Food manufacturers are trying to make you think that processed food is just as healthy as unprocessed food. The New York Times reported on September 8 that there’s a new green checkmark label called Smart Choices that is starting to show up in grocery stores now. You’ll see it on hundreds of packages, including, get this, cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops. Just thinking about these cereals makes my teeth ache from all the sugar in them! This new food-labeling campaign is backed by big food manufacturers like Kraft, Kellogg’s, General Mills, and PepsiCo (no surprise there), and is designed to “help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices.”

Eileen T. Kennedy, president of the Smart Choices board and the dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said the program was based on government dietary guidelines and widely accepted nutritional standards, as well as research into consumer behavior. That research showed that, while shoppers wanted more information, they did not want to hear negative messages or feel their choices were being dictated to them.

Dr. Kennedy says: “The checkmark means the food item is a ‘better for you’ product, as opposed to having an x on it saying ‘Don’t eat this,’ ” because consumers want to have a choice. They don’t want to be told ‘You must do this.’ ” Dr. Kennedy defended the products endorsed by the program, including sweet cereals. Here’s what she said about a hypothetical parent in the supermarket: “You’re rushing around, you’re trying to think about healthy eating for your kids and you have a choice between a doughnut and a cereal,”  “So Froot Loops is a better choice.”

Dr. Kennedy, how about giving your kid an organic apple instead!

Froot Loops, you should know, contains the maximum amount of sugar allowed under the program for cereals, 12 grams per serving, which in the case of Froot Loops is 41 percent of the product by weight. That’s more sugar than in many cookies!

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, was part of a panel that helped devise the Smart Choices nutritional criteria, until he quit last September. He said the panel was dominated by members of the food industry, and he objected to some of the panel’s nutritional decisions. The criteria allow foods to carry the Smart Choices seal if they contain added nutrients, which he said could mask shortcomings in the food.

So, for example, the criteria allow breads made with no whole grains to get the seal if they have added nutrients. Jacobson said: “You could start out with some sawdust, add calcium or Vitamin A and meet the criteria.”

Be aware…if you see this green checkmark Smart Choices label, know who is behind it! Eat real food whenever you can…preferably food without labels. Shop locally, find your farmer at your local farmer’s market, start your own garden. That’s the real smart choice in food!

There’s so much controversy surrounding vaccines. I’ve read that they can cause autism and neurological problems. In California and some other states, you can get an exemption or vaccination waiver at schools if you are philosphically opposed to immunizing your child. But at my daughter’s summer sleepaway camp they have a mandatory rule that every child must be vaccinated. For 2009, the count was 15. Next year, more will be added. New Jersey now has mandatory vaccination laws for all children. From what I’m reading, there is a push to have mandatory vaccinations for everyone in the US.

This makes me nervous.

So I started researching what goes in vaccines and discovered they are filled with additives. I went onto the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) website and found their 2009 Factsheet called Additives in Vaccines.

Here’s a partial list of the additives being used:

- Aluminum gels or salts of aluminum, which are added as something called adjuvants, which helps the vaccine stimulate a better response. Now, research shows that aluminum is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and people are encouraged not to use aluminum cookware.

-Antibiotics, which are added to prevent the growth of bacteria during production and storage of the vaccine. Aren’t we now trying to stay away from meat and poultry containing antibiotics because we as a nation are becoming resistant to antibiotics when we might actually need them?

-Formaldehyde, used to kill unwanted viruses and bacteria that might contaminate the vaccine during production. Here again, in my book “Super Natural Home,” I write about the dangers of using personal care products that contain formaldehyde because it is suspected of causing cancer in humans.

-Monosodium glutamate or MSG, which is used as a stabilizer to help the vaccine remain unchanged when it is exposed to heat, light, acidity, or humidity. Again I point out in my book that Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon, calls MSG an excitotoxin in our brains and should be avoided.

-Thimerosal which is a mercury-containing preservative that is added to vials of vaccine that contain more than one dose, to prevent contamination and growth of potentially harmful bacteria. Here again, haven’t we been warned about the toxic effect of mercury in our bodies?

