Know Your Plastics

Our guest blogger is Alan Greene, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, Attending Pediatrician at Packard Children's Hospital, and Senior Fellow at the University California San Francisco Center for the Health Professions. He is also founder of DrGreene.com and author of Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care.

Plastics are everywhere. Some are eco-friendly and appear to be very safe for kids. Most are made from non-renewable petroleum, much of which needs to be imported. Some plastics cause dangerous pollution during manufacturing, and some contain chemicals suspected of causing harm - especially to kids.

You might choose to replace plastic water bottles with a refillable stainless steel version, or to replace plastic toy blocks with wooden ones, plastic teething chews with organic cotton, or plastic jars with glass. Even so, you'll probably find yourself using a lot of plastic.

To select the plastics that are best for your children and for the environment, get to know the easy-to-identify plastic recycling codes you'll usually find on the underside of the bottle or packaging. Look for these numbers and symbols before you buy. The safer plastic choices are coded 1, 2, 4, and 5. Try to avoid 3, 6, and most plastics labeled with number 7.

Code 1: PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate). You'll most commonly see this in the thin, clear plastic of bottled water (or bottled cooking oil, peanut butter, soda, etc.). It's appears safe for single use, but these bottles should not be reused, refilled, or heated. This plastic can be recycled once into new secondary products, such as textiles, parking lot bumpers, or plastic lumber.

Code 2: HDPE (high-density polyethylene). This is the thicker, milkier or opaque plastic found in milk and water jugs, juice bottles, detergent, shampoo, and motor oil containers, and toys. Unlike #1, these are safe to refill and reuse, even though they may not look as snazzy as #1 or #7. Recyclable once into products similar to those for # 1 plastics.

Code 3: PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Found in bibs, mattress covers, squeeze bottles, cling wrap, some peanut butter jars, and a few other food and detergent containers. The manufacture of PVC releases dioxin into the environment, a potent carcinogen that accumulates in animals and in us. It may also contain phthalates, chemicals used, among other things, to soften plastics. Some phthalates are hormone disruptors that have been linked to possible reproductive problems and birth defects, and even to smaller penis size in boys. PVC workers have higher cancer rates. May be discarded at the recycling plant. AVOID #3!

Code 4: LDPE (low-density polyethylene). Found in soft, flexible plastics such as those used in grocery story bags, plastic wrap, dry cleaning bags, shopping bags, and garbage bags. One of the safer plastics - but recycle, don't throw away. Many of these bags could be better replaced with reusable bags, especially when shopping.

Code 5: PP (polypropylene). Found in hard but flexible plastics, such as those used for ice cream and yogurt containers, drinking straws, syrup bottles, salad bar containers, and diapers. One of the safer plastics - but recycle, don't throw away.

Code 6: PS (polystyrene).Found in rigid plastics such as opaque plastic spoons and forks, and in Styrofoam, such as those found in coffee cups and meat trays. These plastics can leach styrene, a known neurotoxin with other negative health effects. AVOID #6.

Code 7: Other (including polycarbonate, nylon, and acrylic). This is a grab bag symbol. It includes polycarbonate, an important source of the endocrine disruptor BPA, found in many baby bottles. Polycarbonate is also common in 5-gallon water bottles, sports bottles, clear plastic cutlery, and in the lining of food and formula cans.

But code 7 also includes some of the newer, compostable green plastics, such as those made from corn, potatoes, rice, or tapioca. (I wish they would make a code 8 for these!) AVOID # 7, unless it is labeled as one of these new bio-based plastics.

Whatever plastics you choose, when microwaving food or drink, try to opt for glass or ceramic containers instead of plastic, where possible, and wax paper or a paper towel instead of plastic wrap. Hand wash plastics to make them last longer and recycle them or find a non-food use for them when they begin to show signs of wear and tear.

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How the First Family Copes with Asthma

Healthy Child Healthy World

The Obama's have been on a dog hunt for several months now as a reward for Malia and Sasha's patience throughout the long campaign. There have been many recommendations for a first canine, so why is it taking so long to find just the right one? Well, as a matter of fact, it needs to be hypoallergenic because young Malia suffers from asthma.

