The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health

The Hundred-Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals That Are Destroying Your Health

From Publishers Weekly:

This provocative and frightening look at the synthetic chemicals used by the processed foods, pharmaceutical and chemical industries delivers an excellent, up-to-date summary of “what is really in our food, water, vitamins, prescription drugs, childhood vaccines, cosmetics, and in our homes.” Former Wall Street Journal investigative journalist Fitzgerald (Mugged by the State) takes aim at the belief that “lab-created synthetics are as benign as—and more effective than—naturally occurring foods and medicines.” The “hundred-year lie” dates from 1906, the year Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act. Utilizing a range of articles from science journals and government reports, along with interviews with scientists and environmentalists, Fitzgerald looks at synthetic chemicals—from artificial sweeteners to antidepressants—that are diminishing our health. Throughout, Fitzgerald explodes various myths such as that one right dose of a particular drug works for everyone and that all food additives have been tested for safety. Still, Fitzgerald’s faith in Eastern and other natural healing processes will not convince everyone. The author concludes with practical steps for “choosing a diet of pure foods and a lifestyle free of synthetics.”

Diane Rehm interviews founder of National Resources Defense Council

James Gustave Speth appeared on The Diane Rehm Show, Thursday March 27th. He is the dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
 
Mr. Speth and Mrs. Rehm discuss environmental issues, State policies and the way things are. From the interview link: “A leading environmentalist explains how American-style consumer capitalism harms the planet and what must be done to save the earth for future generations.”
 
Listen to the interview or read the transcript here.
 
His recently published book on these subjects is entitled “The Bridge at the Edge of the World” (Yale Univ. Press) (Amazon.com).

Big Health Benefits Attributed To Raw Diet: Six Diabetics In Documentary Are Able To Reverse Their Disease

Source: LEF Daily News

Big Health Benefits Attributed To Raw Diet: Six Diabetics In Documentary Are Able To Reverse Their Disease
 
The Hartford Courant, Connecticut
 
03-31-08
 
Mar. 31–In his 2004 film “Super Size Me,” director Morgan Spurlock humorously documents the dramatic health consequences of eating all the wrong things for 30 days. Subsisting on a McDonald’s-only menu, he gains 25 pounds and a host of ailments, among them the decidedly unfunny side effects of liver damage and sexual dysfunction.
 
So what might happen, then, after 30 days of eating all the right things?
 
That question was the seed that evolved into “Raw for 30 Days,” an independent documentary film that chronicles the experience of six diabetics who sign up for a radical diet change. The participants, most diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, move into an Arizona retreat center where they are medically supervised during a challenge to stay off dairy, meat, sugar, alcohol and processed foods. Keeping to a vegan, raw-foods diet of only uncooked, organic plant-based foods, the filmmakers claim participants were able to naturally reverse their diabetes, losing significant weight and coming off their insulin.
 
Set to be distributed online before a summer release at smaller film festivals, the documentary is by no means poised to be a cinematic blockbuster. But buzz has been building for more than a year in raw- and health-food circles. Proponents are wondering if the information can resonate with a mainstream American public plagued with an obesity epidemic and chronic diseases.
 
“I think it’s going to take people to the level of believing, truly believing, that you are what you eat,” says Glen Colello, a holistic health counselor and owner of the newly opened West Haven raw- and health-foods cafe Catch a Healthy Habit. “Maybe people will see this movie and realize medication isn’t their only option.”
 
Such was the intent of the team behind the film, led by creator and executive producer Mark Perlmutter, a longtime vegetarian who himself shifted to a largely raw, or living-foods, lifestyle. He said he witnessed the health benefits in eating fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in their natural state. The philosophy is that uncooked foods are more nutrient-rich and have their enzymes intact and take less energy to digest, thereby freeing the body to heal itself.
 
Perlmutter learned more after moving to Arizona, where he became familiar with the work of raw-food pioneer Gabriel Cousens, a medical doctor who runs the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia. The center became the setting for the documentary, filmed in 2006 with six diabetics picked from a pool of more than 100 candidates.
 
Audiences will see those who stick with the program go through dramatic transformations. One participant initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes later learns he actually had type 1 diabetes, considered incurable without a pancreas transplant.
 
