Update: A year later

It's been a year since I went back to work after cancer treatments, and almost 2 years since I went crazy with the anti-toxin issue. Researching an writing this blog was fine when I wasn't working, but keeping it up and working full time is practically impossible. I go to bed at 8pm, no kidding. Regardless, I'm still learning, and sharing what I know. I've convinced many friends to stop heating up lunched in plastic containers, and changing their baby's bottles to bpa-free alternatives. Many people have asked about my cosmetic and soap products and have tried them. I like knowing that I'm educating people, but whether they change their habits or not is up to them. At least, they know more now about toxins and xeno-estrogens, and their impact on our health.

As for me, I'm healthy, but my estrogen levels are still 3 times the norm. After all the phtalates and bpa I've eliminated in my life, it seems I am a natural estrogen-making machine. Good for my skin and my figure, bad for chances of recurrence. I won't worry about it though, since I can only control what I can --my exposure to toxins. So, 2 years later:

1. I use only toxin-free cosmetics and body products: Right now, Dr Bronner is the product of choice. We use it as hand soap, shampoo, body soap and face cleanser. Why would we need a different type of product on our face? It's the same skin we have everywhere else. What a great example of a made-up need. I still love Bare Organics and Rocky Mountain Soap Company, which I alternate with Dr Bronner.
In the bath I use baking soda just like my mother used to. It does a nice job of softening the water. If I rather have bath oil, I go down to the kitchen to get the olive oil since there is no such thing as bath oil. Oil is oil. Same with bath salts. Kitchen sea salt does the trick. And again, same with lotions. If I need to hydrate my skin, what does a better job then oil? At least I know what's going on and in my skin: Olives. I'm ok with that.

2. I don't use any plastic to store food. Many people ask me how we store food in the refrigerator or heat in the microwave. As simple as a plate with a bowl on top, or vise versa. For packed lunches, we use stainless steel containers and mason jars. Freezing is trickier -I keep breaking the jars, so I'm working on it. I'm still looking for waterproof organic cotton envelops or bags for sandwiches and snacks. I might have to make them myself.

3. I use only natural cleaning products, or vinegar and baking soda. I prefer having bacteria than chemicals in my house. It's a choice and believe me, everything is antibacterial now, even your underwear. A shame we are so triclosan-crazy now since it's proven that kids exposed to certain bacteria before the age of 2 are less likely to die from that bacteria as an elder.

4. I don't use pesticides on my lawn (no fertilizer either -why would I want the damn thing to grow faster?) and I buy the dirty dozen in the organic section or at least locally grown: apples, grapes, peppers, celery, peaches, and all other thin skinned fruit and vegetables. I don't worry about bananas, mangoes, pineapples, oranges, etc. I also stay away from produce that is not in season. I will never buy huge January strawberries. In winter, we eat Caribbean fruit; it isn't local but it is in season. It's fun the learn your location's growing season. In Ottawa, we have asparagus in May, strawberries in June, raspberries in July, blueberries and peaches in August, apples and potatoes in September, root vegetables in the fall.

5. We buy only local, hormone and antibiotic-free meat. We go to our local butcher/farmer who told us they "don't have the money for that fancy hormone thing", and we bought a quarter cow from La Ferme du Vallon Highlands, from someone we know who raises cows in summer. I know my cow was raised with respect and on milk and grass, as all cows should.

6. My house smells of nothing. Not of fabric softener (the devil incarnated and another made-up need), not of air fresheners or plug-ins, nothing. In fact, I don't use anything that has the word "fragrance" as an ingredient.

It was difficult at first, but once we got used to the change, it made sense. I feel good about protecting myself and my family, and I'm saving money too.

Cosmetics. Part 1.

I've added "Part 1" to this post since, like food, there's so much to say about cosmetics. What I forget to mention here will be addressed in future posts.

The toxicity of cosmetics was one of the first facts to come out about toxins and chemicals in our environment. Stacey Malkan's book Not Just a Pretty Face. The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry published in 2007 contributed to the awareness.

So here it is folks. The truth none of us want to hear.
How fast you age and how you look depend solely on these factors: genetics, sleep, stress levels, exercise, water intake, alcohol and caffeine intake, and what you eat.

Unfortunately and regardless of what magazines make us believe, no product can replace these factors.

The truth is hard to hear, but very liberating.

As I mentioned in the introduction to this blog, I owe my friend M for telling me the nasty truth about cosmetics two years ago and opening my eyes for good. She started by telling me about the harmful effects of sodium laureth sulfates and other ingredients in products we use every day, and how many we use. Think about your morning routine. It's worse for women, but men are not exempt:

The basics:
soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, moisturizer, makeup and remover, some sort of behave-yourself hair product (gel, moose, varnish, putty, spray, etc).

