The year just keeps getting worse
If you’re reading or watching this, then congratulations, you survived the holidays, which is more than a lot of people can say. We deliberately skipped over all the bad news on Saturday in an attempt to give the weekend a positive spin. It didn’t work, though, did it? The universe just couldn’t go two days without inviting some disaster into our lives.
So here we go, the last week of 2016. We have snow in the Northernmost states, rain across the South and Midwest, with a chance of tornadoes just strong enough to make sure the steps down to your fraidy hole are clear. Bubble wrap your favorite living musician, I have a feeling that fate might try to finish the year strong. From all the disasters, we chose 5 things you should know.
We’ve lost our Faith
Both the US and the UK is in mourning at news of the death of singer George Michael yesterday. The 53-year-old singer is said to have died quietly at his home in London of heart failure. Michael first came to prominence as half the pop duo Wham! but it was as a solo artist that his career really took off and captured the hearts of millions of people around the world. Tributes started pouring in the moment the word hit the news yesterday afternoon.
There are a number of songs for which George Michael is remembered. Faith, Freedom ’90, I’m never gonna dance again, and the holiday favorite of the broken-hearted, Last Christmas. These are the kind of songs that are likely to dominate many of the memorials we’ll inevitably see popping up all over the Internet today. However, the song that might be most responsible for catapulting him to stardom isn’t on most George Michael playlists: I want your Sex.
Released in 1986, the salacious song was wildly popular but left radio stations and the still=new MTV channel with a conundrum as to whether to play the song. Conservatives were outraged that the word sex had gotten onto an album without any warning. Most stations refused to play the song at all. Those who did, limited it to late-night hours. The singer also courted controversy with the song Outside after an LA police officer outed the singer as gay.
Rest In Peace, George Michael, and thank you for letting us know it’s okay to think about sex. Here’s the video:
Russia Loses A Choir
Unfortunately, George Michael wasn’t the only loss to the music world yesterday. There was at first a sense of suspicion when news hit the wire yesterday that a Russian plane in route to Syria had gone down in the Black Sea. The suspicion turned to sorrow, though, when it was announced that the group known widely as The Red Army Choir was on that flight, heading to entertain troops at a military base2.
Formally known as the Alexandrov Ensemble, the all-male group was known for their loud if not stirring recordings of Soviet and Russian anthems. However, they group had their lighter side as well and was especially popular for their cover of Daft Punk’s, Lucky during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Sixty-four members of the ensemble, including director Valery Khalilov, were aboard the plane yesterday.  Russian officials this morning are saying that mechanical malfunctions were responsible for the plane going down, dismissing any idea that terrorism might have played a role.
While the full group has 186 members, most of the singers were on the flight. While the group will almost certainly rebuild, the loss for the people of Russia is significant. Here is a video of the group doing its cover of Lucky:
https://youtu.be/BYbtAZjB8QM
Carrie Fisher Is Hanging On
Fortunately, not all the news was bad yesterday. Star Wars fans around the world took a deep breath and held it when word was released late Saturday that actress Carrie Fisher had suffered a “cardiac episode” while on a flight from London to Los Angeles. We finally release that breath yesterday when Ms. Fisher’s mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, announced that her daughter was in stable condition and resting comfortably3.
While Ms. Fisher is both an accomplished actor and writer, it is her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise that made her’s a household name. In fact, the actress had been in London promoting her latest book, The Princess Diarist, a memoir depicting her time filming her iconic turn as Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series3. In recent years, Ms. Fisher has not been shy talking about the amount of sex and drug use on the film sets of the 1970s and 80s.
Here’s video of her latest interview just a few weeks ago with The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert:
Fake News Creates An International Incident
Fake news has reared its ugly head again and proven that even those in power can sometimes be fooled by an article that appears to know what it’s talking about. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif found an article on the site AWD News claiming that Israel’s former defense minister threatened to attack Pakistan if they sent troops to Syria. Naturally, that’s the kind of news that doesn’t set well with a defense minister. Asif did as other world leaders are increasingly doing and took to Twitter to register his objection. He reminded Israel that “Pakistan is also a nuclear power.4”
Focus on the key word, “also.” You see, Israel has never actually admitted that they have nuclear capability. Doing so would put any such program under United Nations observation, thus rendering it very much not a secret. Historically, the US has helped keep this not-so-secret secret by blocking attempts within the UN Security Council to demand inspections of the nuclear sites Israel won’t admit that it has.