“So, how do we get people to do this for themselves? They can’t all go to Arizona,” says Perlmutter. “It’s great to get a couple of miracle stories about these people having major breakthroughs, but the question is how do you get [the medical establishment] to embrace something that obviously works for some people?”
 
But traditional medicine has embraced alternative therapies over the last decade, with many doctors now weaving holistic and naturopathic approaches into conventional treatments. There is, however, skepticism about the long-term benefits and loftier claims of extreme approaches such as raw foods, which dietitians caution can be difficult to sustain and may add up to an unbalanced diet that leaves out too many important foods. Most doctors advise patients to seek their physician’s opinion before starting any such diets.
 
Scientific studies do show clearly the relationship between dietary choices and health. The World Health Organization determined that 70 percent of chronic diseases worldwide could be prevented entirely with changes to diet and lifestyle. In the United States, that figure jumps to 80 percent.
 
“Absolutely. Yes. Diet has a tremendous impact on disease progression and disease manifestation,” says Dr. Mitch Kennedy of the University of Connecticut Health Center, the facility’s first certified naturopathic physician. “And the fact is that most people don’t eat well. All you have to do is look around at what’s available — the fast-food chains and packaged foods and what’s in the food labels.”
 
Kennedy says there are merits to a raw-foods lifestyle. The nutrient content in foods is best preserved in its raw state. And considering the average American doesn’t get the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, most would do well to introduce more into their diets. Yet, he rarely recommends an entirely raw plan. It can be a drastic change, hard on the digestive system and lead to deficiencies in vitamin B12 without consumption of meat or dairy products.
 
When asked for comment, the American Diabetic Association declined to address the film directly, saying only that “weight loss through any means can lower glucose levels in those with type 2 diabetes, sometimes even to normal.” It cautioned against any “one-size-fits-all diabetic diet” and encouraged healthful eating and exercise habits.
 
Kirt Tyson, the misdiagnosed type 1 diabetic, and the most successful of the film’s six participants, says he knows the raw-food plan cured him of his disease. A Baltimore native, he says he went from his worst — a four-day hospitalization with his blood sugar at 1,200 — down today to normal levels. He remains on a raw diet, no longer on insulin.
 
“When you get diagnosed with this disease, you’re always told … there’s no cure. So from that moment, you feel so defeated,” says Tyson, 26, now a graduate student studying naturopathic medicine at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences in Arizona. “What this film does is give hope back to people. It’s not a one-shot thing. You have to work for it. I have to work at it every day.”
 
He doesn’t advocate ignoring traditional medication, but says patients need to be better informed about all options available to them.
 
“Hopefully in the future, I’ll be able to do some research to show how this diet is actually working,” he says. “I don’t know the chemistry behind it. But you can’t look at a guy who was once taking insulin, and now is not and say there’s not something to it. Clearly, it’s working for me.”
 
For more information about the film, visit www.RawFor30Days.com
 
Contact Joann Klimkiewicz at .
 
—–
 
Copyright (c) 2008, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Experts Now Recommend Hands-Only CPR

Via Wired

Experts Now Recommend Hands-Only CPR
 
By STEPHANIE NANO
Associated Press Writer
 
NEW YORK (AP) — You can skip the mouth-to-mouth breathing and just press on the chest to save a life. In a major change, the American Heart Association said Monday that hands-only CPR - rapid, deep presses on the victim’s chest until help arrives - works just as well as standard CPR for sudden cardiac arrest in adults.
 
Experts hope bystanders will now be more willing to jump in and help if they see someone suddenly collapse. Hands-only CPR is simpler and easier to remember and removes a big barrier for people skittish about the mouth-to-mouth breathing.
 
“You only have to do two things. Call 911 and push hard and fast on the middle of the person’s chest,” said Dr. Michael Sayre, an emergency medicine professor at Ohio State University who headed the committee that made the recommendation.
 
Hands-only CPR calls for uninterrupted chest presses - 100 a minute - until paramedics take over or an automated external defibrillator is available to restore a normal heart rhythm.
 
This action should be taken only for adults who unexpectedly collapse, stop breathing and are unresponsive. The odds are that the person is having cardiac arrest - the heart suddenly stops - which can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems. In such a case, the victim still has ample air in the lungs and blood and compressions keep blood flowing to the brain, heart and other organs.
 
