Hospitality

Detoxify Your Body and Your Environment

 

 

Canned tomatoes, shopping receipts and that “new” car or sweet new kitchen smell are all everyday things that can be hazardous to our health. Seemingly harmless activities and products are exposing us to a toxic suite of dangerous chemicals which have a number of known or potential negative health impacts such as skin irritations, allergies, reproductive and endocrine defects and even cancer.

We live in a toxic world, exposed to a vast range of chemicals in our food, products and environments, many of which, the immediate and long-term effects of, are unknown. But by staying informed and by being a conscious, educated consumer, you can protect your own and your families health, and as a bonus help out the environment as well because many of these chemicals can have the same impacts on animals and fishes that they do on us.

Canned goods and thermal paper shopping receipts can contain BPA a potent hormone mimicking agent that disrupts our endocrine system, the new car smell and the greasy film inside the car windscreen is likely from plasticisers also endocrine disruptors, the sweet smell of a new kitchen or cupboard is either formaldehyde, a cancer producing wood binder or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from solvents in wood lacquer that are central nervous system and liver toxins.

So how can you avoid the myriad of chemicals you can be exposed to everyday, when you cannot see them, often cant smell them and they are potentially, well, everywhere?

Here are the top 10 helpful tips to help you detoxify your body and your environment.

  1. Buy certified green products. Support manufacturers, companies and supermarkets that produce cleaner and greener products that have been third party certified as preferred products. Such certification is your proof that the products are the healthy, green products they claim to be;
  2. Where you cant find certified healthy products, look for products that:
  • use natural renewable materials;
  • are low VOC emitting
  • don’t contain BPA or other endocrine disruptors
  • If PVC, are phthalate plasticiser free;
  • use low emission (E0 or E00) formaldehyde emission panel boards for kitchens and cupboards;
  1. If you want to search for products that have been third party verified or certified as healthy and low environmental impact look for all kinds of products for yourself and your home on Ecospecifier.com.au
  2. Check out certified healthy and sustainable product ratings for your DIY home project products on GlobalGreenTag.com;
  3. Avoid plastic water bottles. Use reusable bottles like stainless steel and glass;
  4. Eat less fish. Did you know that many toxic chemicals are stored in the fatty tissue of carnivorous fish and toxins like mercury from industrial pollution and coal fired electricity bioaccumulate in predatory fish;
  5. Buy naturally derived personal care products which don’t contain chemicals such as parabens, ethylene glycol and EDTA;
  6. Eat certified organic food and meats;
  7. Detox your home.
    1. Minimise the area of carpet;
    2. Use healthy cleaning agents or microfibre;
    3. Minimise the use of insecticide and don’t use ‘insect bombs’ or residual surface sprays;
    4. If you use air fresheners, use only natural plant essence derived oils;
    5. Don’t use chemical disinfectant surface sprays. Usedilute eucalyptus or thymol if you need to disinfect.
  8. Detox your body. Anti-oxidants are a great way to protect yourself from some of the effects of the daily chemical load on your body. Make sure your diet and supplements maintain a daily regimen of a broad spectrum of antioxidants like Vitamin C and E.

Explore more about the product ranges that have been eco-certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: http://www.ecospecifier.com.au

Join us in more conversations about green products and sustainability issues on our social media pages:

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Join our Social Media Honour Roll – support the switch to green products

Like, Comment and Share our blogs and posts on your social media pages … and we will send your name out to more than 16,000 subscribers via our monthly Ecospecifier Global Newsletter, which you can SIGN UP TO HERE

See which stellar individuals, businesses and networks made the latest Honour Roll on Twitter and Facebook HERE We salute you in helping us educate and help more people #MaketheSwitch to #EcoResponsible products.

Endocrine Disrupters in Everyday Products

Knowledge is important to have these days to be on the alert for lurking chemicals hidden within everyday products.

For instance, has it ever occurred to you that a plastic water bottle or a children’s lunch box could release toxic chemicals into the food or drink held inside or, that you could absorb a hormone disrupting chemical from shop receipts printed on some thermal papers?

Products that contain these toxic chemicals can interfere with your endocrine system, hence why they are called “endocrine disruptors”. In short, these chemicals have the ability to mimic or alter normal hormonal functioning and can potentially result in:

  • a reduction in fertility of males;
  • a decrease in the number of male babies born;
  • fertility problems in females;
  • increases in diseases, such as immune and autoimmune diseases and some cancers (especially breast cancer);
  • alter the onset of puberty;
  • increase in the prevalence of obesity.

Critically, those at the greatest risk from the negative health impacts from endocrine disruptors are children, including unborn babies. This is because young children are still developing and endocrine disrupters have the potential to impact upon:

  • physical, neurological and  reproductive development;
  • behaviour problems, such as hyperactivity or aggression.

There are a variety of chemicals found in household items, which have the potential to act as endocrine disrupters and can cause serious health impacts, including:

  • Bisphenol A – also known as BPA which is used in plastic products such as food and drink containers and has the potential to leach into the food or drink contained inside, entering the human body;
  • Phthalates – such as Di(2-ethylhexylphthalate) (DEHP) used within some food packaging, children’s products (although banned in children’s toys in Australia they may still be in some imported products illegally) and some polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products;
  • Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) – used to increase a product’s resistance to stains and water, including some food packaging and increasing the water resistance of clothing.

