flame retardants

Do You Know What YOUR Child is Wearing? 5 Tips to Keep Them Safe

July 23, 2015 by James Bogash

flame retardants and children — Vojtech Soukup /Dollar Photo Club

Chemicals are everywhere in our world. I’ve said before that we live in a toxic soup, and that absolutely includes our children.

Our kids have a particular susceptibility to toxins in our environment because their detoxification ability is not as strong as an adult’s. To make this worse, we are particularly sensitive to the plight of children and the scary fear that their pajamas may burst into flames at any given moment.

Yes. Spontaneous combustion. The eternal fear of lawmaking officials.

The problem is that it requires chemicals to meet the standards that are required. There are natural materials that a naturally flame-resistant, but industry doesn’t seem interested in using these fibers.

Still all of this would be OK if we are saving lives without the cost of toxic exposure to our children while trying to prevent the almost 200 burns due to clothing in the US per year. The current standards require the materials to resist an actual flame for a certain period of time. Clothing that fits close to the skin is far less likely to catch on fire and does not require the higher flame resistant standards.

California sets the standard for the rest of the country when it comes to flame resistance in household materials and the rest of the country just seems to follow suit. Which would be just fine if any of the chemicals used in the process of making children’s clothes flame retardant underwent any type of safety testing.

In other words, the use of chemicals to meet flame resistant standards is mandated, but any safety testing for these same chemicals is not required. Quite a catch-22.

(The following information is from a viewpoint article written by Dr. Eric Hecht, Dr. David Landy and Julien Thomas)

As a way of history to show just how backwards this is, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC-the government entity that oversees this type of thing), in 1977 banned the use of CFR 2,3-dibromyopropyl phosphate one year after it was introduced. Unfortunately, it turns out that this compound was absorbed through the skin and had the potential to cause DNA mutations.

After this, the polybrominated diphenyl esters (PBDE) took over and became the most widely used flame retardant. That was until 2004 when concerns again arose over the toxicity of certain PBDE and these were likewise removed from the market. These concerns ranged from endocrine disruptions, neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer.

Just in case you thought this was the end the debacle, another PBDE called decabromodiphenyl ester was banned in several states in 2013 over the same concerns.

Overall, some billion pounds of flame retardants are used annually in the US, where the typical household contains several pounds in clothing, furniture, electronics and insulation. As these materials break down, they attach to dust particles and can make it into ours and our children’s bodies by this route as well. This results in children in the US having toxic levels of flame retardants that are some 10 TIMES higher than other countries.

And our pets? That’s even worse since they are much closer to the sources of these chemicals.

All of this wouldn’t be an issue if these toxic chemicals were not linked in children to neurodevelopmental disorders, lower IQs, ADD and other behavioral problems.

The regulation of these compounds is slim, and a huge chunk were grandfathered in when the Toxic Substances Control Act was passed in 1976. Overall, this is a scenario where you need to be proactive in protecting your children from toxic exposures rather than trusting in the manufacturers and the government to ensure that products used are safe for your family.

Here are some tips:

For pajamas, use form fitting clothing that do not require the flame resistant standards of loose pajamas.
Look for clothing and toys made with naturally-flame resistant materials (this article is a great resource).
Consider the mattresses your family sleeps on. Standards were changed in 2007 to include more toxic chemicals, but in my recent search for a new mattress, many of the larger manufacturers have move to naturally flame-resistant fibers to meet the standards.
Throw out items that have been in use for too long. Drapes, carpets, rugs, dog beds, furniture–as these age, the toxic chemicals in them leach out into your house.
Purchase air filters for your home and dust, sweep and vacuum frequently to keep dust to a minimum.

For a long time, I considered the foundation to health to consist of diet, exercise and stress management. Unfortunately, over the years which growing use of chemicals everywhere in our environment, I’ve had to add an environmental tab to this foundation. The problem with this aspect is that is remains largely unknown to most of us, yet has a direct effect on health.

Everyone knows that the McDonald’s Big Mac they are going to eat is bad for them, but few consider the hidden danger of returning to a car after that fast food meal that has been baking in the sun for a 1/2 hour and breathing in the toxic phthalates that have been off-gassing in the heat.

Scary.

Teflon Coating and the Heart: Sticks to Your Blood Vessels

September 29, 2012 by James Bogash

We live in a chemical soup made up of fragrances, flame retardants, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, particulate matter and Teflon coating.

