So, perusing the web this morning I came across GotMercury.org , a website that has a calculator to see just how much mercury is in the fish you eat. Lovely! You enter in your weight, the seafood type, and the amount of seafood you will eat during a week and hit “calculate”….and wait for the [...]
Yep, you read that right. I play with my boats in the toilet. Well, I don’t (at least not in the last couple years), but some kids on television do. I was watching something on my DVR the other night and a real cute ad came on with kids whispering things to each other. Two [...]
Dear EarthTalk: I ride my bike to work along busy urban streets. Should I be worried about inhaling pollutants from vehicle emissions and other sources? The short answer is, yes, probably. Cars, trucks and buses emit considerable amounts of airborne pollution as they make their ways along city streets and highways. The fine particles, nitrogen [...]
Dear EarthTalk: Has anyone ever studied the environmental impact of discarded cigarettes? I”™m constantly appalled at the number of drivers I see pitching their butts out their car windows. It”™s true that littered cigarette butts are a public nuisance, and not just for aesthetic reasons. The filters on cigarettes””four fifths of all cigarettes have them””are [...]
Dear EarthTalk: I recently had a tissue mineral analysis indicating that my levels of the nutritional element, molybdenum, were off the chart. I believe this may be leaching from my stainless steel cookware. Is this element toxic to my body? Having trace amounts of molybdenum in our bloodstreams is not only normal but beneficial. The [...]
It’s time to discuss another toxic chemical in our food and skin care products, and this time we’re asking What is BHT? Butylated Hydroxytoluene, or BHT, is an anti-oxidant which reacts with oxygen free radicals to slow down the autoxidation rate of ingredients in a product that can cause changes in the taste or color. [...]
In my continuing series of toxic ingredients and/or chemicals found in our food and skincare products, this time around I wanted to talk about parabens and methylparabens. Methylparaben is from the paraben family of chemicals, and is pretty commonly used as a preservative in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food. It is readily and completely absorbed directly [...]
