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BY THE NUMBERS

Nine Ways to Avoid Household Toxins

One expert offers tips for consumers who want to avoid exposure to everyday household toxins and chemicals.

By Christina Gillham | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Oct 1, 2008 | Updated: 4:19  p.m. ET Oct 1, 2008

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  • Posted By: crazystuff @ 10/07/2008 12:22:17 AM

    Comment: Everything has toxins. This article is dumb to me. My grandfather lived to be 101 and he ate canned food and did all kinds of stuff. His answer to that was do everything in moderation. I think this is getting taken too far. The amount of toxins in many things is minimal. The reason animals that they test get cancer and such is because they expose them to high levels of the toxins. Come on people quit living like everything is going to kill you.

  • Posted By: decaryi1 @ 10/06/2008 4:32:10 AM

    Comment: A couple weeks ago my youngest son,who had tempary moved back in with myself and my middle son,who has shared a house with me for over 10 years,I'm diabled due to back injuries,and due to a car accident has been taking care of me and household.Well my youngest decided to do a major barthroom cleaning job,I appold his work but we have been using "Green'" cleaning products.He was used to useing Comet for scrubing,and Fantastic,he cleaned drains with Liquid Plummer.I went into the bathroom a like to gag from the fumes.Well rished and ventalated seem to be OK,later that night my female Bengal cat started to have blood in her diarhia,next mourning she was vomiting and Then my Male Bengal also had blood in his diarhea I called the animal poson center and they asked if they were eating,if ingusted they would have sores in the mouth and not eat.But after talkto Vets. office,they were,but off to Vet.they checked out OK and no parasites,but my Senior Vet came to the concusion it was the very limited exposure to fumes,so after diet changes,even limiting them to baby food and graduadually changing back to old diet they are fine,so "Remember to go Green!!"I had to educate my son to use the Green cleaning products I used,Ever since Mrs. Imus started her Greening the Cleaning Prducts,they are GREAT and clean just as well as any of the strong products.Sorry I'm a little off topic but I'd like to save anyone from through almost posioning our little Friends form fume poisoning by somthing as simple as cleaning.Not mention the Vet bills and upset!!.Dave F.

  • Posted By: readermember @ 10/04/2008 10:57:28 PM

    Comment: Don't let Melaleuca fool you. Their products are NOT non-toxic. They are better than what you buy at the supermarket though.

    Also, in response to the comment by "aubs": I don't think the author was criticizing how you choose to live you life, but you should be aware that the way you live also affects everyone living on the planet - even if you did live on your own island. Our ecosystem is intrinsically connected.
    Natural living is the cheapest way. Fruits, vegetables, meats, beans, and grains to create a delicious menu, plus hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and baking soda as cleaning products. I can't think of a more cost effective way of life.

  • Posted By: Lithiell @ 10/04/2008 5:10:02 PM

    Comment: For those of you who wish to avoid toxins in your home, visit http://beverly.familiesinfaith.com/ and click on "Request Info". Melaleuca products are toxin-free and they have everything you need to replace all those toxic cleaners and more. From toothpaste to laundry detergent, Melaleuca offers wonderful products that are safe for our homes. Cosmetics, cleaners, vitamins and dietary supplements, first aid and medicines, candles, lotions, shampoo, conditioner, soaps and body washes???all and more are products Melaleuca offers. And ALL are toxin-free! You can even get into business with them if you???d like, though I am merely a customer. I just wanted to let you all know that there is an alternative! I use the products every day and have will vouch for how much better I feel. They are safe around my children. A kid could drink a whole bottle of bathroom cleaner and be fine. Try that with bleach. No, don???t, it???d kill your child! Ask for more info to find out how you can have a toxin-free home.

  • Posted By: aubs @ 10/04/2008 4:49:00 PM

    Comment: In response to Kimmart's post.....yes toxins are bad for people and im sure there are lots of toxins in the shampoo and canned foods, etc. Yes, most people realize they are putting toxins into their body. BUT GUESS WHAT?! Going all "natural" as you call it takes money and takes time! Time and money MOST people dont have. You could go grocery shopping and go spend $100 dollars on veggies and other "natural" things as you call it, or you could go grocery shopping and spend $60 dollars on canned foods/veggies, boxed dinners, etc and come out with twice the food! It's not like most people want to eat crap like that, they just have to. And if you think, "you could just grow a garden," that doesn't work for most people either, because MOST people work and have families and other commitments. So before you go on a tyrant of criticizing people and the way they choose to live THEIR lives, take a second look and butt out.

