Experts agree that the primary explanation for the dramatic increase in autism is toxic environmental exposure and gene-environment interactions. New research shows that even low-dose, multiple toxic and infectious exposures may be a key factor to the onset of autism.
One in 58 boys will be diagnosed with autism. Fifty-eight! That is staggering. And it's not just autism, but ADHD and premature puberty in girls and other disorders are being linked to chemical exposure in kids. Because babies stick stuff in their mouths and children's bodies are generally not as capable of filtering out chemicals like ours are, they are like little sponges soaking up the toxins around them.
It's so easy to read these things and become overwhelmed. Another study showed that 287 chemicals were found in newborn cord blood - babies are now born with a chemical load from exposures in the womb, before they ever suck on a plastic toy! And how can we possibly combat that - just remembering to take a prenatal vitamin every day, without worrying about the ingredients to every single product you use during pregnancy, can be hard enough! And our children are exposed to chemicals in the air at school, their clothes, their food, everywhere. It's so easy to feel overwhelmed and feel like you can't possible shield them from it.
So, this post is about how I deal with this. I drive an SUV and my baby wears Pampers. Please don't think that I'm an expert on natural living, because I'm NOT. But I've done a lot of research, and I've decided that there are things I can do to significantly decrease my childrens' exposure to toxins. And based on that, here's what I've come up with - I encourage you to do your own research and make your own choices!
*Suncreen. This was probably hot topic #1 for me, because of Sophia's medical condition that requires that she always, always wear sunscreen before going outside. Not only did I need to find a sunscreen that did a good job of screening out both UVA and UVB rays, but I wanted to limit her exposure to the horrible chemicals that are found in most sunscreens. She will have so much of the stuff put her over her lifetime, it was scary to think about the chemicals that are in most sunscreens. To do your own research and look up your sunscreen brand, read this. My solution? Badger Sunscreen for Face and Body (I order from Vitacost - it's the best deal I've found). I generally try to keep Sophia protected from the sun by staying in the shade and using sun protective clothing. But when the girls took swimming lessons this summer, I was dismayed to discover they were in direct sunlight. We slathered them in Badger - and they did not get even the tiniest bit pink, even after swimming. It's the only sunscreen we use now - we have it by the front door, the back door, in the diaper bag, in Sophia's school backpack...
*We try to eat organic as much as possible. I joke that I'd like to win the lottery just so I can eat from the Whole Foods salad bar every day for lunch and dinner. I could live off their detox salad and fresh veggies all crisp and cut up... but I can't. I can't even afford to buy all of my produce there. And I definitely can't afford to buy their dairy, meat, or processed foods. There's a reason my stepdad calls them Whole Paycheck. So what do I do? Well, I always buy the "dirty dozen" organic. You can eliminate up to 90% of your pesticide exposure in foods by just always buying the following foods organic: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, kale, cherries, potatoes and grapes. They contain 47 to 67 pesticides per serving each - yikes!
Foods like broccoli and avocado, which we buy quite often, carry much lower risk, so I buy those at Kroger unless I find them at the Farmer's Market or they are on sale at Whole Foods. My kids love milk, and though we started off buying organic milk, we calculated that our current rate of milk ingestion, we would spend about $80 a month on Horizon milk. So my compromise is that we buy Target brand milk, which is not organic but at least hormone free, and it's even cheaper than milk at Kroger!
My other food rule is that I read labels. I was pleasantly surprised that my favorite cracker - Triscuits - contains only three ingredients. Sometimes I read ingredients and I'm shocked. There was a bag of cereal (at Whole Foods, no less!) whose first ingredient was sugar and second ingredient was corn syrup (BEFORE any grains!) Don't be seduced by words like "all natural!" on the label - just skip all that and see what the ingredients are first, and then if you're going for organic, look for "certified organic." We stay away from ALL artificial sweeteners.
*Baby stuff is a huge deal to me. The younger the baby, the thinner their skin (and therefore the more readily they absorb toxins) and the less capable their little bodies are of ridding themselves of the toxins. And of course their nervous systems and entire bodies are in a rapid stage of development, and so much more affected by their environment. So I use only natural baby wash (I especially love California Baby Tea Tree and Lavender Wash). I also love Weleda's products, which my mama used on me when I was a baby! The smell of their calendula baby oil is second only to the smell of a newborn.
I breastfeed rather than feeding my babies enzymatically hydrolyzed reduced minerals, whey protein concentrate, palm olein, soy, coconut, high-oleic safflower oils, lactose, maltodextrin, patoassium citrate, calcium phosphate, calcium chloride, salt, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium iodide, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, inositol, choline bitartrate sodium ascorbate, alpha tocophyeryl acetate, naicinamide, calcum pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, phylloquinone, biotin, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, taurine, L-carnitine. We are doing babyled weaning with whole foods, though I also make some purees myself and if we use jarred baby food we buy Earth's Best Organic and read the labels. No white rice baby cereal. And this is his spoon, which I love!
*We eliminate chemicals around the house wherever possible. This was a great article by Dr. Greene about common sense approach to childproofing our homes - instead of locking up our toxic chemicals (and then spreading them all over the surfaces that our children touch) why not just eliminate them? I love this all purpose cleaner and use it for just about everything around the house. Often I just use hot water, or baking soda, or white vinegar, to clean with. What I never use is anything that says "antibacterial" on it. From cleaners to hand soaps, it's just not necessary. Study after study shows (and we even learned in school when I got my microbiology degree) that regular soap and water is just as effective and perfectly adequate in our homes. Are your household members infected with some scary plague? Are you performing open heart surgery on your coffee table? No.
*We filter our water and drink from the tap. Bottled water manufacturers are not required to disclose the chemicals found in their water or their bottles, so there's really no way to tell what all you're drinking. I'll still buy a bottle here and there when I'm out (I have a serious weakness for Metromint water), but for the most part we drink filtered water from the tap. Unfiltered tap water can contain contaminants like arsenic and chromium. Just a cheap carbon filter can eliminate toxins such as lead.
*We don't let the kids talk on the cell phone, except rarely. Generally, if they are going to call our parents, we use the house phone. None of us actually spends that much time on our cell phones, but if we did, we might change to a phone with lower radiation levels.
*Teflon pots and pans - in the trash! I never liked them as much as my stainless steel anyway. And not cooking with nerve gas is always a plus. We store foods in glass rather than plastic containers, and never reheat in plastic in the microwave.
*We wear natural fibers. This is a no-brainer for me, because polyester just feels yucky. So it's cotton and wool and silk for all of us. I'd love to buy all organic clothes for my babies, but it's just not something I'm willing to give up paying my mortgage for. He does sleep on (our) organic sheets.
*And finally, I just continue to read and learn, to find other simple ways to protect my family. For example, did you know this about store receipts? Well, now you do, and you can stop handling them as much, wash your hands after you do, and keep them away from your kids!
***This post is also known as Wordy Wednesday ha ha ha!***
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing. I have been learning several of the things you mentioned already, but didn't know about the sunblock (we use Aveeno currently) or "dirty dozen". I've been trying to buy organics when possible as well as local produce (or farmer's market) and always look at the ingredient list before buying anything. I make my own laundry soap and often use vinegar or baking soda for cleaning too. I think there's definitely got to be some link between the rise of so many diseases and the chemicals we allow in our food. It just makes me wonder how much healthier my family would be if we eliminated ALL chemicals from our home and diet.
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