A child who collapses is more likely to primarily have breathing problems - and in that case, mouth-to-mouth breathing should be used. That also applies to adults who suffer lack of oxygen from a near-drowning, drug overdose, or carbon monoxide poisoning. In these cases, people need mouth-to-mouth to get air into their lungs and bloodstream.
 
But in either case, “Something is better than nothing,” Sayre said.
 
The CPR guidelines had been inching toward compression-only. The last update, in 2005, put more emphasis on chest pushes by alternating 30 presses with two quick breaths; those “unable or unwilling” to do the breaths could do presses alone.
 
Now the heart association has given equal standing to hands-only CPR. Those who have been trained in traditional cardiopulmonary resuscitation can still opt to use it.
 
Sayre said the association took the unusual step of making the changes now - the next update wasn’t due until 2010 - because three studies last year showed hands-only was as good as traditional CPR. Hands-only will be added to CPR training.
 
An estimated 310,000 Americans die each year of cardiac arrest outside hospitals or in emergency rooms. Only about 6 percent of those who are stricken outside a hospital survive, although rates vary by location. People who quickly get CPR while awaiting medical treatment have double or triple the chance of surviving. But less than a third of victims get this essential help.
 
Dr. Gordon Ewy, who’s been pushing for hands-only CPR for 15 years, said he was “dancing in the streets” over the heart association’s change even though he doesn’t think it goes far enough. Ewy (pronounced AY-vee) is director of the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, where the compression-only technique was pioneered.
 
Ewy said there’s no point to giving early breaths in the case of sudden cardiac arrest, and it takes too long to stop compressions to give two breaths - 16 seconds for the average person. He noted that victims often gasp periodically anyway, drawing in a little air on their own.
 
Anonymous surveys show that people are reluctant to do mouth-to-mouth, Ewy said, partly because of fear of infections.
 
“When people are honest, they’re not going to do it,” he said. “It’s not only the yuck factor.”
 
In recent years, emergency service dispatchers have been coaching callers in hands-only CPR rather than telling them how to alternate breaths and compressions.
 
“They love it. It’s less complicated and the outcomes are better,” said Dallas emergency medical services chief Dr. Paul Pepe, who also chairs emergency medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
 
One person who’s been spreading the word about hands-only CPR is Temecula, Calif., chiropractor Jared Hjelmstad, who helped save the life of a fellow health club member in Southern California
 
Hjelmstad, 40, had read about it in a medical journal and used it on Garth Goodall, who collapsed while working out at their gym in February. Hjelmstad’s 15-year-old son Josh called 911 in the meantime.
 
Hjelmstad said he pumped on Goodall’s chest for more than 12 minutes - encouraged by Goodall’s intermittent gasps - until paramedics arrived. He was thrilled to find out the next day that Goodall had survived.
 
On Sunday, he visited Goodall in the hospital where he is recovering from triple bypass surgery.
 
“After this whole thing happened, I was on cloud nine,” said Hjelmstad. “I was just fortunate enough to be there.”
 
Goodall, a 49-year-old construction contractor, said he had been healthy and fit before the collapse, and there’d been no hint that he had clogged heart arteries.
 
“I was lucky,” he said. Had the situation been reversed, “I wouldn’t have known what to do.”
 
“It’s a second lease on life,” he added.
 
—
 
On the Net:
 
Heart Association: http://www.americanheart.org/handsonlycpr
 
Sarver Heart Center: http://www.heart.arizona.edu/
 
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Should You Ditch Your Chemical Mattress?

Source: Mother Jones, March 2008
Via: Organic Consumers Association

Should You Ditch Your Chemical Mattress?
 
Commentary: Good night, sleep tight—don’t let the volatile organic compounds bite.
 
By Hannah Wallace
 
Susan Greenfield and her girlfriend Llina Kempner couldn’t wait for their new memory-foam mattress top to arrive. For months, they’d heard friends rave about how the high-tech material molds itself to your body. But when they unwrapped the three-inch-thick pad in their Manhattan apartment, they noticed a strong, acrid odor. “My nose and my lungs were miserable,” recalls Greenfield. For the two nights Kempner slept on the mattress top, she felt nauseated. After Greenfield, who is chemically sensitive, had an asthma attack in the middle of the night, the couple returned the mattress pad. But its stench lingered in the apartment for weeks.
 
