|
HOT BUTTON HEALTH ISSUE
Polycarbonate: The Plastic that Keeps on Giving...BPA
Last year major recreational retailers pulled polycarbonate water bottles off the shelves over concern that BPA could leach into the drinking water. Later in the year, the Environmental Working Group examined baby formula from cans and found that the epoxy lining was leaching BPA into the formula. The latest news is that polycarbonate baby bottles leach BPA into warm milk and formula.
While manufacturers argue that the exposures are too small to have any health impacts (their same old song and dance), studies are piling up linking BPA to breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm counts, miscarriage and a host of other reproductive failures in laboratory animals. It is also linked with immune system alterations, early puberty, developmental problems, insulin resistance, increased risk of type II diabetes, and hypertension.
Read More>>>
WHAT'S NEW?
Wee Generation’s Green Baby Team Introduces
Eco-Friendly Bag Design
Wee Generation, a collaboration of Healthy Child and select partners, have completed the design for an eco-friendly, Cradle to Cradle-certifiable baby bag. Interested parents can sign up on the waitlist here.
The eco-chic bag goes on sale here to the general public in May.
Not only will you end up with a great baby bag, but all profits from the sale of the bags will also benefit us!
Partners include: Seventh Generation, babystyle®, Rickshaw bags, and nonprofit partner, Healthy Child Healthy World.
“Wee Generation’s eco-friendly baby bag is an important development in consumer goods,” said William McDonough, green architect and environmental designer. “The initiative sets the pace for an environmentally-intelligent industry and will continue to change how goods are created and repurposed going forward.”
Read More>>>
IN THE NEWS
 |
Whole Life Times: A World Without Men Healthy Child Executive Director, Christopher Gavigan is interviewed in this article about how gender-bending industrial chemicals are skewing the birth ratio in favor of baby girls. Could a world without men be a few short generations away? |
U.S. News: "50 Ways to Improve Your Life" - Clean your Cleansers Christopher Gavigan explains why swapping out those toxic cleaners for safer options is one easy way to prevent toxic exposure in the home.
Cookie Magazine: Recall Mania Executive Director, Christopher Gavigan and Healthy Child board member, Dr. Harvey Karp, explain how harmful the presence of Bisphenol-A in baby bottles is.
DR.'S VIEWPOINT
 |
The Not-so-little Regulatory System that Couldn’t: How Toys End Up Toxic
By: Dr. David Wallinga
How many times have we heard, “If it wasn’t safe, the government wouldn’t let them sell it.”? While true to some degree -- such as the FDA’s pre-market testing of pharmaceuticals -- a lot of things slip through the regulatory cracks: like chemicals used in every day products. So, in short, our regulations don't always protect us. A hot example from today’s headlines: hazardous chemicals used in everyday children’s products.
|
More and more parents wonder how this could be happening. This article plows into the somewhat arcane minutiae of why and how the chemical regulatory system that’s supposed to protect us is fundamentally flawed and fails us. Tedious though the details may be, they are worth reading. Until we understand these systemic failures, we are doomed to continue making the same mistakes, putting our children and their children in harm’s way, chemical after chemical. That is, until we can put a better mousetrap in place. And we can.
Read More>>>
SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER HEALTH
Spring Cleaning Inside Out – Easy Ways to Detoxify Your Body
Even if it’s too early in your part of the country to begin the yearly ritual of flinging open windows and purging your home of dust and dirt, you can still get a jump on spring-cleaning. Start inside out – by cleaning out your insides. You do your best to avoid toxins every day, but it’s impossible to avoid them entirely. Luckily, there are easy ways your family can detoxify. Follow these steps to help your bodies clean out the chemicals.
- Sweat it out. At least three times a week (but ideally one hour every day), work up a good sweat. Exercise is the healthiest thing you can do for your body for a variety of reasons, and when sweat comes out, toxins do too. No need to get a gym membership, make it simple family fun by taking a vigorous hike or bike ride together.
- Flush it out. Drink plenty of water every day, especially before, during, and after exercising (drop in a wedge of lemon for added benefits). Eat cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) and high fiber foods to keep your systems flowing.
- Love your liver. Your liver is your body’s toxin filter. Keep it healthy by limiting alcohol, caffeine, refined sugars, saturated fats and medication and look into herbs or supplements to support general liver health. (Talk to your physician before starting supplements or herbs).
- Relax. Your mental well-being is inherently connected to your overall health and stress slows down detoxification, among other things. Keep family stress levels low, so all your body’s systems are in prime working condition, by taking time to cuddle and read with your kids or by doing yoga and meditation together.
- Breathe deeply. Oxygen is essential to cleansing and feeding your body’s cells. Whenever you think of it throughout the day, take some deep cleansing breaths to oxygenate your body.
These tips will not only help you detoxify your body, incorporating them into your daily life will also lead to greater overall health and happiness. Enjoy!
Note: While the aforementioned tips are applicable to your entire family, more extreme detox diets are not intended for children or pregnant women.
|
