Top 10 Toxins in Your Home, Room by Room

If you're looking to rid your home of toxins, these top offenders in each room of your home are a good place to start.

Sanctuary

Written by Lacy Boggs Renner

1. Laundry Room: Dryer Sheets
   Dryer sheets were my entree into the land of toxin-free living when I learned that the substance used to soften clothes is often derived from animal fats. (YUCK!) But the fragrances used in dryer sheets can be even worse, containing chemicals like benzyl acetate, benzyl alcohol and terpines—all toxic, and some carcinogenic. Switch to DIY dryer balls instead and use essential oils for that fresh laundry smell. 
2. Bathroom: Bleach-based Cleaners and Wipes
   Because of years of branding, bleach can seem like the only choice when it comes to disinfecting germy surfaces in the bathroom and kitchen, but the health risks of the toxic chemicals in bleach can outweigh the benefits. Chemicals in bleach are highly corrosive to the skin and lungs, and the chemical chlorine in bleach is used in the chemical weapon mustard gas. If bleach is mixed with ammonia (which is found in urine, by the way) it creates a deadly gas. And when mixed with wastewater, it's known to form numerous carcinogenic compounds. Switch to white vinegar, baking soda, or even boiling water for your disinfecting needs.
3. Kitchen: Oven Cleaner
   Oven cleaners sold in the store are chock full of toxins, including lye (also known as ‘caustic soda’), ethers, ethylene glycol, methylene chloride and petroleum distillates. They even release butane (a neurotoxin) when you spray them.Switch to a simple paste made from baking soda and water, and then line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil to make future clean ups easier.
4. Living Room: Carpets
   Carpets are the No. 2 cause of air pollution in the home—right after cigarette smoke—because they're treated with all kinds of toxic chemicals, from flame retardants to stain repellents.  Bare wood or tile floors are best, but swapping traditional carpets for natural-fiber carpets can make a big difference.
5. Dining Room: Scented Candles
   Believe it or not, those romantic candlelit dinners could be hazardous to your health. Lots of commercial candles contain tiny metal wires in the wicks that can release lead into the air. In addition, most of the fragrances contain plasticizers and other solvents that shouldn't be inhaled. Even plain beeswax and soy candles release hydrocarbons into the air when burned, which can cause respiratory problems. Experts suggest limiting candle burning to special occasions. 
6. Kids' Room: Art Supplies
   Coloring and drawing seem like such harmless kid activities, but it depends on the tools. Dry erase markers top the list for toxicity because they usually contain the solvent xylene, a neurotoxin. Colored pencils can contain lead (look for lead-free varieties) and even water-based markers can contain alcohols that can be toxic.
7. Nursery: Baby Wipes
   One of the most ubiquitous baby tools, conventional baby wipes, can be toxic. Many contain bronopol, an antimicrobial compound that's toxic to the skin, immune system and lungs. Many also contain pthalates, which are known endocrine disruptors. Look for natural brands that don't contain these harsh chemicals—or just use soap and water.
8. Bedrooms: Furniture
   Most of us start out with inexpensive particle-board furniture when we are setting up house, but particle board or pressed wood usually contains formaldehyde or isocyanate glues, which give off toxic fumes—sometimes for years. Upholstered furniture made with polyurithane foam can also contain brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, which also offgas toxic vapors. Your best choice? Solid wood furniture, even if it's second hand.
9. Porch or Deck: Pressure-Treated Wood
   Pressure treated wood has preservatives forced into it under high pressure that help repel insects and prevent rot.  But the chemicals used, like alkaline copper quat and copper azole, can be very toxic. When building a new porch or deck, look for wood that's been treated with the less-toxic borate preservatives.
10. Yard: Fertilizers and Pesticides
    It's a status symbol in suburbia to have a lush, green, golf-course-like lawn, but all those chemical pesticides, weed killers and fertilizers can be very harmful—especially to pets and kids, who, let's face it, are the ones most likely to be rolling around in the grass in the first place. Switch to organic lawn treatments, but be aware that even organic treatments can sometimes be harmful to pets and kids in high doses. Read labels carefully. 