    • Posted By: readermember @ 10/04/2008 11:00:22 PM

      Comment: Don't let Melaleuca fool you. Their products are NOT non-toxic. They are better than what you buy at the supermarket though.

      Also, in response to the comment by "aubs": I don't think the author was criticizing how you choose to live you life, but you should be aware that the way you live also affects everyone living on the planet - even if you did live on your own island. Our ecosystem is intrinsically connected.
      Natural living is the cheapest way. Fruits, vegetables, meats, beans, and grains to create a delicious menu, plus hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and baking soda as cleaning products. I can't think of a more cost effective way of life.

  • Posted By: FrankSilvyNY @ 10/04/2008 2:32:44 PM

    Comment: gee!! looks like someone has been eating a lot of canned food lately!

  • Posted By: mweight @ 10/04/2008 11:49:12 AM

    Comment: If the government would allow the agricultural industires to grow Hemp, we wouldn't have this problem then we could use hemp oil in the production of plastics and many other things that we currently use pretoleum based products for..

  • Posted By: solsal @ 10/04/2008 11:10:24 AM

    Comment: The tenth way to avoid toxins is the easiest of all: give up all perfumes, colognes, etc. Many people suffer ill effects from fragrances without even realizing it. And it will improve your relationships. You may think that other people like the smell of your expensive products, but actually, they are just petroleum products that smell like outhouse chemicals. Most of your friends and coworkers would rather have fresh unscented air.

  • Posted By: fragrancefree @ 10/03/2008 12:46:07 AM

    Comment: In the late 80's there were many t.v. specials on the sick building syndrome of office workers becoming ill in new buildings due to chemical rug treatments & materials & formaldehyde in pressed wood ,etc. The info was soon silenced by pressure from powerful chemical co. & big business. Today 20% of people suffer from sensitivities to such chemicals & many of those are so disabled from chemical exposures that they've lost their jobs, & health & can't even go to public places with out adverse reactions to peopl's bodycare products with today's heavy use of chemical fragrance..Consumer's need to read ingredient lists & pay attention to which poducts they buy & which co. they support.

  • Posted By: fragrancefree @ 10/03/2008 12:33:02 AM

    Comment: In the late 80's there were many news specials about the sick building syndrome in new offices with the formaldehyde in pressed wood, chemical treatments on the carpet, etc. which were making employees sick with headaches, nausea, etc. The wealth & power of the chemical industries, etc. bought off & silenced the info. Today 20% of people are afflicted with serious sensitivities & some are so disabled by them that they must avoid public places.

  • Posted By: fignewton @ 10/02/2008 11:24:02 AM

    Comment: I have done away with all flouridated toothpaste and anti perspiranats whcih contain aluminum, also any product which contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. Doing these few things has made a huge difference in the aches and pains I used to have in the morning when I awoke. I do not have them anymore. I also have been using white vinegar to clean and baking soda to scrub the sinks and tub.

  • Posted By: kitnkaboodle @ 10/02/2008 11:16:49 AM

    Comment: A great resource, if you're looking to pick safer makeup and grooming products, is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. I use nail strengtheners and I was horrified to learn about some of the chemicals that are in the ones you buy at the drug store, like Sally Hansen. I did some research and found Nail-Aid (www.nailaidworks.com), who don't use formaldehyde, toluene, or phthalates in their products. Whatever you want to replace, you can probably find it at safecosmetics.org.

  • Posted By: blatnym @ 10/02/2008 11:06:13 AM

    Comment: Avoid compact fluorescent lightbulbs -- if they break you've contaminated your house with mercury.

