In my continuing series on toxic ingredients in our food and personal care products, this time I wanted to talk about phthalates. Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers (which are substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility and durability) in products such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) shower curtains, baby toys, enteric coatings of pills, [...]
DEA (diethanolamine) is what they call a “wetting” agent and is primarily used in shampoos and lotions to provide lather. It can also be found in brake fluid, degreasers and antifreeze. Now there is something I want to put on my body in the shower. Supposedly this chemical is not too harmful all by itself; [...]
How many times have you tried to explain why you are eating organic/going green/using cloth diapers, only to have someone tell you that “we ate food with pesticides our whole lives, and we turned out fine“? A few times? A lot of times? Never? Well, if you are being more conscious of your life choices [...]
The global chemical industry annually produces about 6 billion pounds of bisphenol A (BPA), an integral component of a vast array of plastic products, generating at least $6 billion in annual sales. The value of BPA-based manufactured goods is probably incalculable. Environmental Working Group studies have found BPA in more than half the canned foods [...]
You know your parents used it when you were growing up and that restaurants use it to cook your food with, but what is teflon? And do you know just how bad teflon can be? Chances are, you probably don’t, but it’s important that you learn what it is and why you should be avoiding [...]
