Like many of you, I’m increasingly worried about the amount of chemicals we are exposed to.  From talking to our YinOva patients, I  am clear that many of us want to take sensible steps towards a less toxic lifestyle. Personally, I’ve changed my diet, eliminated toxic household cleaners, made different make-up choices and even found a natural deodorant that works (Dr. Hauschka).

In the past I’ve eyed organic tampons in the health food store and dismissed them as too expensive. However, as a someone who specializes in the care of women, I know that the membranes inside the vagina are thin, sensitive and more porous than our skin. The average woman uses about 11,000 tampons or sanitary towels in a lifetime, so it makes sense to look closely at what these products are made of. When I researched the chemicals in most commercial sanitary products I knew that this was another change I needed to make.

Dioxins

In our book, Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility, Dr David and I discussed the adverse effect of dioxins on fertility and you can find out more about them here on the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) website. As you can see from the link the EPA has confirmed that dioxins are known to cause cancer in animals and are suspected of contributing to human cancers too.

Tampons are made of cotton and rayon which are bleached because we, the consumers, associate white cotton with purity and cleanliness. This bleaching process produces dioxins, although the FDA assures us that they are present in tampons in very minute levels and are therefore safe.  However the risk from dioxins increases with repeated exposure because dioxins have a long half-life. What this means is that the dioxins stay active in the body and don’t break down for many years.  In fact it may take 50 years or more for them to be completely eliminated from the body. Dioxins therefore build up over time, and each exposure increases the amount of the chemical in the body. According to the EPA, there really is no “acceptable” level of exposure to dioxins. The real danger lies in repeated contact and I think we’d all agree that using about 5 tampons a day, 5-7 days a month, for about 40 years means we definitely have repeated contact with this dangerous chemical even though the levels are very low.

Pesticides

Did you know that cotton is one of the crops that is most heavily sprayed with pesticides? I didn’t either. Not until I started to look at the research and found out that 10% of the all world’s pesticides and 22.5% of insecticides are used to grow non organic cotton. Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. are known to be carcinogenic and all nine of them are classified by the EPA as Category I and II chemicals, meaning the most dangerous and likely to cause harm. Again the residues in tampons are small but given the repeated exposure are they small enough to be harmless? We don’t know and personally I’m no longer willing to take the risk.

Fragrances

Fragrances are a new addition to feminine hygiene products. We’re supposed to want them in order to smell better “down there”, but I consider them a marketing tool that preys on our insecurities to sell us something we don’t need. These fragrances are considered to be trade secrets so tampon manufacturers do not have to tell us what chemicals they use. They are simply required to list them as “fragrance”. However among these hidden chemicals we may be being exposed to phthalates which are a class of chemicals known to disrupt hormones and affect fertility. Why take the risk?

So what’s a girl to do?

Tampons

There are plenty of organic tampons for sale in health food stores and online. They’re more expensive than ordinary tampons and it is cheaper to use reusable pads or a cup, however they’re convenient and if you can afford to make the switch they may be a good option. Trusted brands include Seventh Generation and Natracare.

Disposable pads

Look for sanitary towels that are made with organic cotton and are not bleached with chlorine. Both Natracare and Seventh Generation make pads that are widely available.

Reusable pads

Our granny’s generation used reusable pads which involved belts and safety pins. Thankfully the modern versions of these pads are much less cumbersome. Check out the ones made by Lunapads, which are convenient to use and well designed.

Cups

Menstrual cups are a type of barrier worn inside the vagina, just below the cervix, to collect menstrual fluid. I like these! I didn’t think I would, but whilst doing my research, I tested the Diva Cup and found it to be a comfortable alternative to tampons. It’s made of medical grade silicon and contains no chlorine, dyes or additives. It does require access to a clean water supply to cleanse the cup and the manufacturers recommend using a mild, unscented soap to clean it regularly. Diva cup sell a cleanser for just this purpose.

So are tampons toxic?

The answer is we’re not sure. Some of the more extreme internet myths (such as the one where tampons have been found to contain asbestos) have been discredited. The chemicals in tampons seem to be low level but they are known carcinogens and hormone disrupters. Given the vulnerability of vaginal tissue and the repeated, regular exposure feminine hygiene products require, it seems sensible to limit our exposure to these chemicals by switching to natural brands of tampon or the many alternatives that are now on the market.

That’s what I’ve decided to do and it’s the advice I’ll be giving my daughter.