According to the First Lady, in a piece she wrote for our book, it all started with a family outing to the circus when Malia was about three years old. Her breathing became more and more strained until they rushed her to the emergency room where the doctor diagnosed her with asthma.

Everyone who's been through it knows that an asthma diagnosis begins a complete shift in lifestyle. For the Obama family, it was no different. How have they coped? "Since then, we've worked to stay ahead of it," writes First Lady Obama. "We take Malia to the pediatrician regularly to ensure she has whatever treatment she requires. She had an inhaler for a while, but hasn't needed one for a year or two now. We keep our house dust- and dander-free, and don't bring in anything that will disrupt her."

She advocates for the same type of simple prevention for others in the same position. "Parents of children with asthma need to know how to reduce the chances of an attack if it happens, and when to go to the hospital. Irritants and allergens in the air, such as smoke, dust mites, pet dander, cockroaches, mold, and pollen, can make attacks more likely. So parents who have children with asthma should keep houses clean of potential triggers."

In addition to reducing these more commonly recognized allergens, you can also help everyone breathe easier by following these simple steps:

1. Open your windows. Chemicals like respiratory irritants build up in your home if there is no ventilation. By opening your windows, you will let fresh air in and allow polluted air a way to exit. Check AirNow.gov and Pollen.com for information regarding outdoor air quality in order to make sure you are opening your windows at the best times.

2. Reduce dust and other particles on your floor. Twice a week, use a damp mop or use a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter. HEPA filters capture 95 percent of all particles. Consider replacing wall-to-wall carpeting, a pollutant trap, with washable area rugs.

3. Avoid all chemical pesticides. Pesticides are poisons. There are safer alternatives to keep pests under control.

4. Use least-toxic, mild, or non-toxic household cleaners. Conventional cleaners can irritate airways. Instead, use basic kitchen ingredients or buy "green" cleaners that are made with less toxic ingredients.

5. Use natural personal care products. Cosmetics, lotions, shampoos, and perfumes can all contain a multitude of chemicals that can irritate the respiratory system. Look for products with ingredients you can pronounce and use less. Refer to Cosmeticsdatabase.com for the safest options.

*****

Michelle Obama's quotes taken from Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home. Reprinted by arrangement with Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright (c) 2009 by Healthy Child Healthy World.

Related Topics:

• WebMD Video: Asthma Triggers in Children
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Pollution Comes Home and Gets Personal

by Janelle Sorensen

Photo: Healthy Child Healthy World

If you would have asked me to draw a picture of pollution fifteen years ago, it would have been something along the lines of a factory with smokestacks billowing and litter strewn around the surrounding grounds. Pollution was outside, over there. I was not a part of it.

According to a new study, it's a pretty typical perspective. "People more readily equate pollution with large-scale contamination and environmental disasters, yet the products and activities that form the backdrop to our everyday lives - electronics, cleaners, beauty products, food packaging - are a significant source of daily personal chemical exposure that accumulates over time," said sociologist Rebecca Gasior Altman, the lead author of the study, Pollution Comes Home and Gets Personal: Women's Experience of Household Chemical Exposure.

"Pollution at home has been a blind spot for society," said Altman. Still, chemicals in our everyday environments are increasingly making media headlines. From BPA in baby bottles to phthalates in toys, pollution is starting to get really personal. But, is it really helpful at all to know all these dirty little secrets, especially when we don't really know the health impacts of many exposures?

Some government officials and scientists worry that widespread access to information about chemicals in everyday products and personal body burdens will provoke fears and generate misleading hype. Yet, according to Altman, "This study documents that an important shift occurs in how people understand environmental pollution, its sources and possible solutions as they learn about chemicals from everyday products that are detectable in urine samples and the household dust collecting under the sofa."

The participants in this study who learned about chemicals in their homes and bodies were not alarmed, but eager for more, not less, information about how typical household products can expose them to chemicals that may affect health. (Hey, un-named participants! Visit HealthyChild.org!) According to Dr. Linda S. Birnbaum, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, "Understanding that the indoor environment may be one of the largest sources of exposure is extremely important as we move forward - not only in getting appropriate regulation of sources, but in altering individual behaviors."

