Recent research has established that 90% of the cells in our bodies are not our own. They belong to microbes — bacteria and other microscopic creatures, collectively known as our microbiome. Like good guests who help with cooking and clean-up, many of these microbes perform valuable, not to say, essential services, providing enzymes for digestion, [...]
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12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic (2012)
Fact: You cannot get rid of all the pesticides on conventionally grown fruits and vegetables simply by washing them. In the latest government tests analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), pesticides were found on 68 percent of food samples after peeling and washing. This is of concern because small doses of pesticides and other [...]
Campbell’s Soup to Phase out BPA, but How and When
After months of pressure from consumers and public health organizations led by the Breast Cancer Fund, Campbell’s Soup Company has announced plans to phase out use of the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in its can linings. As the world’s largest canned soup producer, Campbell’s can play a major role in reducing exposure to BPA, [...]
BPA Risk from Food and Beverage Cans
Public health experts have been warning consumers for the last few years about the possible risk of BPA exposure from the epoxy lining in food and beverage cans. Now a November 2011 study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health shows the concern to be well-founded. The Harvard study found highly elevated levels [...]
12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic (2011)
Pesticide residues often remain on produce even after you wash it. Therefore, it’s best for your health and your family’s to buy organic fruits and vegetables. If you can’t afford to by everything organic, the best strategy is to focus on the fruits and vegetables that are most likely to expose you to multiple pesticides. [...]
To Raise Healthy Children, Reduce Exposure to Toxins
Nowadays, raising healthy children requires more than keeping them safe from germs. It also requires protecting them from toxic chemicals pervading their everyday environment, from phthalates, BPA, organophosphates and PBDE flame retardants to lead and mercury. For tips on how to reduce your children’s risk, read, print and share my latest This Green Life column [...]
BPA-free Receipts
Starting next month, you will be able to tell whether the receipt you’ve been handed is BPA-free by checking for red marks on the back. Red marks = BPA-free. This move is courtesy of Appleton, the largest thermal paper maker and only manufacturer of BPA-free receipts in the U.S. It is beginning to add red [...]
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
The invisible chemicals present in everyday products include toxins that pose serious long-term health risks. That’s why I pulled together a new page for you on Staying Healthy. Take the time to learn about these hidden dangers and how to avoid them. Your health is worth it. Really.
12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic (2010)
Last weekend, I got a friendly warning from a farmer at our local Greenmarket. Holding up the big, beautiful bell pepper I’d selected, he said, “You may find a little friend inside.” Friend? I cast an uncomprehending look at him. “We don’t use pesticides,” he explained. I assured him I preferred the little bug I [...]
Safe Bug Spray for Kids and Adults
Is it safe to use an insect repellent on your kids — or yourself — that contains DEET? And are there any safe and effective alternatives? IN SHORT: DEET-based bug repellents may carry some risk, depending on the concentration of DEET in the product and the individual’s health and chemical sensitivity. For a safer, effective [...]
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This Green Blog is the companion blog to NRDC's This Green Life, a green living column written by Sheryl Eisenberg for the Natural Resources Defense Council. (Subscribe to get it for FREE each month.)
Sheryl has also written "Greentips" for the Union of Concerned Scientists and designs websites for environmental groups and others with her firm, Mixit Productions.
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