When you live in a big city it can  be hard enough to find a patch of green to sit on, let alone fertile ground to garden.  But do not despair. There are lots of things that can be grown in the urban jungle. Once you work out how much room you have, there are many ways to bring organic gardening into your life. Even in limited space you can grow leafy greens, beets, peppers and more.

In your apartment

If you have space for relatively large pots on the floor, you have a number of options. One company that makes great indoor containers for the aspiring gardener is Wooly Pocket. Their planters are made of 100% post consumer materials and run the gamut from small modular containers to a mounted system that can turn your wall space into living art. One of the great things about Wooly’s products is that they are designed to protect floors, walls and furniture around them.

If all you have is counter space to start an herb garden in, Potting Shed Creations has a fantastic line of organic starter kits. These include a range of herbs and spices and some tasty treats for your pets.

Of course, if you have a patio or terrace, your options are even greater.

Square foot gardening

If you have a back yard or access to a rooftop, this puts you in a whole different league. Jill and I first started gardening when we lived in Brooklyn and we produced enough veggies to keep us going through the summer and into the late autumn. If you are on a roof or just want to keep your garden contained and easy to manage, Square Foot Gardening may be the way to go. The setup for this system, popularized on PBS by Mel Bartholomew is a little more labor intensive, but once it’s going, the yield from a four foot square plot can be extraordinary.

Community Gardening

If your desire to get in the dirt is strong enough to get you out the door, then you may want to find a community garden in your neighborhood. From small herb patches to legitimate farming, community gardens have been a feature of  the NYC landscape since the 1970s when empty lots were tilled to offset the City’s financial crisis. Many native New Yorkers remember Adam Purple but may never have had the opportunity to see his breathtaking Garden of Eden on the Lower East Side (pictured below). Born in the same era and continuing to this day, Green Thumb NYC remains the portal to the City’s community gardens.

However far you want to go with your urban garden, the fruits of your labors will be rewarded. The satisfaction from using your own Qi to grow your food can’t be beat! In addition to the fun and the health benefits, it is also saves money. Getting your herbs from your kitchen counter is not only cheaper than flying them from far away, but it is also an environmentally supportive thing to  do.

One of my patients asked me this question recently after reading my blog entry about whether pregnant women should eat fish. I love fish – low in saturated fats and high in omega 3 fatty acids, it’s a great source of heart-healthy protein. I grew up on the coast and as a child was lucky enough to be able to eat beautiful fresh fish. So no-one is more disappointed than me that so many fish are too contaminated to be safe. However the health benefits outweigh the concerns for me and I do still eat fish. I’m just very careful about the kinds of fish I eat. Recently whilst surfing the net I came across these handy downloadable guides which tell you which fish are safe in your region. What a good idea!

So what is mercury and how does it get into the fish? Mercury is an element that occurs naturally in soil, lakes and oceans. Although some mercury is natural, mercury is also released into the environment from man-made sources. These include power plants that burn coal as well as waste incinerators, paper processing factories, mines and smelting operations. The mercury gets into the air as pollution and then goes into the water when it rains. Surface run off can also dump mercury into our lakes and oceans. Once there it settles at the bottom of the ocean where it is converted into methyl mercury by bacteria. It is this methyl mercury that is more toxic unfortunately. Fish absorb the methyl mercury in two ways, both as food and in the water as it passes through their gills. The mercury then binds to proteins in the muscles of the fish.

All fish contain some mercury and there is no way of cleaning the fish that avoids this. The amount of mercury accumulates as you move up the food chain so the bigger, more predatory fish contain much more. There was a 163% increase in mercury advisories issued by the EPA between 1993 – 2003 so its not hard to see that the amount of mercury in fish is going up.

Taking in too much methyl mercury can cause some serious health problems. When we eat fish it is absorbed through the intestines and spreads throughout our bodies. It enters the brain in the blood stream and can effect the nervous system. It can also cross the placenta to effect an unborn child or be passed through breast milk to an infant. There are still many fish that are safe to eat so download your guides and keep them in your purse to help you make good choices for you and your family.

Photographs
© Willem Dijkstra | Dreamstime.com
© Yvonne Bogdanski | Dreamstime.com

Back in July I wrote a blog entry about how shocked I was to find that as a nation we waste $43 billion dollars of edible food each year. It is one of the posts that people talk to me about when they visit us here at the YinOva Center, so I think it struck a cord with many of you. You can read it here.

