until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Growing up I lived in a small town. Anything and everything that happened affected everyone.

Last week, Haley a 15 year old girl that went to the same high school I went to, died of cancer.

Yes Cancer. At 15, I can't imagine.

Our community had been doing so much, corn hole fundraiser at every church, selling shirts and taking donations to help this family pay medical bills.

I never met her but my sister knows her. From what her and her friends say she was a pure blessing andand Mexican American women.

In the new research, certain phthalates – dibutyl phthalates (DBP), which are primarily used in adhesives and lacquer finishes, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a component of vinyl flooring, caulks and sealants – were linked to double the rate of diabetes in women with the highest levels of phthalate markers in their urine, according to the report published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives.

DBP and Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a plasticizer found in vinyl products including IV bags and tubing, were also linked to higher blood glucose levels and insulin resistance, two common precursors of type 2 diabetes, according to the study.

Industry groups are obviously pushing back on these findings, and hard. Steve Risotto, senior director fo the American Chemistry Council, a trade association for chemical