Popular Children’s Toy Coated With Chemical That Converts To Date Rape Drug

November 12, 2007 | 2 Comments

Kids love Aqua Dots, a popular craft kit which tops the Christmas list of many children. In Australia, Aqua Dots are sold under the brand name of Bindeez and, in fact, Australia named Bindeez as the country’s “Toy of the Year.” But with just a few weeks before Christmas, you will unfortunately have to tell your kids that this toy product has to be moved from their “Christmas list” and put on the “dangerous toys” list. That is because the beads (which look like candy) in Aqua Dots and Bindeez have been found to have a coating which contains a toxic chemical that turns to GHB … better known as the date rape drug … thus resulting in the most recent recall of Chinese made toys.

In early October, a two-year-old boy in Sydney, Australia, was admitted to a hospital after suffering seizurelike spasms and falling into a coma. A biochemical geneticist, Dr. Kevin Carpenter, discovered traces of GHB in the boy’s urine. After Dr. Carpenter learned that the boy had swallowed Bindeez beads and then vomited them before going into a coma, he began a four-week investigation on the toy product. In his research, he found that the beads contained an industrial chemical which breaks down in the body and becomes GHB.

Following Dr. Carpenter’s research, his hospital sent out a warning to poison control centers around Australia. The next day, a mother living near the hospital brought her 10-year-old daughter to the hospital after finding her daughter first motionless and then vomiting the beads. Late last Wednesday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered a recall stating that two children had fallen seriously ill after eating Aqua Dots. Since then, two children in the U.S. and another in Australia have fallen ill from the beads.

GHB is a highly dangerous drug. The U.S. places GHB in the same category as heroin. When children swallow the beads which contain GHB, they can become comatose, have seizures, and develop respiratory depression, as did both children mentioned above. If you have these products in your home, you should immediately take them away from your children and contact the distributor of the product, Spin Master, which is offering a free replacement of beads (hopefully safe ones) or a toy of equal value. Our suggestion … go for a toy that doesn’t look like candy.

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Posted by Julie | Filed Under Health

Lessons I’ve Learned Along The Way

November 3, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I am more physically fit in my 40’s than I have been in my entire life!

Yes, I was very slim in my 20’s, even after having my first baby. But fit? Not quite. In my teens and 20’s, I was not one who ever had to worry about weight gain. I could eat as I please and not gain an ounce. Therefore, I never felt the need to exercise and I focused all my attention on my career as a legal secretary and my first born. However, in my 30’s things started to turn around. By that time, I had three children, I was promoted to Legal Assistant and overtime, and I developed a body that could no longer be seen in a swimsuit. Although I was nowhere close to obesity, I did have what many call “secretarial spread.” My body shape had changed drastically and something had to be done!

So in my late 30’s I set out on my quest to get my body back. And what did I learn in the process? That all the choices I was making on a daily basis were completely wrong. Those choices go way back to my childhood days and I was paying for them dearly now.

Lessons I’ve Learned

It started when I was a kid.

Like most kids, when I was young I too had a sweet tooth and a craving for my grandma’s home-baked cookies. And when I was young, while I was active in school sports, I did not carry that activity into my adulthood. Although, unfortunately, I did take my sweet tooth into adulthood. I developed poor eating habits when I was young and they only worsened when I moved out of my parents house. And I started handing down my bad habits to my children.

But things were different when I was growing up. We didn’t know back then what we know now. We didn’t have the research that is nowadays provided, and we certainly didn’t have easy access to information through the Internet as we do now.

So, what tips can you share? You ask.

1. Skip the fast food restaurants. Those McDonald’s hamburgers and fries are killing us. Sure, it is okay to eat them once in a while, but too many of us eat them on the run regularly. (That used to be me!) They lead to heart attacks, obesity, and diabetes. Try not to eat fast food more than once a week.

2. Grab healthier foods. I know this is obvious and one which we all learned while young … “eat your veggies.” Our parents knew what they were talking about … in this area anyway. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with the vitamins and nutrients we need. Don’t skip these!

3. Read food labels. Oh my gosh! I used to think if a package had healthy words on the front, it must be a “good for you food.” Wrong! Food companies take pride in deceiving us. We all know we should “read the fine print” before signing our life away on any piece of paper. Well, in a sense, we are signing our lives away by the foods we eat too. Don’t be deceived. Read the fine print!

4. Sleep and sleep some more. Did you know lack of sleep ages us faster? You will age slower, be more alert, feel better, and be way more productive with proper amounts of sleep. Strive for eight.

5. Exercise. This is just as important as sleep. Get lots of it and pick something you love to do. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am more fit today than ever before. I do cardio kickboxing five days a week. I’ve done aerobics before, off and on, but this is the hardest form of exercise I have ever done and I love it! Not only am I stronger than I have ever been but I feel more confident and I have learned self defense skills that hopefully I will never need to use.

There you go! But these are just the basics. I’ve learned so much more and I plan to share them through this blog as well as discuss in depth current health issues. Please join me, read along, and share your comments. I look forward to getting to know you.

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Posted by Julie | Filed Under Blog