Ask me to draw a picture of pollution today and I'll draw a picture of the inside of a house, with brightly colored cleaners under the kitchen sink, a plug-in air freshener quietly doing its business in an outlet, and an elementary figure of a pregnant woman with a tainted womb. Pollution is inside, in our comfort zones and sacred spaces. It is in me and I am a part of creating more pollution every time I buy something or turn on a light. Like the women from the study, this new picture has changed my behavior dramatically. I am not afraid and I want to learn more. I recognize my role in the problem and I am empowered to be a part of the solution.

How about you?

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Eco-Conscious Conception

by Christopher Gavigan

Photo: Healthy Child Healthy World

By now it should be quite clear that what's best for the planet is also what's best for our health. Polluted air, water, and soil eventually lead to polluted people because, like every other creature on this big blue globe, we depend on air, water, and soil for survival. Unfortunately, we've hit a point of planetary overload. Now, every corner of the Earth is contaminated to some degree and every single person carries a personal body burden of industrial chemicals, most of which didn't exist two generations ago. Worst of all, babies born today have over 200 toxic pollutants pulsing through their delicate, tiny bodies.

What is this doing to our health? We don't know for certain, but strong scientific evidence tells us many diseases and disabilities have direct links to contaminants in our environment. In fact, our children may be the first generation in two centuries to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. This is largely due to the obesity epidemic, which is increasingly tied to our daily exposure to chemicals .

Many people start living a more conscious, greener life after they become parents. They try to reduce exposure to risky chemicals and buy safer alternatives, even if it costs 15 cents more. I see that extra cost as an investment in my child's "health savings account." The obvious fragility of your offspring triggers an uncontrollable need to be the protector, and to ensure a decent planet for their future. But in reality, if you wait until you first hear the heart beat or hold your tiny newborn child, then you've missed a critical period of protection. Family planning in a polluted world means becoming eco-conscious and detoxifying your life long before you start getting re-"productive".

Human Development 101

Since most of us forget the lessons of our high school health class roughly three and a half minutes after it's over, here's a mini refresher:

Human reproduction is a delicate and startlingly quick process. Most women don't even know they're pregnant until they have been for a month or so, but during that short period a baby is going through some of the most dramatic changes of his or her life. In just a few short weeks, even though the developing baby is still tiny, it has a heartbeat and the nervous system, stomach, lungs, liver, and pancreas have all started to form.

Because so much is happening so quickly, these first weeks are a particularly vulnerable period in human growth; the most hazardous period in your life. Each development relies on precise, successful development in the previous stage. If an environmental factor, such as a chemical contaminant in the mother's body, interferes with growth during a critical period of development, the child may be permanently affected. All this responsibility, and you probably don't even know you're pregnant yet.

What Can You Do?

Since nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended, living an eco-conscious, healthy lifestyle may be the best thing you can do to prepare your body for having children, planned or not. This goes for the gentlemen too - toxins are known to affect the health and mobility of sperm. Start now to prevent birth defects or other unintended long-term ailments and consequences in the future. Give yourself at least three months to detoxify your body before you begin trying to have a baby.

Remember, no matter when you start, use Healthy Child Healthy World's 5 Easy Steps to make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time. And if you are pregnant now, I strongly encourage you to start today. The little happy faces in your near future will thank you.

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Chemicals in Everyday Products and Children's Health: A Small Dose of the Facts

Our guest blogger is Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, a pediatrician, epidemiologist, and internationally recognized leader in public health and preventive medicine. He is currently the Ethel H. Wise Professor of Pediatrics, Chair of Community and Preventative Medicine, and Director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Patterns of illness in American children have changed dramatically in this century. The ancient infectious diseases have largely been controlled. The major diseases confronting children now are chronic and disabling conditions:

• Asthma incidence has more than doubled;


• Leukemia and brain cancer have increased in incidence, brain cancer by nearly 40% over the past three decades;


• Neurodevelopmental dysfunction is widespread;


• Incidence of hypospadias, a birth defect of the reproductive organs in baby boys, has doubled.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Chemical toxicants are known and suspected to contribute to causation of these pediatric diseases. They deserve great attention because they are generally preventable sources of harm. Children are at risk of exposure to over 15,000 high-production-volume synthetic chemicals, nearly all of them developed in the past 50 years. These chemicals are used widely in consumer products and are dispersed in the environment. More than half are untested for toxicity.

Children are especially sensitive to environmental toxins.

