Additives to avoid.

Ok, so I have been very busy, sorry I haven't had a chance to share anything with you of late, my son started school this year, woohoo, such a big adjustment in a little boy's life and it has to be said, his parents lives too. But being busy hasn't meant I haven't been on the look out for things to share with you and I've been writing about plastics again, this time an article for a small health magazine and it has to be said my ideas on what was a "safer" choice in plastic may be changing the more I read. I'll share my article with you soon.

But for now, a little advice on additives. If you are really keen to have a greater understanding on the effects of additives there's a book I would recommend called "Additive Alert" by Julie Eady, there is also a website, (see link - http://www.additivealert.com.au/ ). But to get you started, this is a list that is a recommended "NO GO" zone for additives. For various reasons the following additives are considered the worst - suspected carcinogens, banned in other Countries or have been linked to serious health complications - See list -
102, 104, 110, 122, 123, 124, 127, 129, 131, 132, 133, 151, 153, 155, 160b, 173, 174, 175, 211, 249, 250, 251, 252, 280, 281, 282, 283, 310, 311, 312, 319, 320, 321, 385, 407, 407a, 431, 433, 435, 436, 466, 530, 553, 621, 627, 631, 635, 900, 914, 943a, 950, 951, 952, 954, 1201, 1520, 1521.

This is the list I would recommend you write out for yourself and take with you in your purse/wallet every time you go to a grocery store. These are the additives you should definitely avoid, especially when buying for children. If you suffer from Asthma, the list may be more extensive as asthma sufferers tend to be more sensitive to the effects of additives.

I also recommend, as a way to avoid additives as much as possible, eat fresh, real organic food and make your own treats. My son doesn't go without treats, but most of them are home-made. I make gluten free banana bread, pikelets, brownies and muffins for him and freeze them so I always have them on hand for him when he wants a treat and they're great to add as a snack to school lunches. I spend way more time in my kitchen than I ever did but I love doing it, I love making good, wholesome, sugar free, additive free treats that taste delicious. Cooking for your family should be a joy and the long term benefits far outweigh the ease of buying something pre-packaged and processed.

By the way, if you ever want any recipes, I am very happy to share, please just ask.

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate & Sodium Laureth Sulphate

I know I've already written about labels and the importance of reading them, but that was food labels. Now I want to ask you to read your cosmetic, toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, body wash, shaving foam, facial cleansers and finally shampoo labels, to name a few. Basically anything that you use that foams and bubbles. Why? To see how many of your products contain either sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulphate, also known as Sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES).

SLS and SLES are chemical surfactants that are very effective foaming agents. They also have a degenerative effect on the cell membrane during absorption, metabolism and excretion, studies have shown, according to the American College of Toxicology. In lab tests on rabbits, a 10% SLS solution caused corneal damage to rabbits’ eyes if not irrigated or if irrigation was delayed. The use of SLS and SLES in children's products is particularly worrying, as application, even via the skin leads to measured concentrations within the eyes of children. The American college of Toxicology has also stated that "Tests show permanent eye damage in young animals from skin contact in non-eye areas".

In other words, SLS is absorbed through the skin, it does not need to come into direct contact with the eyes for it to cause potentially permanent eye damage. And just like bisphenol a (BPA) both SLS and SLES are endocrine disruptors, which mimic the hormone oestrogen. The potential health implications of this could lead to a variety of issues from PMS to increased risk of cancer in women to reduced fertility rates in men, which are already on the decline due to the chemical phthalate being used in so many commercial products already. (See The disappearing Male link).

So why is it being used in so many commercially, readily and widely available products? Simply answered, it's cheap! And just because a product may have "Natural" in it's name or on the label somewhere doesn't mean it is natural. It may still contain SLS or SLES or a multitude of other chemicals or additives. The important thing to do is to read your labels and do your homework, research the products you are already using and see what they contain.

Changing all your products from unnatural to natural and chemical free is a big and potentially expensive process, so what do I recommend? Baby steps, change one item a week, start with your toothpaste. especially your children's. Children's toothpaste is full of a myriad of chemicals, it may be lower in sugar but it's not lower in chemicals! Look for products that are sulphate free, ask questions at your local health food store and look online.

Plastics

I'm a strong advocate of stainless steel and glass food storage containers over plastic, but, I also realise that eliminating plastic from your life can be a difficult process. It's so readily available and it's cheap. Cheap wins out a lot of the time and fair enough. So what can you do to ensure you are using a "better" form of plastic when storing your food?

As a general rule, plastic containers will have a recycling number stamped on their bottom, this is also the way to identify the type of plastic.

