Trying to avoid eating pesticides? Check out the EWG’s dirty dozen and clean fifteen guides to pesticides on produce. They give you confidence to know which foods to buy with fewer types of pesticides and lower overall concentrations of pesticide residues.
Do you feel sleepy or tired? Are you less active than usual? Do you have a dry, sticky mouth? Headache? Dizziness? If so, chances are you need to drink more water.
When choosing a sunscreen, avoid these four hormone disrupting chemicals (bad!).
We have a crisis going on right now – an environmental toxin crisis, and since the current federal law for toxic substances is too weak to protect you and your baby, I suggest you take matters into your own hands.
Summer and beach time may be winding down, but don’t let your sunscreen use leave with it. It's easy to associate winter with snow and wind-chill, but most people aren’t aware that UV rays can be every bit as damaging during the winter.
I live in Bend, Oregon…a winter sports enthusiast’s paradise! There’s skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, skate skiing, snowmobiling, and the list goes on and on. If these are activities you enjoy, you are at an increased risk for overexposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The combination of higher altitude and UV rays reflected by the snow puts skiers and snowboarders at an increased risk of sun damage, and ultimately skin cancer. More than 90% of all skin cancers are associated with sun exposure.
Ultraviolet radiation exposure increases 4 to 5% with every 1,000 feet above sea level. At an altitude of 9,000 to 10,000 feet, UV radiation may be 35 to 45% more intense than at sea level. In addition, snow reflects up to 80% of the UV light from the sun, meaning that you are often hit by the same rays twice.
Both snow and strong wind can wear away sunscreen and reduce its effectiveness, so you have to take extra precautions.
When choosing a sunscreen to protect your skin, avoid these four hormone disrupting chemicals (bad!):
1) Avoid Oxybenzone
Oxybenzone is found in nearly every chemical sunscreen. It’s recommended to avoid this ingredient because it penetrates the skin, gets into the bloodstream and acts like estrogen in the body. It can also trigger allergic skin reactions. Although research is preliminary, studies have found a link between higher concentrations of oxybenzone and health issues. One study has linked oxybenzone to endometriosis in older women; another found that women with higher levels of oxybenzone during pregnancy had lower birth weight daughters.
2) Avoid Octinoxate
Octinoxate gets into the bloodstream and demonstrates hormone-like activity. In animals, octinoxate altered the reproductive system and thyroid. It can also trigger allergic skin reactions. Breastfeeding moms, take caution, this chemical can be found in mother’s milk so please avoid so it isn’t passed to your beautiful baby.
3) Avoid Retinyl Palmitate
When used in a night cream, this form of vitamin A is supposed to have anti-aging effects. But on sun-exposed skin, retinyl palmitate may speed development of skin tumors and lesions, according to government studies. Why is this “inactive ingredient” allowed in sunscreens intended for use in the sun? Good question.
4) Avoid Homosalate
Homosalate enters the bloodstream and disrupts estrogen, androgen and progesterone. This is another chemical for breastfeeding moms to especially avoid because it can be found in mother’s milk.
I recommend buying sunscreen with any of these ingredients because all these ingredients not only provide excellent UVA protection, but also offer very limited to no skin penetration and no evidence of hormone disruption.
1) Titanium Dioxide
2) Zinc Oxide
3) Avobenzone
4) Mexoryl SX
The Environmental Working Group is an excellent reference for identifying a safe sunscreen and to learn more about the sunscreen you currently use. Check their guide out here 2014 Sunscreen Guide
In Health and Happiness,
Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods
Reference:
Environmental Working Group. The trouble With Sunscreen Chemicals.
Summer and beach time may be winding down, but don’t let your sunscreen use leave with it. It's easy to associate fall and winter with gray, chilly days, but most people aren’t aware that UV rays can be every bit as damaging at all times of the year.
I live in Bend, Oregon…an outdoors enthusiast’s paradise! There’s hiking, biking, trail running (or walking, for the rest of us), a litany of snow activities, and the list goes on and on. If these are activities you enjoy, you are at an increased risk for overexposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The combination of higher altitude and UV rays puts you at an increased risk of sun damage, and ultimately skin cancer. More than 90% of all skin cancers are associated with sun exposure.
Ultraviolet radiation exposure increases 4 to 5% with every 1,000 feet above sea level. At an altitude of 9,000 to 10,000 feet, UV radiation may be 35 to 45% more intense than at sea level. In addition, snow reflects up to 80% of the UV light from the sun, meaning that you are often hit by the same rays twice.
Both snow and strong wind can wear away sunscreen and reduce its effectiveness, so you have to take extra precautions.