• Pound for pound of body weight, children have greater exposure to pesticides because they drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air than adults.


• Their unique behaviors put them at higher risk. They live and play close to the floor; and they constantly put their fingers into their mouths.


• Children's metabolic pathways, especially in the first months after birth are immature. Generally they are less well able to metabolize, detoxify, and excrete toxicants than adults and thus are more vulnerable to them.


• Children are undergoing rapid growth and development, and their developmental processes are easily disrupted. From conception and throughout fetal development, exquisitely small toxin exposures can cause permanent impacts.


• Since children have more future years of life than most adults, they have more time to develop chronic diseases that may be triggered by early exposures.

Our children are our future. Our responsibility as the adults of our society is to care for our children, protect their health, and guide them to successful adulthood. One of the simplest steps parents can take is to create a healthy home. Get started today.

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Okay, I Can Do That

Our guest blogger is Andrew Postman. Postman has written nine books on a variety of subjects, some of which have to do with health and the environment, some of which absolutely do not. He lives with his wife and children in New York.

All the light bulbs in my house are not energy-super-efficient CFLs. I have eaten veal piccata within the last 36 months. Afterwards, I felt no remorse. The car I drive is not a hybrid (though when our 6-year-old Honda Odyssey minivan finally conks out, the next vehicle will be). If I owned a jetpack, I'd sometimes fly even when I could bike instead. Sorry.

I'm a father, husband, American, New Yorker, writer. I'm over 40 and under 100. I have little patience for grand statements of beliefs - either you live the life or you don't - but here, in the first of what I hope will be many blog posts from my perspective, on a single (if massive) subject, let me dispense: I believe the environmental health of this country and this planet are seriously wanting, that we must do what we can to stem the rising toxic tide, that we must reverse things. I want this first and last because I have three young children, and because there are many more young children now and to come (the world's, not mine, that is). Now that I've gotten all Hallmarky on you, let me tell you what I do about this problem - and, just as important, what I don't do. (Yet.)

Though my wife and I put care and thought into decisions that impact our family's health, we do only so much. Could we do more? Absolutely. Would some of it require spending money we don't have? Yes. Time we don't have? Yes. Energy and commitment we're not ready to give? Yes. Look, I have a fairly large flat screen TV (not obscenely large - 38"), and I've been known to walk out of the bathroom after turning on the shower to retrieve a towel in the bedroom. I will not win the award for Most Environmentally Conscientious Earthling or Father or American. I can do better.

But here's the thing: Change happens incrementally. Maybe even incre-incrementally. With me, you, the world at large. Much as we'd love certain rotten things just to be gone in a flash (crumbling bridges, a horribly screwed-up banking system, the Electoral College, etc.), replaced by transcendently superior, gleaming, perfect structures and institutions, that's not how things usually (or maybe ever) work. Meaningful, positive change almost always happens slowly because it needs to. The human organism doesn't take kindly to radical changes - Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction may have needed that hypodermic stab of adrenaline to the heart to live, but generally that doesn't seem like a great strategy - and the world is just a very large organism. Sure, I want to change for the better but I can't make all the changes I'm told to make, and anyway, sometimes it's just better to take it in small steps, so I can see how reasonable it is to change my life. Show me the man who resolved to get into shape by doing a thousand pushups a day and I'll show you a man who broke his promise on the third day. And who's still out of shape.

You will get no browbeating here. I would have no standing to do so: I'm no saint myself. But I've tried to make small changes over the last several years and now I realize, as if suddenly, that my wife and I have actually accomplished a bunch of measures that, taken together, seem meaningful: no more Teflon pans, always take cloth bags to the supermarket (it happened a bag at a time), an awareness of which lice treatments never to use, some CFL bulbs in our house, never drinking from plastic water bottles that were sitting in the hot car, buying far fewer plastic water bottles period, etc.

Each installment of this blog will be a brief discussion of one change I've been willing to make - one small, doable change, and only one. Something we routinely buy, think, or react to. To the radicals who think the world is in such a dire state that baby steps are preposterous, pointless, indulgent, window dressing: Sorry. I - and so many others - can only do the best we can do.

