what's REALLY in that??

Ever wondered what's really in your toothpaste? Or your shampoo, mascara, nail polish, or contact lens solution? Well, my friends, it's not always a pretty picture. Think: formaldehyde, nitrosamines, acrylamide, hydroquinone, mercury, ethylene dioxide, 1,4-dioxane.... we're not just supposed to avoid those phalates and parabens anymore.

Don't know what most of these even are? You're not alone. Go to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep website for more information for findings about unsafe chemicals in our day-to-day products, and Safe Cosmetics for a list of hazardous ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products.

Medical Doctors Not Trained in Environmental Health- what's the risk?

Do out doctors know the full story about our health and well-being?

"There's a disconnect between what we as scientists know and what the people know," Dr. Steingraber said. "There are no pamphlets in the doctor's office that discuss the link between carcinogenic chemical exposure and health. It's just not part of the doctor-patient relationship because many physicians are not trained in environmental health."

Yikes!


Read the full article right here. (from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, via Environmental Health News)

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?

"There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to pesticides whenever possible."

(taken from Food News, from Environmental Working Group website)


The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has put together the 4th edition of the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce. Get the downloadable guide FOR FREE right here, and read more about why pesticides are harmful and the research that is being done.

Some of the results of testing that the EWG has come up with:

Peaches and apples topped the Dirty Dozen list. Almost 97 percent of peaches tested positive for pesticides, and almost 87 percent had two or more pesticide residues. About 92 percent of apples tested positive, and 79 percent had two or more pesticides. The rest of the Dirty Dozen include sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes.


Onions, avocados, and sweet corn headed the Consistently Clean list. For all three foods, more than 90 percent of the samples tested had no detectable pesticide residues. Others on the Consistently Clean list include pineapples, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, and papaya.


(from the October 4, 2006 news release from foodnews.org)

is there such a thing as a "good" pesticide? GALLERY 75

While on Spring break last week, the University of Colorado (Boulder) decided to spray the Norlin Quad and other parts of the campus lawn to destroy weeds, putting up yellow warning flags to warn people not to tred on the toxic grass.

Was it that toxic? "Dan Schneider of Nitro-Green, the lawn care company contracted to do the spraying, describes Gallery 75 [the chosen pesticide] as a 'high dollar product...that is not very toxic.' " (from The Colorado Daily)

“Boulder is doing a really good job of trying to winnow through and pick out a good pesticide,” said Suzanne Wuerthele, Ph.D. toxicologist for the Environmental Protection Agency in Denver.

My question is: WHAT IS A GOOD PESTICIDE?

Some of the Boulder residents are not too happy, as this could pose a potential threat if it were to get into our water supply. Yikes! Wuerthele says it's of little danger to humans, but it sounds pretty iffy to me.

What do YOU think?

Read the whole article in The Colorado Daily right here.