And maybe:
conditioner, face cleanser and toner, more makeup and lip balm, shaving cream or other hair removal product, mouthwash, lotion, nail polish and remover, bubble bath and other bath products, massage oils and lubricants, and hair colour.

Most of these products contain chemicals to avoid like sulfates, parabens, preservatives and if scented, phtalates that don't need to be listed in the ingredients. Actually, even unscented products can contain fragrances to mask the smell of chemicals. These chemicals act as emulsifiers and as penetrating agents, as well as prolong fragrance life.

If you're wondering which of your products contain chemicals, enter the product name in the Skin Deep database and see for yourself. It will give you the ingredients in the product, if it's been tested or not and give you a level of toxicity. It feels like playing Russian roulette. Johnson & Johnson baby products for example, are terrifying. Which is why there's also a safety guide for children's products. This site was created by American lobbyists who call themselves the Environment Working Group and are working on a Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. It seems to be working since some companies have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics pledge, and American initiative. You can see the companies that have signed on here. In Canada and in the Europeean Union, cosmetics regulations are more strict, but there's still a long way to go to make them safe.

Changing your products can seem overwhelming. Start by thinking "multi-use". We don't need all these grooming products --their existence doesn't make them useful. In fact, some create problems we fix with other products. Take shampoo and conditioner for example. Most shampoos with sulfates strip you hair of its natural oils, which dries it out and makes it dull and unmanageable. We then use conditioner full of xenoestrogen to return its shine and softness. That's why our hair is in such bad condition when we stop --it's on hormonal withdrawal. That and we're still using stripping shampoo. Same goes for drying soap and hydrating lotions.

Here's what we really must use on a daily basis and the alternatives I've found:

a) Something to wash with. People used to wash with oil, and soap is made from lard so it shouldn't dry your skin. Also, our skin is the same everywhere so why use a different cleanser for your face? Here are soaps my family and I use.
Oatmeal baby soap. It's not just for babies and it lasts forever.
All in one cleanser. Mix one part soap with 4 parts water in a foaming bottle to make it last. I have it at every sink in the house.
Both these products come from the Ontario based company Bare Organics started by a mother who's child has overly sensitive skin. I order it through a friend or online. It's worth the shipping and if you have issues, questions or are not satisfied, you can talk to the owner directly.

I just ordered these handmade soaps from British-Columbia based Rocky Mountain Soap Company: the pumpkin (good for skin conditions), the goats milk (always very creamy), the Alpine and the Bar None. I'll let you know what I think of them.

b) Something to wash your hair with, and not every day. It's shampoos containing sulfates that force you to. Of course, if your hair gets stripped of it's natural oils every wash it will make it in excess to balance itself out. No conditioner is needed if your oils are left to work normally. This can take a week or longer. Hair withdrawal is hell but think of the freedom! In my case it's simple, I'm getting brand new undamaged hair. I use Burts Bees shampoo sold in most drugs stores.

c) Something to clean your teeth with. Toothpaste is filled with chemicals, yet alternatives are not great. Have you tried brushing your teeth with baking soda? It's absolutely disgusting. Nevertheless if you want, here's a homemade toothpaste recipe (scroll down to toothpaste). I'll let you know when I find something else.

d) Deodorant. Sweating is your body's natural way of getting rid of toxins. It's counter-productive to stop it considering the amount the toxins we ingest, but excessive stinky sweating is not acceptable. I started using Burst Bees deodorant instead of antiperspirant. It works most days unless I wear synthetic materials or if I'm dehydrated. It doesn't prevent sweating, so I ordered this one from Rocky Mountain, which was suggested by a friend.

e) Moisturizer (if your skin is dry). This is very simple. I use oil. When I go camping, I use olive oil. Why not? I need something to hydrate my skin and protect it from the elements. Oil does that very well. Since I know there's no product out there that will make my wrinkles disappear, I don't waste my money. If your skin is oily, good for you, it has it's own natural protection. Like with hair, if you stop stripping it, it might work well.

f) Make-up (if you're a women, or not). I've known for a long time that make-up is full of harsh somethings, since my face would break out and my eyes don't tolerate mascara. Think of waterproof mascara, what makes it waterproof? I rather not know. I found two brands of cosmetics without parabens or so I was told. One is Plant Love by Cargo and unfortunately, I don't remember the other one. I also use products from the new organic line from Cover girl (I can't find a link) and Burts Bees makes great lip glosses.

Of course, this list can get longer if you choose but you can use more natural alternatives and reduce your exposure to toxins and xenoestrogens. Really, that's a lot of products we use on your body every day, so if they all contain an "acceptable" amount of harmful toxins, how much are you absorbing then?

Sources
Campain for Safe Cosmetics
"Canadian Laws"

Sexy Hormones. F & W Ltd, Markham, 2007.

Smith, R. and B. Lourie. Slow Death By Rubber Duck, Toronto, Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2009.

