5 easy steps - healthy child healthy world
5 easy steps Step 1: Avoid Pesticides
Weeds, bugs, rodents – we call them pests for a reason. No one wants them around. But the convenience offered by a pesticide’s quick fix has its price. Pesticides are poisons, and in most cases, their negative effects can far outweigh any positives of being rid of the pests. Pesticides have been linked to a range of health problems, including asthma, hyperactivity and behavior problems, cancer, learning disabilities, reproductive disorders, and compromised brain development.
What to Do
- Avoid unsafe chemicals inside and out – Even when used according to the directions, pesticides can pose health risks. By Federal Law, no one can say pesticides are safe – so don't be fooled into thinking otherwise.
- Instruct caregivers about the hazards of pesticides and talk to school or daycare centers about pest management practices. Schools across the country are using successful, safer pest management programs. Refer to the National School IPM Information Source.
- Prevent pests through good sanitation and food storage habits, and by preventing their entry structurally. See the Safety Checklist for prevention techniques.
- Take off your shoes at the door to prevent tracking pesticides indoors. Traces of pesticide residues can cling to the bottoms of your shoes and then rub off on your carpet and rugs. Once there, they linger on because they're not exposed to the conditions that typically cause them to break down (sunlight, rain, soil microbes, etc). These residues become sources of repeated exposures to children and pets who play on the floor.
- Use these resources to help you make safer decisions:
- Step 2: Use Non-Toxic Products
- Stop for a moment to consider how many different products you come in contact with every day: personal care products, cleaners, computers, carpeting, cabinetry, cushions, cosmetics and much, much more. These are the makings of modern life, but do you know what’s in them? Oftentimes, what’s in them ends up in you. Everyday you may be rubbing hormone-disruptors into your skin or inhaling carcinogens when you lay on your couch.
- Protect your health from this constant assault by making sure your products and furnishings are non-toxic. There are an increasing number of safe and healthy alternatives.
- What to Do Cleaners
- Use gentle castile soap and water, which has been shown to be as effective as antibacterial soaps. In fact, there are significant concerns about resistant bacteria developing due to antibacterial soap. In addition, triclosan, an ingredient commonly used in antibacterial products, has been linked to negative environmental and health impacts.
- Buy safer cleaning products. Many local, online, and discount stores carry cleaning and home products that are very effective without harsh chemicals or fumes. Make sure you read the label and do a little research, if necessary, to make sure the company is making an honest claim. The following terms are not regulated: nontoxic, bio-based, chlorine-free, organic, phosphate-free, natural fragrance, and/or biodegradable.
- Make your own safer cleaning products. Click on Safer Solutions to find some basic ideas.
- Clean floors with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner that traps fine particles of dust, soot and pollen, and wet mop regularly.
- Reduce your use of products altogether by investing in microfiber cloths or hand held steam cleaners, both of which clean effectively with water alone.
- Personal Care Products
- Look for products made with certified organic ingredients and those with the fewest ingredients.
- Use fewer products and smaller amounts.
- Make your own! Some products are easily replaced with simple ingredients from your kitchen. Olive, almond, or coconut oil can make a wonderful moisturizer, oatmeal makes a nice face mask, and even toothpaste can be substituted with baking soda (if you really want to get back to basics). Click on the Safe Solutions header for some basic ideas.
- Avoid body care products with Parabens, Phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DMP, DEP), DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, Triclosan, Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate, DEA (diethanolamine) and TEA (triethanolamine), Formaldehyde, PEGs (polyethylene glycol), and anything with "glycol" or "methyl."
- Home Furnishing
- Look for products made with natural materials. Call the manufacturer to find out what a product is made of (be sure to ask about adhesives, coatings, and treatments.)
- Re-invent and re-use to reduce your exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – often recognized as that “new smell.”
- Step 3: Clean Up Indoor Air
- We breathe more than we eat. We breathe more than we drink. We are breathing all the time, but how often do you stop to think about what exactly you are breathing? Probably not nearly as much as how often you consider what else you're putting in your body. Yet, it's no less important, especially for young children who breathe faster than adults – inhaling 50% more air per pound of body weight.
- Air pollution is obvious when you're caught in a plume of fumes from a diesel truck or when the wind blows smoke in your face from a camp fire or grill, but even when you can't see the air, it can still be heavily contaminated. Even more importantly, the worst air is generally inside, where most people spend roughly 90% of their time.
