It seems like a chemical kind of week. Everywhere I turn there seem to be articles out there talking about really nasty chemicals that are polluting our world and our bodies. After my first DAN! conference, my head was spinning after the "Defending your child from a toxic world" talk that Dr. Stuart Freedenfeld gave. Bleak was how I felt but then I got mobilized. From dumping the teflon pans to re-packaging my meat from those disgusting foam filled trays to looking at water filters for my home, my conscious mind was now on ways to protect my family.
The DAN! conference also showed me (in a very elaborate, organic chemistry sort of way) the detox pathways that we are born with and just how broken they have become in our kiddos with Autism (and probably a great many others without it). I also heard the stats of what hazardous toxins are found each day in the cord blood of newborn babies. It seems un-avoidable. We all are exposed to toxins. When I walk through the lush grass of our HOA I know I am picking up fertilizers and pesticides, another reason why I don't let my kids lay on the common area grass or wear shoes inside. I know the schools use pesticides and herbicides, as do all the malls, stores, etc. We cannot live in a bubble, but what I always encourage is for people to make the biggest impact where they get the most exposure.
For most of us that is in our food supply and what we use to clean our homes. We can make a BIG impact just eating organic with the "dirty dozen", for example strawberries have some of the highest residue amounts so always go organic on the strawberries. Things with thick peels are ok not to get organic. Peel your veggies and fruit unless it is organic. Small steps do add up to big changes in our exposure. Dump the bleach. One byproduct of bleach is dioxin, one of the most hazardous chemicals out there. You can have a clean house without bleach, I promise.
I used to think it was just the hippie freakos who were afraid of stuff like BPA. Now maybe I am one of those hippie freakos. If so, I embrace it because I do know (and have the lab tests to prove it!) that we are healthier than before. I applaud Feinstein's efforts to ban BPA, it should NOT be lining our canned goods, baby bottles and other plastics. If you are eating anything out of a can then you are ingesting BPA, unless you are eating out of a can from Eden Foods. They are committed to providing non-GMO products and spend a great deal of money to provide a BPA-free can. I support them as much as possible. I am sorry, I just don't have time in the day to make my own refried beans right now (especially since I am the main one that eats them). So, a little convenience is always appreciated and Eden Foods' refried beans are yummy and BPA free! There's my plug for them.
So read below a great article from Care2's website on possible changes this government is making. I sure would love to see some actual regulations on what chemicals are allowed into our foods, used on the crops and injected into the animals we eat. We need to continue to put pressure on regulation of these chemicals and how they can be used. And we all need to be educated in what really goes on. We do need to take charge of our health and the health of our families and that means learning about the bad stuff so we can make changes as much as possible. And of course all of these chemicals are impacting our rates of cancer, DUH! But, one word about that, an alkaline environment is not cancer friendly. Learning about the PH of the body and eating and drinking things that promote alkalinity as opposed to acidity will greatly benefit you when it comes to disease, especially cancer! More on alkalinity at a later date.
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www.care@.com
For everyone who thought BPA-paranoid moms were just control freaks, and the people scrubbing their bathrooms with homemade cleaning solutions were just silly tree huggers, brace yourselves. Because the President's Cancer Panel just joined forces with those hippies.
The Panel, established in 1971 and consisting of three medical experts who report directly to the president, released a report today warning that lax chemical regulations could be negatively affecting our health -- especially when it comes to cancer.
Chemicals have crept into almost every aspect of our lives -- from water and food, to even the air we breathe. Chemicals like BPA, which California Senator Dianne Feinstein is pushing to ban, and those found in household products like cleaning supplies and cosmetics have been getting some attention recently through legislation like Feinstein's, and movements like the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Hexane, a carcinogenic neurotoxin, was recently discovered in veggie burgers. The report recognizes there is a regulatory (and cultural) presumption that chemicals are safe, and this helps keep possibly dangerous products in the mainstream. Most people will swipe on that paraben-laden eyeshadow without ever batting an...eye.
The Panel blames this assumption that chemicals are safe, as well as weak laws, derelict enforcement, and disunited authority, for the lack of chemical regulation. According to the report, only a few hundred of the more than 80,000 chemicals used in America have been tested for safety, and a number of suspected or even known carcinogens remain unregulated.
The report is especially important because of an increase in cancers, particularly among children, which experts suspect could be due to environmental factors. Stomach cancer in young white adults is also on the rise. Pregnant mothers should be exceptionally cautious about chemicals: 300 contaminants have been found in the cord blood of newborn babies, suggesting that children are being born 'pre-polluted.'
To help reduce your chemical exposure, the Panel gives suggestions such as filtering your drinking water, checking radon levels in your home, choosing pesticide-, chemical fertilzer-, and growth-hormone-free foods, and using databases to research the safety of common household products and cosmetics.
You can also sign this petition to Strengthen America's Toxic Chemical Standards.
And read up on what our friends over at Healthy & Green Living have to say about the report, too!
Read more: cancer, safety, chemicals, cosmetics, BPA, health policy, presidents cancer panel
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