1. Upsetting (and frightening) study I revisited…
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) led a study that checked the umbilical cord blood of ten newborn babies and found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants. This study, done in 2004, found a total of 287 different chemicals in the blood. This is crazy! These chemicals, that passed from the mother’s blood to the baby, contained “pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage.” Of those 287 chemicals, “we know that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests.” Tough way to start life! We HAVE TO make it a priority to focus on getting these toxins out of our environment. It would likely be the BEST way to reduce many of the cancers, neurological disorders, behavioral disorders, and cognitive impairing conditions. You can read a more detailed report about that study here.
2. Something to help reduce the exposure to toxins…
That same group, EWG, puts out a list of what they call the Clean Fifteen, which lists fifteen fruits and vegetables that have the lowest amount of pesticides, as well as the Dirty Dozen, which lists the twelve with the most pesticide residue. They update it yearly. You can see both full lists by clicking here. Two things these lists did for me… 1. I don’t always buy organic avocados or asparagus, because they made the clean list… and 2. I will always buy organic strawberries, apples, and grapes, because they contain the most pesticide residue. Biggest surprise… more than 90% of kale and spinach tested positive for having residue of two or more pesticides (which I just read this week). So I will not buy those unless organic from now on.
3. Great quote I read…
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”– John Muir
I was in REI (which is short for Recreational Equipment, Inc., and a store that I love) the other day, and on the bathroom wall was this quote. I love it! Another simple reminder to get outside, in nature, off the roads and sidewalks, and on dirt.
