To BPA or not to BPA, that is the question

Okay, you've probably heard about BPA's in our bottled waters or from microwaving plastic containers. You've probably heard they're bad for us, leach into our food and water. But did you know they were also in canned foods? I hadn't until recently. And was shocked and scared to find out that even though I'm buying my SIGG bottles so I don't drink in the toxic BPA's, I'm probably still getting it from my soup! My soup?! I only ordered crackers with that, not toxic chemicals. Or did I?

Well, let me explain what BPA's are and why we should stay away from them. BPA stands for Bisphenaol A and has gotten the most news exposure from plastic bottles, baby bottles and plastic food storage containers. So like most people, you probably thought if you were changing what kind of bottles and food containers you were using, you probably thought you were safe. Surprise! You're not. EWG has a study explaining that "in over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda and other commonly eaten canned goods, it was found to have toxic food-can lining ingredient associated with birth defects of the reproductive system." Wait, what?! Seriously?! Okay, sorry to sound surprised, again. But I am! The reason BPA is even used in cans is it helps prevent contamination and extends the shelf-life of foods". So basically, what I'm hearing is my canned foods will last long, but not me? Hmm...

I've been eating a lot of soups lately, thinking I'm eating healthier. It's low calorie. Full of vegetables. Full of toxic chemicals? It's just too much! EWG also goes on to say, "BPA is associated with a number of health problems and diseases that are on the rise on the US population, including breast and prostate cancer and infertility." And guess what? Haven't we all seen a rise in these things? So it's not just a coincidence. But yet, is any organization doing anything to stop this? Not that I know of.

So, who are the worst culprits you ask? Well maybe you didn't, but I'm going to tell you any way. Because that's the kind of gal I am. Americanfreepress.com writes, "In general, canned green beans and canned soups had some of the highest BPA levels of the foods tested. The worst offenders during their tests included: Del Monte fresh cut green beans, which had BPA levels ranging from 35.9 ppb to as much as 191 ppb; Progresso vegetable soup had BPA levels ranging from 67 to 134 ppb; Campbell’s condensed chicken noodle soup, which had BPA levels ranging from 54.5 to 102 ppb." Now, what do those numbers mean you ask? Well, I'm not serving my son Cambell's soup any more, that's for sure!

The FDA says that below 50 ug/kg day is safe. And a ppb means part per billion. So huh? Well I found on environmentoregon.com an article that tried to explain it, and well, it was still pretty confusing. So truthfully, it sounds like the BPA people are saying it's safe. And well, they stand to lose a lot of money if people stop using things with their product in it. And well, everyone who is into health is saying it's not safe.

So what's a person to do? One thing is to avoid canned goods altogether. That might be a bit drastic though. Because even when I'm cooking from scratch, some recipes still call for things like canned tomatoes. So, the other alternative is to look for non-BPA cans. Brands like Eden Foods and Trader Joe cans are non-BPA. Yay for Trader Joe's. Gotta love them! You can also try to find bottles instead of cans. Which is kind of ironic, since the whole BPA thing started with us being afraid of bottles, but whatever! If those are safer now, then so be it.

So, there you have it. BPA in canned goods. It's scary. But it's time we know.

Rub-a-dub-dub, what's in the tub?

Okay, today I decided to tackle what we bathe our children in. We think it's just a bath and that we're getting them clean and making them healthy, washing away those germs. But it turns out it's far from that. First, I want you to know, that I am getting most of my information off of the www.ewg.org website. That stands for environmental working group. They are a non-profit organization that tests all the products we use and put on our body. Great website. First time I found it I was obsessed for a week and wanted to never get a pedicure again, stop wearing deodorant, stop brushing my teeth. I was horrified by what poisons we were putting on and in our body. But, I finally calmed down and then realized there were options. So, that's what I'll be sharing here.

So, let's start with the common baby products, like Baby Magic Gentle Milk Bath. You know that cute one in the pink bottle? Yeah, well. On a scale rating of "0" being non-toxic, and "10" being the worst, causing cancers, reproductive problems, etc. Baby Magic is a 7. Yep, a 7. Doesn't seem so gentle now does it? One of the biggest culprits in the product is the fragrance. In fact, we should stay away from any non-natural fragrances in all products we use. They don't have any benefit, and they cause a lot of health problems. Yet most companies throw them in for an added bit of cancer I guess. Who knows. Essential oil scents added to products are fine, non-natural, are not. There's a whole other slew of no-no's in this brand, one of them being a paraben. Methylparaben. Some people say, well, if there's only a little, it's not bad for you. Others say stay steer clear. Me, I say if it's my child, why even take a chance. There's a reason children are getting cancers that they never did before, so why not buy a safer alternative?

