Blog Posts by HealthyChild.org

Recently, Jenny, from our Facebook community, asked:

"Does anyone have any suggestions for safe make up brands while pregnant?"

ANSWER:

What you put on your skin can be absorbed into your blood stream, so you should choose personal care products with the same attention you give to choosing healthy foods.

Here are some tools to help you find safer cosmetics:

• Healthy Child's Shop Healthy site
• Our Printable Pocket Shopping Guides
• The Cosmetics Database
• Good Guide

On a budget?

• Use less.
• Prioritize. Invest in things like lipstick and foundation, which are a larger source of exposure than other products like mascara and eye-liner.
• Make your own. Seriously. Many cosmetics and personal care products can be easily made from very simple, safe ingredients. Here are some ideas:

Macgyver Your Makeup! : No More Dirty Looks

10 Ways to Pamper Yourself Naturally

This answer was provided by our fabulous Chief

Claire Moshenberg, MomsRising:

Two years ago, CHEJ and the Teamsters made a discovery: Toy juggernaut Toys "R" Us was peddling PVC-containing toys to the under-12 set. Toy-box classics like Toy Story 3 Barbie and You and Me Take Along Baby doll were exposing kids to toxic chemicals like lead, PVC, and more.

And as anyone who has ever encountered a proud young toy-owner knows, toys aren't just played with: they're slept on, they're gnawed on, they're hugged within an inch of their lives. All of this kid/toy contact means one thing: constant toxic chemical exposure for the toys' young playmates.

So in 2008, Toys "R" Us did the right thing. They publicly promised to take these toxic chemicals out of their toys. [1] It seemed like Toys "R" Us had finally figured out what parents and scientists already knew: PVC and related chemicals-which have been linked to rising chronic diseases in children including asthma, learning disabilities, obesity and cancer [2]- have no place in

Janelle Sorensen

Healthy Child often talks about the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables to avoid due to pesticide residues, but here's another terrible twelve to remember.

Food & Water Watch, another fantastic non-profit, has come out with their own Dirty Dozen list for fish. They selected fish that fail at least two of their criteria for safe and sustainable seafood:

• The fish contains mercury or PCBs that can cause serious health problems.
• The fish is imported from countries where health, environmental or safety standards for growing or catching fish are weak and/or non-existent.
• Many wild fish are managed poorly, are caught using gear that can hurt habitat and other wildlife, and/or the stocks are becoming depleted.
• Less than 2% of imported fish to the U.S. is tested for contamination.

Here's their Dirty Dozen Fish List (the order listed does not reflect a ranking):

1. Atlantic Cod
2. Atlantic Flatfish, e.g.

Janelle Sorensen

Forget paging through catalogues (do people still do that in the digital age?) or spending hours traipsing from store to store. You will find everything you need for everyone on your shopping list right here. In no particular order, here are my current top ten holiday gift guides:

1. 2010 Safer Holiday Toy Guide from SafeMama

2. 2010 Gift Guide from TreeHugger

3. Green Gift Guide and Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas from Green Your Decor

4. Green Gift Guide from Inhabitat

5. The Absolute Greatest Guide to Green Gifts for Kids from Healthy Child Healthy World

6. 14 Green Toys and Gifts: 2010 Eco-Friendly Holiday Guide from EcoChildsPlay

7. The Ultimate 'Safe Alternative' Gift Guide for Kids 0-6 from safbaby.com

8. Eco Holiday Gift Guide from ecofabulous

9. Etsy Organic (not so much a guide as a one-stop shop for amazing, handmade organic goodies)

10. 69 Quirky, Unique and Semi-Homemade Gifts from Planet Green

And, don't forget

Do you eat processed meats? Hot dogs, ham, sausage, salami, pepperoni and even the ground beef used in many convenience foods have long been scrutinized due to the use of sodium nitrite in the curing process. And, the latest evidence of health risks is pretty grim.

From Planet Green:

Jennifer Grayson, The Huffington Post

QUESTION:

Friends came over for dinner recently, and the wife was asking us to explain to her husband why it's important to spend the extra money on organic milk for their children, who drink a lot of it. I tried to explain, but he's skeptical and thinks the whole thing is a hoax. Can you point me toward any legitimate studies to educate him?

-Karen

ANSWER:

First off, Miss Eco Etiquette applauds your decision to leave the bulk of your organic milk manifesto for after the dinner party. To paraphrase Michael Pollan, what we choose to eat is a political act, and we all know that politics don't usually make for polite dinner conversation. Your spirited debate could have gone from moo to boo faster than you can say Stonyfield Farm.

As a new parent, I admit I had a knee-jerk reaction to your question: Even if your friend is not convinced that organic milk (which is produced without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and pesticides) is

From cosmetics to detergents to diapers, we live in a world of scents that might be making us sick, suggests a new study, even when those fragrances come from products that claim to be natural and pure.



In an analysis of 25 of the most commonly used scented products - including ones labeled "organic," "natural" or "non-toxic" - scientists identified at least 133 chemicals wafting off of them. A quarter of those chemicals were classified as hazardous or toxic. Virtually none were listed on product labels.

The gist of the study, according to Discovery News:

• Even when labeled "natural" or "non-toxic," scented products emit toxic chemicals that rarely appear on labels.
• A growing number of people may be developing sensitivities to fragrances.
• Experts suggest cleaning with baking soda and vinegar, and buying products that are as free of fragrances as possible.

"If these were coming out of a smokestack or a tailpipe, they would be regulated," said lead author

Getting ready to pull out that ole' humidifier for wintertime? Shopping for a new one? STOP!

Certain humidifiers can disperse materials, like microorganisms and minerals into indoor air from their water tanks, and high humidity can breed mold and dust mites. These factors create asthma attacks waiting to happen.

Safe Humidity Levels

The best thing to do before purchasing a humidifier, is to test the humidity levels in your home. A hygrometer (humidity guage), which you can purchase at your local hardware store, will do just this.

Humans are most comfortable when humidity is at 40-45 percent. Very dry air below 30 percent humidity causes dry nasal passages, skin and throats. Dust mites and mold thrive when humidity rises above 50 percent. Therefore, the ideal humidity is in the range of 30-50 percent.

If the humidity level is above 50 percent, do not use a humidifier. Not only is a humidifier unnecessary, but it will increase the level of mold and dust mites in