In these trying economic times I thought it might be worth drawing your attention to it and giving you an update on my own family’s attempts to avoid wasting food. Amazingly enough just by doing the things mentioned in the article we have now reduced our weekly food costs by almost half. We still buy good quality, organic food, but we buy much less of it. It makes me realize how much money we were wasting buying large, prepackaged containers of food, most of which ended up going off before we ate them.

The most useful change we made was using the left-over meat and veggies in the fridge to make soup which we eat at work during the week. This has a triple benefit – we use up leftovers, we eat healthier and we’ve stopped spending money on take out.

There is so much pleasure in growing vegetables, making soup or mending clothes. Far from feeling frugal and as if we are doing without, I believe that consuming less can make our lives more enjoyable.

Photograph
© Dušan Zidar | Dreamstime.com

Recently some patients in our waiting room were talking about wasting food, which is a topic close to my heart. I was shocked to find out that here in the US we throw away $43 billion of edible food each year. In fact a 2004 study at the University of Arizona, estimated that between 40 and 50% of the food we buy does not get eaten. As food prices rise I have become more conscious of the way my own family wastes food and have been looking for ways that we can improve.

Like many of you I am very aware that our grandparent’s generation did not have access to the wide variety of foods we see now. My grandmother raised her children in Britain during the war when food was rationed. In order to keep her family from going hungry she had to be very creative about eking out the food she had. She also supplemented her rations by growing vegetables and fruit in her garden and canning the surplus for use during the winter. What a contrast that is to my trip to the supermarket with my daughter last weekend where we took in the rows and rows of processed goodies designed to tempt us. We have become people who buy food on a whim whereas my grandmother had to be organized and make a plan. My daughter wanted to buy a large tub of guacamole and was shocked when I told her she couldn’t have it unless she had a plan for how to use it all. She decided not to buy it because she really only wanted a little bit.

So for the past few months I have been cutting down on my family’s wasted food and I thought I would pass on to you the things that we have been doing that have worked for us.

Making soup and salads out of leftovers

Every Sunday night I use up all the veggies in my refrigerator. Some of them get combined with meat or beans to make soup and some get chopped into a salad with some cheese or a hard boiled egg. These then get decanted into small containers and my husband and I take them to work with us for lunch. The French have a name for soup like this. Its called Garbure and can be delicious and varied depending on what vegetables you have lying around or what seasoning you add.

Checking sell-by dates and freezing what we won’t have time to use

I’ve got into the habit of going through my fridge every couple of days and checking perishable items to see if any are nearing the end of their shelf life. If we are not going to eat it in time I put it in the freezer. For instance you can mix leftover yogurt with fruit and pour it into popsicle molds and freeze them. I have also started to grate cheese and breadcrumbs and freeze them to be sprinkled on gratins. Sliced bread can be frozen and then defrosted in the toaster.

Using up leftovers

I am trying to be more creative about recycling leftovers. In my Granny’s day she minced the Sunday roast to make Shepherd’s Pie for a weeknight or baked leftover chicken in a pot pie. We’ve found that cooked rice tastes good when mixed with veggies and baked in the oven with cheese on top.

Keeping our store cupboard stocked with staples

I keep jars of pulses, brown rice, whole grain pasta, nuts, beans, grains, oils, vinegars, herbs and spices as well as cans of tomatoes so that I can create tasty meals from leftovers. Having a well-stocked pantry also means I can feed my family even if there’s not much in the fridge. At least once a week we concoct a meal from what we have rather than going shopping which results in some delicious and inventive culinary creations.

Keeping whole grains in the fridge

Whole grains go rancid much quicker than refined grains and I have found it really extends the shelf-life of whole grain flours to keep them in the fridge.

Keeping an eye on portion size

I’m someone who behaves as if she’s feeding a small army and so I’m trying to get into the habit of not cooking more than we can eat.

Planning Ahead

Our grandparent’s generation planned their meals ahead of time instead of deciding on the spur of the moment what they fancied. I know it takes some of the spontaneity out of things but it really helps me buy only the food I’m going to use. Having a plan means that I can write a shopping list of food we actually need instead of impulse buying whatever catches my eye.

In past three months we have reduced our food wastage by 2/3rds and eaten well. My Granny would approve.

Photograph
© Vaclav Mazanek | Dreamstime.com