The following plastics are consider the safer alternatives to stainless steel and glass containers;

• #1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) containers are recyclable and generally considered the safest single-use plastic-bottle choice. But they are best not reused because studies indicate that after repeated use, porous PET containers may start to absorb bacteria and flavors or leach the heavy metal antimony (an eye, skin and lung irritant at high doses).
• #2 High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is both durable and accepted by most curbside recycling programs. .
• #4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), like its cousin HDPE, is a food-safe plastic, mostly used to make food wraps and plastic bags.
• #5 Polypropylene (PP), though less recyclable, has not been shown to leach any carcinogens or endocrine disruptors. Readily available in reusable containers.

The following Plastics are best avoided altogether;

• #3 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) releases carcinogenic dioxins into the environment when manufactured or incinerated and can leach phthalates.
• #6 Polystyrene (PS) can leach styrene, a possible human carcinogen.
• #7 Polycarbonate plastics, used in clear, rigid sports bottles and some baby bottles, contain bisphenol A, a known hormone disruptor that has recently been linked to a wide variety of health disorders, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, some types of cancer and childhood hyperactivity disorders.

I think one of the most important considerations a parent needs to take into account is the food container used for their child's school lunch container. There are so many bright, colourful plastic containers (with favourite action hero, princess etc. on it) that attract kids that it's hard to avoid the pressure from the kids not buy them.

My son has a stainless steel 3 tiered tiffin tin for his lunch box, not very exciting I know, and he also had issue with it when I packed his lunch in it, why can't I have a spiderman one he asked? I explained to him that this was a safer healthier lunch container and if he liked we could decorate it with stickers. This is what we did, he picked out his favourite superhero stickers and we decorated it.

A few tips to help reduce your plastic in your day to day and a few general plastic tips -

• Store all left over food in containers if possible, otherwise opt for aluminium foil to store food in
• When buying food from the supermarkets look for products that come in a glass jar, less chance of plastic leaching in to your food then
• Buy in bulk! Take your own containers to a store that sells food in bulk, some health food stores do this, this is something you may need to research. I take a lot of my glass containers up to my local store and refill with the products I need including nuts, chai tea, seaweed, rice, honey, dishwashing liquid, peanut butter, tahini etc.
• When I do buy products in plastic (the brown rice flour I buy only comes in plastic) I take it out of the plastic and put it in a glass jar when I get home, reducing the longer term chances of leaching. I cut the label of the product I'm putting in the jar and sticky tape it to the front.
• My cupboard is filled with re-used glass jars, they are great for putting food in for storage
• If you are using plastic to store your food in, make sure you use only the ones above considered the safer options and try and put food in to the plastic once it reaches room temperature. Keep it in the pot or pan until it cools down and then transfer.
• And remember, the golden rule, if you use a microwave, never heat food in plastic in it.

I hope this has helped clarify the better forms of plastic to use, if you need to use plastic at all.

Information on the classifications of plastics (above) came from the following site - http://www.thegreenguide.com/ which is a great site to check out.

Thanks Rachael

Cadmium and Children's Jewellery

The following video details the dangers of Cadmium, much more toxic than lead, and how it's used in Children's jewellery.

http://media.smh.com.au/lifestyle/essentials/cadmium-more-toxic-than-lead-1034456.html?sy=smh&source=smh.com.au/

An article on how the Norwegians tackled Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The following article is all about how the Norwegian Health system has tackled the lethal Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

It's a long read, but well worth it.

http://whatthehellcanieat.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/a-cure-for-mrsa/

Phthalates in premmies IV tubing

I wanted to share an article with you further to my Phthalate article,

~ http://www.aol.com.au/news/story/IV-tube-chemical-linked-to-preemie-liver-woes/2351067/index.html ~

which highlights the problems associated with phthalates in IV tubing in hospitals, and more specifically in premmies IV tubes. If you have watched the documentary "The disappearing Male" you will have noticed it mentioned in there also. I've written to the Australian Medical Association for their opinion on this, as some hospitals in Canada and the US are already banning phthalate containing IV tubing in hospitals, and for a list of hospitals who do not use phthalates in their IV tubes. If anyone else is interested in writing and asking them also, let me know.

Thanks Rachael

The Age of Stupid - A documentary on climate change

The Age of Stupid is a 90 minute documentary on climate change directed by British filmmaker Franny Armstrong. It starts with the state of our devastated world in 2055 when a world archivist goes back to the world video archives with the question: "Why did humanity not do anything about climate change when there was still time to avert disaster?"
See link: http://www.ageofstupid.net/

So what can we do? Join others at - http://notstupid.org/

Also have a look at where Australia stands on the UN climate summit due to take place in Copenhagen in December 2009, is this really where most Australians stand? We're at the back of the race with Nigeria and not far behind the United States, I'd rather see us up there with the Maldives, but then we know why the Maldives are up there don't we? If the sea level rises beyond predicted estimates the Maldives won't exist.

Join the cause and have a look at the documentary.