With that same UN Security Council denouncing Israeli settlements in the West Bank last week, tensions between Israel and much of the world are very high at the moment5. The thinly veiled threat was considered very serious. Israel’s defense ministry tweeted back that the alleged news story was fake, but Pakistan has yet to reply to that tweet.
Is Your Makeup Too Heavy?
And finally, here’s something you might not think of too terribly often: the amount of lead in the makeup you use. The Food and Drug Administration released new guidelines last week on the amount of lead to be used in cosmetics made in the US6. The non-binding set of guidelines addresses the amount of lead in things such as lipstick, shampoo, eye shadows and body lotions. Generally speaking, most products have a lead content of less than 10 parts per million (ppm). However, there remain a few brands across every category that still have higher lead content.
The renewed concern about lead in products comes as an increasing number of cities are finding high levels of lead in their drinking water due to corroding pipes. Where lead levels in the body may already be higher than normal, lead in other products becomes a more serious issue as the lead builds up within the body and can reach dangerous levels. For people living in places such as Flint, Michigan or St. Joseph, Louisiana, this can be a very serious issue.
Complicating the matter is the fact that not all products list the amount of lead on their label. I talked briefly with Kat about the subject and she confirmed that most makeup artists don’t look at lead content as a point of concern and typically don’t check their products. Again, this new paper is not binding. However, it may indicate a much more carefully managed position by the FDA in the future.
That’s all we have time for this morning. We have some personal obligations today that require us to be on the road early, so we don’t have time to put this in video format before we need to leave. We’ll try and do that again tomorrow. Until then, please stay safe. Hear’s hoping this Monday is a good one.
DON’T EAT THAT!
Finding things that are safe to eat can be difficult, especially when you’re diabetic. I’ve written about that challenge before. Not everyone was pleased with what I had to say. Over the ensuing years, I’ve gotten better and figuring out which products are safe for me to consume and which ones I absolutely, positively have to leave alone, at least most of the time. Now that my pancreas has decided to act up and not cooperate, it is even more critical that I watch what I consume. For example, I had four biscuits last night. All those carbs sent my sugar skyrocketing. I know better, but damnit, I was hungry. Staying on a low-carb, low-fat, zero-sugar diet is damn near impossible.
Amidst all those challenges, perhaps you can imagine my frustration when I came across an article from CNN with the headline: Common low-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds. Wonderful. Diabetics are dependent on those sweeteners if we’re going to eat anything other than veggies for the rest of our lives. Fortunately, there are a lot of different ones out there. If one doesn’t sit well with your body, chances are another will. For example, I can’t do Stevia as it’s used in Russel Stover’s Sugar-Free candies. I don’t know exactly what’s up, but it gives me horrible nausea if I have more than one piece. Not every product uses the sweeteners in the same way and just because one may cause issues some of the time doesn’t mean they affect everyone the same way.
But then, along comes a study that can’t be ignored and it just blows everything out of the water. The product in question? Xylitol. Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol found in plants such as cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms, spinach, plums, raspberries, and strawberries. It would take tonnage of veggies to ever extract enough xylitol for industrial use. Instead, corn cobs and birch trees along with certain genetically engineered bacteria are used.
It’s natural, so that should mean it’s good for you, right? Nope. According to this most recent study, frequent users of the sweetener are likely to have twice the risk of blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes leading to death. Worse yet, it can temporarily increase your glucose level by 1,000%! At that rate, you’d be better off drinking a normal soda!
The FDA warned us back in 2021 that xylitol could be deadly for dogs. Birch sugar, specifically, is a problem for our canine friends. Since the end product is all that’s listed on product ingredient lists, we don’t have any idea whether the xylitol comes from birch or corn cobs or 50,000 pounds of cauliflower. We have to assume the worst and just stay away. Now, there are sufficient indications that humans are ill-affected as well.
The problem we’re facing is that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still recognizes all alcohol sugars (and there are dozens) as GRAS: Generally Recognized As Safe. While they’ll admit that this new study warrants a closer look, the way science works is that when one person/group discovers something, it has to be verified by a totally unrelated person/group to be considered valid. That validation has yet to happen.
