Dietary Toxins and Eating Well

While I normally focus on toxins in personal care products and the environment, I've decided to take a look at toxins and harmful chemicals in the food we eat. This is a collaborative post with a wonderful blogger, Jessica David of Conveying Awareness with Jessica David.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwind3/2343142046/">Bradley Wind</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

To begin with, let's short list of some chemicals that we need to avoid in the food we eat.

• Mercury in fish: The dangers of mercury exposure include fatigue, memory problems, mercury poisoning, and dangers to the developing fetus.
• Artificial dyes: These are a color followed by a number, for example, Red 3. These dyes have been linked to behavioral problems in children and cancer.
• Sodium nitrate: Found in processed foods like hot dogs, bacon and sausage, sodium nitrate gives these foods their red tint. Sodium nitrates leads to an increase of nitrosamines in your body, which can lead to cancer. 
• Bisphenol A ( BPA): Often found in the lining of canned foods and beverages. It is estrogenic and can also leach from plastic. BPA has been linked to diabetes and heart disease. 
• Polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs): These are industrial coolants that can be found in farm-raised fish and are known endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. 
• Dioxins: Dioxins are contaminants formed during combustion and industrial processes. For example, trash burning, forest fires, incineration, herbicide manufacturing, and paper pulp bleaching. Dioxins can also be found in farm-raised fish and in the fatty tissues of animals that have been exposed to dioxins. The risks of dioxin exposure include, reproductive & developmental problems, an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, and cancer. 
• Hydrogenated oils: Oils are long, often branched chains of carbon and hydrogen that are liquid are room temperature. The branches are caused when there are carbon to carbon double bonds. Scientists can go into the lab and add hydrogen atoms to these double bonds to break them and make the molecule more stable. This is a hydrogenated oil. They are used to increase the shelf life of food products, but have been linked to diabetes and heart disease.
• Artificial sweeteners: Aspartame is probably the most famous artificial sweetener. It has been linked to headaches, dizziness and neuronal damage. Recently, another artificial sweetener, Splenda (sucralose) was linked to the release of cancer-causing chemicals when cooked & baked.
• GMOs: GMOs are genetically modified organisms. They are created when scientists take the genes from organism/species A and put them into unrelated organism/species B. We were told that GMOs would help alleviate the problem of world hunger, but instead, GMOs have largely been used to increase the consumption of pesticides (The Link Between GMOs and Pesticides). Studies on the safety of GMOs have largely come from the companies that produce GMOs, who have a vested interest in the outcome of those studies. While more independent scientific studies are needed on the safety of GMOs on humans, experiments from farmers show that animals prefer non-GMO food. One scientific study on rats, showed lifetime exposure to Roundup Ready GM corn lead to tumors, multiple organ damage and death. 
• Pesticides: Conventional farming relies heavily on pesticides. Pesticides have been linked to endocrine disruption, infertility, neurological damage and cancer. The most widely used pesticide, atrazine, has been extensively studied by Dr. Tyrone Hayes of UC Berkeley. He used to work for the company that made the pesticide, Syngenta, but when he tried to publish a paper on the negative effects of the product, they stopped him. Syngenta has been trying to stop him ever since. His website can be found here. Unfortunately, even organic foods are exposed to some pesticides through rain, runoff and the water table, though to a lesser extent than conventional produce.

Sources
Alternet
Care2
NIEHS

Now let's transition into how you can improve your diet to become your best you.

One of my passions is to share the benefits of eating the [real] rainbow daily and it's found in fruits and vegetables. I wasn't always like this though. It only occurred to me about 5 years ago the importance of eating more of nature's best so that I could heal some conditions that had plagued me for years. Though I have always been thin, I wasn't always healthy and I didn't know any better and guess what? I didn't care much about longevity in my 20s. It wasn't until I became a mom at age 31 that I decided to make some changes! It took another new mom to pull me aside and share with me how I could eat more fruits and vegetables and that it could be the first step in the right direction for reversing some damage done through nutrient poor food choices that I had made for many years. 

Fast forward a few years, I became a certified health coach. The seed to link arms with others in their wellness journeys was planted months after that talk with my friend. Learn more about my story here. So here I am encouraging you to strive for 5. Eat five different fruits and 5 different vegetables daily. Here are some tools to help you meet that goal. 
  
