Chemical Maze

Quick and fresh

Lindy Schneider — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:52:06 +0000

Do our diets reflect a supermarket layout or do supermarkets reflect our diet? I am tipping it’s a little of both but when you look at the amount of space dedicated to processed foods compared to that given to fresh foods the lack of balance is very obvious. Most of us dash in and out looking for quick and convenient options, but what could be more quick and convenient than being able to do the majority of your shopping in just 10% of a supermarket floor plan? By buying fresh instead of packaged, you will do exactly that. So next time you reach for a tin of canned peaches or a foil sealed tub of fruit, think about a fresh, preferably organic, option. You will also be buying less packaging, less processing and therefore less chemicals as well.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

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Lindy Schneider is a writer and researcher with a keen interest in health, wellbeing and natural childcare. She is an advocator of a chemical-free lifestyle in the best interests of her family, the community and a sustainable world.

Breathing wellness

Lindy Schneider — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:50:51 +0000

Do you know that every day you take over 21,000 breaths? That is 21,000 opportunities for toxic chemicals in the environment to enter your body – 21,000 times your body has to cope with a potential chemical load that is in addition to what you eat. Obviously we cannot stop breathing and the more fully we breathe into our bodies the more life flows into us, so it is important to take whatever steps you can within the home to ‘freshen’ the air you breathe. Chemicals in cleaners, for example, linger in the air in your home, air fresheners are also pollutants that can have an immediate effect. You may like to consider paints and building materials in your home, some plants indoors and how often you are breathing ‘air-conditioned air’ instead of fresh air. A few simple changes can really help ‘clean’ the air your breathe, not just every day, but every second as well – even when you are sleeping!

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your phone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

Lindy Schneider is a writer and researcher with a keen interest in health, wellbeing and natural childcare. She is an advocator of a chemical-free lifestyle in the best interests of her family, the community and a sustainable world.

Barcodes and country of origin

Lindy Schneider — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:49:36 +0000

Label reading is an important skill to develop when seeking a chemical-free lifestyle and it pays to understand what information on a label can and cannot tell you. Recently an email has been widely distributed that suggests that by noting the first couple of digits in a barcode, you can figure out where a product is made. Unfortunately it is not quite that simple as the digits appearing first, for example a 93 which is Australia, only indicate where the product was first ‘registered’ and do not indicate country of origin at all.

Many countries require the country of origin to be shown on a product label, but note that ‘grown in’, ‘packaged in’ and ‘manufactured in’ may all be processes done in different countries, which means you will need to read the label very closely. There is no doubt that foods produced in other countries may be prepared to different standards and we need to be vigilant, but a barcode alone is not enough information for us to be truly informed.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

A cleaner school environment

Lindy Schneider — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:26:55 +0000

Have you ever checked what cleaning chemicals your children’s school routinely uses to clean classrooms, toilets and general traffic areas? Large cleaning tasks such as public buildings and, of course, schools often use strong, chemical-laden cleaning products for an efficient clean that meets stipulated hygiene standards. But when you think about the fact that our children spend around thirty hours per week in these environments, it is useful to ask the question about how cleaning chemicals might be affecting them in the day-to-day, and in any longer terms health issues. Frequent headaches or nausea, asthma and eczema and even poor concentration have been linked to chemicals in the environment and may be impacting on children’s behaviour and wellbeing.

Whether a classroom, or a office block, we all have a right to a clean environment and if the cleaning products being used are adding to the toxic load then it is important to ask for a review of the chemicals used to bring about a greener and healthier workspace. Take a moment to check the next opportunity you get.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

Low fire danger clothing may be high chemical danger clothing

Lindy Schneider — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:25:16 +0000

Many products in your home will have been treated with a flame retardant chemical. Everything from mattresses to DVD players, pillows, clothes, furniture and even televisions may have been treated with these flame retardant chemicals in the production process and by law, infants bedding and sleepwear must be treated. Manufactures are however, not required to provide information on labels or packaging about chemicals used to fireproof clothing, and some of these chemicals can be harmful to health – especially for young ones. Many people would actually feel assured when they see a ‘low fire danger’ label in a garment but unless that garment is made of a naturally flame resistant fibre such as wool, the exposure to a chemical such as BFR (brominated flame retardant) is a potential health problem. Infants and young children can be particularly susceptible to adverse reactions – a new mattress, pyjamas and bedding may be a chemical flame retardant concoction that is more than little systems should have to cope with.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

Most skin care does not care at all

Lindy Schneider — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:23:58 +0000

