Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/981275
Chemical Exposure in the World Are we in the dark on how many chemicals people are exposed to everyday? There are 85,000 chemicals registered under the TSCA (Toxic Substance Control Act), but even the EPA is largely in the dark about what that actually means for people's health and the environment. A lot of chemicals in the market place are tested for safety, but even those that are tested, are not necessarily safe. One of the most common chemicals used in the United States is bisphenol-A (BPA) used in plas cs, personal care products and canned goods. BPA is linked to a lot of health concerns, par cularly in pregnant women, young children, causing high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity. Studies have also shown that many enhancing chemicals may increase the absorp on of BPA through your skin by up to 100-fold. When agencies test chemicals for safety, they do not take into account skin absorp on, or absorp on that may occur in your mouth. Toxic Air Pollution Chemicals o en exist in the environment invisibly, meaning you can't see them or smell them and have li le way of knowing when they are around you. The Center of Public Integrity revealed that some schools in the U.S. are located 500 feet or less from highways, and other roads with heavy traffic. This means about 4.4 million students may be exposed to toxic air while at school. Air pollu on risks are many such as, asthma a acks, heart disease, demen a, slower cogni ve development and some forms of cancer. Research has also shown that chemicals need to be tested in combina on with others to more closely replicate real world exposures. The U.S. Na onal Toxicology Program data suggests tes ng the interac ons between just 25 chemicals for 13 weeks would require 33 million experiments and cost $3 trillion dollars. Sources of toxic chemicals Un l change occurs on a bigger scale, you can limit your exposure by keeping a number of key principles in mind. 1. Eat a diet from locally grown, fresh organic whole foods. Processed and packaged foods are a common source of chemicals, both in the food itself and the packaging. 2. Avoid milk and other dairy products that contain gene cally engineered bovine growth hormone. 3. Eat wild-caught fish. This will reduce heavy amounts of mercury. 4. Buy products that come in glass bo les rather than plas c or cans. 5. Store food and beverages in glass, rather than plas c. 6. Use glass baby bo les. Page 14| Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysHealthAndNutrition.com