1) Download my free eGuide.  
2) Learn more about Traffic Light Eating from a L.E.A.N. perspective. 
3) Follow me on Pinterest. These boards are helpful: + Eating the Real Rainbow + Recipes Using Veggies + My recipes  
4) Join a CSA (farm-share co-op). For a listing in your area, visit Local Harvest. 
5) If it's right for you, take one of my L.E.A.N. Start online classes. 

In session three, we talk about ways to eat more of nature's best - fruits and vegetables! Info. 

In tip 2, it mentions the L.E.A.N. perspective. This is the 4 pillars of health: Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitude, and Nutrition and no matter the way you slice it (different words to describe the same concepts), we need all 4 components for our journey to wellness. World-renown pediatrician and author of nearly 40 books, Dr. Bill Sears (of the Sears Wellness Institute) teaches us that the most basic foundation of understanding nutrition is through the colors of a stoplight. Today's lesson is on the green light. The other two colors are summarized in tip two.

Green light foods are fruits and vegetables found closest to nature. If you're concerned about pesticides, other contaminants, and GMOs, purchase them organic or know your supplier. I teach that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is key to wellness and the benefits outweigh the risks. Over time, as your pockets adjust, you will find that eating produce without *most contamination may serve you better and it will support small local farmers and their families. Knowing your supplier is key because you can support local farmers and their families that cannot afford the organic label. This also applies to getting whole food nutrients in a capsule. If the product doesn't carry the USDA Organic seal, you may also look for NSF International's seal - this means that what the product claims to have or not have in their product is the truth via NSFs third-party non-affiliated testing and certification. * Even USDA Organic foods have some contaminants. See this link for more info. 

I live in a food desert. The options for fresh, sustainable produce free of contaminants are low. There are no farmers' markets in my area so it is difficult for me to find a good variety of produce locally. I shop about twice a week to two or three stores to find the best quality of produce. It's important for me to eat a variety of produce and for specific crops, I almost always buy organic when I can (see EWG Dirty Dozen for more info, link is below). I'm thankful that there is a farm-share co-op drop off in my city. I am a subscriber to Abundant Harvest Organics and eventually, I hope to grow my own soon with a Tower Garden. 

If you want more information on which fruits and vegetables have the highest levels of contaminants, visit EWGs: The Dirty Dozen. If you'd like to know how many and what kinds of contaminants are on your produce, check out What's On My Food.  Choose, eat, and live well! =)

 

Jessica David is a Certified L.E.A.N. Health Coach and the owner and founder of Conveying Awareness providing nutrition tips via a plethora of resources. Jessica feels that through encouragement we can impart education with lasting results. She advocates for families to eat more fruits and vegetables. She lives in Ridgecrest, California with her husband and their son. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and her blog.

One more reason to fight for tougher regulation of toxic chemicals.

Breastfeeding is best. We all know that. However, breastfeeding can also expose your child to toxic chemicals.

Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aurimas_m/3802740128/">c r z</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Man-made chemicals called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are of most concern. They spread through the environment and are stored in the fatty tissues of fish and animals until they reach the top of the food chain, humans. Once in humans, they are are stored in our fat, and our fat is necessary for the production of breast milk. When a nursing mother feeds her child, these POPs are released into the breast milk. Examples of POPs include certain pesticides, dioxin, toxic metals (lead, mercury, cadmium), flame retardants and PCBs.  

 

What can mothers do?  

 

Here is a list provided by the National Resources Defense Council. 

• "Quit smoking or never start, and keep others from smoking in your house or car

• Avoid alcoholic beverages

• Avoid use of pesticides in the home and garden or on pets

• Avoid exposure to solvents, such as paints, non-water-based glues, furniture strippers, gasoline fumes, perfume and nail polish

• Avoid dry cleaners and recently dry-cleaned clothes

• Eat a balanced diet low in animal fats and high-fat dairy products

• Avoid fish that may have high mercury or PCB levels, such as swordfish, shark, tuna and locally caught fish (see NRDC's guide to Mercury Contamination in Fish for more information)

• Eat organically grown food, if available"

 

Do these toxins harm you baby? A 2009, CDC study found that levels of certain toxins were higher in formula than they were in breast milk. Also, breastmilk may contain bacteria that can metabolize perchlorate, another environmental toxin found in breastmilk. Scientists and doctors still promote breastfeeding as the best option for mothers and children, if possible. 