Reactions like Greenfield’s are relatively rare, but you, too, might lose some sleep when you find out what’s really inside your mattress-memory foam or not. The place where you spend one-third of your life is chock-full of synthetic materials, some potentially toxic. Since the mid- to late ’60s, most mattresses have been made of polyurethane foam, a petroleum-based material that emits volatile organic compounds that can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation. Formaldehyde, which is used to make one of the adhesives that hold mattresses together, has been linked to asthma, allergies, and lung, nose, and throat cancers. And then there are cotton pesticides and flame-retardant chemicals, which can cause cancer and nervous-system disorders. In 2005, Walter Bader, owner of the “green mattress” company Lifekind and author of the book Toxic Bedrooms, sent several mattresses to an Atlanta-based lab. A memory-foam model was found to emit 61 chemicals, including the carcinogens benzene and naphthalene.
 
There is no proven health risk from the substances in mattresses, however, mostly because tracking their long-term effects is virtually impossible. Heather Stapleton, an environmental chemist at Duke University, says there’s simply not enough data to determine whether low levels of these chemicals will eventually make people sick. “It’s the dose that makes the poison,” she says. “If they’re not getting out, maybe it’s not a problem-but we don’t know. There are plenty of lab studies that show that these compounds are harmful. It’s just a question of what levels people are exposed to.”
 
Still, more and more consumers are seeking out mattresses made of natural latex, organic cotton batting, and organic wool. Sales of California-based Vivètique’s latex mattresses have increased by 40 percent annually for the past five years-they now comprise 45 percent of the company’s total sales. And they are even sold by discounter 1-800-Mattress.
 
It’s hard to say whether you should ditch your conventional bed in favor of a green one, since you’ll likely have a tough time figuring out exactly which toxins are lurking under your covers. Take, for example, fireproofing chemicals: Pentabde, a member of the polybrominated diphenyl ether (pbde) family of flame retardants, was used in some mattresses before 2004, when it was phased out. (Pentabde is now known to be toxic to the liver, thyroid, and nervous system.) So let’s say that just to be on the safe side you toss your pre-2004 mattress and buy a new one. Problem solved? Maybe not. Last July, the Consumer Product Safety Commission began to require that all mattresses sold in the United States be able to withstand 30 minutes of exposure to an open flame.
 
Mattress makers aren’t using Pentabde anymore-but it’s not clear exactly what they are using to meet the new standard. Major manufacturers such as Simmons, Sealy, and Tempur-Pedic won’t divulge their flame-retardant formulas, which are considered trade secrets. A Simmons press release touts a “proprietary blend of char-forming, intumescing, flame-resistant components.” Tempur-Pedic vaguely states that its products “consistently meet all safety standards.” A best guess at what’s in today’s mattresses comes from Ryan Trainer, executive vice president of the International Sleep Products Association, an industry group. He says most companies use “various types of barrier fabrics” such as cotton treated with boric acid or rayon treated with silica-both relatively benign chemicals-as well as fire-resistant materials such as modacrylic fiber (which contains antimony oxide, a carcinogen) and melamine resin (which contains formaldehyde).
 
With a doctor’s prescription, people who are chemically sensitive and have allergies can order a mattress that doesn’t pass a flammability test. But organic-mattress companies have found a simple way to fireproof: wrapping their bedding in a layer of wool. Their prices aren’t so warm and cozy-a queen-size latex model from Virginia-based Savvy Rest starts at $1,599. But if you’re having nightmares about your mattress, and it’s time to trade in your well-worn Posturepedic anyway, it might be worth it.
 
Susan Greenfield was a fan of organic mattresses even before the smelly memory-foam pad showed up-she’s slept on one for 15 years, says she “loves” it, and describes it as “very comfortable but very hard.” Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night.

Twin beds may benefit marriages

Twin beds may benefit marriages - UPI
 
LONDON, March 24 (UPI) — British sleep researchers say the secret of a happy marriage may be separate beds — or even separate bedrooms.
 
