The Toxins Around Us

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Wed, 2010-03-03 18:32

I'm with PearlBerries, there's not a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's/any of those other popular healthy places within a 30 minute drive of my house. So I do the best I can with what I have available. I live in such a "red" county, the grocery cashiers are still slightly shocked if you buy all-natural peanut butter because that's something only done by them thar Communists and Hippies! (besides which I think all natural PB tastes like potting soil). So, our chocolate syrup is just going to have to have HFCS in it. But then I make extra effort to properly wash fruits and veggies, buying maybe not the healthiest bread but certainly healthier than what I grew up eating. Its all a balance.

Mon, 2009-03-02 12:37

I don't know if anyone's still following this thread or if anyone else read -- and laughed at -- the New York Times op-ed piece on Friday called "The Maggots in Your Mushrooms." But it made me think a bit more about the differences between the risks of processed foods and natural foods, and about how not to feel overwhelmed and scared by the prospect of salmonella in our peanutbutter.

http://www.yogamamame.com/2009/02/id-rather-have-my-mushrooms-fresh-with...

Mon, 2009-02-16 11:37

The toxins! My husband and I were just talking about this last night, because he got tired of me yapping about the parabens in my favorite hand cream.

I'm very focused on food additives and industrial chemicals mainly because (and here's where I disagree with Giyen) companies are generally not forthcoming about testing or risks and U.S. agencies don't have chompy regulatory teeth. When you see a recall, it's because an actuarial table or insurance company or law firm advised that the risks were so substantial as to warrant the costs of a recall. Which is why BPA is still a-ok here in the U.S. and our beauty products are loaded with crap you couldn't even consider selling in the EU.

I'm also focused on these issues because I believe in the theory that your genetic code is a loaded gun and your environment can pull the trigger.

So, like Mindy, what I can control, I do. Where I draw the line is over-sanitization and my personal use of antibiotics. I'm about to have my first baby and I refuse to turn into a Purell-squirting, bleach-dunking, Zithromax-pounding mom.

Thu, 2009-02-12 07:32

I usually don't worry about this kind of stuff.. It's only when I moved to Canada that I saw that pesticides and polycar.. whatervers where an issue.. maybe because in Haiti (that is where I grew up) we eat more from the source.. so if you want chicken.. you need to go out there and kill it.. just kidding! but that is basically it.

Wed, 2009-02-11 07:33

giyen, i'm with you on that one... as the mom to a 9 month old who has already been diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome, i am forced to watch every little thing that goes in my son's mouth because if he consumes something that is new or that his body doesn't agree with, i will shortly be wearing it.

even still, i can't tell you how much i really don't like that i have to do that. (i know that sounds bad and selfish, but hear me out.) i feel like there are soooooooo many battles that we, as moms, have to endure when it comes to our kids. food is one that i just wish were not one of those battles, and with jackson having his feeding issues already, i have to fight it. so i guess it is what it is... i just wish it weren't.

i have a friend who emailed me weeks ago about a pacifier issue she had. she saw that jackson had a pacifier from a picture on my blog. she then proceeded to tell me why my 9 month old should not have a pacifier, then she told me about her son's old pacifier (that he now does not use it because she won't allow it) and said that she looked it up on a website where she found that it contained arsenic.

it should be noted that i never responded to this email of her's, simply because i don't respond to unsolicited advice (unless it's from my mom). pro-pacifier or anti... whatever works for you. i just don't like homies checking out pics of my kid and then emailing me saying, "jackson really shouldn't have that. he's a little old for a pacifier."

i did however check out the website she sent me and her pacifier theory... what i found was that the pacifier reportedly had 4 parts per million of arsenic. and apparently in the u.s.a. 25 parts per million of arsenic are allowed without it causing harm or issue.

a little nutsy in my mind... i am amazed that she did the research she did. i hardly have the time to update my blog. :)

Tue, 2009-02-10 18:21

I'm more with Alice on this one. I can't be flippant about these issues.

I agree that there's a huge hype component that makes people uber fearful of "hidden dangers" and that in turn makes them feel out of control. I too think there's something really wrong with the fact that Salmonella is cropping up in Peanut Butter and produce, and that Melamine is finding it's way into Formula and Pet Food. I mean, who on Earth (who isn't allergic!) doesn't eat or give their kids or pets Peanut Butter at some point in their lives?? I don't really consider that a "processed food" like I do "processed cheese food" (WTF?!). On the rare occasion that I do buy Peanut Butter, I try to buy organic so that it's not full of nasty chemicals and devoid of nutrition, however Salmonella is just as likely to be in those peanuts as in any other type of Peanut Butter. The fact is, although it's totally shit for stuff like this to be happening in the first place, we can't necessarily see it coming and therefore can't control it.

