I read a great article by Mike Adams of News Target yesterday. The article claimed to cite 20 things that are more dangerous for your children than lead paint from China. I was slightly miffed by the casual attitude about the lead paint issue but beyond that I see he has some very good points. Many parents may be hyped about the lead issue while they ignore the more frequent exposure of their children to toxins that are commonly in the home. But as a mom that is concerned with all 20 items on this list already or at least informed that there is some debate about them…the lead paint issue does not need to be dismissed as hysteria.
So what are the 20 things more dangerous than lead paint? I will go ahead and list them and give my thoughts and personal opinions on each. The original article is referenced at the bottom of this post.
1. Mercury in fillings – While I have not researched this topic very much I am aware that many believe that mercury in amalgam (silver) fillings leach into the body and can cause neurological damage. They may also ingest mercury during the filling process. I can attest to this as I worked in a dentist’s office for a year and worked with this material on children. Dentists and other dental technicians try to vacuum up any amalgam remnants but many times bits and chunks of the stuff goes down their throats and gets ingested.
2. Vaccines – I think anyone who reads this blog knows my feelings on this one. I do not vaccinate my children. I don’t feel that they are particularly needed and I don’t think they are safe by a long shot.
3. Hot dogs – Yuck! Hot dogs are packaged with a preservative called sodium nitrite. In the 1970s the US government decided that sodium nitrite was not safe since many studies had shown a disturbing link to cancer. The government moved to ban it from all foods available on the market but lobbyists hired by food companies stepped in and played hardball….they won and sodium nitrite is served up to us regularly in deli meats. If I must have these pre-packaged meats, I buy the nitrite free varieties at health food stores.
4. Antibacterial soap – I have always avoided antibacterial soap because I think kids need to be exposed to germs so they build a normal, healthy immune system. Antibiotics and antibacterial products just help to create super strains of the germs and bacteria they seek to defend against. Mike Adams claims that antibacterial soaps are too harsh and that you may be exposing your children to chemicals that can harm their nervous system. I don’t know enough about them really to comment on that.
5. ADHD drugs – I could not agree more. ADHD drugs belong to a class of drugs called amphetamines so it is a legal version of speed. I had a family member on my husband’s side that was on this stuff for years and the results were not pleasant. I also feel that this drug is often used to stifle the independent spirits of children.
6. Sports drinks – These are pretty much a nutritional joke but IMO so is Kool-Aid and many juice products.
7. Cough syrup and over the counter medications – You can read the News Target article for more info on this but I recall listening to a lecture years ago by a Naturopathic Doctor and his explanation of what these meds are and what they do to your body was enough to make me stay away from them. These drugs (and pretty much all of them IMO) mask the symptoms…they do not heal. I like homeopathic or holistic treatments that actually heal.
8. Sunscreen – I read a long article by Mike Adams on this a few weeks back and it was quite eye opening. He believes that sunscreen is completely unnecessary and that it is a scam. Since so many sunscreens have toxic ingredients I am very careful when it comes to these products but I am not sure if I am ready to completely abandon them. I think I will just try and find the safest sunscreen I can find.
9. Fluoride in the water – If you recall I discussed the fluoride issue last week but did you know that fluoride is also being added to our water supply for us to ingest when it is toxic in this form. It is meant to be topical. The government wants to protect us against lead paint from China while they drip a toxic substance into our water supply…hmmmm.
10. Processed Milk – I LOVE raw milk and think it is the healthiest way to drink milk and in fact is just about the ONLY way I will drink it.
11. Fast Foods – I have a bit of a hard time believing anyone thinks this stuff is healthy. They are often fried, homogenized, hydrogenated and laced with chemical additives and preservatives, processed sugars, and petrochemical food coloring. Sounds delicious and healthy right?
12. Antidepressant drugs – If you read number 5 then you already know my thoughts on this. Diet, exercise, and many other factors can have a hand in children being depressed so I would exhaust all options before turning to drugs. That said though, this isn’t a cut and dry issue…it is a very serious one.
13. Chemical laundry detergents – You may think they are just getting your clothes clean but they may contain some nasty chemicals and some of them are designed to stay on your clothes to reflect light and give the illusion of bright color.
14. Flame retardant chemicals – I realize that these are sprayed on clothing and mattresses for safety reasons but these chemicals are very toxic and can be “absorbed through the skin of infants and children where they contribute to numerous neurological disorders and immune suppression.” I really feel as though many sleep disorders have a lot to do with chemicals in your bed too.
15. Soda – I don’t think this one needs any explanation.
16. Air fresheners – Ewww gross. Just the thought of an air freshener gives me a headache. They are loaded with toxic chemicals that are harmful when breathed in. I use peppermint essential oil or orange peels.
17. Synthetic vitamins – Conventional vitamins (think Flintstones) are loaded with junk. Health food stores have better options for kids vitamins. I like Rainbow Light products myself.
