While I always have been concerned about food dyes, additives, and chemicals- I find that the older I get, the more informed I get, and the more involved I want to become in providing quality food for the children in my care as well as my grandchildren. That is why the hour and a half I spent with Chris Gavigan (co-founder) of The Honest Company, was jaw dropping informative. While I have read, and heard of the "damage" and "warnings"......it didn't really hit me until I heard some of the startling realities presented before me.
Environments have a HUGE effect of developing human growth, and we need to be aware that big companies spend HUGE money on blocking the media. The Honest Co. is just one of many companies trying to go up against this big company/big money. Their mission is: To inspire and empower people to live a healthy life. Their guarantee is that they will not put any chemicals into their products that are questionable.
Did you know that autism, allergies, childhood cancers- all can be traced back to toxic chemicals found in household products we use ever single day. Lets also look at these statistics: Kids cancers jumped 35% between 1975-2012. Asthma was up 158% between 1980-2012, 1 in 10 elementary school children have an asthma diagnosis, 400% jump in autism between 1995-2015. 75-80% of all childhood cancers are environmental. These statistics just blow me away....WE are doing this to our children.
Most chemicals are tested on a 180 pound man as a "test dummy"....a child is not even close to that size- no wonder their little bodies are affected so much more severely. The window of most vulnerability is birth to age 5- which makes sense developmentally.
Did you know that if you ate an organic diet between Monday a.m. to Friday p.m. (not counting the weekend)- your urine shows 95% less toxins. 60% of what goes on skin gets into the blood stream without 5 minutes. Acute exposure is like pesticides, chronic exposure is like lead in the water.
How about this- there are 84,000 chemicals that have been "approved" for use in products we use daily, but only 1% of them have been tested for safety. Or that if you list "fragrance"- it doesn't have to be tested/listed AT ALL! 741 BILLION pounds of chemicals come into OUR COUNTRY every day from other countries where they are not permitted. Europe has banned 1300 toxic chemicals from coming from the U.S., while we use all but 8 in our own country! The Honest Co. has 3000 additional (4300) chemicals they ban.
There are 287 industrial chemicals and pollutants found in the average newborn umbilical cord (yes, before they have taken their first breath). In that sparkling new nursery they are coming home to- well, 300 toxic chemicals are found. Scary and sad.
The top 10 toxins:
1. Pesticides 2. Lead 3. Formaldehyde 4. Phethalates 5. Sodium hypochlorite
6. Triclosan/triclorocarbon 7. BPA/BPS 8. Flame Retardants 9. Air Fresheners
10. PFC. (found in everything from plastic bottles/bags/nipples we feed/store baby food in, shampoos, furniture, toiletries, etc.
What can we do?
1. Safe cleaning- swap bleach out.
2. Safe personal care items.
3. Toys and equipment- use REAL (wood, sand, etc.) -that foam product that you are seeing under new playground equipment- just chopped up TOXIC tires/plastic. NOT SAFE.
4. Your buildings. Use non toxic paint. Open the windows to ventilate year round.
5. Get rid of fragrance, potpourri, candles, sprays.
6. Avoid plastics 3, 6, & 7. NEVER reheat in plastic.
7. Opt for healthy foods- organic, non-GMO Avoid sugar, sodium, dyes.
(Red 40 dye is the worst!!!!! Europe has a ban on ALL food dyes)
8. Go fragrance free- over 3000 chemicals to make "scent". Use essential oils.
9. Ventilate.
10. Keep dust down. Wet mop/cloth to pick it up.
11. Sanitize safely.
While none of us can do every single thing different in a day. Pick one or two that you can commit too, and grow from there. Let's work together for a safer tomorrow for our children.
Environments have a HUGE effect of developing human growth, and we need to be aware that big companies spend HUGE money on blocking the media. The Honest Co. is just one of many companies trying to go up against this big company/big money. Their mission is: To inspire and empower people to live a healthy life. Their guarantee is that they will not put any chemicals into their products that are questionable.
Did you know that autism, allergies, childhood cancers- all can be traced back to toxic chemicals found in household products we use ever single day. Lets also look at these statistics: Kids cancers jumped 35% between 1975-2012. Asthma was up 158% between 1980-2012, 1 in 10 elementary school children have an asthma diagnosis, 400% jump in autism between 1995-2015. 75-80% of all childhood cancers are environmental. These statistics just blow me away....WE are doing this to our children.
Most chemicals are tested on a 180 pound man as a "test dummy"....a child is not even close to that size- no wonder their little bodies are affected so much more severely. The window of most vulnerability is birth to age 5- which makes sense developmentally.
Did you know that if you ate an organic diet between Monday a.m. to Friday p.m. (not counting the weekend)- your urine shows 95% less toxins. 60% of what goes on skin gets into the blood stream without 5 minutes. Acute exposure is like pesticides, chronic exposure is like lead in the water.
How about this- there are 84,000 chemicals that have been "approved" for use in products we use daily, but only 1% of them have been tested for safety. Or that if you list "fragrance"- it doesn't have to be tested/listed AT ALL! 741 BILLION pounds of chemicals come into OUR COUNTRY every day from other countries where they are not permitted. Europe has banned 1300 toxic chemicals from coming from the U.S., while we use all but 8 in our own country! The Honest Co. has 3000 additional (4300) chemicals they ban.
There are 287 industrial chemicals and pollutants found in the average newborn umbilical cord (yes, before they have taken their first breath). In that sparkling new nursery they are coming home to- well, 300 toxic chemicals are found. Scary and sad.
The top 10 toxins:
1. Pesticides 2. Lead 3. Formaldehyde 4. Phethalates 5. Sodium hypochlorite
6. Triclosan/triclorocarbon 7. BPA/BPS 8. Flame Retardants 9. Air Fresheners
10. PFC. (found in everything from plastic bottles/bags/nipples we feed/store baby food in, shampoos, furniture, toiletries, etc.
What can we do?
1. Safe cleaning- swap bleach out.
2. Safe personal care items.
3. Toys and equipment- use REAL (wood, sand, etc.) -that foam product that you are seeing under new playground equipment- just chopped up TOXIC tires/plastic. NOT SAFE.
4. Your buildings. Use non toxic paint. Open the windows to ventilate year round.
5. Get rid of fragrance, potpourri, candles, sprays.
6. Avoid plastics 3, 6, & 7. NEVER reheat in plastic.
7. Opt for healthy foods- organic, non-GMO Avoid sugar, sodium, dyes.
(Red 40 dye is the worst!!!!! Europe has a ban on ALL food dyes)
8. Go fragrance free- over 3000 chemicals to make "scent". Use essential oils.
9. Ventilate.
10. Keep dust down. Wet mop/cloth to pick it up.
11. Sanitize safely.
While none of us can do every single thing different in a day. Pick one or two that you can commit too, and grow from there. Let's work together for a safer tomorrow for our children.
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