So what about a baby shampoo. How about Johnson and Johnson's soothing Naturals gift set. That sounds pleasant. It's a 7. Yep, that one too. Not so soothing, huh? It's got the fragrance, also the parabens, but it also has hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Sounds harmless, almost cute even. Turns out that means it has lead, mercury, arsenic. What?! In my baby's shampoo?! What's going on? And who thought that would be a good idea to bathe a baby in that? I'm not a doctor or anything, but I surely know that sounds like a really bad idea.

So what about a baby lotion. Those have got to be good right? I've already picked on two of the big companies, so let's try Huggies this time. Like Huggies Baby Lotion with Shea Butter. Sounds heavenly! A 7. Yep another one. It's also got the fragrance, the parabens, but it also has BHT, which can cause neurotoxicity, for one thing. It sounds bad, but I thought I'd look it up just to be certain. Here's what one medical website said: "Neurotoxicity is the damage to the brain and/or the peripheral nervous system from toxic chemicals". What?! From a baby lotion? Really? And these companies can sell this stuff to moms who are trying to protect their children? Really. This is legal? How can that be? How come no one tells us about this stuff or puts a stop to it. It's just mind-boggling.

Now, I could go on and one about all the rest of the horrible ingredients in every product, but that would take months. So, there's just a sample for you. It's at least enough to make you think and reconsider. I hope. But let's not end there. Let me give you at least a few options too that are better. You can find more on the ewg.org website. But that can take months and weeks to pour over. So I thought I'd save you the trouble by giving you some options. There are many options that are "0"s but you tend to have to get those online at random websites, and then pay for shipping. So I'll suggest ones I think can be found easily at stores.

So for baby shampoo, there's California Baby Shampoo and Bodywash Tea Tree and Lavendar or Celendula. They're both a 1 and it obviously doubles as shampoo and body wash. You can get those at any Whole Foods, or a health food store. Sometimes even beauty stores sell them. So that's an easy fix. Sure, it might cost a bit more than Johnson's & Johnson's, but it's worth it when you find out what's in the other products, right?

Now, for lotion. I noticed that Vaseline has one called, Vaseline Pure Petroleum Jelly for Baby, Creamy Formula with Vitamin E. It's a "0". Not sure if it's too greasy or not, but I'm guessing it's cheap enough to try it out. I also noticed Badger has a Night Night Balm, certified organic, that's also a "0". I think I can usually get that at health food stores too. Sometimes Badger is greasy too though. If those don't work, there's always California Baby again. They have an Everyday Lotion Super Sensitive that's a "1". So that's good. Sometimes not all of their products are sold at the stores. But if you decide to buy all California Baby products, then at least you can shop at their website instead of several to find your baby's or child's soaps.

I no longer use California Baby on my son. I did when he was little, but then noticed that their products at the time weren't the lowest ratings. I'm glad to see they did whatever had to be done to give them lower ratings now. Since then, I've switched to buy my son's soap at www.youngliving.com It's a website that sells essential oils. It's 100% pure and natural. But you have to sign up to get the products. That's a whole other blogging day.

So, there you have it. Hopefully I haven't frightened anyone too much by learning what we're doing to our children. But it's never too late to change. And your child will thank you for it.

A breath of fresh air

This blog idea has been percolating for about year, when I stumbled across different information that was shocking to me about the products we use on our bodies, on our children, what we bathe in, what we eat: they're pretty much all toxic. Yes, toxic. Then my mom got ovarian cancer as I was learning about this stuff. So I delved even further into how dangerous these products were. In truth, most regular store brands are pure poison for us and are causing all the health problems and diseases we get. Remember when children didn't get cancers? Yeah, me too. So, I wanted to share that information with others so hopefully people could find out the horrid truth about what we're putting on ourselves, in ourselves, and on our children, and hopefully give some better alternatives.

I will mention brands that I use, but I'm not saying they're the best ones, just the ones I've chosen. By all means, see if you have a better one you like. Maybe as this post gets more popular, the non-toxic brands will even send me samples so I can test them all out. That would be nice!

So, how do I start giving out all this information when there's so much to give? Why not with the most current thing that happened to me because of the dangers that are around us.

So let me start off by saying, I don't have asthma. Well, I don't normally have asthma. I haven't had it in about 15 years in fact. I only had it for maybe two years even when I did, around age 22 I think. I treated it naturally with acupuncture and got rid of it way back when. That was until this past October, when I decided to put fertilizer on my lawn, by myself. No help from the hubby or the gardener. Good idea, right? Wrong!