Here is the link to a 1979 CBS “60 Minutes” episode about the 1976 swine flu pandemic in the US and the fact that 4,000 people developed neurological damage as a result of getting vaccines. It is now being released publicly on the internet for the first time, after 20 years. http://loveforlife.com.au/node/6636

At the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego recently, researchers presented a study showing that the flu vaccine – which has been a “must have” for children with chronic illnesses – isn’t effective in preventing flu-related hospitalizations in kids, especially ones with asthma.

The results showed that kids who had received the flu vaccine had three times the risk of hospitalization, compared to kids who didn’t get the flu vaccine. For kids with asthma, there was even a higher risk of hospitalization when they got the flu shot.
So this raises a red flag for me against vaccinating kids for the flu, especially those with asthma.

I’d love to hear from you. What are your thoughts?

Listen to my June 17th interview on Progressive Radio Network with Dr. Sabrina McCormick, sociologist, documentary filmmaker and author of the new book “No Family History: The Environmental Link to Breast Cancer.”

We talk about the fact that while billions of dollars have gone toward researching treatments for breast cancer, very little money has gone toward studying prevention. She tells the fascinating story of how the pink ribbon promotion actually got started. We also discuss how mainstream cosmetic companies are raising millions of dollars for breast cancer and at the same time selling lipstick that contains ingredients linked to breast cancer and other illnesses.

The show aired on Progressive Radio Network: http://greer.progressiveradionetwork.org/

Here’s the link on my site: http://supernaturalmom.com/media-room/

It’s also up on iTunes under Super Natural Mom, if you want to listen to it on your iPod.

Dr. Ken Dychtwald stated in his June 17th Huffington Post column:

“Make disease prevention and self-care a national priority. Let’s be honest….we’ve become a nation of gluttons. We eat too much, exercise too little and then get angry at the healthcare system when we’re sick. This lack of proper prevention, self-care and disease management winds up being a key factor in many of our eventual struggles with illness.”

I responded this comment:

Hi Ken,
I totally agree that it’s important to make disease prevention and self-care a national priority. However, it’s hard when major consumer brand products don’t make disease prevention an easy task. People must become aware that everyday, commonly used items can cause allergies, asthma, fatigue, headaches, lack of sleep, mood swings, skin rashes, obesity and worse.

Each day we are being bombarded with chemicals in our food, cosmetics and personal care products that can cause significant illness. For example, a recently released study from the University of Parma, Italy, found that common food additives can alter our hormones. More than 3,000 preservatives, flavorings, colors and other ingredients are added to food in the U.S., and none of them are required to undergo testing for hormone disruption, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Hormone disruptors can make us fat. Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center just reported that they discovered that child obesity is linked to hormone disruptors known as phthalates. These make plastics pliable, keep nail polish from chipping and are found in things like water bottles, toys and pacifiers. They also act like estrogen in the body and can increase the likelihood of breast tumors.

These are just a few examples of how the chemicals we are exposed to play a big role in ill health. Once people become aware they can choose alternatives.

Beth Greer

Ken’s response to me was:

Dear Beth,

You make an excellent point (and I’d recommend that everyone read your wonderful and empowering new book “Super Natural Home: Improve your Health, Home and Planet, One Room at A Time” by Beth Greer). However, I agree that trilions of dollars are spent to cause us to think we want products that are ultimately unhealthy for us. However, I’ve also seen that if people want something different, companies will orient to follow the money. So….we certainly need a better informed populace, better health role models, perhaps some more government influence a la food labeling (but I don’t want my mayor telling me what to eat) and a much more health-oriented culture. Wouldn’t you agree?
All the best,
Ken
P.S. Keep up the GREAT work!

I then responded:

Hi Ken,

Yes, you’re absolutely right, if people want something different, companies will follow, but the key is for people to KNOW to want something different. For example, did you know that while some very large cosmetic companies are raising millions of dollars for breast cancer, they are also producing lipsticks that contain ingredients linked to cancer and other illnesses? It’s time for people to make their voices heard and let cosmetic and personal care companies know that changes need to be made.

