Earth Day, Every Day - Tip # 19 - Scented OR Unscented?

More and more products are available scented, and not just that perfume your co-worker is wearing, or that candle on the counter... think trash bags... makeup... hair care... pens... cleaning products... fabric softeners... Somewhere along the line we've been lead to believe that scented is better, but is it?

To begin with, fragrances can be made from natural or synthetic compounds and the US government doesn't require safety testing either way, nor does it require that the ingredients used in fragrances be identified on product labels... it's privileged info.

Secondly, a "fragrance" can contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and/or phthalates (no, they're not just in plastics).

As for avoiding fragrance, for some things it's easy. If it reeks or states that it's scented, choose one that's not. But unfortunately, it's not that simple for all products. Your favorite facial cleanser or toner may not mention fragrance, yet contain it, so choose your companies carefully and check out the EWG or National Institutes of Health Consumer Products Database websites for help finding products.

Earth Day, Every Day - Tip # 18 - Environmentally Friendly Paint

Indoor air quality (IAQ), according to the EPA, is a major health and environmental issue as your IAQ may be many times worse than outdoors.

One case in point, paints, or should I say traditional paints.

Today however, there's no need to use a paint that reeks for days. Choose no or low VOC paints, which are safe for you and your family. They're available at your local paint store, as well as the large home improvement chains. Plus you'll find a large variety to choose from, many with top ratings, so there's really no reason not to choose a no or low VOC paint.

Some of your choices...

No VOC
The Freshaire Choice (Home Depot)
Milk Paint
Sherwin Williams Harmony

Low VOC
Benjamin Moore AURA or Eco-Spec
Sherwin Williams Duration Home

Earth Day, Every Day - Tip # 17 - What's your Body Burden?

Check out the National Institutes of Health Household Products Database

Sadly, we're all exposed to way more chemicals than we realize, as the Body Burden project confirmed. The National Institutes of Health Household Product Database makes it easy for you to look up products by name or ingredient to see if there are any ingredients of concern.

Earth Day, Every Day - Tip # 8

Skip the Bottle

Bottled water may be convenient... it's also very expensive and a waste of resources.

Instead, purchase a filter style water carafe or install a water filtration system and get in the habit of carrying reusable BPA free water bottles.

After the initial outlay, your saving will add up as water filtered at home generally costs pennies per gallon, as opposed to prefilled water bottles which can cost a dollar or more per gallon.

Another huge plus, filtering your water saves the energy and OIL required to produce and deliver water bottles -- most of which are NOT recycled.

Living Green and the Cancer Question...

If you knew for sure that doing "x, y and z" would make you (and your loved ones) bulletproof to cancer, would you make a change to do "x, y and z"? Even if it cost you more? More effort, more time, more money?

What started me thinking about this question is a radio telethon being done by WHUD for a local hospital, the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. They're sharing successes and the stories are both heart wrenching and heartwarming. To listen to the parents and children speak of their ordeals brings tears to my eyes. And it got me to thinking about "x, y and z."

Over the years it's been well documented that exercise decreases the risk of cancer and many other health concerns, yet many Americans are couch potatoes. It's also well documented that eating more fruits and vegetables AND avoiding pesticides and herbicides on our food is healthier for us, and the planet, yet many feel they can't afford the extra cost. HealthyChild.org, The Environmental Working Group and The National Institute of Health have shined a light on ingredients of concern, some linked to serious health issues, in many household cleaners, yet Americans still choose them over non-toxic green cleaners which are safer.

The reality is that no one knows exactly what causes cancer, especially in a child. And doing "x, y and z" won't Guarantee that you or someone in your family won't get the big C... but what if those simple changes were truly the answer to a big part of the puzzle?

I realize I'm making this all too simplistic and sadly families doing all the right things may still wind up with a member who gets cancer since there are things we simply have no control over, such as the air we breathe, the pesticides used on our neighbors lawn, or in the office we work... but what if getting a little more exercise, choosing toxin free foods, and clearing the toxic cleaners from your home are a big part of the answer?

It really can cost so little monetarliy. Exercise doesn't have to mean joining a gym, instead strap on a pedometer and go walk the track at your local high school. Try to get in 10,000 steps every day.

Choosing organic food does cost a bit more, but going green for cleaning can save you more than enough to make up for the added cost of healthier food, and the added health benefits, Priceless (even if your not bulletproof for cancer).

Best of Health,
Susan

The Chemical Soup We Live In

Unless you've been avoiding the news for years, you know that plastics used for water bottles, beverages and canned goods often contain bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that may effect our health, and not in a good way.

