I talk about BPA a lot because not a week goes by that I don’t hear about it in the news. It seems that not enough can be said about the potential negative effects of this chemical. It’s in most plastics, most food cans, baby bottles, and now…it’s at your child’s next dental appointment.

A dental resin used for dental fillings and tooth sealant has been found to contain BPA that remains in saliva for up to three hours after dental work. BPA, or bisphenol A, is a hormone disruptor that may be especially harmful to children.

More products are becoming available that are BPA free, like plastic water bottles and even BPA free canned food. So how can you avoid BPA at the dentist? Well, authors of a study in the journal Pediatrics suggest rinsing with water for 30 seconds after the dental work is completed to reduce the amount of BPA. I guess that’s a start. But it’s still a scary thought that our children our ingesting this toxin while trying to preserve their dental health.

It just goes to show that chemicals are everywhere. As a matter of fact, another BPA study found that hormone disruptors, like BPA, phthalates and PCBs, are found indoors, outdoors, in homes of the poor and homes of the affluent. Yet another recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health found evidence that current levels of BPA exposure is dangerous to our health. With more than 8 billion pounds of BPA made per year, I’d say it’s a big problem.

I call it a toxic soup that we are swimming in. That’s why it’s so important to do what we can to avoid toxins and live clean.

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This week’s weekly challenge can help set you off on the right foot and in the right direction for bringing health to this week and the many to follow.

In a recent eye-opening study, researchers from the University of Washington analyzed an array of scented products to see if they were emitting chemicals not found on the labels. These included air fresheners, laundry products, fabric softeners, personal care products, and cleaning products. Turns out, many of them were. The use of the blanket term “fragrance” in an ingredient list may be covering up the inclusion of hundreds of hidden chemicals you don’t even know you’re being exposed to.

What’s worse, many of the products tested made some sort of claim about being green, natural or organic. Even these “natural” products were found to contain toxic ingredients, some of which are known to be carcinogenic. Yikes!

These toxic ingredients can be difficult to avoid since cleaning products, laundry products and air fresheners are not required to disclose ingredients. I recommend making your own cleaning products from natural ingredients like lemon juice, baking soda and vinegar.

This week, take a look at the products you use. If they are scented, chances are they’re a toxic soup. Check your personal care products. Is “fragrance” one of the ingredients? If so, drop it and run for the hills!

Bottom line? When buying any product, look for unscented or fragrance-free versions to be sure that you are getting the purest one available.

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The other day I read about a recent study that really got me thinking…about toxins. True, I probably think about toxins more than the average person, but this was interesting—especially since when most folks think about environmental toxins, they imagine giant factories polluting the air in big cities. But this study really proves that no matter where you live, dangerous contaminants are probably tagging along!

After analyzing more than 40 homes in California, some of which were in low-income industrial areas and some in higher-income coastal areas, scientists found “similarly high levels” of a particularly hazardous type of toxin called an endocrine disruptor. EDCs include things like phthalates and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that act like hormones in the body and can have damaging effects on healthy reproduction and growth in humans. They are also used in many commercial pesticides and even cosmetic products.

What’s more, after testing indoor/outdoor air samples and indoor dust samples for the presence of over 100 different compounds (70 of which were known EDCs), researchers also found also that the number of EDCs was higher indoors than it was outside the homes in both areas. Yikes! Freeloading toxins!

Still, the really interesting part is that the scientists were “surprised” to find high levels of EDCs present in all the homes they tested…but not me! In fact, this just proves what I’ve been saying all along—that our modern world has become more and more toxic in the last few decades, and whether you live in a big city or in the middle of the desert, we can no longer ignore the truth: toxins are everywhere.

How Toxic are YOU? Take the quiz at www.detoxstrategy.com and read more about how to safeguard your body against harmful toxins!

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Every time I read about a study like this my heart just breaks. So many kids today are diagnosed with ADHD, and to think that something inside our own homes might be contributing to the problem is really hard to hear.

ADHD, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is one of the most common childhood disorders, and it can seriously impact the health and well being of not just children, but of whole families. Kids with ADHD are often severely hyperactive and have a difficult time concentrating and paying attention, and because they have such a hard time controlling their behavior, many of them have problems in school and at home. For parents of kids with ADHD, the last thing they want to worry about is toxins, but now there’s even more evidence that our increasingly toxic world is taking a toll on American families.

Recently a team of experts from Boston University looked at samples from nearly 600 kids between the ages of 12 and 15, and what they found was that those with higher levels of a type of toxin called PFCs in their bodies were more likely to suffer from ADHD. PFC stands for polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, and research suggests that these chemicals may affect healthy nervous system function. And because they’re used so much in things like food packaging and flame-retardant coatings for furniture and upholstery, it’s probably safe to say that PFCs are in most of our homes every day.

While we’ll never really be able to get rid of all the toxins that are inside our bodies, the best way to stay healthy is just to stay informed and do our best to reduce our toxic exposure. Take a good look at the products you use every day, and whenever you can, try to replace chemical-laden products with safer, natural alternatives. Your health—and the health of your kids—might just depend on it!

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Do you know what heartburn, constipation, weight gain, high cholesterol and fatigue have in common? What about things like allergies, arthritis and even chronic disease? Well, you might be surprised to hear it, but ALL of these things are related…and guess why? Because they ALL start in the gut. Want to know more?

Join me on October 13^th at Sunflower Farmers Market in Scottsdale for a free digestive health lecture. I’m going to be talking about the link between a properly functioning digestive system and a healthy body, including how our increasingly toxic world is taking a serious toll on the natural defenses found in our gut. We’ll also talk about the natural supplements that are essential for helping you look and feel your best every day, so mark your calendar!