The Sleep Council reports that when couples share a bed both may be woken about six times during the night by their partners, The Times of London said. The problem is worse if one or both snores or has restless leg syndrome.
 
About 25 percent of British adults snore, the British Snoring and Sleep Apnea Association said. The problem may cost their partners two hours of sleep every night.
 
In the United States, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that the greatest marital problems seem to occur when one partner is a lark, getting up early in the morning ready for the day, and the other an owl who prefers to stay up late and sleep in. A California woman ended up getting a divorce because she got fed up with her husband’s habit of staying up late playing computer games.
 
For other couples, separate bedrooms could be the right choice. The National Association of Home Builders predicted that by 2015 a majority of custom-built homes will have his-and-hers master bedrooms.
 
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

7-step Plan to Boost Low Thyroid and Metabolism

Low Thyroid Function: A 7 Step Plan to Overcome This Hidden Epidemic From UltraWellness-Running the Right Tests for Low Thyroid Function Can Help Diagnose and Correct Thyroid Problems in Millions of People
 
Market Wire
 
03-21-08
 
LENOX, MA, Mar 20, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — Many of the 45 million people affected by hypothyroidism don’t know they have it because doctors aren’t running the right tests. But by following the new guidelines for hypothyroid testing, as well as running lesser-known tests, doctors could diagnose more people with low thyroid function.
 
“There are many reasons for low thyroid function, yet I’ve seen lots of patients with this problem who were just ignored by their doctors,” said Mark Hyman, M.D. of UltraWellness. “Most doctors just check something called the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which doesn’t give a full picture of the thyroid, the interpretation of this test is incorrect most of the time.”
 
Most doctors only regard TSH levels over 5 or 10 as worth treating, but new guidelines from the American College of Endocrinology consider anybody with a TSH level over 3.0 as hypothyroid. There are also other tests, including free T3, free T4 and thyroid antibodies, which are essential for diagnosing low thyroid function.
 
“Using old guidelines and thinking, conventional medicine misses millions who suffer with hypothyroidism,” said Hyman. “I like to look at all of the factors that could be causing chronic thyroid problems such as chronic inflammation from gluten intolerance or food allergies, chronic stress, heavy metals such as mercury, or deficiencies of vitamin D, selenium, vitamin A, zinc, and omega-3 fats.”
 
Hypothyroidism can also be caused by environmental toxins such as pesticides, which act as hormone or endocrine disruptors and interfere with thyroid hormone metabolism and function, causing hypothyroidism, creating a slow metabolism and preventing weight loss.
 
“I believe a comprehensive approach is needed to address chronic thyroid issues and to diagnose them. Unfortunately, most of the options for healing by conventional care are quite limited and only provide a partial solution, but by following my seven-step plan you can achieve optimal health and UltraWellness,” said Hyman.
 
For more information on identifying symptoms of hypothyroidism and Dr. Mark Hyman’s seven-step plan to address hypothyroidism, visit The UltraWellness Blog (www.ultrawellness.com/blog).

Sources:
Life Extension Daily News
7-step Plan to Boost Low Thyroid and Metabolism – The Ultrawellness Blog

 

One Cup Of Green Tea Per Day Cuts Ovarian Cancer Risk In Half

Just One Cup Of Green Tea Per Day Cuts Ovarian Cancer Risk In Half – Life Extension Newsletter

 

A short communication published in the March, 2008 issue of the American Association for Cancer Research journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention reported the outcome of a study conducted by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington in Seattle which found that women who drank one or more cups per day of green tea experienced a 54 percent reduction in the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Because the disease is difficult to detect in its early, treatable stages, and a reliable screening test is still not available to the public, an effective means of preventing the disease “remains the only feasible approach to reduce ovarian cancer mortality,” according to the authors.

 

Mary Anne Rossing and her colleagues set out to evaluate the relationship between caffeine-containing beverages and ovarian cancer risk by comparing 781 women diagnosed with a primary invasive or borderline epithelial ovarian cancer between 2002 and 2005, and 1,263 women without the disease. Interviews with the participants obtained demographic and lifestyle characteristics, medical, family and reproductive history, and beverage consumption data five years prior to ovarian cancer diagnosis (or prior to an assigned reference date for the control subjects). Caffeine-containing drinks were reported as brewed coffee, instant coffee, espresso or espresso drinks, green tea, black tea, colas and root beer, diet colas and diet root beer, and caffeinated soft drinks. Decaffeinated beverages were reported separately.

