Question from Mira I am pregnant and have been reading a lot about the danger of bisphenol A exposure to developing fetuses (e.g. recent San Fran attempt to ban this chemical from baby products). This chemical is found in polycarbonate plastic among other places. I am...

Question from KJR I love all your information about natural sweeteners. I wonder if you have come across Suzanne Somers' Somersweet. It is made from predominantly oligofructose. Any thoughts? Debra's Answer Oligofructose (also called Fructooligosaccharide, FOS) is a...

Question from KJR Recently I was at a health food shop that sold various freshly-made muffins and cookies. Many of them were made with beet sugar. I assumed that these must be a natural sweetener that I missed among the many I use. But I don't see it here or anywhere...

Question from Maggie Hi! I am considering buying a media stand from Crate&Barrel and they say it is made of solid wood, engineered wood and veneer. Can you please tell me what engineered wood is and what chemicals might be found in it and in the veneer? Thank...

Question from Aimee I am enjoying your newsletter and your website with all of the valuable information. I really appreciate it. I have a question regarding the synthetic fragrances that are in laundry detergents (as in Tide, etc) and in fabric softener sheets as well...

Question from sheila I have very hard water that stains everything. Presently we use different toxic chemicals to clean the rust stains from our bathroom toilets and showers. Do you have any recommendations for cleaning the orange hard water stains from rust and...

Question from JP I bought my conventional home 3+ years ago and I am slowly greening it as I can afford to replace things. My dad recently mentioned that when he house sits for me or visits, after a few days he notices that he starts to not feel well. He could not...

Question from KD Hi Debra, I am about to deliver again... my second baby. Last time, I had some post-partum issues and this time I'd like to avoid the regular over the counter products like pre-moistened pads and so on as much as possible. They are medicated and full...

Question from Mary I like to shop in used clothing stores. However, many of the clothes have left-over scents in the fabric from perfume, cologne, and deoderant. I recently discovered that if I soaked clothes in 20% vinegar, 80% water for at least three days, this...

Question from Rima My husband recently made shoji screens for our dining room. What we used for the "rice paper" was a synthetic product called "syn skin" that a local company that makes high-end shojis uses for all its screens. But when we received the product from...