ASEQ-EHAQ

L'Association pour la santé environnementale du Québec / Environmental Health Association of Québec

Blog

Open your mind and change the world: Support someone with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS)

Over one million Canadians have been diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), a recognized disability under the Canadian Human Rights Act.[1] The number of diagnosed cases has been increasing (Statistics Canada, 2015-2016), with up to 75% being women and close to 50% being seniors (Statistics Canada, 2016). Despite these facts, it is likely that many people have never heard about […]

Environmental Triggers Impacting Everyday Life

‘You’re Too Sensitive!’.
Environmental Triggers Impacting Everyday Life.
by most of us. We have become so acclimatized to the omnipresence of car exhaust, cologne and cleaning products, it’s just something we’ve learned to tolerate, carrying on in our personal and work lives without even a second thought.

Sunscreen’s Environmental Cost

In 2018, the U.S. state of Hawaii banned the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate, two of the most commonly used UV blockers. Key West, a city in Florida, and Palau, a small island nation, followed suit with their own bans on the chemicals. It’s no coincidence these bans were all passed in coastal regions, home to marine environments. […]

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

Article by Rohini Peris and Michel Gaudet: Over one million Canadians have been diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). Up to 72% are women and close to 50% are seniors (Statistics Canada, 2020).[1] The number of diagnosed cases has been increasing (Statistics Canada, 2000-2020). MCS is a recognized disability under the Canadian Human Rights Act.[2] Yet it is likely that […]

Toxicology: it’s not just the dose that makes the poison

History Toxicology began as the science of poisons. History shows that civilizations actually used their knowledge of poisons to murder and replace numerous kings and emperors. The concept of the use of chemical substances changed in the 15th century when Paracelsus, considered the father of modern toxicology, stated, “It’s the dose that makes the poison.” He understood that for every […]

COVID-19 and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Thoughts on a survey

The Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) recently sought volunteers to complete a survey “as part of [their] research study on the impacts of COVID-19 health measures on the quality of life of adults with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)”. Having suffered MCS for many years, I felt ready to reflect on my experience. Much of the survey asked about how […]

A Guide to Eating Organic

There are many reasons as to why you should or would want to switch from eating meals mainly comprised of conventionally grown foods, to favoring organic foods. Organic foods turn out to be more local, healthy, and grown sustainably when compared to their conventional counterparts. It may seem overwhelming and impossible to begin this shift, but step by step it […]

Transitioning to Organic Foods for the New Year

As January 1st creeps closer, New Year’s resolutions become a recurring thought in everyone’s mind. The arrival of the New Year has the ability to make most people look back at their year and contemplate what made them happy, what took up too much space and time, what was beneficial, and what could have been improved. In doing so, you […]

A New Trend for Gift-Giving for the Holidays!

The holiday season is here once again. This is a time where you gather with your loved ones, or – as we are in the middle of a pandemic – we can gather instead with those we live with. Despite who we celebrate with, we endeavour to show our love and gratitude of having them in our lives, and the […]

Mechanisms of the impact of pollution on brain function

Neurodevelopment, neurodegeneration and chemical sensitization WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE PRESENTATION, CLICK HERE The brain is especially vulnerable to damage from exposures to airborne chemicals. This includes deficits in brain development in young children, neurodegeneration in adults, and sensitization in susceptible individuals. Everyone is exposed to numerous chemical pollutants every day. Some accumulate and most of us have a myriad […]