 

What else can mothers do? 

Again, I support, Safer Chemicals Health Families and their actions on tougher regulation for toxic chemicals. 

 

 

Toxic Chemicals at your fingertips.

Who doesn't love to paint their fingernails, or toenails for that matter; especially as the weather warms and the sandals come out? For many of us, it is a special indulgence, a bright spot in a stressful week. It's like changing your hair color, but less expensive and less time consuming.

Image from http://www.webmd.com/beauty/nails/20120411/is-your-nail-polish-toxic

In 2006, health advocates began raising alarms and awareness about three chemicals in nail polish (including top and base coats) referred to as "the toxic trio," According to the New York Times;  

"The trio consisted of a known carcinogen, formaldehyde, used as a hardening agent, and two materials linked to developmental defects: toluene, to evenly suspend color, and the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate, or DBP, to add flexibility and sheen."

Nail polish manufacturers said that they removed these chemicals from their products and began to label their polishes "non-toxic." However, a 2012 study by the California Environmental Protection Agency: California Department of Substances Control found that the "numerous" companies continued to use one, two, or all three chemicals in their polishes. A highlight video of the study is below.

These chemicals are toxic to both nail technicians and consumers, including pregnant women & children. (Phthalates pose a developmental risk to children, and children tend to chew on their nails). Adverse health effects of exposure include, asthma, birth defects and cancer. To find a safe brand, use the Skin Deep Database at http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/.

Label Check: Phthalates

Phthalates (pronounced thalates) are a class of chemicals used to soften vinyl and plastics. They also act as dyes, adhesives and solvents. They can be found in fragrances, cosmetics, lotions, food packaging, plastic wrap, vinyl toys, wallpaper, pharmaceuticals, shower curtains, medical tubing, insecticides, and nail polish, just to name a few. Phthalates are capable of off-gasing, becoming gaseous and entering the air we breathe and have been found in indoor air and dust.

Image taken from http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/58/2/350/F1.expansion.html

The health effects of exposure to phthalates may include lower sperm counts, endocrine disruption,  cancer, and negative impacts on the developing male reproductive system. Phthalate metabolites have also been detected in the urine of women with breast cancer (Breast Cancer Fund).

"A 2012 study examined whether or not there is a relationship between urinary levels of nine different phthalates and the incidence of breast cancer. In this study, urinary phthalate metabolites were detected in 82 percent of the women, whether or not they had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Monoethyl phthalate (MEP), a urinary metabolite of the parent compound diethyl phthalate (DEP; often used in fragrance), was elevated in women with breast cancer. This association was most profound in pre-menopausal women. Metabolites of two other common phthalates (butyl benzyl phthalate, BBP; and di-n-octyl phthalate, DOP) were negatively associated with breast cancer risk in this study (Lopez-Carrillo, 2010)."

How can you avoid phthalates? The folks are Safer Chemicals Healthy Families have provided some excellent tips! 

"1. There’s no sure-fire way to completely avoid phthalates until Congress passes legislation that will require chemical manufacturers to demonstrate that their products are safe before they end up in our lotions, dashboards, and bodies.
Until then...

2. Skip the fragrance when choosing cosmetics, personal care products, cleaning products, detergents, and air fresheners. Manufacturers aren’t required to list phthalates on the label, but any item listed as “fragrance” is often a chemical mixture that can contain phthalates.
3. When buying cosmetics, purchase from companies that have pledged not to use phthalates.
4. Check the Healthy Toys database for toys bought before 2009 - they may contain phthalates.
5. Avoid buying plastics that may be treated with phthalates, including vinyl toys, shower curtains, and gloves. Look out for "PVC," "V" or the "3" recycling code on the item or its packaging.
6. If you have vinyl flooring in your home, damp mop regularly since phthalates bind to dust on the floor. Direct sunlight on vinyl tiles causes them to release phthalates more quickly, so put lower blinds on windows that shine directly on flooring."

Source: Tox Town

Happy label reading!

