Environmental Health: Home Prep and Healthy Habits
1. Eat Organic
- Less pesticide residue
- Avoid fast-food, junk food, highly processed food
2. Limit plastic in your food:
Foods in constant contact with plastic can absorb plasticides that act as neuroendocrine disruptors in the fetus (impair the baby’s braindevelopment)
- Common sources: 5-gallon water jugs, Styrofoam, PVC
- Better options: paper or glass products
- In particular you want to avoid heating food in the plastic as this can accelerate the absorption
3. Limit pesticide and solvent use at home
- Alternatives include cleaning with soap, vinegar, baking soda
4. Ditch the scents!
- Ideally you want to avoid phthalates found in many fragrances (pregnant women often experience smell aversion anyway)
- Choose “fragrance free” instead of “unscented” in personal care products: “unscented” products simply add extra fragrance to mask the phthalate-containing chemicals with fragrance
- Helpful website: safecosmeticsact.org/search/products.aspx
5. Bust the dust
- Vacuum daily, remove shoes before entering the house
- Areas where dust is particularly likely to have toxins:
- Agricultural areas
- Urban neighborhoods
- Patient or spouse works with pesticides, solvents, lead
6. Throw away old foam furniture
- Flame retardants are present in furniture foam prior to 2005 (but much higher risk prior to 1975)
7. Avoid lead
- Frequent dust mopping
- Unexpected sources:
- Ethnic products: azarcon and greta, bali goli, Ayurvedic treatments
- Drugstore brand lipstick