  • Posted By: Baying_Hound @ 10/02/2008 9:46:52 AM

    Comment: Definitely avoid or limit the use of canned foods. BPA is used in almost all canned food liners, and over time leeches into the food product. Canned foods exhibit especially high concentraitons of this chemical as the foods will sit in the container often for extended periods of time. A great alternative is to home-preserve your own foods. We can tomatoes and tomato sauce every summer. We also make our own apple sauce for canning. A vacuuim sealer and a freezer are also a great alternative for long term storage of many items commonly found in cans. Along with canned foods, BPA is also extensively found in drinking containers. To combat this, I recommend a reusable drinking container that is BPA-free. We sell BPA-free water bottles on our website - www.bayinghound.com. Also, check out our blog for more information on BPA-related issues - bayinghound.blogspot.com.

  • Posted By: Reverend Smooth @ 10/02/2008 6:08:40 AM

    Comment: If one has any kind of inflammatory disease or endocrine disorder, one should follow the recommendations here. Doing these things, along with eliminating detergents and scented products of any kind, has improved the health of several folks in my household, including diabetics, asthmatics, and lupus sufferers. The asthmatic no longer had to use an inhaler when before she used to have attacks if she just laughed, and the lupus sufferers have much less inflammation and skin lesions.

  • Posted By: omniconnected@yahoo.com @ 10/02/2008 4:32:34 AM

    Comment: Accepting the cautionary principle is the only responsible view with regards to ourselves, our children, grandchildren and nature. Any insight into the chemical world of today (try looking up some substances, try pubmed, or try looking at substance history and the industry role) is terrifying and quite enough to convince any sane person of that. Just look at Bisphenol A: just because greed makes us want to choose one type of plastic over another and ignore the cautionary principle we use a plastic that gives babies learning disabilities for thirty years!!! I ask you Mommy Deluxe - was that worth it - or should we learn from our mistakes? This subject has never been more important than now.

  • Posted By: JPMyers @ 10/02/2008 4:04:47 AM

    Comment: Mommy Deluxe clearly isn't keeping up with the science. Just as one example, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) just published a study linking bisphenol A to heart attacks and type 2 diabetes. If commentators like Mommy Deluxe want to contribute to this debate, at the very least they should be aware of new scientific publications.

  • Posted By: Mommy Deluxe @ 10/02/2008 12:00:53 AM

    Comment: This article is an exercise in paranoia. How many of these substances *may* be linked to diseases? There are more distortions here than it's possible to mention without writing an article of equal length. In brief, most of the substances mentioned *aren't* linked to diseases in human beings and many are not ever reliably linked to diseases in animals. There are a subset ot individuals for whom even a theoretical risk is as good as fact. Sadly it seems Newsweek has adopted the standards in its journalism.

    • Posted By: sherrykats @ 10/04/2008 9:45:23 AM

      Comment: Where are your brains? After reading your comments I have to wonder whether you are employed by a chemical company! Are they paying you off to spread this nonsense? I HOPE you are not really raising children! How scary! Every year more and more products come on the market that are clearly dangerous to humans and yet like cattle going to slaughter...we just keep on buying them and filling our bodies with this garbage! Did you ever hear the old saying "you are what you eat"? That really is true. Your cells absorb the food that you take in and mutate accordingly! That is why you are seeing all of these autoimmune disorders and cancers and a host of other diseases that our grandparents never heard of! The chemical companies need to be held responsible or someone does if the public is too STUPID to figure out the dangers! How can we stop this? I would like to get involved!

  • Posted By: lmasure @ 10/01/2008 10:03:49 PM

    Comment: Jeez, why don't we just get rid of everything unatural in our houses... oh wait, that means we'll own NOTHING! If the air we breathe everyday isn't going to kill us immediately, why sweat the small stuff? Live without non-stick pots and pans, yeah, I don't think so. This is a stupid list, and only tells us what we already know - everything we own, breathe, or sit on will give us CANCER. Buyer beware. Pahlease... I can't believe someone even took the time to study this crap. What a waste of time.