In the meantime, you and I have a choice to make: whether to consume xylitol or not. And how do we know which products have xylitol? For starters, there’s a pretty exhaustive list at Preventative Vet. For our convenience, though, here are a few of the products you’re more likely to encounter:
Act Braces Care™ Mouthwash
Act Dry Mouth Lozenges
Act Dry Mouth Mouthwash
Act Dry Mouth Toothpaste
Act Total Care™ Sensitive Formula Mouthwash
Dry Mouth Oral Rinse – Mint
Moisturizing Lozenges – Mint, Watermelon
Activated Charcoal Anticavity Toothpaste
Antiplaque & Whitening Toothpaste – Fluoride-Free – Fennel, Peppermint, Spearmint
Antiplaque & Whitening Toothpaste Gel – Fluoride-Free – Spearmint
Baking Soda, Spearmint
Botanically Bright Whitening Toothpaste (July 23, 2021)
Cavity Protection Toothpaste – Peppermint Baking Soda, Spearmint
Children’s Anticavity Fluoride Rinse – Juicy Mint
Clean & Gentle Toothpaste – Peppermint
Enamel Strength® Toothpaste – Peppermint
Fluoride-Free Botanically Bright™ Toothpaste – Peppermint, Spearmint
Fluoride-Free Propolis Myrrh Toothpaste – Cinnamint, Fennel, Gingermint Baking Soda, Peppermint
Fluoride-Free Sensitive Toothpaste – Wintermint
Fluoride-Free Travel Natural Toothpaste – Fresh Mint
Luminous White Anticavity Toothpaste
Maximum Strength Sensitive Toothpaste – Soothing Mint
Simply White Toothpaste – Clean Mint
Simply White Toothpaste Gel – Sweet Mint
Toddler Training Toothpaste – Mild Fruit
Travel Natural Toothpaste – Fresh Mint
Whole Care Toothpaste – Cinnamon Clove, Peppermint, Spearmint, Wintermint
Whole Care Toothpaste Gel – Peppermint
Wicked Fresh™ Mouthwash – Cool Mountain Mint, Peppermint Wave
Wicked Fresh™ Toothpaste – Spearmint Ice, Cool Peppermint
Jell-O – Dulce de leche Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Jell-O – Chocolate Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Jell-O – Chocolate Vanilla Swirls Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Jell-O – Dark Chocolate Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Jell-O – Double Chocolate Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Jell-O – Chocolate Indulgence Mousse Sugar Free
Jell-O – Dark Chocolate Decadence Mousse Sugar Free
Jell-O – Creme Brûlée Rice Pudding Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Jell-O – Rice Pudding Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Jell-O – Vanilla Sugar Free / Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks
Birthdäg Cake Ice Cream
Butter Pekan Ice Cream
Cherry Choka-Flaka Ice Cream
Coffee Karamell Ice Cream
Cookies and Kram Ice Cream
Mint Chokladchip Ice Cream
Peanot Butter Karamell Ice Cream
Salta Karamell Ice Cream
Strawbar Swirl Ice Cream
Swedish Choklad Ice Cream
Swedish Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Swedish Lemon Bar Ice Cream
Swedish Pistasch Ice Cream
Swedish Vanilj Ice Cream
Triple Choklad Ice Cream
Apricot Sugar-Free Jam Preserves
Blueberry Sugar-Free Jam Preserves
Mountain Berry Sugar-Free Jam Preserves
Peach Sugar-Free Jam Preserves
Raspberry Sugar-FreeJell Jam Preserves
Strawberry Sugar-Free Jam Preserves
Wild Blueberry Sugar-Free Jam Preserves
Maple Sugar-Free Syrup
Raspberry Sugar-Free Syrup
Natural Liquid Personal Lubricant
Sensitive Skin Gel Personal Lubricant
As I said, this is just a partial list. A number of regional brands are on the list as well and I didn’t include those because the list was already so damn long. Pharmacy-specific brands are also a problem, so be sure to check your labels.
Of everything on the list, the Jell-o sugar-free products are a huge disappointment. I was just debating with myself last night whether to put some pudding on my shopping list. I guess that’s going to be a hard no.
Here’s the thing: the brands aren’t going to tell us themselves if there’s a chance that their product might kill you. For that matter, given how new this research is, the brands themselves may not know that they’re a danger to their own customers. Let’s get real: I doubt many dogs are using Astroglide, so they probably don’t have a clue. Even if they knew, we all know corporations aren’t quick to admit that there’s a problem with their product. They’ll just let us die and claim it was a one-off situation.
We have to watch out for ourselves and each other. Now, you know that xylitol can be a problem. Be safe.
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