Review of 'The Body Toxic' by Nena Baker

A very well researched and presented look at all the chemicals surrounding us and affecting our lives.  I feel rather distressed after reading it to be honest because there is just so much that I had no say in that is now affecting my life and those around me and my children and grandchildren - thanks to some scientists somewhere that didn't do due research before releasing stuff on the world. Makes me angry as we have no choice now but to put up with the consequences on our health and that of our children and really from what is said there's no going back now.  There are chemicals found in our blood that were banned 30 years ago! This world is a huge mess.

I appreciated the way this book was written, it goes in depth on pretty much all the areas she covered and the best part is at the back she sums it up and what we can do to try to avoid as much as possible in our lives.  In the end we all have extremely high levels of toxins in our blood and no one seems to know exactly what puts them there and in animal testing it does terrible things so I guess now we all just have to sit back and wait and see what happens.

We are just human guinea pigs it appears.

I'm glad I read this and recommend everyone read it.  Perhaps when enough of us boycott stuff the govt will finally take notice and action.

Here's some of my notes that stood out to me:

TV and other furniture is made with neurotoxic PBDE's which disrupt developing thyroid system and cause developmental deficits

Your exposure to BPA (Bisphenol A) will affect your children and your grandchildren.

Today every new car contains nearly $2000 worth of chemical processing and products, including 290 pounds of polymer

Chemicals banned 30 years ago are still found today in people and animals

Furniture not only has flame retardants but also solvents, coating and glues used that are toxic

The herbicide Atrazine is an endocrine disrupter and changes the sex of frogs. Frogs hormones are the same as humans.  3/4 of US corn and sorghum treated with atrazine.  90% of sugarcane is treated with it. Also used on christmas tree farms, lawns, golf courses. The heaviest use is in the corn belt.

Atrazine found in tap water. Apparently the government says that it is ok for it to be at a level that is three times the amount needed to chemically castrate and feminize a frog.

Prenatal exposure to pthalates causes reproductive issues in boys.

PBDEs (flame retardants) now found in higher concentrations in humans than ever tested in experimental animals

PBDEs are in the dust of your home.  They escape from your furniture and products they are in and go into the air and environment. We eat and breathe them.

She recommends these steps:
1. Buy and eat organic
2. Get rid of microwave popcorn
3. Ditch all plastic food containers
4. No bug control
5. Decline stain protection in furniture and flooring
6. Use low VOC paint
7. Use stainless steel drink bottle
8. Clean and dust house weekly
9. Buy stainless steel or cast iron cookware
10. Read labels and ask questions before you buy
11. Get water filter that removes atrazine
12. Remove shoes to prevent pesticides inside
13. Buy PBDE free electronics and furniture
14. Limit canned food unless you know it's BPA free
15. Avoid all stain resistant products: Teflon etc and fast food packaging.