18. Dryer Sheets – Like everything else on the planet in seems…they have toxic chemicals in them that have been linked to cancer. I don’t think my laundry needs them anyway. :)
19. Bacon – Same reasoning as hot dogs…nitrites. I was a BIG bacon eater long ago. I would seriously cook up a whole package and eat that for a meal when I was in college. Well bacon has nitrites and nitrites have been heavily linked with colon cancer and I ended up with colon cancer…imagine that. :(
20. Shampoo and bath products – These are sweet smelling chemical soups. They get absorbed into the skin and into the bloodstream and on a daily basis no less. I go with more natural products or none at all.
So what do you think of this list? Agree, disagree, or have a worse offender in mind?
Source article
Sounds like we all need to move to fantasy land! If this stuff is so bad for you why do people make them? If vaccines are so bad, why o 90% of americans get them?
Take Action to End Fluoridation
Online Petition to End Fluoridation and call for a Congressional Hearing
http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=8276
Sponsored by the Fluoride Action Network http://FluorideAction.Net
End Fluoridation, say 600+ Professionals
In a statement released August 9, 2007, over 600 (now 800)dentists, physicians, scientists and environmentalists urge Congress to stop water fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted. They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. (http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.august.2007.html)
Signers include a Nobel Prize winner, three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride’s toxicology, two officers in the Union representing professionals at EPA headquarters, the President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, and hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and environmental professionals, worldwide.
Signer Dr. Arvid Carlsson, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine, says, “Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It’s really obsolete.”
An Online Action Petition to Congress in support of the Professionals’ Statement will soon be available at FAN’s web site, http://www.fluorideaction.org.
“The NRC report dramatically changed scientific understanding of fluoride’s health risks,” says Connett. “Government officials who continue to promote fluoridation must testify under oath as to why they are ignoring the powerful evidence of harm in the NRC report,” he added.
An Assistant NY State Attorney General calls the report “the most up-to-date expert authority on the health effects of fluoride exposure.”
The Professionals’ Statement also references:
— The new American Dental Association policy recommending infant formula NOT be prepared with fluoridated water.
— The CDC’s concession that the predominant benefit of fluoride is topical not systemic.
— CDC data showing that dental fluorosis, caused by fluoride over-exposure, now impacts one third of American children.
— Major research indicating little difference in decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.
— A Harvard study indicating a possible link between fluoridation and bone cancer.
— The silicofluoride chemicals used for fluoridation are contaminated industrial waste and have never been FDA- approved for human ingestion.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a DC watchdog, revealed that a Harvard professor concealed the fluoridation/bone cancer connection for three years. EWG President Ken Cook states, “It is time for the US to recognize that fluoridation has serious risks that far outweigh any minor benefits, and unlike many other environmental issues, it’s as easy to end as turning off a valve at the water plant.”
Money.
I am pretty sure the dryer sheet/laundry/pharma companies (take your pick)do not care much about our health…only the money they rake in while we are unaware of the toxins in their products.
I love reading your blog! I subscribe every morning on my Google home page. Our group works on some of the issues you mention in this list, particularly #14. We’re currently co-sponsoring legislation in CA that has far-reaching implications for the health of other states because it bans brominated and chlorinated flame retardants for use in furniture and bedding. We just launched a flash and website targeting the Gov. (www.killercouch.com) but now looks like it migh not make it to his desk!!!
The bromine industry is spending 10 million dollars to defeat this bill: tv, radio, print ads, robo-calls. We’re a scrappy grassroots outfit on a shoestring budget. If you have subscribers in CA, could you let them know about this effort and ask them to contact Senators Midgen and Perata at 916-651-4003 and 916-651-4009, respectively? Thanks!!
Some of your advice is simple common sense, and I could not agree more. For example, OF COURSE sugary soda is bad for you.
But your advice about some other so-called dangers? Is just plain dangerous.
People who don’t vaccinate? Are the very reason everyone else needs to. Perhaps they truly aren’t needed if you never travel to countries where those diseases are rampant, and are never exposed to anyone who does. If that describes your family, great, but anyone who travels internationally, or lives in a major city? Good luck preventing your family from being exposed to life-threatening diseases. My family avoids vaccines formulated with thimerosal, and never do more than two at a time, but I am confident any minimal risk is worth the benefits. A dear family friend suffered from polio as a child and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair; I’m happy to be able to protect my children from that sort of thing.
Your advice about sunscreen is truly dangerous. If you are concerned about nano particles, there are sunscreens available without them; the dangers of sun exposure are significant, and almost certainly greater than the putative dangers of sunscreen.
Also? Just because a product is natural does not mean it’s harmless. And just because a product is synthetic doesn’t mean it’s harmful.
The problem with common sense is that it’s all too uncommon.
Shani,
The minimal risks you are talking about in regards to vaccines are not so minimal. My oldest child has mild brain damage from a seizure brought on by a vaccine. I do not tell anyone NOT to vaccinate but I am for INFORMED consent and saying that risks are minimal or non-existent is not informed. My son’s experience is proof of that. You say it is dangerous to tell parents about the dangers of vaccines. I say it is dangerous NOT to give them ALL the information. I say give them the good, bad, and the ugly and let them decide for themselves.
BTW polio was often caused BY the vaccine in earlier days…a little tidbit they don’t like to tell you about.