98% of us have even detectable levels of a compound called perfluorooctanoic acid in our blood. Just the name sounds pretty serious. (I’m guessing that the 2% without perfluorooctanoic acid in their systems are living in the deep woods regions of the Saskatchewan province and wouldn’t even now Teflon coating if you hit them upside the head with the pan…)

Environmental chemicals to which we are exposed to have a clear, negative impact on multiple aspects of our health. Effects on fertility, the thyroid, obesity and cancer risk are clear. Damage to the cardiovascular system is also on the list.

Perfluorooctanoic acid is a chemical most commonly associated with non-stick cooking surfaces like Teflon coating. Many do not give a second thought to the cookware they use and consider the convenience of non-stick cookware an advantage. That is, of course, until they drop dead of a heart attack or have to have a leg amputated because the arteries going into the leg are so clogged up. Not so convenient then…

This particular study looked at the relationship between the perfluorooctanoic acid found in Teflon coating and heart disease. Normally, I wouldn’t have thought that a study like this was important enough to share with Ranting’s readers, but the results were much stronger that I would have thought.

Researchers first made sure they accounted for all traditional cardiovascular risk factors (age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking status, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and serum cholesterol level). Even after taking the risk due to these issues were into account, the contribution of perfluorooctanoic acid to heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease were significant:

Those with the highest levels in their blood had DOUBLE the risk of heart disease and stroke
They also had a 178% greater risk for peripheral artery disease

These aren’t small numbers. And consider that this risk is on TOP of existing risk factors.

The nice thing is that you can easily avoid non-stick cookware, at least at home. Personally, I’ve used stainless steel cookware for years and never really have had any problems with getting it clean. Sometimes requires a little extra elbow grease, but then I get some exercise on top of it all.

So what have YOU done to reduce your exposure to environmental chemicals that damage your health?

Problems Getting Pregnant? Cure Infertility Naturally

July 18, 2012 by James Bogash

Infertility, or problems getting pregnant, is becoming a greater burden for couples today. Luckily, with the right tips you can cure infertility naturally.

Sometimes, this is obvious, like adopting an anti-diabetic lifestyle (prediabetes is a MAJOR cause of infertility), reducing stress and exercising consistently. Sometimes, the problem is not so obvious.

Ninety-seven (yes…pretty much all of us) of Americans have a chemical in their bloodstream that makes pregnancy difficult. I think that most of us live in a comfortable oblivion when it comes to just how many chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis and how much effect they have on our overall health and risk of chronic disease. But if we just ignore them, they won’t bother us, right??

Wrong.

PBDEs are chemicals used in flame retardants (furniture, clothing, dog beds, mattresses, etc…). As mentioned, the CDC states that they are present in the blood of 97% of Americans.

In this particular study, researchers tested the levels of certain PBDE’s in the blood of a group of pregnant women and asked them how long it took them to become pregnant.

Overall, the higher the levels in the blood stream of PBDEs, the longer it took for these women to get pregnant. At the high end, those women with the higher levels in their bloodstream took 40-50% longer to get pregnant.

This further reinforces the idea that infertility is a very systemic process, and forcing a woman’s body into pregnancy through fertility “experts” with medication can be a dangerous thing.

In this particular case, if PBDEs were higher, it means that the developing baby will ALSO be exposed to higher levels.

Bottom line? Evaluate constantly how many chemicals you and your children are exposed to and do your best to lower your exposure in any way possible.

So what changes did you or are you going to make to ensure that you had or have a healthy pregnancy?

WEAR THIS TO WORK AND YOUR SPERM WILL DIE

May 1, 2012 by James Bogash

So maybe the title is a little dramatic. But problems with infertility do not rely solely on the woman. Viewing infertility from a male standpoint the most important factor to consider is environmental toxicity. Believe it or not, there are clothes you may wear to work everyday that will affect sperm quality and count.

The EPA registers some 83,000 chemicals for use in the US, and the vast majority of these have never been scrutinized for their health effects. However, there are some classes that have been evaluated more fully, and the picture is rarely a positive one. Frequently on the list of common household exposures are the flame retardants. They are in everything these days, from your mattress to your clothing to your furniture and your dog’s bedding. One would think we were under constant pressure to undergo spontaneous combustion.

Flame retardants have shown clear effects on the thyroid gland and cancer risk. This particular study looked at the presence of flame retardants in the house dust of men attending a fertility clinic. Researchers looked at the presence of two compounds, tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPP), and found that they were in 96% and 98% of the men. As the levels of these compounds in house dust increased, sperm quality decreased.

While one would think that dusting may help the issue, it is not likely to be the case. Researchers merely looked at dust rather than the blood levels in these patients. Exposure to these compounds likely comes from multiple sources, including those mentioned above. The best option is to reduce your overall exposure to these compounds by replacing old cushions, buying clothing without flame retardants and not sleeping on a flame retardant mattress.