Best,
Beth Greer

Ken responded:
Thanks Beth – you’re absoutely right.
Ken

To read Ken’s full column go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-dychtwald/the-biggest-problem-with_b_216446.html

I love honey. I love that it is a natural product that has been around forever. So, I found it upsetting to learn that much of the honey sold in stores is contaminated with antibiotics like Chloramphenicol, which is banned by the FDA. US bee keepers aren’t using antibiotics, but two-thirds of the honey Americans eat is imported and almost half of it, regardless of what’s written on the label, comes from China. This was reported in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, which did an investigation.

The creepy thing is that truck loads of foreign honey come into the US from Canada, for example, and even though the label says “Made in Canada”, much of it actually comes from China. It’s been reported that contaminated Chinese honey was used in food products including products sold by Sara Lee, Smucker’s, and even packed into individual servings for the Ritz Carlton Hotel chain. In addition, large amounts of tainted Chinese honey was shipped back to China, where it was then shipped to Australia and other countries and relabeled as from those countries of origin.

As I say in my book Super Natural Home, it’s best to buy local whenever you can, and that goes for honey as well. I buy raw honey from my local farmer’s market. It comes straight from the hive and is not heated, which can kill health-enhancing enzymes. I use it to treat burns, help with summer allergies and as a sweetener in my chai. It also makes an excellent natural preservative. I hear it was found in ancient tombs and was determined to still be edible!

Studies from around the world are now being released with some startling news about using cell phones. A Swedish study reports that radio waves from mobile phones penetrate deep into the brain not just around the ear. Researchers found that using your cell phone for 10 years or longer will double the risk of getting an acoustic neuroma – a tumor on a nerve connecting your ear to your brain – and children, because they have thinner skulls than adults and nervous systems that are still developing, are particularly vulnerable to it.

But it’s not only long term use of cell phones that’s of concern; short-term use also can have adverse effects. Scientists at the Spanish Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute in Marbella have discovered that a call lasting just two minutes can alter the natural electrical activity of a child’s brain for up to an hour afterwards. Doctors fear that disturbed brain activity in children could affect their mood and ability to learn and lead to psychiatric and behavioral problems.

Britain’s advisory body on radiological hazards, the Health Protection Agency has urged parents to limit their children’s use of cell phones, recommending that younger children use cell phones only in emergencies. But, here in the U.S. there are no precautionary guidelines and toy companies are teaming up with wireless companies and going after kids as young as five. For example, LeapFrog’s “TicTalk” and Mattel’s “My Scene” sell simple phones with five speed-dial buttons – kind of a cross between a phone and a pager. As kids get older and are exposed to more advanced phones, they’ll surely be pressuring parents for an upgrade.

Even my 10-year-old daughter, who goes to a Waldorf-inspired school where electronic gadgets are discouraged, asks regularly for her own cell phone. She’s making her case by naming all the kids she knows (there are many) who have them. I’ve told her not until the manufacturers make them safer to use. Also, I’m aware that kids aren’t just using their phones to talk. They’re text messaging, taking pictures, playing video games and surfing the Web, which opens up a whole new set of concerns.

Cell phones have certainly become a big part of life. There are over three billion of them in use on our planet. According to a 2005 survey by the ad agency BBDO Worldwide, 75 percent of American cell phone owners had it turned on and within reach during their waking hours, 59 percent wouldn’t think of lending their cell phone to a friend for a day, 26 percent said it was more important to go home to retrieve a cell phone than a wallet. About half of American teens aged 13-16 have a cell phone and now companies have their sites set on 9- to 12-year-olds, or ‘tweens, as the next untapped market for cell phone use. But before you’re persuaded to go out and buy your child a cell phone, think twice before hooking them up.