In the last few years I've written a bit about environmental issues, often from this very perspective: the well-meaning citizen trying to learn steps to become a slightly better citizen. I contributed to Christopher Gavigan's book Healthy Child, Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home (Dutton, 2008), a detailed guide of information, ideas and lessons for parents trying to figure out how to keep their homes and environments as healthy, non-toxic, organic and sustainable as possible for their families. I contributed to The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook (Melcher), the book companion to 7-7-7 Earth Day and Al Gore's initiative sparked by An Inconvenient Truth. I wrote "The Energy Diet" for The New York Times, my attempt to show (without browbeating) that one could easily reduce one's carbon footprint. It was one of their most blogged/referenced home stories of 2006.

Good. That's out of the way. I hope you'll come to this blog to learn what I've learned, and which may help you and yours live an increasingly (if incrementally) healthier life.

My next blog post: the one purchase we make that is non-negotiably organic, and why.

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Tackling the Toxic Table

Our guest blogger is David Wallinga, MD, Director of the Food and Health Program at The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Public confidence in our food system has been shaken. Between recalls due to contamination with melamine, mercury, and salmonella and worries about antibiotics and hormones in meat and dairy products, it's hard to know what's safe to eat. Here are steps we can all take to tackle the growing problems of our global food system.

1. Buy pesticide-free produce.
There is growing scientific consensus that even very small doses of pesticides can adversely affect people, especially during the vulnerable periods of in utero and early childhood development. Exposure to pesticides is linked to chronic diseases including Parkinson's Disease, child and adult cancers and neurodevelopmental harm.

Recent studies suggest switching to an organic diet can eliminate residues of certain pesticides in children's urine in just a few days. Switching to certified organic produce for the "dirty dozen" - the 12 domestic and imported fruits and vegetables most routinely contaminated–will greatly reduce one's exposure, according to analysis by the Environmental Working Group.

2. Be a "locavore."
Buy locally produced foods, when possible, to support the economic health of your local foodshed, and to help reduce "food miles." The U.S. food production system accounts for an estimated 17 percent of the nation's fossil fuel use. Buying from the farmer (directly, on the internet, or via a Community Supported Agriculture program) allows you to know exactly where your food comes from and how it has been grown. Much non-certified, locally grown produce also uses few or no pesticides.

3. Know where your food comes from.
A single hamburger patty can comingle meat from a hundred different head of cattle, from four different countries. Or, looked at from another perspective, a single contaminated carcass shredded for hamburger can pollute eight tons of finished ground beef. Look for labels of origin on products.

4. Shop for safer, more sustainable fish.
Find fish good for you (high in healthful fats, low in environmental toxins), as well as good for the ocean. Fish are an important source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. But overfishing and unsustainable fish harvesting practices have left many seafood species depleted or on the brink of extinction. The most prudent approach for the health of our environment and the people in it is to eat safer, less polluted fish species from sustainable fisheries. Use the Environmental Defense Fund's Seafood Selector.

5. Eat grass-fed meat and dairy products.
There is some evidence that grass-fed animals produce meat and dairy products higher in omega-3 fatty acids and other beneficial fats. The USDA's 2007 voluntary standard for meat marketed as ‘grass-fed' precludes these animals from getting routine antibiotics. Scientific consensus exists that these unnecessary agriculture antibiotics are helping create an epidemic of hard-to-treat (and sometimes untreatable) multi-drug resistant infections in humans.

6. Avoid chicken raised with arsenic.
Instead of conventional chicken, buy certified organic, which is arsenic-free, or from local producers who can assure arsenic was not used. In addition to routine antibiotics, at least 70 percent of conventionally raised broiler chickens in the U.S. are fed arsenic compounds. The 27 countries of the European Union have never approved this practice as safe. Meat from chickens fed arsenic can carry arsenic residues.

7. Buy dairy products from cows not given synthetic growth hormone (rBGH).
The FDA-required package insert for rBGH lists 17 adverse health impacts for cows treated with the hormone, including mastitis. Cattle treated with rBGH get more mastitis, and therefore receive more antibiotics, which contributes to antibiotic resistance. Animal and human health concerns have led most industrialized nations, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the European Union to ban rBGH use in dairy production.

