EWG answering our S.O.S.
I came across the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website a couple of years ago when I discovered that every year they issue their “dirty dozen” list of the top 12 fruits and vegetables that are most contaminated with pesticides. From what I have consistently seen, the “dirtiest” fruits seem to always be strawberries, spinach and apples and because of this, I make sure to only buy these grown organically.
The EWG also puts out a “clean fifteen” list of the fruits and vegetables that are the safest to eat that are non organic. With the rising cost of food these days most of us can't afford to buy all organic produce so having this list on hand is very helpful knowing which fruits and vegetables I can buy that are the cleanest of the non-organic kind. I hope this helps!
This organization has been fighting for consumer rights to a healthier standard of living since 1993. In that same year they analyzed government data and pesticide tests and after a lengthy investigation found an alarming amount of pesticides were found in fruits that children were exposed to at a very young age. EWG played a key role in helping to pass the Food Quality Protection Act, which helped raise awareness about the dangers of pesticides in our foods and mandated safe levels (As if any are safe) of pesticides, especially for babies and infants.
The EWG is also a great resource of consumer guides on personal care products, cosmetics, toxic-free products for home, water database and so much more.
This link takes you straight to the page where you can enter the name of your cleaning product and see how it fares. They give it a rating based on possible hazards the ingredients may cause. It also lists the harmful ingredients by name and the health concerns associated with them. They also have a database of healthy cleaning products to use.
Let’s take a look at common beauty products such as makeup, hair products, oral products, fragrances and more. Have you ever considered all the dangerous ingredients your body is trying to fight off each day? These toxins build up and the liver is constantly trying to filter all these harsh chemicals out. Over time the liver can get exhausted and stop functioning correctly, leading to many digestive issues. Lessening the load on the body helps it to maintain homeostasis, a stable environment.
Take a typical day for example. You wake up and wash your face (harsh soap), you apply lotion (with harmful chemicals) to your face and perhaps your body, you then proceed to apply makeup, from your foundation, blush, mascara, eyeshadow, lipstick and so much more all containing toxic ingredients. You floss (Teflon found on there), brush your teeth( flouride) and use an oral rinse. Then you spray your hair with dry shampoo and spray a little perfume on your neck and put on some deodorant. Now you get dressed, with clothes that have been washed in toxic detergent and fabric softener. That’s 15 products and your haven’t even left your house to start the day. Do you see how these toxins can build up and can create an overload in your system day in and day out. Many of these products contain endocrine disruptors which affect our hormones, leading to many health issues. Get yourself familiar with the most harmful ingredients and begin to read the ingredient labels. Some of the worst ingredients are BHA & BHT, formaldehyde, polyethylene or PEG’s, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate and artificial dyes and colors to name a few. If you can try to remember a few and check your labels, then ditch products containing those ingredients and go for something clean. There are so many clean and organic products out there now, but be careful even some of those have sneaky ingredients. That’s why using the EWG database can be so useful. I hope you find it as useful as I do!
Another facet (or faucet) of the EWG is their drinking water database. You can enter your zip code and see the contaminants in your water. I personally started using a Berkey filtration system to clean and filter my home water.
Almost all tap water contains contaminants like fluoride, arsenic, lead, mercury, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and more. I think it is more important than ever to filter our water supply. Also, if you can, add a filtration system to your shower head. While showering we inhale and drink the water, while our skin being the largest organ also ingests many harmful contaminants.
The EWG really does amazing work and they have a plethora of information to make educated decisions when buying products. I hope you check them out.
Babette
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The information provided here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
