New toxin series - Benzine

After having children, chemicals become a huge issue in our lives. Currently, I am listening to the Diane Rehm show. The authors of the book, "Poinsoned Profits" are now on and are explaining the complications of monitoring toxins in our lives. Personally, I find keeping the toxins out of our home is REALLY HARD. Because I have no faith in the government coming in to save the day anytime soon (new chemicals do not even have to be regulated by the EPA), I am going to try to take it one chemical at a time in an effort to get rid of these things in our lives. I know there are more natural minded parents out there who have been doing a better job of this from day one and would appreciate any advice and information. There are no ingredient lists, so a lot of research has to be done on each toxin to find out exactly where it is in the home. I am going to attempt to do this. Canada and Europe are good places to look to see what has been banned there. It is never too late to work on expelling toxins because with most of the chemicals, the lifetime of chemical build up in our bodies is what will trigger disease. Also, if you are a nursing mother or will be someday, it is REALLY important to think about what is in your body now. Our first nursling's get a double whammy of toxins from their mamas because many chemicals are soluble in fat (making the toxins 'active' in those tiny little bodies). By the second child, many of these toxins have been expelled from the mother and into (sigh) the first born's body. But alas, not all is doomsday because if we can keep those levels down post nursing, we have a fighting chance.

The chemical of the day is Benzine. This is a know carcinogen that can cause many types of blood diseases including leukemia. The main sources of exposure are cigarette smoke and gasoline. It can also be found in water and could be harmful to drink or bathe in. It also is found in some detergents and rubber.

My recommendations: don't smoke, try to avoid gas stations with the kids, do a test of your home water, use a water filter for drinking water, use natural laundry detergent, avoid pesticides, use water based paints and glues, avoid furniture wax, try to get rid of pliable plastics and rubber toys...(this will also be a huge recommendation when talking about phalates).

Ok, as soon as I make sure we are under control with Benzine, we will move on.