Rocky Mountain Soap Company
"Elements to avoid"

Plastic

Have a good look around your house and you'll see just how much we use plastic. It seems in the last 50 years all other materials have been replaced by the "better" plastic option --wood, steel, leather, glass, rubber, cotton and the list goes on. Plastic is used as the safer, lighter and of course, cheaper alternative. In addition, it breaks after a certain amount of use so the need to produce more is built in. It's still lighter, cheaper and still breaks, but it's obvious now that it isn't safe at all. Quite the contrary.

As mentioned in both my bisphenol A and phthalates posts, our beloved plastic (including vinyl) contains many different components that are toxic to our health, acting as extra hormones in our body. These components are used to make plastic soft, thin, flexible, strong, light --basically all the characteristics we like about it.

Heating up plastic has always been a bad idea --anyone who's melted it by mistake knows that chemical smell. We know it, yet as recently as last year my family and I were leaving water bottles in the sun and heating up food in the microwave in plastic containers or with cling wrap. A study at Dartmouth University found that a plastic wrap smeared in olive oil, heated up in the microwave had 500,000 times the amount of xenoestrogen needed for breast cancer cells to multiply in test tubes. Even worse, we now know there's no need to heat plastic (or freeze it for that matter) for it to leach --just touching it is enough. These toxins are absorbed through our skin as well as inhaled. They stay in dust bunnies in our homes and when our food comes in contact with plastic, we eat them.

To make you aware, here's a random selection of things made of plastic that originally weren't. Which makes me think that "if it isn't broken, don't fix it":
Fences and decks;
Windows, doors and house siding;
Tools for yard work and indoor cleaning (rakes, mops);
Furniture and lamps (in plastic and vinyl);
Window blinds, shower curtains and picture frames;
Kid's toys and books;
Pens and markers (as opposed to pencils);
Clothing (raincoats, shoes, belts);
CD cases (as opposed to LP pockets) and DVD cases (as opposed to VCR pockets);
Dishes and utensils (for cooking and eating) including ice trays;
Food storage and packed lunch containers;
Juice jugs, milk bags and wine bottles...and corks;
Yogurt and other wet dairy products sold in containers;
Meat and cheese sold in cling plastic (as opposed to paper);
Fresh fruit baskets (have you seen the new peach ones this year?)

When I looked around, I was horrified that my 3 beloved vintage chairs were all in vinyl --a material I choose when I got them reupholstered because it looks great and is so child and dog friendly (yeah...). And my beautiful Philip Stark Ghost chair, a piece of art, is, you said it, plastic. That's what it is! A plastic chair! I still love it...

In France, food is sold mostly in glass containers. I took a few photos to show you and I even brought the small jars back to reuse.


Mustard and mayonaise


Chocolate mousse (pudding was the same)


Yogurt

Plastic is everywhere and finding out it isn't safe is overwhelming to say the least. Making changes can seem intimidating, even impossible but it isn't. The key is to take one step at a time --any reduction of your exposure to it will make a difference. Remember that you're a pioneer in choosing alternatives and some things are just not available yet in anything but plastic. I started making changes last year and I'm far from being done. I admit, I had to start thinking differently and changing my habits. These are a few of the changes we've made:

For packed lunches:
I use:
the yellow LunchBot* for C. de Lune's lunches. It's just the right size to fit in her lunch bag, it closes well and the separator is attached to the bottom. However, it isn't watertight. The LunchBot without a separator works well too.

*LunchBots are made in China --you can read what they contain, and how they're made on their website.

a small Klean Kanteen for her beverage.

an airtight stainless steel container for fruit pieces and other small foods.

the same steel container or small canning containers for wet foods like yogurt or applesauce. The plastic liner in the lid could have BPA, so I turn it around.

parchment paper to wrap sandwiches, muffins and cookies. I twist each ends like I saw them do in Paris, which looks like a huge wrapped candy. Wax paper does the trick too, but remember it's made from petroleum.

bambo utensils (for fun).

For foods storage:
I use:
LunchBots without separators
glass container with lock and lock plastic lids (we asked and they don't contain BPA or phthalates). I still wouldn't heat them up.
pyrex containers with plastic lids. Same deal.
the bigger sized airtight stainless steel containers.

For food preparation and eating:
I use:
stainless steel cooking utensils only;
steel colandars and cheese graters;
steel or ceramic mixing bowls;
usual dishes and glasses, no plastic.

For food purchases (this one is difficult):
I choose oils, condiments and juices in glass jars;
I buy meats and fish at the counter (the paper has a plastic lining, but it hasn't sat in it for long;
I buy butter instead of margarine (and it's real food --more on that in future posts);
I buy ice cream in cardboard boxes (although now I like making my own).
I'm working on more...

Sources
Sexy Hormones. F & W Ltd, Markham, 2007.