When choosing a sunscreen to protect your skin, avoid these four hormone disrupting chemicals (bad!):
1) Avoid Oxybenzone
Oxybenzone is found in nearly every chemical sunscreen. It’s recommended to avoid this ingredient because it penetrates the skin, gets into the bloodstream and acts like estrogen in the body. It can also trigger allergic skin reactions. Although research is preliminary, studies have found a link between higher concentrations of oxybenzone and health issues. One study has linked oxybenzone to endometriosis in older women; another found that women with higher levels of oxybenzone during pregnancy had lower birth weight daughters.
2) Avoid Octinoxate
Octinoxate gets into the bloodstream and demonstrates hormone-like activity. In animals, octinoxate altered the reproductive system and thyroid. It can also trigger allergic skin reactions. Breastfeeding moms, take caution, this chemical can be found in mother’s milk so please avoid so it isn’t passed to your beautiful baby.
3) Avoid Retinyl Palmitate
When used in a night cream, this form of vitamin A is supposed to have anti-aging effects. But on sun-exposed skin, retinyl palmitate may speed development of skin tumors and lesions, according to government studies. Why is this “inactive ingredient” allowed in sunscreens intended for use in the sun? Good question.
4) Avoid Homosalate
Homosalate enters the bloodstream and disrupts estrogen, androgen and progesterone. This is another chemical for breastfeeding moms to especially avoid because it can be found in mother’s milk.
I recommend buying sunscreen with any of these ingredients because all these ingredients not only provide excellent UVA protection, but also offer very limited to no skin penetration and no evidence of hormone disruption.
1) Titanium Dioxide
2) Zinc Oxide
3) Avobenzone
4) Mexoryl SX
The Environmental Working Group is an excellent reference for identifying a safe sunscreen and to learn more about the sunscreen you currently use. Check their guide out here 2014 Sunscreen Guide
In Health and Happiness,
Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods
Reference:
Environmental Working Group. The trouble With Sunscreen Chemicals.
This week the Environmental Working Group released it's 2014 Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce, commonly known as the "Dirty Dozen" list. The Guide is an annual rating of 48 commonly purchased fruits and vegetables with the most and least pesticide residue, based on an analysis of 32,000 samples tested by the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For more than a decade, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been stepping in to provide information to millions of shoppers that the EPA has failed to offer, despite a 1996 "Consumer Right to Know" law that requires it. With over 65% of the thousands of samples sent in for analysis testing positive for pesticide residue, the EWG makes it easy for consumers to make an educated decision while shopping for produce.
These items ranked highest in pesticide residue data. It is recommended to purchase these organically grown when possible.
Interesting Findings - Every sample of imported nectarines and 99% of apple samples tested positive for pesticide residue. The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other food. A single grape sample contained 15 pesticides, and single samples of celery, cherry tomatoes, and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece.
These items ranked lowest in pesticide residue data when grown conventionally.
Interesting Findings - Avocados were the cleanest, with only 1% of samples showing any detectable pesticides. No single fruit on the Clean Fifteen tested positive for more than 4 pesticides. Only 5.5% of Clean Fifteen samples had two or more pesticides. 89% of pineapples had no residue, as did 82% of kiwis, and 61% of cantaloupe.
By releasing this list every year, the EWG empowers consumers who may otherwise find the cost of purchasing all organic produce cost- prohibitive. By referencing The Guide, shoppers are able to select between conventionally grown and organically grown produce with real data backing up their choice.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "The health effects of pesticides depend on the type of pesticide. Some such as organophosphates and carbamates, affect the nervous system. Others may irritate the skin or eyes. Some pesticides may be carcinogens. Others may affect the hormone or endocrine system in the body."
Pesticides pose an even greater health risk to our children.
Organically grown produce more closely reflects the true price of farming. Government subsidies tend to go towards large-scale, chemically intensive agriculture, lowering the true price of these conventionally grown products. The very practice of growing organic, such as restricted chemical use, better standards of care for animals, and more manual labor, is more costly to the farmer. In order to have the USDA-certified Organic seal on their product, organic farmers must pay for certification costs.
Shopping at your local farmers market can be a good way to save money on organically grown produce, particularly for those items that appear on the Dirty Dozen list. Often, your small, local farmer may employ organic growing practices, even if he/ she has not paid for the organic certification. In addition, you are not paying to have these items shipped from 1/2 way around the globe. These savings are passed on to you, the consumer. Local farmers are happy to talk to you about their growing practices, and will often invite you to their farm should you want to verify for yourself.
Shop smart, shop local, and don't leave home without The Guide!
Melissa Zimmerman, Healthy Goods
References: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/human.htm
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/lawn/factsheets/Pesticide.children.dontmix.pdf