8. Choose your foods wisely to prevent diseases linked to the toxic chemicals prevalent in our industrialized foods and farming systems.
Preferably eat whole, fresh foods. Minimize consumption of processed, refined and most fast food. And avoid partially hydrogenated oils - a source of trans fats - and high fructose corn syrup, both signs of low quality food.

Follow these steps and we not only improve our health, we send a strong signal to farmers, grocery stores, and policymakers as to the kinds of food we want to eat - at home, in our schools and in our hospitals. How we spend our food dollars can steer the future direction of our global food system in a healthier, more sustainable direction.

(Note: This is an abridged version of the original article found at IATP.)

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5 Easy Steps to Prevent Disease and Illness

by Christopher Gavigan

Photo: Healthy Child Healthy World

We live in a world vastly different from the one our grandparents grew up in, and I'm not referring to cell phones and air travel. The world we live in, especially our homes, is filled with industrial chemicals, most of which did not exist fifty years ago. Over 80,000 are registered for use in commercial products in the United States, and hundreds of new ones are introduced every year. Shockingly, many reach the marketplace and our dinner plates with little or no safety testing. These chemicals are used in everyday items such as foods, shampoos, toys, furniture, carpeting, air fresheners, electronics, cleaners, and lawn care products, just to name a few.

The effects of most of these chemicals on human health are unknown. Yet, a growing body of research is discovering that many of these chemicals we are regularly exposed to from everyday products are directly linked to chronic health conditions that are rising to epidemic levels; like asthma, reproductive disorders, cancer, allergies, learning and behavior disorders, allergies, obesity, and more. Like I said, a world vastly different than your Grandma and Grandpa.

Luckily, the more we learn, the more we find that there are many easy ways to reduce our exposure to chemicals and protect our health, especially for our children.

5 Easy Steps

Step 1: Manage Pests Safely. Exposure to common lawn care and indoor pesticides is linked to a range of health problems, including asthma, hyperactivity and behavior problems, cancer, learning disabilities, reproductive disorders, and compromised brain development. Use non-toxic or least toxic pest remedies like using soapy water to kill ants or boiling water to kill weeds. Prevent pests through good sanitation and food storage habits. Visit BeyondPesticides.org for details on the potential health impacts of pesticides and non-toxic remedies for almost every pest problem.

Step 2: Use Non-Toxic Products. We bring home a wide variety of products that contain potentially harmful toxicants. Cleaners are an obvious one; they often have warning labels on them because of their toxic make-up. You may be more surprised that body care items and even home furnishings can contain harmful chemicals like phthalates and formaldehyde. Buy cleaners that don't contain harsh chemicals or fumes or make your own. When selecting body care products, avoid parabens, synthetic fragrances, and sodium lauryl or laureth sulfates. Visit CosmeticsDatabase.com for detailed information about the ingredients of personal care products and to find safer alternatives. Opt for solid woods instead of pressed. Overall, trust your nose. If something has a chemically, perfume-y, or "new" smell, it likely contains volatile organic chemicals that can potentially have health impacts.

Step 3: Clean Up Indoor Air. Did you know that people in America spend 90 percent of their time indoors? It might seem safer and cleaner, but indoor air pollution is typically 2-5 times worse than outdoor air. Common indoor air pollutants include formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, secondhand smoke, asbestos, lead, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Not to worry, it's easy to reduce the risk. Start by replacing products that contribute to the problem, then try some other simple steps. Ventilate your home by opening windows. Regularly change the filters in your air conditioning and heating units. Naturally cleanse air with indoor plants. Vacuum weekly using a HEPA filtered vacuum.

Step 4: Eat Healthy. Opt for organic foods as much as possible to reduce your exposure to pesticides, hormones, and genetically modified organisms. Select fresh, dried, or frozen foods as most cans are lined with a resin containing bisphenol-A. Make foods from scratch when you can to avoid synthetic additives and preservatives.

Step 5: Be Wise with Plastics. Plastics are affordable and convenient, but we are increasingly finding that a hidden cost may be our health. Some plastics leach harmful chemicals, especially when they comes in contact with oily or fatty foods, during heating and microwaving, as a result of harsh cleaners, and when exposed to excessive moisture. Luckily, we can make safer choices. Avoid using plastic in the microwave or with warm foods and beverages. Avoid PVC/vinyl (#3), Polystyrene/styrofoam (#6), and polycarbonate/PC (#7). Choose safer plastics or opt for natural materials like glass, steel, solid wood, or cotton.

