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