 

In agreement with previous studies, women who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer were less likely to have used hormonal contraception, had a greater frequency of childlessness, or were likelier to have a family history of the disease. While the frequent intake of colas or root beer, whether regular or decaffeinated, was associated with a moderately increased risk of ovarian cancer, none of the other beverages were associated with increased or decreased risk, with the exception of green tea. Women who consumed one or more cups of green tea per day experienced a 54 percent reduction in ovarian cancer risk compared to those who did not drink green tea. Those who reported drinking an average of less than one cup per day experienced a smaller reduction in risk. Elimination of Asian women from the analysis (who are often frequent consumers of green tea), analysis of the data by tumor type, and separation of the women according to age or menopausal status failed to modify the finding.

 

The relatively high levels of epigallocatechin-3-gallate in green tea have been shown to help inhibit the growth of ovarian cancer in cell cultures according to two studies cited by the authors. Additionally, green tea drinking has been associated with a reduced risk of several other cancers. “Green tea, which is commonly consumed in countries with low ovarian cancer incidence, should be further investigated for its cancer prevention properties,” the authors conclude.

Bad smells smell bad – Air fresheners may mutate your nethers

 
From the National Resources Defense Council:

Common Air Fresheners Contain Chemicals That May Affect Human Reproductive Development, September 19, 2007

 

An analysis of more than a dozen common household air fresheners found that most contain chemicals that may affect hormones and reproductive development, particularly in babies, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said today. The federal government does not currently test air fresheners for safety or require manufacturers to meet any specific safety standards. The study offers both consumers and officials new information on the risks certain air fresheners pose.

 

“More than anything, our research highlights cracks in our safety system,” said Dr. Gina Solomon, NRDC senior scientist.

 

“Consumers have a right to know what is put into air fresheners and other everyday products they bring into their homes,” Solomon added. “There are too many products on the shelves that we assume are safe, but have never even been tested. The government should be keeping a watchful eye on these household items and the manufacturers who produce them.”

 
…etc.

From the National Institutes of Health:

Chemical in Many Air Fresheners May Reduce Lung Function, 27 July, 2006

 

New research shows that a chemical compound found in many air fresheners, toilet bowl cleaners, mothballs and other deodorizing products, may be harmful to the lungs. Human population studies at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a part of the National Institutes of Health, found that exposure to a volatile organic compound (VOC), called 1,4 dichlorobenzene (1,4 DCB) may cause modest reductions in lung function.

 

“Even a small reduction in lung function may indicate some harm to the lungs,” said NIEHS researcher Stephanie London, M.D., lead investigator on the study. “The best way to protect yourself, especially children who may have asthma or other respiratory illnesses, is to reduce the use of products and materials that contain these compounds.”

 
…etc.

(Learn more about these issues at the Organic Consumers Association and the National Resources Defense Council.)
 

Foolproof online eyeglass shopping on the cheap

In the last six months, shoppers have shared some very positive experiences buying eyeglasses online. LifeHacker.com championed an excellent HowTo by Matt Haughey over at 43Folders.com:

How To: Buy Cheap Eyeglasses Online

Near-sighted blogger Matt Haughey stopped paying $500 for new eyeglasses and started shopping online for specs at much lower prices—around $50 or so. Over at the 43 Folders weblog, he explains what measurements you need, how to choose from the wide variety of glasses sold online, and what to expect from the whole experience. Anyone else had success or failure with online eyeglasses purchases? Let us know in the comments.

Adventures in $40 eyeglasses [43 Folders]

Specifically tackling re-lensing, BoingBoing.com linked to an article marking the first attempt at completing the process entirely online:

Ira, the blogger behind the Glassy Eyes blog, is one of my heroes. He writes about online companies that sell prescription eyeglasses. I now buy all my prescription eyeglasses online and save a bundle.

Today, Ira writes that he is sending in a pair of cherised, but badly scratched, eyeglasses for re-lensing. If he reports back with good results, I’ve got some vintage eyeglass frames I’m going to get re-lensed.