In a recent study, more than 90% of Americans were found to have BPA in their urine, and those with the highest levels of BPA in their urine were two times more likely to suffer from heart disease and diabetes as those with the lowest level of BPA in their urine. As a result of this study and others, many experts are now recommending that we use only glass or stainless steel bottles for drinking water.

But it's not just BPA that we should be concerned with. Triclosan in deodorants, toothpastes and antibacterial products; Teflon to create non-stick cooking surfaces; phthalates in personal care products, the list goes on and on.

I recently heard this audio and thought I'd share it with you. The speakers, authors of the book Slow Death by Rubber Duck, have used themselves as guinea pigs to show just how quickly some chemicals get into our bloodstreams.

Should we be concerned? Probably, since everyday we're exposed to chemicals... in the air we breathe, the food and beverages we eat, and even in the fabrics that we wear or touch. Obviously we can't avoid all chemicals, but some may be of greater concern than others, and may be within our control if we just make a few changes.

Best of Health,
Susan

A New Name for High Fructose Corn Syrup?

The U.S. FDA has been petitioned by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) to allow high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) manufacturers the option of using the term “corn sugar” instead of “high fructose corn syrup.”

The CRA feels that “independent research demonstrates that the current labeling is confusing to American consumers.” They blame “inexact scientific reports and inaccurate media accounts” for the bad rap HFCS has gotten.

Now I'm not a scientist, so I won't debate the health effects of HFCS over other sugars. What I can state is that Americans are consuming way more sugar than they think they are (HFCS is in so many products), and way more than is healthy. Also, most corn in this country is Genetically Engineered (GE) corn which gets us into a whole different discussion.

What to do? Limit your intake of HFCS by reading labels, and work toward reducing your overall sugar intake. And lest you think artificial sweeteners may be a safer choice, check out this article by Dr. Oz.

To avoid HFCS completely, we choose products that are 100% juice or organic, neither will have HFCS.

Best of Health,
Susan

Think before buying that "PINK" product

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month... and those cute little pink ribbons are on a gazillion products.

You can purchase pink appliances as well as well as sneakers and fitness equipment that support Komen for the Cure.

Also sporting the pink ribbon are sugar laden cereals, cake mixes and frostings, paraben containing makeup and personal care products, and cookies loaded with saturated fat. Now I realize the Marlboro man isn't sporting a pink ribbon but are all things "pink" really good for our health, and shouldn't they be?

For me, those pink ribbons won't change how I shop. I'll purchase the products I regularly do, virtually none of which have a pink connection. Then in honor of the month I'll gladly make a donation to one of my favorite charities, Community Cares, a non-profit that benefits young women dealing with a health crisis - usually cancer.

And of course I'll continue to educate and advocate for safer products, because GREEN really does go with everything, and perhaps safer products will lead to less cancer...

Best of Health,
Susan

EPA bans aldicarb, toxic pesticide - better late than never

First registered in 1970 for use on cotton, Temik (also know as aldicarb) has been used on numerous crops including cotton, peanuts, potatoes, citrus crops, soy and sugarcane. Forty years later the FDA now says "aldicarb doesn't meet US food safety standards."

Thank you. But I wonder what took so long. Why? Because back in 1985, quite a few people became ill after ingesting watermelon that had been sprayed with aldicarb. Now 25 years later the EPA has decided to take action, but this will be slow too, because under the agreement with the EPA, the manufacturer Bayer CropScience won't stop manufacturing aldicarb until 2015! Although use on citrus and potatoes will end in 2011.

As always, it's buyer beware when it comes to choosing wisely for yourself and your family, especially for infants and toddlers. So what to do? Choose organic if you can. If that's not an option, buy local at your local Farmer's Market - it's the next best thing! And last but not least, refer to the Dirty Dozen list of foods that are most contaminated with pesticide residue. Also check out the Clean Fifteen list at the same link (scroll down).

The Story of Cosmetics... and the toxins within many of them

The Story of Cosmetics video has just been released, and it shares information on the ugly truth about cosmetics and personal care products.

Have you read the ingredient label on your favorite mascara, shampoo or deodorant? Seriously, you need a degree in chemistry to figure out just what's in there!
Now to be fair, just because an ingredient sounds scary, doesn't mean it is, but some common ingredients in personal care products ARE linked to asthma, cancer, learning disabilities and male infertility. How can this be?

And how can a product marketed with the PINK RIBBON logo to fight breast cancer, contain ingredients LINKED to breast cancer? Because nobody, not even the FDA regulates ingredients in personal care products. In fact, since 1938, the FDA has banned only eight ingredients from being in them!