Toxic Babies

Did you know that the typical North American newborn has hundreds of toxic chemicals present in their cord blood at birth? These toxins include both industrial chemicals and chemicals from everyday personal care products. This is particularly disturbing because newborns don't have established detoxification systems yet, nor is there a blood-brain barrier established to protect their developing brains.

How do the babies get these chemicals into their systems? Well, it turns out that the placenta doesn't block or filter out toxins. Some of the chemicals detected include pesticides, the industrial coolant PCBs, non-stick pan coatings, BPA, and flame retardants. A recent study, written about in Scientific American showed that minority groups have higher levels of chemicals in their cord blood and that this may lead to disproportionately higher rates of chronic disease in minority communities; see Health based on where you live.

Another study by the Environmental Working Group, examined 10 babies and found, on average 200 chemicals in the cord blood. The study also found the following  health effects. 

• "134 have shown to cause cancer in lab animals or people.
• 151 are associated with causing birth defects.
• 154 are endocrine disruptors, they interfere with the body’s hormonal system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects.
• 186 are linked to infertility.
• 130 are immune system toxins.
• 158 are neurotoxins."

Those are pretty scare numbers! So how can you minimize exposure while pregnant? Well, the Environmental Working Group has a few suggestions.

• "Buy organic.
• Eat fish that is low in mercury.
• Filter tap water. Check out the Environmental Working Group’s National Drinking Water database.
• Use cast-iron and stainless steel cookware instead of nonstick products.
• Shop smart for personal care products, such as shampoos, cosmetics and toothpastes. Stay away from nail polish and dark hair dye and check out other products on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database."

 Be sure to check out my previous posts on Toxic Chemicals to Avoid to help with your shopping. 

Toxic Chemicals and Mental Illness

Mental illness is often kept quiet, in this country. We may all know someone who suffers from a mental illness but none of us may want to talk of about it. Having lost people in my life to suicide, I try to make a point to support mental health causes when and wherever I can. That's why I became interested in the link between toxic chemicals and mood disorders.

It turns out that heavy, pesticides, solvents, PCBs, vinyl chloride, and other chemicals and cause or trigger mood disorder symptoms*. How does this happen?

According to Dr. Janelle Sinclair, 4 different mechanisms cause depression.

1. Toxins, particularly solvents, heavy metals, and pesticides disrupt neurons' (brain cells') normal abilities to communicate with each other through electrical signals.
2. Both mercury and lead are so toxic to the brain that they damage the actual structure of the brain.
3. Toxins affect the levels of neurotransmitters available. The electrical signals lead to the creation of neurotransmitters, like serotonin, that travel from neuron to neuron. Too much or too little of these neurotransmitters can affect our mood. An example, provided by Dr. Sinclair is manganese. Manganese reduces serotonin levels. If your serotonin levels are too low, you feel depressed.
4. Mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic create free radical damage in the body. In the brain, this can lead to inflammation, and neuronal death.

Now what about other disorders? Well, from the citation below, you will find a treasure trove a information, including pesticides. I will post some charts from the paper below.

*Collaborative on Health and the Environment. (2008, November). Mental Health and Environmental Exposures from Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative. Retrieved January 30, 2014, from http://www.healthandenvironment.org/?module=uploads&func=download&fileId=620

Companies continue to hide toxic chemicals from consumers.

According to a recent report from Women's Voice for the Earth, twenty-two companies have requested "trade secret" status in order to bypass California's new public database of toxic cosmetic chemicals, the California Safe Cosmetics Program Database.

This database is fairly new, only released this month, and it requires companies to report reproductive and carcinogenic toxins under California's Proposition 65. Proposition 65 was approved by voters in 1986 and was also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. According to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which administers the program and database:

"Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. By providing this information, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about protecting themselves from exposure to these chemicals. Proposition 65 also prohibits California businesses from knowingly discharging significant amounts of listed chemicals into sources of drinking water. "

Products in California that meet the requirement for reproductive and carcinogenic toxicity can also carry Prop 65 labels.

These companies, listed below, are trying to abuse the trade secret system in order to avoid these labels and public pressure to change their ingredients. It's a shame the once again, profit trumps public health. Shame of these companies! If you would like to voice your opinion on this issue, you can call the 1-800 number listed on the products, ask the manufacturers about the ingredients and demand action.