In addition to the flame retardants, chemicals like BPA have also show to affect hormone levels in men that could lead to reduced sperm quality and quantity. Quitting smoking and dietary quality will also have a positive effect on fertility levels in men, with compounds like zinc and lycopene (the red pigment found in tomatoes) having been shown to help.

The bottom line is that, for those men who are a part of an infertile couple, it is not merely your job to just sit patiently at the “infertility” clinic appointment for your partner. You have to take an active role in improving your health as well.

Missing Link for Obesity: Beyond Diet and Exercise

February 6, 2012 by James Bogash

Everyone is aware that obesity is related to diet and exercise. It’s as simple as calories in = calories out, right? It’s amazing how many weight gurus have promoted this over the years. Too bad it’s not that simple.

The 1st Law of Thermodynamics as it applies to weight management assumes that calories in equals calories out. Basically, to lose weight, you need to take in less calories than you burn through daily living and exercise. Pretty simple. Get a chart and a calculator and weight loss is guaranteed. Yeah right. How many of you have been there and done that?

The are many reasons why this just doesn’t work with body weight. First is the role of hormones. Hormones, such as insulin, leptin, resisten, thyroid and adiponectin play a massive role in weight regulation. These hormones are under complex regulation from signals in our environment.

Taking in too little low quality calories? The thyroid goes into hibernation mode. Think Slimfast or just cutting calories from a processed diet.

Is your gut stressed out from poor quality diet, drugs that block acid or emotional stress? This sends signals to the bone which in turn regulates body fat.

Sound complicated? It is. And yet another reason why a weight loss program needs to identify all facets of lifestyle and not merely calories in vs calories out. It is also why merely joining a gym (and actually going..) does not always lead to weight loss.

We have known for some time that chemicals in our environment contribute to altered body composition. Just some examples:

This particular article through yet another wrench in the works of ideal weight. It is a wonderful review of what we are terming “obesogens” — chemical messengers in our environment that disturb our maintenance of a healthy weight and adds to the list of chemicals given above. Given what we now know of these chemicals’ influence, identification, avoidance and detoxification are requirement for a program designed to achieve an ideal body composition. Anything less is not enough.

And given that the New Year with the New Year’s resolutions are upon us (of course–that’s only if you have given up on them yet), the beginning of the year is a great time to do a detox program. Regardless of how healthy we live, we are still exposed to a very large number of toxins that can contribute to ill health and weight gain. A simple, annual detox program seems to me to be a smart approach to combating this problem. Call the office for details if you’re interested.

IS YOUR THYROID WORRIED ABOUT BURSTING INTO FLAMES?

July 25, 2011 by James Bogash

Ok. I understand that burning to a crisp would not be a fun way to go. I also do not recall anyone personally who has been killed in any type of fire, although I’m sure there has been someone. MAYBE this is because we use chemical retardants like Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) to slow the burn rate of things like our furniture padding (this goes for dog beds!!), upholstery, computers and drapes.

The problem is that these chemicals have a negative effect on our health. So, on one hand, not bursting into flames (rare?), on the other hand birth defects, thyroid problems and neurological problems.

Let’s focus on the thyroid aspect noted above. It remains a concern for me just how common thyroid problems are. This includes hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroiditis and thyroid cancer. It absolutely amazes me how much we take conditions like hypothyroidism with a grain of salt and just through Synthroid at the problem.

The human body is a wonderful, miraculous, incredulous, phenomenal, indescribable wonder. The brilliance of the orchestration of our physiology defies words. All higher power stuff.

Oh…except for the thyroid. That was an afterthought thrown in on day 8 and it sometimes just goes out in our twenties. No big deal.

See how strange that sounds? What if our hearts, brains or kidneys started to fail at 25? No one would take that lying down. There’d be an uproar. A demand to find out WHY. Not so with the thyroid.

I will tell you that study after study of toxic chemicals all seem to affect the thyroid with some degree of consistancey. This means that ANY thyroid problems needs to be evaluated with a fine tooth comb. Evaluation of nutrient deficiencies, stress and especially, toxicities and exposures. Without this, the doctor who just hands out Synthroid without full evaluation is doing a massive disservice, potentially allowing for unchecked chemical toxicities to rage, almost solidifying your progression to obesity, diabetes, Alzheimers or cancer.

At the very least, any thyroid patient should evaluate their toxic exposure (as seen in this article with flame retardants) and go through a nutritionally based detox.