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, aside from the increased risk of a brain tumor, the following problems can occur with long-term cell phone usage:

Damage to cell membranes
Decreased intracellular communication between cells which impairs bodily functions
Increased deposits of heavy metals into your cells, which increases the production of free radicals. This can decrease cellular production of energy thus making you overly fatigued
Increase in childhood autism

Plus, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans discard 125 million phones each year, creating 65,000 tons of waste. These old phones – many containing hazardous materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, flame retardants and arsenic – are now the fastest growing type of manufactured garbage in the nation.

It’s not realistic or practical to give up our cell phones, but here are some suggestions on using them more safely:

Use a headset, whenever you or your child uses a cell phone.

Limit your child’s use of a cell phone to essential purposes only and keep the calls short.

Use a speaker phone whenever possible.

It’s probably best to keep your cell phone away from your body – do not clip it on your belt or put it in your pocket. Instead put it in your purse or backpack.

Never hold an infant while talking on your cell phone because its skull can absorb radiation easily.

Switch off your phone when you go to sleep to reduce EMF (electro magnetic field) exposure.

Before making a call check the number of bars that indicate reception – a good signal means that the phone is using less radiation to transmit.

Charging your phone creates a high level of radiation, so charge it in another room.

Consider attaching a chip or shield to your phone to reduce the effects of EMR (electromagnetic radiation). Several companies offer these and can be found online.

If you are buying scented air fresheners and household cleaning products, chances are you are exposing yourself to chemicals that are bad for you. For example, The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) recently found that 12 out of 14 popular air freshener brands contained phthalates, chemicals that can cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects and reproductive problems. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reports that “95 percent of the ingredients used to create fragrances today are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum, including benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and many other known toxins and sensitizers.”

Most of us, unwittingly, buy such products containing ingredients that are either poorly studied, not studied at all, or are known to pose potentially serious health risks. Of the roughly 17,000 chemicals found in common household products, only 3 in 10 have been tested for their effects on human health. Why? Because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission does not require manufacturers to test household cleaning products before they appear on store shelves.

While it shouldn’t be assumed that because an item is on the shelf it has been tested for safety, you also shouldn’t assume that if it says “natural” it’s safe. The word “natural” is undefined and unregulated by the government and can be applied to just about anything. So, if you’re standing in the grocery isle holding what appears to be a natural, nice-smelling cleaner for example, know that its label provides only limited information at best. According to the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, a national nonprofit that educates the public on environmental toxins that affect children’s health, labels often omit inactive or inert ingredients that can make up as much as 90 percent of a product’s volume. These include solvents, dispersal agents, dyes and fragrances, some of which can pollute the air and water. Other ingredients that are not mentioned can be carcinogens or worsen existing health problems like allergies and asthma. And because no standards exist, claims like “eco-safe” and “environmentally friendly” are also meaningless, says the Consumers Union.

Here are some ways to keep you and your family safe from dangerous, artificially scented household products:

• Use products with scents from natural or botanical sources or labeled as essential oils. These are different from fragrance oils which are created with synthetic chemicals. Examine the list of ingredients to check that the word “fragrance” does not appear.
• Scented candles may release mercury and other toxins into the air you breathe. Candles that have shiny metal wicks are made of lead which can be released into the air and turn into dust that settles on you and your furniture. Try unscented soy or beeswax alternatives, or those scented with essential oils.
• Avoid scented aerosol sprays, liquids that emit a continuous scent, and solid air fresheners. Instead, use: a non-aerosol citrus spray containing only citrus peel extracts, an open box of baking soda, essential oil on a piece of cotton or in a diffuser, or try opening a window.
• Fabric dryer sheets and potpourri that list “fragrance” on the label mean that synthetic chemicals were used, and they should be avoided. A non-toxic alternative to dryer sheets: put one or two drops of an essential oil on a washcloth and put it in the dryer with your laundry.
• Since only food and herbs can be certified organic, the word “organic” on the label of a scented dish or laundry soap, for example, doesn’t mean much.
• Most conventional dish and laundry detergents are made from petroleum, a nonrenewable synthetic resource, so look for naturally derived or plant-based formulas that are biodegradable and contain no phosphates.
• Choose “non-chlorine bleach” cleaning solutions and scouring powders. Fumes of cleansers containing a high concentration of chlorine can irritate the lungs, which is dangerous for those with asthma, emphysema or a heart condition. The risks are compounded when the cleansers are used in small, poorly ventilated rooms, such as the bathroom. Fragranced chlorine bleaches are even worse because the odor is disguised, which can lead to dangerous overexposure.
• White vinegar, borax, salt, herbs, olive oil, cornstarch and lemon juice have been used as cleansers for decades and have proved to be effective and safer for humans, pets and the environment.
• Recipes to make environmentally safe cleansers from oven cleaners to mildew removers can be found online at: www.care2.com, www.almanac.com (hit the Food button, then scroll down to “Kitchen Tips and Tricks” and click on the “helpful advice and handy kitchen hints link”) and www.organizedhome.com.
• Information about safe cleaning products can be found at: www.greenhome.com, www.checnet.org (Children’s Health Environmental Coalition), www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov and www.kidsorganics.com/Chemicals%20to%20Avoid.htm.
• You can find environmentally safe products from Bon Ami, Ecover, Seventh Generation, BioShield, Earth Friendly and Greenwood Naturals, a lavender-based essential oil product produced by EO Products.

If all this seems overwhelming, think about just one “healthy” scented cleaning product you can purchase today and commit to buying it. This small, simple act could have a major effect on you and your family’s health.

Sure the costumes are cute, and the house decorations clever, but let’s face it, for kids, Halloween is all about the candy. If you’re like me, and your kids bring home way too many treats, you might want to consider mailing the chocolate ones back to Nestlé, M&M/Mars and Hershey. Why? Because, according to media reports, these and other chocolate makers buy cocoa from plantations that use child slaves in the harvesting of cocoa beans. The reports have unveiled stories about boys, as young as 9 years old, who were tricked or sold into slavery, to work on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast (Cote D’Ivoire) in West Africa. This small country is the world’s major supplier of cocoa, providing 43% of the world’s supply.

The International Labour Organization, part of the United Nations, estimates that 284,000 child laborers work on cocoa farms, most of them in the Ivory Coast. “These children are either involved in hazardous work, unprotected or unfree, or have been trafficked,” says the ILO.

About five years ago Senator Thomas Harkin (D, Iowa) led an investigation into allegations of child slavery in the African cocoa trade. The senator introduced legislation that would have required chocolate sold in the U.S. to be labeled “slave-free.” The bill was not enacted, but Nestlé got the message. The company, other big chocolate producers, the ILO and nonprofit groups like Anti-Slavery International, Save the Children, and UNICEF, signed an agreement promising that by July 2005 they would find a way to eliminate child slavery in cocoa production by certifying chocolate as not having been produced by any underage, indentured, trafficked or coerced labor.

The deadline passed and not much was accomplished. Chocolate makers have started a foundation to work with nonprofits to rehabilitate and educate child laborers. But the industry’s own assessment of its “progress to eliminate the worst forms of child labor and forced labor from the cocoa fields” was “discouraging,” reads a statement from Harkin’s office. Nestlé and others say they need more time – three years to certify half the cocoa-growing areas of Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Nonprofit groups like Global Exchange and the International Labor Rights Fund founded by a Methodist minister and funded in part by George Soros’ Open Society Institute, are now suing Nestlé’s U.S. subsidiary, together with commodity traders Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, in California. The suit charges Nestlé, Cargill and ADM with making false claims to the public that the problem of child slave labor on cocoa farms was being resolved.

There is something you can do: Buy Fair Trade chocolate. Under the Fair Trade system, yearly inspections certify farms as slavery free and guarantee them a fair price for their beans. The chocolate costs a bit more, but since poverty is at the root of chocolate slavery, fairer prices are one key to ending both. Buy Fair Trade, and you send a message to chocolate makers that you’d rather pay more than hurt children.

