After the whole aluminum thing, I've been thinking a lot more about what I put into/on/near my body. One of the things I found was a blog called Green Living Q and A, which covers some thoughts on green living, including discussion of the whole aluminum debate. Some of the things I've learned so far:
- Juice is not that much better than sugar water. I kind of suspected this was true. Apparently consuming high levels of fructose increases the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. So, I guess I'm going to have to try drinking less of that. Mostly, there days, I'm drinking pop (I know! It's one of my few vices, and everyone gets a few, right?) and Arnold Palmer's, which my Dad is obsessed with.
- PVC is unhealthy for you. Now that I've read this, I remember it, but I'm wondering how the heck I could have forgotten that. Now I feel bad for admiring so much PVC clothing over the years. And it looks like leather is not necessarily a good option either. Other fabrics I shouldn't apparently want include EcoSpun Fabric.
- Christmas lights have chemicals, but there are kinds out there that have less chemicals. The European Union (God bless them!) certify a type of Christmas lights as "RoHA compliant," which just means that they have less chemicals than other lights. (How much is unclear to me.)
- Wall decals are made of vinyl. Which is dangerous (see the PVC comment above.) Great. There goes my easy, Etsy-encouraged decorating idea. Also, vinyl wallpaper and paint are dangerous, so I'm wondering what I am going to be able to use to decorate my walls. I'm in trouble if I'm not allowed posters or framed art. I was thinking of making a display on my ceiling of those Chinese paper lanterns, but not I'm afraid to even research what might be in them, especially given that China does not have such a great record when it comes to lead.
- Heartworm Preventing Medications aren't that different from pesticides. This I can blame on having a rabbit as a young girl as one of my few pets. (My other pets? Insects. No kidding.) I bet Jennifer, animal expert and fellow aluminum shunner, would have something to say about this, so I'm going to have to remember to ask her next chance I get.
Also, I found some new research on aluminum through the blog, including this one detailing how it is related to Alzheimer's. This pdf also talks about aluminum levels in various everyday stuff. I find this one particularly scary, since it appears to be a lot of stuff. It says that it's in pop cans, which I guess means I'm going to prefer bottled pop from now on. They're also in clay cat litter, so I guess if I ever get that cat I was thinking of getting, I'm going to have to be careful of that. There's also this study that details aluminum in tea. One of the people over at Jane Austen Today once discussed herself as a tea snob, and I guess I am in some ways too, but this study is now putting me off of tea.
One of the many things that comes up on this blog a lot is how people are chemically sensitive. It seems like way more people are chemically sensitive than I would have guessed. It also makes me wonder what causes it, because I can't really think of a time I've been overly sensitive to a chemical.
I find this stuff exhausting. Nothing is apparently safe. I hated Walden, but reading this stuff makes me want to pack my bags and go live out in the wilderness.
Showing posts with label aluminum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aluminum. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Step Back: I'm Using Science
A couple of days ago, Jennifer and I got onto a conversation on aluminum. Basically, there is a lot of scientific evidence (though not clear proof) that aluminum increases your likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease. This was totally news to me. (Read a pdf review of the research that's been done on the subject.)
The biggest problem with all of this is that aluminum is in a ton of products, most of which people use on a regular basis and don't think much about like toothpaste, deodorant, and makeup.
So, in an attempt to understand this issue better, I did a little scouting online. I was mostly looking at the things I like to buy that might have this stuff in it. The only thing I found? Sun screen from Sephora. Sun screen is suppose to help you not get sun burned and develop skin cancer, not make plaques grow in your brain. This kind contains Aluminum hydroxide, which is less dangerous than other kinds, like organic forms, which are more easily absorbed. I found other products here and there with aluminum in them, though none with something like Aluminum citrate.
But I did find that apparently no one likes to list their ingredients right on the page where they're selling. This angers me a lot. I feel like it shouldn't be that hard for them to type them up. I'm this close to boycotting the companies that won't list ingredients (which is a far longer list than companies I found who always listed them.)
What's most sad is that a lot of companies that are very much in the business of selling beauty products seemed to have the hardest time listing things. Department stores that sell mostly clothes often wouldn't list, but companies who are happy to carry on about how their stuff smell like Cucumber Melon or A Day at the Beach were pretty disappointing about listing whether or not their stuff had iron oxides. Consumers have a right not know what they're purchasing.
The biggest problem with all of this is that aluminum is in a ton of products, most of which people use on a regular basis and don't think much about like toothpaste, deodorant, and makeup.
So, in an attempt to understand this issue better, I did a little scouting online. I was mostly looking at the things I like to buy that might have this stuff in it. The only thing I found? Sun screen from Sephora. Sun screen is suppose to help you not get sun burned and develop skin cancer, not make plaques grow in your brain. This kind contains Aluminum hydroxide, which is less dangerous than other kinds, like organic forms, which are more easily absorbed. I found other products here and there with aluminum in them, though none with something like Aluminum citrate.
But I did find that apparently no one likes to list their ingredients right on the page where they're selling. This angers me a lot. I feel like it shouldn't be that hard for them to type them up. I'm this close to boycotting the companies that won't list ingredients (which is a far longer list than companies I found who always listed them.)
What's most sad is that a lot of companies that are very much in the business of selling beauty products seemed to have the hardest time listing things. Department stores that sell mostly clothes often wouldn't list, but companies who are happy to carry on about how their stuff smell like Cucumber Melon or A Day at the Beach were pretty disappointing about listing whether or not their stuff had iron oxides. Consumers have a right not know what they're purchasing.
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