Alberto Culver

• Motions
• Nexxus
• Soft & Beautiful
• Tresemme

Alberto Culver USA, Inc.

• FDS (removed trade secret ingredient)
• St. Ives (removed trade secret ingredient)
• VO5 (removed trade secret ingredient)

Chattem, Inc.

• Balmex
• BullFrog
• Cortizone 10
• Gold Bond
• Herpecin-L
• Mudd
• Selsun Blue
• Selsun Naturals
• Selsun Salon

Colgate-Palmolive Company

• SOFTSOAP (removed trade secret ingredient or discontinued product)

Conopco, Inc.

• Suave (removed trade secret ingredient or discontinued product)

Demeter Fragrance Library, Inc.
Demeter
Farouk Systems, Inc.

• Bioglitz
• Bioglitz Color
• BioSilk
• CHI
• CHI Organics
• Chromatic (discontinued product)
• Sungliltz
• Sunglitz

Great Clips, Inc.

• Detour – Great Clips
• Solutions by Great Clips

Jan Marini Skin Research, Inc.

• Jan Marini Skin Research

Kenra Professional, LLC

• Elucence
• Kenra (r) Classic
• Kenra (r) Platinum

Lumene Oy

• Lumene

Melaleuca, Inc.

• Nicole Miller – Confidential  (removed trade secret ingredient)

Nars Cosmetics

• NARS

Regis Corporation

• Costcutters
• Mastercuts
• Regis Design Line

Robell Research

• Supersmile

rolland srl

• Insight
• Organic Way
• Una

Rowpar Pharmaceuticals, Inc

• CloSYS

Schwartzkopf & Henkel

• Got2B
• Smooth N Shine

Shiseido America, Inc.

• Basala  (discontinued product)
• NARS
• Shiseido
• Shiseido Benefiance BENEFIANCE
• Shiseido Future Solution
• Shiseido Pureness
• Shiseido The Makeup
• Shiseido The Skincare
• Shiseido White Lucen

Shiseido Co., Ltd.

• Cle de peau beaute
• Qiora
• Shiseido
• Shiseido Benefiance
• Shiseido Bio-Performance
• Shiseido Elixir
• Shiseido Hair Care
• Shiseido Men
• Shiseido Pureness
• Shiseido The Makeup
• Shiseido The Skincare
• Shiseido White Lucent

Tammy Taylor Nails, Inc.

• Tammy Taylor
• Tammy Taylor Nails

The Dial Corporation

• Coast
• Dial
• Right Guard

Thanks to Women's Voices for the Earth.

Toxic Burnout

As if worrying about what we eat and what we put on our bodies isn't enough. Now we have to worry about where we sit and where we sleep! Toxic flame retardants are found in mattresses, carpets, chairs, couches, strollers, nursing pillows, and electronics, just to name a few.

In theory, flame retardants are supposed to slow the growth of fires and allow for extended escape time, in the event of a fire. In reality, these chemicals may provide only extra seconds of escape time, which is fine, but is it worth the long-term health risks? (Notice that the American Chemistry Council has sites promoting now refuted research on flame retardants and escape times - www.flameretardantfacts.com/benefits/). Also, these chemicals are only necessary because so many of the products we use today, including furniture foam, are made from petroleum products.

If you look around your home you will probably see some tags that look like this:

In 1975, California adopted Technical Bulletin 117, which required all furniture sold in the state to meet open-flame tests, so that the cushions would not ignite in the presence of a flame. Because CA is a large market, so furniture producers began to make all of their furniture with flame retardants and thus, the chemicals spread nationwide. Unfortunately, flame retardants are volatile and enter the air and our bodies.

A 2013 study by the MIND Institute at UC Davis found one component of the flame retardants accumulates in human blood, fat and breast milk.

The institute summarized the study by saying the “chemical, quite literally, reduces brain power.” The findings “bolster the argument that genetics and environment can combine to increase the risk of autism and other neurological disorders.”

These chemicals are also persistent, meaning they are long-lasting in the environment (our homes and our bodies). 