When you consider how many thousands of untested, yet irritating, chemicals make their way into the daily assortment of skincare products we use, it becomes obvious that using the word ‘care’ is a bit of a misnomer. Creams and moisturisers, cleansers, masks and toners may typically contain several harmful chemicals that make them ‘work’ but at the same time can cause skin irritations and damage our delicate systems from the inside out. Some have carcinogenic properties, others affect our central nervous system. Almost all petrochemical and animal derived ingredients have the potential to be toxic, and plant or mineral alternatives should be explored. In a study conducted by the Environmental Working Group in 2002, 72% of personal care products were found to contain phthalates. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors that can impact on hormones in adults and children alike, but they do not typically appear on an ingredients list as they perform a technical or functional effect. Care about your skin care and find products from reputable organic companies made from natural ingredients.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

Quick label checks

Lindy Schneider — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:22:31 +0000

When you are pressed for time, reading labels and trying to decipher the ingredients in any one product may seem a time-consuming task. There is a quick ‘rule of thumb’ that is worth remembering when you assess a products suitability for your family.

The first one-third of ingredients account for approximately 95% of the product.

The second third, approximately 5-8% and the last third, approximately 1-3%.

Ingredients are required to be listed by highest value to lowest value, so if we simply read the first one-third of ingredients we will be able to gain a sense of a products suitability and chemical load. You may be surprised how many products list water as their first ingredients, which is a timely reminder about value for money. If you find yourself reading a long list of ingredients that is also a very obvious sign that the product has been over-manufactured with multiple chemical additions. A simple ingredient list might not be a sure sign of a safe product but it is a very good start.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your phone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

The problem with fabric softener

Lindy Schneider — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:15:57 +0000

It’s always a red flag for me when I read an ingredients label and it contains warnings such as ‘Use only in well ventilated room’, ‘Harmful if swallowed’ and ‘Seek poisons advice’.

Most brands of fabric softener contain harmful chemicals, although this is one product where a full ingredients listing is not a packaging requirement.

So that seemingly harmless capful that you pop into the wash, mostly for fragrance and anti static properties, may also contain harmful chemicals such as Alpha-Terpineol, Benzyl Acetate, Benzyl Alcohol, Camphor, Chloroform, Ethyl Acetate, Limonene, Linalool and Pentane.

Neurotoxic, narcotic, damage to Central Nervous System, skin irritations, carcinogenic – these are just some of the harmful effects of these chemicals for our body. And we don’t have to ingest fabric softener to be effected. The vapours from the product in the bottle are one way we are exposed, but perhaps more problematic is that they are released in to the air when we put fabric softener treated clothes into a dryer, and that as we wear these clothes the natural heat from our body causes them to be released onto our skin and into the immediate air we breathe. A few drops of your favourite essential oil in your final rinse water is worth a try for a healthy fragrance, and static cling can be over come by line drying and applying a chemical-free moisturiser to the body before dressing.

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If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

Why wash produce?

Lindy Schneider — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:53:59 +0000

Whether you are buying conventional produce or organic, it is important to thoroughly wash all fruit and vegetables before you prepare or consume. Conventional produce will have many chemical sprays on its outer surface – pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers are spayed multiple times, and all produce, including organic, gets handled at multiple points in the food chain and is transported in ways that may contaminate skins.

In a busy life, it pays to get into a regular habit of washing produce immediately you get home from the supermarket or grocers. If your fresh produce goes straight from your shopping bag into a sink of water (add a little vinegar for extra ‘clean’ power) and then into the fridge or cupboard, you will save time when preparing meals and can always be confident that your foods are as clean and free of contamination as possible. A light scrub, especially on hard vegetables, is advisable too.

Establish a produce-washing habit and you will immediately eliminate unnecessary chemicals in the family diet.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.

Have you ever eaten Zein?

Lindy Schneider — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:14:26 +0000

You may have never heard of Zein before but chances are you have eaten it often and even if you are a label reader, you may never have come across it listed on an ingredients label.

Zein is made from corn, or maize, and is a colourless, flavourlous substance that is used in many ways in food production – most notably in confectioners glaze on cakes and lollies, and as the outer casing for medications, vitamins and other supplements. Whilst it is digestible, it can be a problematic substance for those who are gluten intolerant, and is yet another ‘food’ that enters into our diets without us really knowing or understanding that it is there or what its function or effects might be.

Medications and supplements are increasingly promoting that they are gluten free and this would indicate that something other than Zein has been used. Zein may not be much of a concern, but if you are gluten intolerant it is one of the ingredients you would need to avoid.

If you found this article valuable, you can download the Chemical Maze App to your iPhone now or purchase the book online.

Have easy-to-use information on thousands of potentially harmful ingredients at your fingertips.