Organic chocolate, sold by companies like Newman’s Own and Dagoba, is also slave free since organic farms are subject to their own independent monitoring system that checks labor practices. Here’s a list of other chocolate makers who are either organic, Fair Trade or use slave free chocolate:

• Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream
• Endangered Species
• Green and Blacks
• Lake Champlain
• Land O’Lakes Hot Chocolate
• LaraBar
• Rapunzel
• San Francisco Chocolate Factory
• Scharffen Berger
• Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Cocoa and their Organic Chocolate Bars
• Whole Foods Private Label Chocolates

Last Halloween, in my desperate attempt to get rid of most of the candy my daughter had gathered in her treat bag, I resorted to a ploy that will probably work best on kids 9 and under. I told the tale of the Sugar Fairies, which goes something like this: “There are children in the world who don’t get to eat candy because they’re too poor or they don’t celebrate Halloween in the country they live in. So let’s gather all the candy you’ve collected, minus the most special ones you can’t live without, and put them into a separate bag. When you go to sleep, the Sugar Fairies will come and take the candy and deliver it to all the needy children.”I can tell you from experience, it works! I unloaded miniature Snickers, 3 Musketeers, Milky Ways, untold numbers of Jolly Ranchers, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, candy corn, Tootsie Rolls and Nerds. My daughter got to keep10 pieces she wanted to eat over time and the rest went into a bag which was tied onto her bedroom door before she went to bed. (I made sure our dog didn’t have access to it!) That night while she slept, I emptied the contents of the bag into the trash and in its place I enclosed a thank you note from the Sugar Fairies, along with some toys like jacks, squishy balls, glow-in-the-dark insects, spooky fingers, stickers, and a couple of rubber worms and spiders.

In the morning we both felt great – me for not having all that candy in the house (which, after all, is also tempting for me and my husband), and my daughter for having some cool toys to play with and thinking she did something good for other children. Hopefully this year there’ll be some Fair Trade chocolate to choose from and we can all enjoy one of life’s sweet indulgences.

By the time you walk out the door in the morning, after slathering, and spritzing yourself with toner, moisturizer, eye cream, foundation, blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, gloss and perfume, you may have put enough chemicals onto your body to be hazardous to your health. Many of the chemicals in makeup have been linked to cancer, hormone imbalances and skin irritation.

According to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research organization, which conducted an assessment of more than 1,000 cosmetic brands, less than 1 percent are made from ingredients that have all been evaluated for safety. “Some products contain carcinogens, reproductive toxins and other chemicals that may pose health risks,” notes the group’s website.

The Food and Drug Administration does not review cosmetic ingredients for their safety before they come to market, nor does it have the authority to recall hazardous products.

“Women face daily and widespread exposure to hundreds of chemicals linked to breast cancer, and reducing — or even understanding — this environmental contamination might do as much as screening or treatment to reduce a woman’s risk of getting the cancer,” says a report in the journal Cancer by Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Silent Spring Institute. (May 2007)

According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a program that helps raise awareness about cancer-causing chemicals in cosmetics, the average consumer (including teens) uses 15 to 25 cosmetic and personal-care products a day. These contain about 200 chemicals that have been added to preserve, dye and emulsify the products. Some are the same chemicals used in industrial manufacturing to soften plastics, clean equipment and stabilize pesticides.

One widely used group of synthetic chemicals, parabens, are used as antimicrobial preservatives in more than 13,000 cosmetic products. The Environmental Protection Agency states that all parabens — methyl, propyl, and butyl — have been proved to interfere with the function of the endocrine system, and these endocrine disruptors are stored in our body’s fatty tissues. The Center for Children’s Health and the Environment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York says endocrine disruptors have been suspected of contributing to reproductive and developmental disorders, learning problems and immune system dysfunction in children.