Yet many of these compounds have also turned out to be environmentally mobile and persistent — turning up in food and household dust — and are now so ubiquitous that levels of the chemicals in the blood of North Americans appear to have been doubling every two to five years for the past several decades.

Young children may be the most vulnerable to flame retardant exposure because they are often found in children's products and children often spend time on the floor around dust. Exposure to these chemicals can lead to developmental problems, reduced IQ, cancer, and impaired fertility.

A recent film, Toxic Hot Seat, examined the issue of flame retardants and how they were making firefighters sick, as well as others.

Recently, Gov. Brown of CA called for TB 117 to be reviewed, but the review will not eliminate or ban all flame retardants. More work will still be needed.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/26/6099722/dan-morain-an-insider-questions.html#storylink=cpy

More Toxic Chemicals to Avoid and the Need to Real Reform

Here is an image from the website It's a Harleyyy Life that shows succinctly shows 30 toxic chemicals to avoid and their health effects. Many we have already gone over, but I like the presentation of this graph and it may be a good printout for your home or shopping list.

Here is another image from Women's Voices for the Earth.

As you can see, by removing toxic chemicals, we could avoid many costly health issues. However, our health system is based on treatment, not prevention and current laws are not strong enough to regulate these chemicals off of the market. While Ava Anderson offers non toxic products and I am proud to be a consultant, I am also a believer in the need for real legislative reform.

Currently, there is a bill called the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA) in the Senate and in Committee in the House that has the backing of the Chemicals Industry (The American Chemistry Council). CSIA does not allow states to ban or take action on chemicals they determine to be dangerous. It does not protect hotspot/fenceline communities. It does not protect pregnant women, children, or other vulnerable populations, and it places more bureaucracy in place at the EPA, delaying any action they could take on toxic chemicals by 5-8 years. 

That's why I support the group Safer Chemicals Healthy Families. They work in DC and they work in collaboration with groups around the United States to lobby Congress, and push for real legislation reform to protect our families and ALL populations.

On the Hunt for Toxic Chemicals

Back on January 13th,  I gave you an abbreviated list of toxic chemicals to avoid. Now, I'll help you figure out where to find those chemicals, especially if they aren't on the label.

I like the site www.drugstore.com.You can enter almost any product and look up the ingredients.

Here's an example. Let's look at Cetaphil Daily Skin Cleanser, Normal to Oily Skin. Its ingredients are:

Water (Purified), Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Acrylates/Steareth 20 Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Glycerin, PEG 200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Butylene Glycol, PEG 7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Phenoxyethanol, Masking Fragrance (Parfum), Panthenol, PEG 60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben

I've highlighted the toxic ingredients from this previous list in red. This does NOT include all of the toxins in the product. That said, I might as well give you a list of more toxic chemicals to avoid.

More Toxic Chemicals to Avoid

• Talc: Talc belongs in the same family as asbestos and is dangerous to breathe. It has also been linked to ovarian cancer.

• PVP/VA Copolymer:  These chemicals are derived from petroleum and are used in hairsprays, and cosmetics. They are considered toxic and contribute to foreign bodies in the lungs of sensitive people. 

•  Isopropyl Alcohol: This is another petroleum-derived substance that is used in anti-freeze and shellac. Inhalation of the vapor or ingestion can lead to headaches, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting and even coma. 

• Mineral Oil: Mineral oil is another petroleum derivative. It coats the skin like plastic wrap, preventing it from breathing, absorbing nutrients and excreting toxins. This slows the skin's natural cell development, causing premature aging. Baby oil is 100% mineral oil and bad for your baby's skin. 

•  Toluene: Toluene can be found in many nail products, such as nail color. Exposure can lead to headache, dizziness, fatigue, eyes, nose & throat irritation, and reproductive and developmental harm.

•  Benzyl Acetate: This is a solvent, often hidden within the ingredient "fragrance." It is linked to pancreatic cancer and is a possible neurotoxin. 

•  Bronopol: This is a preservative, which is already restricted in Canada. It is toxic to the immune system, skin, and lungs. 

• Quaternium-15: This is another preservative that breaks down in formaldehyde. Exposure leads to allergic reactions and dermatitis. It can be found in skin and haircare products. 

Health based on where you live: Fenceline Communities.