Photo Credit: bill barber via Compfight cc

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The diet shell game

Stick to the evidence when reporting on - and endorsing - food studies. We need real solutions to obesity and Type 2 diabetes, not book sales By Dylan MacKay Expert Adviser EvidenceNetwork.ca T Click image to download wo of the best-known American food journalists have been telling readers lately that the DASH and Mediterranean diets aren't best for our health. But the evidence tells a different story. The journalists are Gary Taubes, the author of The Case Against Sugar, and Nina Teicholz, the author of the bestselling The Big Fat Surprise. In their recent Los Angeles Times op-ed, they accuse the U.S. News & World Report of presenting the failed nutritional status quo in their January cover story on "best diets," where the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and the Mediterranean diets are tied as best diets overall. The DASH and Mediterranean diets promote the consumption of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and recommend lower intakes of red meat and saturated fat. In the realm of human nutritional sciences, these are two of the most well-respected diets. That's why they ended up on the top of U.S. News & World Report list, based on clear criteria. Yet, ironically, one of the first claims from Teicholz and Taubes is that both diets don't have enough evidence showing they reduce overall mortality, and they dismiss supporting studies of these diets as flawed. They also assert that dietary guidelines around the world, which largely have promoted dietary patterns similar to DASH or Mediterranean diets, are responsible for our epidemic of obesity and its comorbidity, Type 2 diabetes. Instead, Teicholz and Taubes propose a diet lower in carbohydrates (including sugar) and higher in fat, like Atkins, paleo, ketogenic or South Beach diets - all of which were ranked low on the U.S. News list. They explain how these low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diets are well researched and the answer to the worldwide obesity crisis. It seems a nice tidy story - except it isn't. They're saying the emperor has no clothes when they're also naked. Good evidence for reduced total mortality on LCHF diets doesn't exist (it doesn't exist for DASH or Mediterranean diets either). But DASH and Mediterranean diets do at least have larger randomized controlled trials, something LCHF diets do not. In terms of weight loss, sticking to a diet that leads to a negative energy balance (eat less than what you burn) is what works, regardless of the diet style. Markers of health, including blood sugar and blood lipids, tend to improve during weight loss irrespective of diet - and as long as the weight loss and diet lasts. In fact, the whole concept of ranking weight loss diets is a distraction. Any lifestyle pattern that excludes smoking, includes physical activity and leads to weight loss in someone who has obesity (or prevents weight gain in non-obese people) will significantly decrease chronic disease risk, even for those with a genetic predisposition. Teicholz and Taubes also proclaim LCHF as the way to reverse Type 2 diabetes, citing an ongoing study as their evidence. While LCHF diets may reverse Type 2 diabetes, it's possibly a product of weight loss. This is supported by the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), which recently demonstrated remission of Type 2 diabetes without the need of LCHF diets. Our dietary patterns, in the macronutrient sense (carbohydrates, protein and fat intake), are more likely the passengers than the drivers of the obesity crisis. Teicholz and Taubes list the cause of our obesity problem but misidentify it. They say people have been following dietary guidelines (in fact, they have not). Yes, Americans have been "notably increasing their consumption of grains, vegetables and fruits and eating less whole milk, butter, meat and eggs," as Teicholz and Taubes claim. But what they didn't note is that Americans have been increasing their overall energy consumption. People consume more energy than they did in the 1970s. Factors like urbanization, decreased physical activity at work and at home, and lower food costs (especially for calorie-dense, nutrient poor foods) have all worked to increase the availability of food energy and decrease its expenditure. These are the real drivers of the obesity crisis, not simply carbohydrate (or indeed, sugar) intake. In this post-fact world, narrative and belief seem to be the only true currencies. In human nutritional sciences, there seems to be a narrative for every diet and for each diet, an army of believers. Teicholz and Taubes want you to believe that the LCHF diets weren't ranked highly because the U.S. News expert panel may have been "entrenched in their opinions, supported by the industries that benefit from these diets, motivated by non-nutrition agendas such as animal-rights activism." This a strong assertion to level at a panel of 25 diverse and well-established scientists. The accusations of personal bias also seem hypocritical when the authors make some of their living promoting low-carbohydrate diets. In the midst of a worldwide obesity and diabetes crisis, we don't need more input from industries or from people selling books. We need more large-scale, public health interventions that address root causes of the obesity epidemic. It's time to let evidence dominate the diet discussion. Dylan MacKay, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences and a clinical trialist at the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and an expert adviser with EvidenceNetwork.ca.

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