This is especially alarming considering that young girls are starting to use cosmetics earlier and more often. According to a 2004 cosmetic industry report by market research firm Mintel International Group, 90 percent of 14-year-old girls say they use makeup. The survey revealed that 63 percent of 7- to 10-year-olds now wear lipstick; more than 2 in 5 girls in that same age group wear eye shadow or eyeliner, and almost 1 in 4 uses mascara.

The European Union recently passed a law banning the use of suspected CMRs — carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxins — in any cosmetics sold in the 25-member EU. The major U.S. cosmetics companies that sell abroad have to reformulate their products to conform to EU safety guidelines, but most haven’t changed the formulas they sell here. Avon, the self-proclaimed “company for women,” hasn’t yet signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to remove carcinogens and other harmful ingredients from beauty products.

However, last September, bowing to pressure from environmental groups and European lawmakers, Orly International and OPI Products, two top beauty-salon brands, started selling reformulated nail polishes without the chemicals dibutyl phthalate (DBP, a plasticizing ingredient used to increase flexibility in nail polishes), formaldehyde and toluene, which have been linked to cancer and birth defects.

Health advocacy groups say that when it comes to chemicals that affect human health and the environment, better safe than sorry should be the guiding principle.

Reading labels won’t always help you avoid these chemicals because the beauty industry doesn’t always disclose every ingredient in its products. For example, phthalates are rarely mentioned on labels, so there’s no way to tell whether they’ve been used. Phthalates keep your mascara from running, stop your nail polish from chipping and help fragrances linger. There’s evidence that exposure to phthalates can harm the development of fetuses and children. According to the Breast Cancer Fund, hundreds of animal studies have shown that phthalates can damage the liver, kidneys, lungs and the reproductive system, primarily of male offspring.

Health Care Without Harm, an umbrella organization of dozens of environmental and health groups, lab-tested 72 cosmetics by major brands such as Revlon, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior and Procter & Gamble and found phthalates in 52 of their products. The best way to protect yourself is to read labels (use a magnifying glass if necessary!) and be suspicious: Words like “natural” or “hypoallergenic” look reassuring, but they’re basically meaningless. The FDA has no control over these labels. Products called “natural,” for instance, may include synthetic dyes and fragrances. “Hypoallergenic” just means that the most common irritants are left out, but other problematic chemicals might still be in the mix.

“Fragrance-free” or “unscented” means a product has no odor, but synthetic ingredients are often added to mask odors. Products without the word “fragrance” on their label should be OK. Cosmetics labeled “organic” must contain 70 percent or more organic ingredients (grown without the use of pesticides), but read the ingredient list carefully. It’s important to choose products from trusted cosmetic and body care companies that use natural, certified organic, nontoxic and non-synthetic ingredients.

Look for these companies in your local health food store, or online: Juice Beauty, Grateful Body, Max Green Alchemy (MGA), Dr. Hauschka, Jurlique, Iredale, PeaceKeeper Cause-metics, Gabriel, Zuzu, Burt’s Bees, Lavera and Pomega5.

While chemicals in any one product are unlikely to cause harm, here’s the bottom line: We are repeatedly exposed to synthetic chemicals from many sources each day. So even a small change, like switching to a nontoxic lipstick, might make a difference in your health.

According to the Safe Cosmetics Campaign, avoid the following chemicals in cosmetics whenever possible:

• Butyl acetate
• Butylated hydroxytoluene
• Coal tar
• Cocamide DEA/lauramide DEA
• Diazolidinyl urea
• Ethyl acetate
• Formaldehyde
• Parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl)
• Petrolatum
• Phthalates
• Propylene glycol
• Sodium laureth/sodium laurel sulfate
• Talc
• Toluene
• Triethanolamine

It’s not so simple to buy eggs anymore. Choices abound, from organic, cage-free, farm-raised, free-range, omega-3, biodynamic, local, pastured, fertilized, vegetarian, and natural, to the other end of the spectrum – irradiated. Then there’s shell color: white, brown, speckled, and if you’re lucky enough to find them, blue. What’s an omelet-eating, soufflé-making, frittata-loving, eggs-over-medium person to choose?

