Bestseller Slow Death by Rubber Duck reveals how the living of daily life creates a toxic soup inside each of us. In it, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, two of Canada’s leading environmental activists, spend time ingesting and inhaling a host of substances that surround us all every day, all of which are suspected of being toxic and posing long-term health risks to humans. By revealing the pollution load in their bodies before and after the experiment they tell the inside story of seven common substances. Check out the short video describing their experiment:
It’s a thought-provoking read that kept me engaged throughout a recent international flight. We are fortunate to have co-author Bruce Lourie write a guest blog post for Abe’s Market. Thank you, Bruce.
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The first reaction people have when they hear about Slow Death by Rubber Duck is: “oh man, you’re not going to tell me more horror stories about what I can’t do or eat, do you expect me to live in a plastic bubble?” First, if anything the bubble should be glass, not plastic. But seriously, Slow Death is a book about hope; a guide for living in a modern world. Sure, each chapter describes some of the scary things in everyday life, how they get into our bodies and what they might do to us, but throughout the book there are simple things that you can start doing right away to reduce the toxic load in your body.
We looked at toxic chemicals in everyday life using a household as a simple organizing principle. What are the toxic exposures we face in our kitchen, our bedroom, our living room, our bathroom, our garden? Here are five living spaces and in each we can begin with a basic step to start reducing the toxic products in our homes and the toxic residues that build up in our bodies.
I spend alot of time in the kitchen because I love to cook. And I love to cook because I love to eat. So looking at cooking and eating is important for all of us. Eating, after all, is one of the most obvious and most direct pathways for these unwanted chemicals to poison us.
Step 1. Reducing mercury. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, meaning it attacks our brain cells. Tiny amounts can harm developing brains so young children should limit tuna intake to no more than one tuna sandwich per week (not albacore, it has higher levels). If you are pregnant you should avoid tuna altogether. Eating fish is important and healthy, but avoid the large predator fish such as tuna, shark, marlin and tilefish.
Step 2. While we are still in the kitchen, let’s look at one of the easiest and most effective ways for getting rid of the nasty hormone disrupting chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). Who hasn’t heated up leftovers in plastic container in the microwave? Not many of us. Or what about warming a plastic baby bottle of formula in the microwave? Many microwaveable containers and plastic baby bottles are made of BPA plastic. While researching the book we spent two days eating and drinking out of heated containers and saw our BPA levels shoot up 7.5 times! If this happened in a 6’6” adult over two days, imagine an infant receiving the vast majority of his or her nutrition this way. BPA mimics the hormone estrogen and is linked to breast and prostate cancer. So stop microwaving food in plastic.
Step 3. The bathroom is probably the worst room in the house, and I’m not talking bathtub rings and mould in the shower. Personal care products are miniature chemistry sets. Turn over your shampoo bottle or deodorant and try to read the microscopic print and you’ll find all kinds of chemicals that you really don’t want to be slathering on your body. There are two that we write about in the book that are particularly troubling, triclosan and phthalates. Triclosan is an anti-bacterial agent and a registered pesticide. “Pesticide in my toothpaste you say! Surely that is not a good idea?” No, as most people realize rather intuitively, having a pesticide in your toothpaste, soap or deodorant is a really dumb idea. So read the ingredients and avoid all anti-bacterial products that contain triclosan. Another simple bathroom trick is to take the bold step of not smelling like a rainforest or strawberry patch. Phthalates (referred to in ingredient lists as Parfum or fragrance) are potent hormone disrupting chemicals linked to male genital malformations and breast and prostate cancer. So buy unscented or fragrance free personal care products and dare to smell bland!
Step 4. We spend a huge amount of time in our homes and offices, far more time than we spend outdoors. Most people are not aware that the air quality indoors is far poorer than even in our smoggy cities. This is because virtually all modern household items are manufactured with glues, coatings, sprays, fabrics and other synthetic materials that “off-gas” polluting our living space. Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) are among the nastier coatings used throughout our homes. Stain repellent coatings and non-stick pans are common PFC sources. This is another hormone disrupting chemical linked to various cancers (liver, pancreatic, thyroid), birth defects and childhood obesity. So get rid of the non-stick pans and ask for furniture that is NOT sprayed with a stain proof coating.
Step 5. Gardens, especially the big ones that our produce, meat and dairy come from, have evolved into sophisticated operations with literally billions of pounds of chemical inputs. If you want to keep yourself and your family safer, eat organic food. The evidence is very strong that pesticides cause cancer. Organic food is better for you and tastes better too. And of course if you can find a local organic market, all the better.
It is said that the very best products to put on your skin should contain ingredients you could possible put in your mouth (I’m not at all advocating you eat ANY natural skin care products). This means, ingredients such as olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oils are fabulous ingredients to cook with, AND to put on your skin.
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