The video is enlightening, and after you watch it, I encourage you to purchase products from responsible companies who market products that are truly safe, that really work and that are actually green!

Oh, and please sign the petition asking Congress to pass the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010. Isn't it time for all products to be safe?

Toxic Chemicals video from Healthy Stuff.org

Bisphenol-A in baby bottles, water bottles, and food cans.
Formaldehyde in furniture.
Phthalates in air fresheners, soft plastics, and fragrances.

According to research by the Environmental Working Group Body Burden study, these chemicals and many others can be found in babies (and adults alike). It's time industry put public health first!



And to avoid these toxins, chose truly green cleaners that are safe for you, your home AND especially your family!

Cleaning products and their link to asthma

The good news, biodegradable cleaners are finally "en Vogue." Everybody is going GREEN. But did you realize that many of the cleaners that you purchase in the supermarket - and some of the "biodegradable" cleaners that you buy in your local health food store release toxic fumes in your home that can adversely affect your health and the health of your family?

Sadly between 1980 and 1994 childhood asthma increased 74%. Today 1 in 13 kids has asthma. The cause(s) behind this rapid increase in asthma is probably a combination of things, but recently evidence has shown that some of the increase may be caused by early exposure to toxic chemical fumes in the home.

How can that be?

Because consumers demand cleaners that work well and are easy to use - and if no effort is required, all the better! Also because cleaning product manufacturers have been more than willing to oblige consumers by mixing numerous chemicals together in household cleaners and then putting them in convenient spray bottles. And these days with our homes well insulated against the cold, and central air running in the summer, who opens a window to vent those fumes? The result is that those toxic chemicals accumulate in the air that we breathe inside our own homes!

Over the years a number of studies have pointed to an association between toxic household fumes and childhood asthma, including one published in the European Respiratory Journal (31: 54-57, 2008) which was very large and particularly well controlled. The study measured the household chemical exposure of 7,162 pregnant women in England and looked at the incidence of asthma in their children at age 8.5 years. The household products used most frequently by the pregnant women were disinfectants (87.4%), bleach (84.8%), aerosols (71.7%), air fresheners (68%), window cleaners (60.5%), carpet cleaners (35.3%) and pesticides/insecticides (21.2%).

And the results were clear. Higher household chemical exposure during pregnancy was associated with a 41% increase in childhood asthma in children with no known allergies!

What should we learn from this? That it's not enough to select household products that are safe for the environment. We also need to choose products on the basis of their safety for us and our family - not just on the basis of cost and convenience.

For information on the toxic chemicals in common household products visit: http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm)

Pesticides and your food

Unless you're living miles from civilization and eating your own home-grown foods, sadly we're exposed to way more pesticides than most of us realize.

The What’s On My Food website is a fabulous searchable database that has foods from Almonds to Winter Squash -- very informative and a bit Scary!

I hope you'll check it out!

Do you unknowingly have toxic products in your home?

This study may just be a wake up call...

Cancer Prevention Coalition Chairperson Samuel Epstein, M.D., and investigative journalist, David Steinman, compiled the "Dirty Dozen" from data on over 3,500 consumer products.

> Beef Frankfurters (Conventional)
> Whole Milk
> Talcum Powder (often labeled as "baby powder")
> Cover Girl Replenishing Natual Finish Make Up (Foundation)
> Crest Tartar Control Toothpaste
> Alberto VO5 Conditioner (Essence of Neutral Henna)
> Clairol Nice 'n Easy (Permanent Haircolor)
> Ajax Cleanser
> Zud Heavy Duty Cleanser
> Lysol Disinfectant Spray
> Zodiac Cat & Dog Flea Collar
> Ortho Weed-B-Gon Lawn Weed Killer (another Monsanto "winner")

Change may not be easy and getting rid of your favorite whatever may be difficult, but for your health and the health of your family and our planet, visit your local health food store and try a substitute. Heck, you may just love that new toothpaste!

As we send our kids back to school a few thoughts…

According to the EPA, “the air inside is two to five times worse than outside… and we spend nearly 90 percent of our time indoors,” kids included! So while our kids are sitting at their desk listening to their teacher, they’re breathing in toxins released by the fresh coat of paint on the walls, the cleaning products used on the floors, and who knows what that might have been sprayed on their desks or the windows.

Concerned? I am, and it’s time for us to ask our school boards the question… What are they doing to minimize indoor air pollution in our schools?

Schools should be a safe place, where indoor air quality is at least equal to what’s outside, preferably better. We should insist that our school boards make the necessary changes to ensure that all children, teachers, and custodians breathe easier.