Turns out the day I did this, I was poisoning my lungs and starting a horrible case of asthma from breathing in the crap that was in the fertilizer. I used Scott's fertilizer. Thought it seemed fine. It said on the package, "Safe for kids and pets." Hmmm...Maybe I should have found the bag that said not deadly to parents? The funny thing, or ironic I should say, is that on their website, their tagline is, "Scotts. For a healthy lawn." Healthy? I've been in urgent care three times since this happened! Almost stopped breathing the last time I went. What's so healthy about that?! I have also been to about three different doctors, been on a slew of medication, each one getting stronger and stronger because nothing has been able to work on my weakened lungs.

The first doctor put me on mild inhalers. That didn't help, had to go to urgent care, because I wasn't breathing well. Then I went to another doctor, an allergist, to see what they thought. He put me on stronger inhalers, even a steroid inhaler, but a mild one. That didn't work. And in fact, that's when I had to go to urgent care for the third time. Seems the inhaler I was on actually turned on me and made me worse, and so my fast-acting inhaler was no longer working. So if you don't have a fast acting one, then well, you're pretty much out of luck and not breathing at all. Scariest day of my life, I'll tell you. That allergist even tested me for allergies, because he doubted me when I said it was the fertilizer that caused this. He was sure I had other allergies that started this and that the fertilizer was just part of the equation. So he skin-tested me for allergies, and guess what? No allergies! At all! He said I was in the small percentage of people who had asthma without allergies. Great! Lucky me. But it proved my case, the fertilizer was the culprit here.

So the next day, I was lucky enough to get into a pulmonary specialist, lung doctor. He put me on stronger breathing steroid inhalers, plus pill steroids, plus had me on a slew of other things like nose drops, allergy pills, cough medicine. Luckily, this stuff has finally all worked. So I'm better right? Not so fast! I'm breathing, yes. But not better by any stretch of the imagination. And I'm not supposed to have asthma! So what, now I'm supposed to live with this? All because Scotts lawn fertilizer can be poisonous and affect me this way? Forget the doctor bills and medication costs. And I even have insurance! But the last two steroid inhalers, one cost me $160 with insurance. And then the stronger one I had to get on a week later, cost me about $280, with insurance! All for a green lawn? Really? And they can sell this and not be held responsible?

Forget the fact that my son who does have allergies and needs inhalers occasionally, also needed his inhaler the week after I put the fertilizer down. So not only did I get messed up like this, I was also affecting my son's breathing! All for a green lawn! I'm sorry, I'll take the brown and dead one instead.

And forget the fact that I used to workout at the gym five days a week, kick boxing, spin class, hard core stuff. Now I'm lucky if I feel good enough to go for a walk. And after being rushed to urgent care the last time, I'm afraid to get a sweat going at all!

Believe me, if I knew that fertilizers were this dangerous, I'd have stayed far away from this stuff. I will never ever use this stuff again. But now what? Will I ever be able to get off these meds? Am I bound to using inhalers and steroids forever? Forget the side affects they cause and long-term health problems. But at this point, I just want to be able to breathe and live. But really, Scotts can get away with this? Shouldn't there be a skull warning and it be locked up behind a glass case. Maybe people should have to apply for a permit like guns, to use fertilizer because it's so deadly. I mean, I almost died at least two or three times. Literally! All for a green lawn?

And I'm not even someone who takes medications for sicknesses. I get acupuncture regularly. I use essential oils to treat colds and flus. I eat organic. But now, I'm stuck using these highly dangerous meds just so I can breathe, all because I thought Scotts had a safe product for my lawn. How is it that they can sell something like that and not be held responsible? Well, I'm going to be writing them soon, and will be telling them everything that happened. I'll let you know what happens when I hear back from them. I can't wait to see what happens with that.

I'm just tired of these companies that can sell products that are dangerous, causing diseases, causing cancers, and not being held responsible for what they do. It's wrong. And I want people to know what's going on. Because these companies want to keep us in the dark about it. I'm sure there are many other people who are affected by this kind of stuff just like me. And it's time we say, no more!

So for now, it's just one day at a time. I go to see the pulmonary doctor in a few days. Not sure if I'm ready to get off these meds, still feel my lungs struggling. I'm on chinese herbs and essential oils, hoping to strengthen my lungs that way, while the meds do their magic. Hoping that I'll be off all the meds soon, and this will all be a scary horrible event in the past. But for now, I'm breathing. And that's a good thing.