Whilst there is evidence that indicate that these chemicals can act as endocrine disrupters and cause health issues, they can still be found in everyday products.

Checklist – Everyday Toxic Substances To Avoid

There are many products that contain toxic chemicals, some of which can result in long term adverse health impacts, many of which you are unlikely to be aware of.

These chemicals include DEHP (Di(2-ethylhexylphthalate)), BPA (Bisphenol A), which can be found in plastic toys, food or drink containers, and Perfluorinated chemicals which can be found in clothing and textiles as an additive to increase stain and waterproof resistance.

BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, both of which are found in common household items. Common polycarbonate plastic items include food and beverage containers such as baby and water bottles, and epoxy resins are used as the protective linings for some canned foods and beverages and can also be found in some thermal shop receipt papers and some epoxy flooring products.

BPA has the potential to leach from the plastic containers into the food and beverages held inside. There are mixed reports on the effects of BPA plastic, particularly at what levels BPA becomes toxic.

Several studies have indicated that BPA as an endocrine disruptor, can affect developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune systems and some recent studies show novel ultra-low level impacts not known previously. Young children, and unborn babies, are at highest risk as their organs and neural systems are still developing.

One study in particular, undertaken by researchers at the University of California Berkeley, showed that BPA can alter the thyroid hormone levels in newborn baby boys which impacted postnatal growth and brain development.

Whilst there is controversy surrounding some of these chemicals, evidence indicates that they have the potential to cause great harm to human health.

However, the good news is that you can make informed choices to avoid any potential health implications from products containing these chemicals. For those wishing to avoid exposure, you can:

  • Choose products that are free from harmful toxins and these can be found on our own extensive Product Search Database on www.ecospecifier.com.au.
  • Purchase BPA-free products, such as baby bottles and food containers.
  • Avoid or reduce eating foods from cans.
  • Choose glass, porcelain or stainless steel over using plastic containers.
  • Avoid heating food or liquids in plastic containers.
  •  Avoid placing hot food in plastic cling wrap.
  •  When purchasing plastic product check the label or contact the manufacturer to ensure that it is free from BPA and phthalates.

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Explore more about the product ranges that have been certified and listed by Ecospecifier, by using the Product Search Engine on Ecospecifier Global: http://www.ecospecifier.com.au

Join us in more conversations about green products and sustainability issues on our social media pages:

Follow Ecospecifier on Facebook

Follow Ecospecifier on Twitter 

Follow Ecospecifier on LinkedIn

Join our Social Media Honour Roll – support the switch to green products

Like, Comment and Share our blogs and posts on your social media pages … and we will send your name out to more than 15,000 subscribers via our monthly Ecospecifier Global Newsletter.

See which stellar individuals, businesses and networks made the latest Honour Roll on Twitter and Facebook HERE We salute you in helping us educate and help more people #MaketheSwitch to #EcoResponsible products.

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References

BISPHENOL A (BPA) – Current state of knowledge and future actions by WHO and FAO. (2009).International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), 5. 

Bisphenol-a-europe.org, (2014). Bisphenol A – How much BPA does a typical person take in through a normal diet?. [online] Available at: http://www.bisphenol-a-europe.org/en_GB/How-much-BPA-does-a-typical-person-take-in-through-a-normal-diet [Accessed 11 Sep. 2014].

 Ecospecifier.com.au, (2014). EcoSpecifier: Understanding Toxicity. [online] Available at: http://www.ecospecifier.com.au/knowledge-green/articles/understanding-toxicity.aspx [Accessed 11 Sep. 2014].

Environmental Working Group, (2014). Dirty Dozen List of Endocrine Disruptors. [online] Available at: http://www.ewg.org/research/dirty-dozen-list-endocrine-disruptors [Accessed 22 Sep. 2014].

Foodstandards.gov.au, (2014). Bisphenol A (BPA). [online] Available at: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/chemicals/bpa/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 11 Sep. 2014].

Kang, J., Kondo, F. and Katayama, Y. (2006). Human exposure to bisphenol A. Toxicology, 226(2), pp.79–89.

 Msdssearch.dow.com, (2014). [online] Available at: http://msdssearch.dow.com/PublishedLiteratureDOWCOM/dh_08b1/0901b803808b19e8.pdf?filepath=productsafety/pdfs/noreg/233-00250.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc [Accessed 11 Sep. 2014].

Manikkam, M., Tracey, R., Guerrero-Bosagna, C. and Skinner, M. (2013). Plastics Derived Endocrine Disruptors (BPA, DEHP and DBP) Induce Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance of Obesity, Reproductive Disease and Sperm Epimutations. PLoS ONE, [online] 8(1), p.e55387. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0055387 [Accessed 22 Sep. 2014].

Niehs.nih.gov, (2014). Endocrine Disruptors. [online] Available at: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/ [Accessed 11 Sep. 2014].

Niehs.nih.gov, (2014). Environmental Factor – November 2012: Bisphenol A linked to lower thyroid hormone levels in newborn boys. [online] Available at: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/11/science-bpa/index.htm [Accessed 11 Sep. 2014].

Sciencenews.org, (2014). FDA bans BPA in baby bottles, cups | Science News. [online] Available at: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-public/fda-bans-bpa-baby-bottles-cups [Accessed 11 Sep. 2014]. 

Vandenberg, L., Hauser, R., Marcus, M., Olea, N. and Welshons, W. (2007). Human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA). Reproductive Toxicology, 24(2), pp.139–177.