Learn more at Healthy Child Healthy World: 5 Easy Steps.

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Organic Milk Does The Body Better

by Janelle Sorensen

Photo: Healthy Child Healthy World

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there is supposedly no difference between regular milk and organic milk, aside from how the cows are raised and an obvious difference in price. For some, the environmental benefits of organic farming are enough justification to pay the premium, but many others need to know they're paying more for a better product. Now the studies showing that organic milk is indeed better are building up.

Let's count the reasons why...

1. Organic milk has fewer pesticide residues. The USDA Pesticide Data Program (PDP) regularly checks food for pesticide residues. For many years the milk studies showed the same level of pesticide residues in both regular and organic milk (some residues of banned pesticides are so persistent they are still found in water and soil, thus the entire food chain). In 2004, the PDP used more sensitive testing equipment and found synthetic pyrethroids in 24 percent of conventional samples, and in no organic sample. They also discovered a breakdown product of the insecticide carbofuran in 8.8 percent of the conventional milk samples, but in no organic sample.


2. Organic milk has more vitamins. Organically reared cows, which eat high levels of fresh grass, clover pasture and grass clover silage, produce milk which is on average 50% higher in Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) and 75% higher in beta carotene (which our bodies convert to Vitamin A).


3. Organic milk has more antioxidants. Studies show organic milk has two to three times more of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthine than non-organic milk. These antioxidants are extremely important for eye health and are effective in preventing numerous eye diseases.


4. Organic milk has more omega-3s. Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid required for healthy growth. Regular intake of Omega-3 helps reduce incidences of heart disease, inflammations (in skin diseases such as eczema), cancer, arthritis, etc. One particular type of omega-3 that is higher in organic milk is DHA, which is important for brain development.


5. Organic milk has more CLA. Cows that are grazed on pastures have 500% more CLA in their milk. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) increases metabolism, immunity, and muscle growth. It also reduces abdominal fat, cholesterol, and allergic reactions. Recent animal studies have also shown that CLA may be beneficial in cancer treatment. Since the human body cannot produce CLA, we get most of it through the milk and dairy products that we consume.


6. Drinking organic milk helps improve the quality of breast milk. European scientists have found that mothers who consumed mostly organic meat and milk had around 50 percent higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk. This acid protects against cancer and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, heart disease and asthma.


7. Drinking organic milk protects young children against asthma and eczema. Researchers found that children of breastfeeding mothers who ate organic dairy products and who were weaned on organic milk, cheese and yogurts were a third less likely to suffer from allergies. Dr. Machteld Huber, one of the authors of the study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, said: "The difference was significant, but only for children exclusively eating organic dairy products. We didn't find a relationship if they had organic and conventional dairy products." Almost all the children eating organic dairy also reportedly ate organic meat, fruit, bread and vegetables. However, it was only milk that appeared to have any impact on allergies.

All of this is compelling evidence of the superiority of organic milk, but one point must be highlighted. From these studies examining the differences between organic milk and regular milk, it seems clear that the diet of the cows may be one of the most important factors. Most organic cows are pasture-fed as opposed to grain-fed, and it's their natural diet that leads to superior quality milk. So, it's not simply organic milk that holds the prize, it's organic, pasture-fed milk that does the body better.

References:

The Organic Center, 2008. Pesticides in Milk FAQs.

Soil Association, 2005. New research proves organic milk is higher in vitamins and antioxidants than non-organic milk.

Bergamo P et al, "Fat-soluble vitamin contents and fatty acid composition in organic and conventional Italian dairy products." Food Chemistry 82, (2003) 625 - 631.

Robertson J & Fanning C (University of Aberdeen), 2004. Omega 3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Organic and Conventional Milk.

Dewhurst R J, Fisher W J, Tweed J K S and Wilkins R J (2003). Comparison of grass and legume silages for milk production. 1. Production responses with different levels of concentrate. Journal of Dairy Science (volume 86 pages 2598-2611).

Newsday, 2004. New Studies Show Benefits of Organic Milk.

eFood. 2008. Organic Milk is Cream of the Crop.

Related Topics:

• Organic Foods
• How is Your Food Grown?
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