I don’t recall advising anyone not to use sunscreen. In fact I said I myself was not going to give them up. So I am confused about this advice I am supposedly giving…. the key is to find one that is without too many chemical additives.
The fact that natural products can also be dangerous is not news here either. But by and large I find that natural products are better than synthetic. But as always these are just my opinions…
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I knew I liked you, but you’re now my new BFF. Don’t tell the old one…
Those are some great points Tiffany. There is so much in the media right now about the recalls, but it’s wise to think about the more common stuff that we’re exposed to even more.
Now dryer sheets I simply do not get. They make towels nonabsorbent. When people come to my house and use my bathroom they comment on how absorbent the towels seem.
I hope Shani above listens to my show in two weeks, where I will be featuring a woman whose adult son went from perfectly healthy and normal to a severely brain damaged child who had dozens of seizures daily, and is now a profoundly disabled adult. All because of the vaccines he got when he was a toddler. (The book is called the Boy in the Window)
I personally know 3 boys who became autistic after their 18 month MMR, according to their Mothers, and two girls who did so. And I grow more confident of my decision to NOT vaccinate my 4 each year. They are simply put, the healthiest kids I know.
Tiffany – I do not agree with several of your points, but I would like to add one to the list that I think we can all agree on (but who knows, I guess!): riding in a car without a seatbelt or child restraint. I guess that’s not really a noun :) How about…. unseatbelts?
90% of americans get vaccines because that is what you’re “supposed” to do and most people just don’t like to go againts the norm.
I’ve known a few people lately who question vaccines, admit that they aren’t comfortable with giving them to their kids, but they do it anyway because of fear.
Just because “everybody does it” doesn’t mean you should or that it is safe.
Thanks for this list, Tiffany.
Tiffany, while I believe we have the right as parents to not vaccinate our children, I know that the whole reason we started was to save children’s lives. Take a look at the infant mortality rate 100 years ago by strolling through any graveyard. Yes, they have risks, but so does driving (check out that mortality and injury rate!!)
If we all stopped vaccinating, the diseases (I believe) would regain their foothold in the western world. Introduce your child to polio, measles, mumps and a cold in the same month, and your child probably wouldn’t make it. Flus and colds are notorious for spreading wildly through any group of children, from school to play groups. Imagine the same spread with some of the diseases we vaccinate against.
Yes, unvaccinated kids can be healthy and vaccinated kids can have serious complications, but then isn’t all of life a bit of a crap shoot? Just my humble opinon.
I could not agree more with every single thing in your list. It is amazing how well you express my thoughts and feelings on the matter. Talk about living in “fanstasy land”….I’d say that 90% of Americans definitely do live there…that is the problem! They are in denial.
i completely agree with all of these things to stay away from! great job on discussing these issues.
I think it’s a frightening list.
That you wouldn’t vaccinate or sunscreen your children is truly frightening and just becuase MMR vaccines (which haven’t contained mercury in YEARS) occur at the same time as Autism doesn’t make is a causal relationship.
I know the stories are heartbreaking but they aren’t science, they’re anecdotal and the relationship has not been established.
Thanks for your comments Sue but my son isn’t austistic. He had a reaction to a vaccine (not MMR either) and it left him brain damaged. The cause is certain and I think parents have a right to now what they are risking.
Also read my post again. I never said I don’t use sunscreen.
Tiffany,
Thanks for signing up for my book giveaway!
This is a terrifying list, but I appreciate you drawing attention to it. We need to be less passive as consumers and realize what we’re getting/eating/etc.
Great blog! I think the really important issue here is that we all need to question the very things we take as “normal”. We don’t all have to agree, but Tiffany raises some VERY important issues that need to be considered and questioned by all parents. Too many parents aren’t even aware that there exists controversy over vaccinations, sunscreens, and othe chemicals found in every day products. But that’s how we can be the most responsible parents we can be. It is sooooo true…ignorance is bliss, and sometimes I wish I don’t know half the things I do because it would be easier just to buy the cheapest products on our shelves, or the most convenient, etc.
And please take note…Tiffany did NOT say she would stop using sunscreen on her kids! By the way, there’s a new sunscreen on the market that is said to be as “safe” as can be made. Biovera Parasol. go to http://www3.telus.net/public/biovera/Skincare/sunlotion.htm to read more about it. Don’t forget that covering up and staying out of primetime sun is your best bet!
Oh, and I think SUGAR in general should be on the Top 20 list…it’s in practically EVERYTHING processed or packaged. And it’s harmful not only to children, but adults too!
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I couldn’t agree more….and those really ARE easier things to avoid than you think. The more we moms understand how unprotected we are – the better we can protect our children. I reco http://www.HealthyChild.org for more info.
I do miss the taste of bacon though – nothing smells like it! (But I’d never let my daughter have it. Ever.)
Love this post. I definitely agree there are many more things that pose more harm than the simple things the media conveys to us. Just like you stated, vaccines are on in particular that can be much more dangerous. And it’s not just the risk of autism, there is so much more to know about them. Watch this video at , you’ll be surprised. It’s a long one but even if you can only watch part of it you will learn somthing.
Thanks for sharing this list Tiffany.