If you have been paying attention to the news reports on buying safe toys this holiday season, you’ve probably heard about phthalates.
Pronounced tha-lates (or sometimes thay-lates), this group of chemicals has been shown to disrupt hormones in laboratory animals. Fetal exposure to phthalates has also been linked to reproductive diseases later in life in baby girls. Fetal exposure has also been associated with decreased ano-genital distance in baby boys, leading the lead researcher to charge phthalates with causing the “feminization” of baby boys (this research has been challenged by other scientists).
A recent study found occupational exposure to hairspray by pregnant hairdressers and others doubled their risk of having baby boys born with the genital defect hypospadias (where the opening for the urinary tract is not located at the tip of the penis).
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Shhhh . . . the green police are coming.
I had a party to celebrate my 40th birthday and invited several of my “green” friends. I was so excited for them to come – some of them I only knew from blogging and was thrilled to meet them in person. But, what did I do in advance of the party? Did I clean arrange flowers, set out decorations? Not really. I did do some of that. But what I spent most of my time doing was hiding stuff. The not so green stuff we have.
I have always leaned towards green.
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How do you figure out what’s safe in beauty and personal care products? I previously posted about how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not test cosmetics before they go on the market. Cosmetic manufacturers must list all ingredients on cosmetics, but who in the heck even understands the chemical names? How do you figure out what is safe when you are standing in the middle of Target, reading the back of a bottle of liquid foaming soap? It says that it contains sodium laureth sulfate derived from coconut, so it must be safe, right? It says it is natural, so it is okay, right?
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Do you think that the beauty and personal care products on the shelves at your local drugstore or department store are safe? Do you think they are tested for safety by an independent agency before they are marketed?
If you think the answer is yes, you’re not alone. Most of us believe that the products we buy are safe, and that they are rigorously tested to address safety concerns before they are placed on store shelves. Various national surveys have found that a majority of us agree with statements such as “currently, the government carefully tests chemicals used in all major consumer products to make sure they are safe for people to use.”
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I have a confession to make. I want a tattoo.
I’ve always wanted one. I know that they are frowned upon by some. I know that they are not allowed by certain religions. I know that I don’t want my kids to consider getting tattoos until they are past 25. Hypocritical or not, I think that you shouldn’t get one when you are young because, unlike piercings or wildly colored hair, they are relatively permanent.
I turn 40 in one month, so that is what I’m giving myself. A tattoo. On my lower back so it won’t be seen by many – especially since I am not slender enough for a fan of low slung jeans and tiny shirts that ride up and show your booty.
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Most of us think that toxic chemical exposures can’t be very good for us. Yet, it seems that we go about our busy days blissfully unaware of the alphabet soup of toxic chemicals to which we expose ourselves each day. If you think about it, you start to wonder whether you should have a hazardous chemical warning label inked on your chest.
Before you read any more, let me just be clear that just because we are a exposed to a chemical, doesn’t mean that we are going to get sick. A particular chemical may cause an increased risk of cancer in a laboratory animal.
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