- Not to worry, it’s typically very easy to improve indoor air quality.
- What to Do The products we use are the source for a substantial portion of indoor air pollution. Because of this fact, it’s essential to know what’s in the products you buy and opt for the most natural and non-toxic choices.
- After doing your best to eliminate the source of the pollutants, you should ensure your home is properly ventilated. And the third step, for special situations, is to use an air purifier to capture any lingering risky contaminants.
- When addressing odors, use non-toxic techniques to scent and deodorize the house.
- Learn more.
- Step 4: Eat Healthy
- Today’s modern diet is grown, processed, and packaged using toxic chemicals. From the pesticides used on conventional farms to the bisphenol-A used to line the insides of aluminum cans, our food is heavily tainted before it hits the table. Pesticides, bacteria, industrial chemicals, and food additives all find their way into our children’s foods, often at levels that can be harmful to them in myriad ways.
- Pound for pound, children eat and drink more than adults. Therefore, healthy eating is essential in order to safely nourish their growing bodies.
- What to Do The easiest way to eat healthier is to start making your food instead of buying prepared food and warming it. Buying whole foods reduces your exposure to the many synthetic additives found in processed foods. If you are a novice chef, the idea of preparing your own foods from scratch can seem daunting and too time consuming. However once you start doing it, you’ll see how easy (and cheaper) cooking at home really is. Also, involving your children in the process will foster healthy habits. Kids are more likely to eat new foods if they are involved in choosing, buying, and preparing. Spending quality kitchen time will empower them to eat healthy for a lifetime.
- Learn more.
- Step 5: Be Wise With Plastics
- Plastics are everywhere and in most cases are very affordable and convenient. But, increasingly scientists are finding that a hidden cost may be our health. Some common plastics release harmful chemicals into our air, foods, and drinks. Maybe you can’t see or taste it, but if you’re serving your dinner on plastic, you’re likely eating a little plastic for dinner.
- Beyond the immediate health risks, our increasing use of plastics is causing an enormous amount of enduring pollution. Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists (except for the little bit that has been incinerated, which releases toxic chemicals). In the ocean, plastic waste is accumulating in giant gyres of debris where, among other thing, fish are ingesting toxic plastic bits at a rate which will soon make them unsafe to eat.
- Plastic is generally toxic to produce, toxic to use, and toxic to dispose of. Luckily, we can all make safer choices.
- What to Do The best thing to do is to reduce your use of plastic. Look for natural alternatives like textiles, solid wood, bamboo, glass, stainless steel, etc. Also, look for items with less (or no) plastic packaging. If you do buy plastic, opt for products you can recycle or re-purpose (e.g. a yogurt tub can be re-used to store crayons). And, get to know your plastics – starting with this guide:
- The most common plastics have a resin code in a chasing arrow symbol (often found on the bottom of the product).
- PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate): AVOID
- Common Uses: Soda Bottles, Water Bottles, Cooking Oil Bottles
- Concerns: Can leach antimony and phthalates.
- HDPE (High Density Polyethylene): SAFER
- Common Uses: Milk Jugs, Plastic Bags, Yogurt Cups
- PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride, aka Vinyl): AVOID
- Common Uses: Condiment Bottles, Cling Wrap, Teething Rings, Toys, Shower Curtains
- Concerns: Can leach lead and phthalates among other things. Can also off-gas toxic chemicals.
- LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene): SAFER
- Common Uses: Produce Bags, Food Storage Containers
- PP (Polypropylene): SAFER
- Common Uses: Bottle Caps, Storage Containers, Dishware
- PS (Polystyrene, aka Styrofoam): AVOID
- Common Uses: Meat Trays, Foam Food Containers & Cups
- Concerns: Can leach carcinogenic styrene and estrogenic alkylphenols
- Other this is a catch-all category which includes:
- PC (Polycarbonate): AVOID - can leach Bisphenol-A (BPA). It also includes ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile), Acrylic, and Polyamide. These plastics can be a safer option because they are typically very durable and resistant to high heat resulting in less leaching. Their drawbacks are that they are not typically recyclable and some need additional safety research. New plant-based, biodegradable plastics like PLA (Polylactic Acid) also fall into the #7 category.
- Learn more.
Posted by ♣☆★ Hotaru ♥ ♥ ❤ at 5:46
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Labels: allergy, Environment, environmental illness, MCS, Pesticidas, productes x SQM, Salud Ambiental, SQM, Tòxics