Although we are all exposed to the over 80,000 chemicals that have been created since the modern chemistry era, some are more exposed than others. Across the country and around the world, communities exist in close proximity to chemical factories, toxic waste dumps, landfills and other toxic sites. These are called fenceline communities, because often, a fence is all that separates their communities from the polluted land. Those who live in these communities are exposed to more toxic chemicals and suffer more adverse health effects than the rest of us. These communities also tend to be disproportionately minority and of lower economic classes.

One example of a fenceline community is Mossville, LA, also known as Cancer Alley. Mossville is predominantly African American community surrounded by 14 petrochemical plants.

The town has been ravaged by illness and it has been difficult for people to move since no one wants to move a town surrounded by factories.

"I got cancer. My dad had cancer. In fact, he died of cancer. It's a lot of people in this area who died of cancer," says Herman Singleton Jr., 51, who also lost two uncles and an aunt to cancer.

Another example is the small town of Savoonga on St. Lawrence, AK, in the Bering Strait, near Russia. The town is near an abandoned U.S. military base.

"When the military vacated Northeast Cape in the early 1970s, they left at least thirty-four contaminated sites in a nine-square-mile area. Contamination includes at least 220,000 gallons of spilt fuel, as well as heavy metals, asbestos, solvents, and PCBs which are known to cause cancer."

The town is still suffering the effects. In a village of 800, two babies were born without brains.

"As a result of these daily exposures to toxic chemicals, those of us who live in remote places like Alaska and the Arctic have some of the highest levels of toxic chemicals in our own bodies. On St. Lawrence Island we have very high levels of PCBs in our traditional foods and in our bodies, up to 10 times higher than average U.S. levels. Yupik women within the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area of Alaska have the highest levels of PBDEs -- toxic, flame-retardant chemicals -- in their blood. These chemicals have been linked to serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes, learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive harm. People in my community are being harmed by all these diseases. Last year, we lost 19 people from cancer in a community of about 1,200."

 

"“We are tired of our communities being ‘sacrifice zones’ or ‘kill zones,’ ” Ms. Roberts added.

Ms. Roberts was referring to what the environmental injustice movement refers to as “the disproportionate” pollution burden borne by communities of color and poorer White communities, often located near freeways, power plants, toxic waste sites, oil refineries, rail yards, chemical plants and other major sources of pollution."

No one should have to live like this. In the battle against toxic chemicals, we can't forget our brothers and sisters in fenceline communities around the globe. 

The Importance of Being Your Own Health Advocate

I haven't been feeling well these past few days and I've been thinking a lot about the connection between the chemicals I'm exposed to and my health. The sad thing is, most health professionals don't or won't ask about the chemical-health connection when you go in for a visit.

I try to be as non toxic as I can when it comes to the personal care products I use. I try to eat a healthy diet and live a healthy lifestyle, but unfortunately chemical exposure is unavoidable.  There are over 80,000 chemicals in our homes and the environment, some of them persisting for over a million of year. Some medications taken by our grandmothers may even have an affect on us, like the supposed anti-miscarriage drug diethylstilbestrol or DES.

Even the products that claim to be safe may be misleading. For example, some manufacturers have replaced the estrogenic bisphenol A (BPA) with the still toxic BPS. There are also "non toxic" companies that still use fragrances and perfumes in their products.

This is why label reading is a must. Just like you read for nutritional data, we must begin to read for toxicity data. When you go to the doctor, talk to them about any chemicals that you may have been exposed to. If you work in a chemical factory, tell them and express your concerns. Take a proactive and preventative role in your own healthcare, particularly if you are pregnant or have young children.

Toxic baggage: a journey to healthier living: Ava Anderson at TEDxMosesB...

Above is a speech given by Ava Anderson at a Tedx Talk at the Moses Brown School in 2013. At the age of 14, young Ava Anderson first learned about the dangers of toxic chemicals in personal care products. She went on to start a blog to inform people about the dangers, but she wondered if she could do more. At age 15, she started her own line of personal care products that don't contain any
toxins. Today her company, Ava Anderson Non Toxic, boasts consultants all over the US, myself included. The company stresses education about toxins and what they can do to your health and the health of your family. My previous post Toxic Chemicals to Avoid was taken largely from an Ava Text.