What drives me crazy is that the things we CAN control are usually the things we SHOULD be worried about and generally aren't. Lets look at Flame Retardants all over our furniture and kids sleep clothes! Lets look at endocrine disruptor in our cosmetics and soap! So many companies couldn't give a shit about the problems the chemicals in their products could cause. God I hate to be the "studies show" person, but its true that studies have shown our pets are being diagnosed more and more with cancer. Think about it - they live and breathe and eat close to the ground, licking and sleeping on floors that are covered in the dust coming off our our flame retardant doused electronics equipment and furniture. Now think about putting your sensitive new baby on that floor. Think about that phone your toddler just stuck in his mouth.

Hey, I'm all for germs! Germs can be good sometimes. But my generation (I'm 27) and the generations that follow me are increasingly exposed to an onslaught of chemicals in our environment. If I suffer from infertility some day, is that because I've been washing my hands and hair with soaps full of endocrine disruptors since I was born? What early tragedies are we potentially setting our babies of today up with for tomorrow because we turned a blind eye to the crap that manufactures are sticking in the stuff we live with and use and eat on a daily basis?

The idea that Christmas Lights have lead in the plastic wiring makes me sick, but there's nothing I can do about that OTHER THAN ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE. Until then I just have to live with it. I pick my battles. As best I can, I don't use polycarbonate plastics to avoid BPA exposure and I never ever microwave anything in any kind of plastic. I use heavy cleaners to do tough jobs rather than every job. I dust, a lot. When I buy furniture, I buy from companies (IKEA for example) that don't use formaldehyde in their pressed wood, and when I pick new sofas someday I'll buy from companies that are committed to using as many natural, untreated products as they can.

I sleep pretty good at night knowing that I'm being active on the things I can control and trying not to freak out on things that I cant. My prime example is that government regulation stipulates when flame retardants are used and what can be used. I do not agree with those regulations so I use my voice to raise awareness about it until I have a choice between sofas and TVs with flame retardants and those without. And when I need new things, I find companies who voluntarily pledge not to use chemicals in their products that have been proven to be of serious health risk but have not yet been banned by the US Government.

I do what I can but I'm not unreasonable. For instance, I live in Texas and despite all the advice not to use pesticides, I just don't have the choice unless I want to find cockroaches in my toilet paper rolls and in my sofa. Id rather mitigate my risk by eliminating or limiting things I can control so that the things I cant (or can't do without) don't snow ball the issue.

I think that's the most important thing we have to consider - pick your battles and mitigate risk where possible.

Its just that so few people realize the extent of the control that manufacturing and mass food production have on our lives. The least we can do is be informed. Then at least we can decide what battles to pick. If we don't read and educate ourselves, our battles are picked for us and our kids will eventually be the ones who loose.

Pick your battles. Educate Yourself:

http://www.ewg.org/
http://healthychild.org/
http://www.thegreenguide.com/
http://www.grist.org/
http://www.enviroblog.org/

Most importantly, realize that you can only do so much and that every little change you make is better than making no change at all.

Tue, 2009-02-10 11:49

Once my daughter developed Type 1 diabetes when she was three (no, I don't think it was from any of these things listed), I realized that a real and irrational fear is. I must fear for her daily on just eating in general and what normal food could do to her, let alone chemicals, preservatives etc.

When you get a wake up call such as that, it puts things into perspective big time on picking your battles, ie worries.

Mon, 2009-02-09 22:49

Funny (or, perhaps, not), but I just wrote a long piece about this very topic -- how I am supposed to feed my son now that I just finished reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. (http://YogaMamaMe.com) And I wasn't even looking at the salmonella scare because I'm lucky enough to have a husband with a peanut allergy and a son who very likely may have inherited it. So I get to think, as do the panelists, "Ha! I don't give my family peanutbutter or processed foods that might, for some reason we can not explain, have peanutbutter in them."

As to the whole debate about whether we are going overboard (and Peggy Orenstein wrote an interesting essay about just this question in yesterday's New York Times Magazine), what I concluded after batting it around was that we all have to make the choice we feel is the right one. I do feel, very strongly, that most of the food in supermarkets isn't really food; that the dangers of off-gassing are way under-noticed; and that I will -- perhaps literally -- die the first time my child demands a Happy Meal.

I do my best to create as toxic-free an environment as possible for my son (and myself, since I'm 8 months pregnant) precisely because I know there are a million other toxins out there that I can do nothing about. It's about doing your best, making your choices as a mom and as a human being, and then giving yourself a break. Not having to explain yourself. Knowing you did your best.

That said, dear god, what will I do if they find out something is wrong with Annie's Mac & Cheese? Jack will starve right along with Henry.

Mon, 2009-02-09 13:53

Mindy... your friend's pediatrician should have told her that a child under the age on one should NEVER be given honey... for just the reason you speak of. So sorry she had to learn the hard way. Spread the word about this to everyone with infants.

Mon, 2009-02-09 11:14

Sorry ladies, my salmonella rant was a little crazy and not really helpful for the discussion, it was pre-tea. Hugs all around, great video as usual, try not to get sick from your peanut butter :)

Mon, 2009-02-09 10:21