According to the USDA, all eggs are “natural.” The term “cage-free” is a misnomer. It only means the chickens are not put in small cages but instead are put into big enclosures with no outdoor access. “Free-range” and “free roaming” means the chickens have access to the outdoors. But, here’s the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition of these terms (in its entirety): “Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.” In other words, there has to be a door, and it has to be open at least part of the time.

“Organic” means hens ate organic feed, and were not given antibiotics. Typically, they too, are raised in confinement. The same is true for chickens fed vegetarian feed. Most supermarket eggs are produced on what is known as factory “farms” with sometimes close to 500,000 birds in one facility. The birds are caged in buildings that are artificially lighted and ventilated. The feed is generally a mixture of conventionally grown (sometimes genetically modified) corn and soy, and often laced with antibiotics.

Many commercial egg producers add synthetic colorants to their feed to mimic the bright yellow yolks of eggs from pastured hens. A widely used additive called canthaxantin has been shown to cause damage to the retina of the eye in humans, according to the European Union. Farmed-raised salmon are also fed canthaxantin to add color to their flesh. Due to public pressure, labels on farmed Atlantic salmon must now include the words “artificially colored” or “color added,” on their labels. However, no such label appears on conventional egg cartons.

Eggs from chickens raised on pasture (not pasteurized!) seem to be the healthier choice. They are different from supermarket eggs, both in flavor and nutrition. The chickens are not de-beaked like most commercial layers, and they have access to grass and insects. Studies show that their eggs are higher in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and vitamin A and are lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. The eggs are usually laid just days before you get them and are rich-tasting with beautiful bright orange yolks (what the birds eat determines the yolk color).A new report reveals that eggs from these hens are higher in lutein and zeaxanthin than eggs from chickens raised in confinement. These are natural substances similar to beta-carotene that protect your eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration. They may also protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

In its desire to protect consumers from salmonella bacteria, the government recently passed a law saying it’s safe to irradiate eggs. But studies show that irradiated eggs are lower in vitamin A and niacin — FDA officials admit that eggs lose 24 percent of their vitamin A when exposed to just one-third the level of radiation the agency approved. The risk of eating a tainted egg is actually low if you look at the 2002 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It showed that of the 69 billion eggs produced annually, 2.3 million of them were contaminated with salmonella. According to Mercola.com, if you are purchasing your eggs from healthy chickens this infection risk reduces dramatically because only sick chickens lay salmonella-contaminated eggs. If you are obtaining high quality organically fed, pasture-fed eggs, the risk virtually disappears.

Most of the premium or “natural” eggs in your supermarket are not from chickens raised on pasture, so where can you find them? At your local farmer’s market and from producers listed on the website Eatwild.com. How can you know whether the eggs you are about to buy are fresh and have come from healthy chickens, or are old and have come from poorly fed, stressed birds? The only way to know is to look closely and ask questions.

Here are some tips from the Weston A. Price Foundation: The shells should be dull, not shiny. The eggs should feel strong, not so delicate that regular handling threatens to crack them. Once you get them home you can perform two more freshness tests: Place them in a large bowl of cold water; if they float, they are old. Unshelled onto a plate, the yolk of a truly fresh egg will dome up and stay up, and the white will clearly be thicker in the middle part, thinner on the edges. Mercola.com advises that to properly judge the freshness of an egg, it needs to be at room temperature, then check it by rolling it across a flat surface. Only consume it if it rolls wobbly. Also, if there is a crack in the shell, don’t eat it.

On a recent trip to the San Rafael Farmer’s Market near San Francisco, I bought a lovely dozen with colors ranging from pale to deep brown, and some blue ones from Araucana chickens. (The breed determines the shell color.) You can find them from several vendors with prices that range from $3.50 to $8 a dozen (gulp!) but know you are getting a nutritionally superior egg with a rich taste, as well as a more ethically produced food. Personally, I’d rather eat eggs from chickens that are not caged. I prefer locally grown produce, both for environmental reasons and to support our local farmers.