    • Posted By: sherrykats @ 10/04/2008 9:34:05 AM

      Comment: After reading your comment It is no wonder I've come to question the sanity of the public! You must be either very young or very stupid! I'm 54 yrs old and have been a wary consumer for most of my life. Reading labels to avoid artificial colors,sweeteners and preservatives began for me in my childbearing years in the 70's! I always questioned plastics and microwav ovens because it just makes sense that petroliam based products would release chemicals into the food when heated! Do you know how a microwave oven works? When you know that you will understand the dire consequences of eating chemically rearranged food!! NO WONDER the public has been dying faster and younger for at least a generation! The chemicals in our homes and food are killing us and making our children sick and brain damaged! Where is the FDA on this issue? Can we sue them? To me it has just been a matter of common sense...but you have to be informed to have that common sense sometimes! Buy the book by Gary Trudeau called Natural Cures....it will open your eyes!

      • Posted By: Kimmart @ 10/04/2008 12:10:24 PM

        Comment: you people sicken me!! I can't believe how little people know about living a more natural life style. Clue in already!!! It's not rocket science, if you'd think about it for more than 5 seconds you'd realize that it makes sense. It's stupid that all you people who are obviously uneducated about the bad effects of toxins and have not done a lick of research are so against a more natural lifestyle. How would YOU know???? I think people tell themselves that there is no problem with all these toxins so they don't have to make any lifestyle changes, it's just laziness, not to mention you people don't want to face the reality of what you've been doing to your children and the chemical burden they carry thanks to their arrogant parents. I shutter when I see parents spraying fertilizer and pesticide outside near their children--- are you kidding me!! That stuff is made to kill. Yeah, it's especially for bugs, but what if it just harmed a bug-sized part of you, that's all it takes... Well one day when your kids grow up, and they've had problems because of their chemical burden, and all this stuff about toxins is more well known, and they get it, and they go through extra EFFORT to try to use more natural products for themselves, they will wonder why in the heck their parents were so arrogant and did not protect them. Clue in!! Do you REALLY think our bodies were made for all these chemicals?? Think about it...when your body takes in a oxygen, or a vitamin, or a mineral, or an apple, it knows what to do with it. When it takes in all these man made chemicals it doesn't know what to do with them...there is not a place for them in your body so they hang around causing problems... still don't get it??? Well then just stay arrogant, continue feeding and exposing your family to whatever chemicals you can get a hold of, all in the name of convenience and to save a buck!

  • Posted By: Krohn @ 10/01/2008 9:33:55 PM

    Comment: Obama's dirtiest, darkest secret!:
    http://larrysinclair.org/

  • Posted By: Krohn @ 10/01/2008 8:44:25 PM

    Comment: A man of great wisdom:
    http://www.atlah.org/broadcast/manningreport.html

  • Posted By: caitmin @ 10/01/2008 7:31:39 PM

    Comment: In addition the the EWG site, there is also the National Eczema Association site which lists various ingredients that should be avoided - particularly for people with eczema or sensitive skin. They issue a seal of acceptance to products that avoid irritants - there is list of skincare products but also things like detergents too.

    The NEA site is http://www.easeeczema.org

  • Posted By: antonellimv @ 10/01/2008 6:10:08 PM

    Comment: Thanks for a great "top 9". Though it might seem hard to change all of one's habits, taking it one step at a time is the key to not feel overwhelmed (as is easy to do). RE #2 and toxics in personal care items, this is especially important for babies and pregnant women. I was shocked that most all "gentle baby shampoos" have phthalates. www.greenhealthybaby.com is a great place to get items without all the nasty chemicals.

    • Posted By: Lithiell @ 10/04/2008 5:00:50 PM

      Comment: Baby lotions also have chemicals in them which cause cancer. If you're interested in non-toxic products for your homes, go here and click on the "Request Info" link. http://beverly.familiesinfaith.com/ I've found that Melaleuca products are non-toxic and cover a wide range of things we use in our homes everyday. From toothpaste to dish and laundry detergent to cleaning supplies to vitamins and makeup, these products are excellent! You can even join the company and build a business with them. I want to note that I am not a business partner of Melaleuca, just

  • Posted By: scotten @ 10/01/2008 6:02:29 PM

    Comment: 9) Dust and vacuum weekly - the problem with this is most vacuums blow tiny particles back into the air that make it through the bag. For this to work you need a vacuum with a HEPA filter.

 
 
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