listening to their inner wisdom and trusting it.
• They like to exercise and be in nature.
• They are always interested in learning new things."

Alcohol and Intoxicants

"The person who is interested in alcohol must be living in misery, in a kind of suffering. That’s why he wants somehow to forget it all. Alcohol is nothing but a chemical strategy to forget your miseries, anxieties, your problems, to forget yourself.
When you are too worried, too tense and you take to alcohol. Yes, for a few hours you will forget all your worries and all your tensions, but the alcohol cannot take your worries away forever; it cannot solve them. And while you are drowned in alcohol those worries are growing, becoming stronger; you are giving them time to grow. And when you are back the next morning with a hangover and a headache added to the worries, you will be surprised; they are bigger than when you had left them. Then it becomes a pattern of life: become again and again intoxicated so you can forget — but again and again you have to face your life. This is not an intelligent way to live. I am against all intoxicants, against all drugs. They don’t help; they only help you to postpone problems."

The above nails it--it's all about escape and release done in a most unhealthy way.

Stormy Interruptions

I would like to let you know that since this past Wednesday I have been without power at my house. The projected day for the power being back on is this Saturday night. Next post will be Sunday.
Dave

FYI-- The Irony of Quinoa's Popularity

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Quinoa,a grain that has exploded in popularity over the last few years in the U.S. Viewed as a healthier alternative to rice, this grain comes from the seed of the goosefoot species and originated in Peru and Bolivia. Since 2007 U.S. imports have risen from 7 million to more that 70 million pounds a year. Farmers in South America are struggling to meet the increasing demand. Now here's the irony, Quinoa, which was once a staple for many South Americans, is too expensive for most of them to afford because of the rising price related to it's new found popularity here.

The Argument For Eating Five Times a Day

Why is eating five times a day better than three? Consider the following:
"Always eat at least 5 times a day. Two or three are simply not enough. It is permissible to regard two of these meals as snacks provided they contain sufficient calories to get you to your next meal and they are comprised of the appropriate amount of macronutrients(carbohydrates, fats and proteins). The reason? Your blood sugar and insulin levels will be controlled(and thus your energy level), you will get protein in small amounts throughout the day to support growth and recovery, and (most important) body fat will not be stored, but instead mobilized as an energy source. By providing your body with a consistent and frequent supply of  just the right number of calories, its need to store fat is reduced. Conversely, when you eat infrequently, your body recognizes a "famine" situation and your entire endocrine system (powerful hormones produced inside your body that control how you grow, recover and produce energy) is thrown for a loop. Then, too much of the food consumed is stored as body fat in preparation for the "famine" to come.
Also, in planning your daily meals(or snacks),a caloric ratio of approximately 1 part fat, 2 parts protein and 3 parts carbohydrate is a good place to begin."


Speaking from personal experience, the above works. After years of being chronically hungry most of the day because I bought into the myth that long distance runners needed a diet predominately comprised of carbs, I finally smartened up. No more being hungry two hours after eating. You have to have a significant amount of quality protein in your diet as well as fat.
Too many athletes, particularly runners and triathletes, eat diets that seem to be "third world" in content, substance and nutritional value.