Over 1,000 New Chemicals Introduced Every Year - What This Means For You and Your Family

We live in an environment unlike any other in human history. We are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of man made chemicals and thousands more are introduced into our environment and our food chain each year. The potential for harm is staggering - it comes from the food we eat, our skin care products, insect repellents, carpeting, plastics used in everything from our homes to baby bottles. The constant barrage of information we receive from the media can be misleading and confusing and the goal of this blog is to help you find and use safer options for you and your family, and explain why it's worth the time to do so.

Luckily learning to choose which ingredients to look for and which to avoid is easier than you think! For example, a simple products like baking soda or vinegar can be an incredibly effective cleaner and is safer than commercially prepared cleaners that contain synthetic ingredients - and they are much cheaper than even the new "Green" cleaners put out by big corporations looking to profit off the steadily growing demographic of consumers who are becoming more aware of the effects of harmful chemicals.

Getting Started
Keep your eyes peeled for warning labels - these are obvious tip offs that a products has safety issues. A warning, caution or danger label is typically not voluntary - they are placed on a product only when required by a government safety regulation usually after the product has already caused harm. It is likely one or more of the ingredients, in products with warning labels, has already caused serious injury or death. Once you accustom your "antennae" to spotting caution labels, and after reading the safety concerns, you may decide to find another product with safer ingredients. Even with warning labels people falsely assume that because these common household products are readily available for purchase "they must be safe" for regular use. This is simply not true.

The following is a list of ingredients commonly found in baby products, personal products and processed foods to make products more convenient to use, better looking, smelling or tasting, and less likely to spoil (longer shelf life). It is your right to know that each and every one of these chemicals has a known or suspected health or safety concern. I recommend printing the following list and taking it with you when you shop. Childhood leukemia, brain tumors, learning disabilities, brain damage, depression, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and asthma are among the health problems that have been linked to early childhood exposure to these common household chemicals.

Ingredients to Avoid (or minimize)

• BHA, BHT, sodium benzoate/nitrate/nitrites commonly known as artificial preservatives
• cocmide DEA
• cocmidoproply betaine
• disodium or tetrasodium EDTA
• dimethicon(e) also known as dimethiconol
• FD&C or D&C colors
• flouride
• fragrance, perfume known as parfum, aroma, flavor, scent
• hydantoin (MDM or DMDM) known as formaldehyde, formalin
• isopropyl, butyl, benzyl, stearyl or SD-40 alcohols
• MEA, DEA or TEA known as ethanolamine, mono-, di- or triethanolamine
• methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben often called methylparahydroxybenzoate
• minreal oil, petrolatum, petroleum jelly
• MSG is monosodium glutamate known as "natural" or artificial flavoring
• PEG and PG known as polythylene glycol, propylene glycol and propylenglycolum
• quaternium-15 or polyquaternium a.k.a methenamine
• SLS, ALS (sodium or ammonium lauryl sulfate) a.k.a laureth, laurel (SLES)
• sodium borate, tretraborate a.k.a boric acid
• talc a.k.a talcum powder
• triclosan a.k.a "antibacterial"
• urea(s) with prefixes a.k.a midazolidinyl
• artificial flavors a.k.a flavor
• artificial sweetners like aspartame, sucralose labeled as"sugar-free, reduced sugar"

Most ingredients in home and personal care products are not tested for safety and do not have warning labels even though they may contain ingredients that cause harm.

For more information stayed tuned to this Blog and visit:

http://www.childenvironment.org/

http://www.protectingyourhealth.org/

http://www.checnet.org/

www.chem-tox.com/pesticides