WHEN: Wednesday, October 13^th  7:00-9:00 p.m.

WHERE: Sunflower Farmers Market, 4402 N. Miller Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251

RSVP: 480-941-6001

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No matter where you live in the U.S., you can’t turn on the TV or pick up a paper these days without hearing about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Since the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig at the end of April, roughly a million gallons of oil have been leaking into the ocean every day—putting the total number at more than 50 million gallons.

Still, while much of the focus has been on the surrounding wetlands and wildlife, little has been said about the oil spill’s effect on the human population. Like just how toxic is all that oil? And how is it going to affect not only the cleanup workers but the people living in the nearby communities? Well, it seems I’m not the only one who’s been wondering.

In a workshop arranged by the Institute of Medicine and held in New Orleans last month, medical researchers came together to discuss the toxic effects of oil spills on humans. Along with short-term effects like skin rashes, nausea, headaches and respiratory issues—common among cleanup workers exposed to crude oil—they looked at possible long-term effects such as cancer, especially with regard to children who are “less efficient at detoxifying and metabolizing chemicals” says Dr. Brenda Eskenazi at the University of California Berkeley.

Not only that, but experts looked at how oil spills like the one in the Gulf affect not just physical health but mental health, citing evidence of increased depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, all of which can contribute to serious health problems such as heart attack, high blood pressure and other related issues. Pretty scary stuff, if you ask me.

The bottom line is that the whole situation is devastating, and even though it may be easier to just not turn on the TV or read the news, the more we learn about what’s happening in the Gulf and how we can make a difference—no matter how small—the more we can begin to take steps toward a safer, healthier future for all. My prayers go out to all those who have been affected by the oil spill, and I can only hope that the recent efforts to contain it will be successful.

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It sounds like a bad horror movie, doesn’t it? “Beware of the toxic dust!” But the reality is actually even scarier. According to our friends at Environmental Working Group, every home has its own unique “dust load”—complete with toxic chemicals that can affect your health and your family’s health over time, so making sure you take the right steps to reduce toxic dust levels is really important!

Visit EWG’s Healthy Home Tips page to learn more about how household dust can affect your health, and learn tips for removing toxic dust safely and effectively. They’ll even tell you how to create less toxic dust in the first place!

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Summary:
In this video blog I discuss a recent article in the USA Today. The article, “Opposing Camps Agree on Rewriting Toxin Law” is based on the news that the American Chemistry Council and environmentalist groups agree that the current law governing toxins is “badly broken” and does not protect the public. What is the Toxic Substances Control Act? Is your family being exposed to dangerous chemicals? Tune in to find out the answer to these questions and more…

Full Script:
I read an article this morning in the USA Today entitled “Opposing Camps Agree on Rewriting Toxin Law”. This article was based on the news that the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, and environmentalist groups such as the Environmental Working Group agree that the current law governing toxins is “badly broken” and does not protect the public as it should.

Both sides agreed that this law, called the Toxic Substances Control Act has not kept up with science and needs to be rewritten. It seems the EPA has used the law to ban or severely restrict only about 6 chemicals in the last 30 years.

Rewriting this law will give the EPA more money and power to ban dangerous substances. According to the American Chemistry Council’s president, “It is clear that many in the public, for a variety of reasons, do not have a lot of confidence in the current system and …that rewriting this law will help to restore confidence.”

At least it is nice that he realizes every day the general public is growing more and more concerned with the devastating effects of all the chemicals in our environment and in our bodies. How can you possibly have confidence in a system that continues to allow some of the most dangerous toxic substances to be forced upon us. In the past it has taken decades to get a toxic chemical out of the market.

Let’s hope this new law will be more stringent and help protect both our environment and our health.

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I read an article in USA today the other day about the dangers of rubber play surfaces.  You know – the recycled rubber that you see at outdoor playgrounds.  The stuff that is probably even put into the mouths of some of the more “adventuresome” children.   Apparently, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of recycled rubber in playgrounds back in 1991 as a way of preventing tires from ending up in landfills.

But the EPA says that it can’t assure the safety of this rubber.  The rubber can contain lead and other toxins.  Wait a minute!  Now I understand that dumping rubber into landfills is not environmentally friendly, sure.  But where do we dump it instead?  The place where we find our most precious resources – children!  Surely there has to be a better place to use recycled rubber. The reasoning behind using it in playgrounds is that it provides a safer surface for preventing injuries.  A study published in the Lancet in 1997 found that rubber playground surfaces were safest.  But again I ask, is there not another material that can be used that is as safe with regard to injuries, yet much safer with regard to toxic contamination?

It doesn’t seem like rocket science to me.  With all the latest studies discovering that toxins are much more harmful in children than we ever thought, why are we putting our children at risk? I realize that with all the warnings of toxins everywhere, it can make you not want to leave the house (I won’t get into the toxins found indoors at this point, that’s another topic).  But it is virtually impossible to avoid each and every toxin in our environment these days.

I’d like to recommend a few safety measure when it comes to this recycled rubber.

• If you can find a playground that doesn’t use recycled rubber, great!
• Maybe head to a park that doesn’t have a playground, but instead a nature trail, river, or open field.  Put your imagination in full gear and explore nature.  You might be amazed at what you find, and what you and your child learn!
• If you can’t avoid the rubber playground, don’t beat yourself up.  Just be vigilant.  If you have a toddler, make sure that the rubber pieces stay on the ground.
• Wash hands thoroughly after playing.
• Perhaps avoid the playground at the hottest hours of the day, between 10 and 2 pm.

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