Question from greenmama29

Hello! What is the safest bra material? I realize organic cotton would be ideal, but I cannot afford them, and even worse am having trouble finding one I like. I would assume wireless cotton would be next best, but considering it is likely GMO and treated with pesticides, I’m not quite sure. Others I’ve found are nylon, but it’s a petrochemical, yuck! Thoughts on this?

Debra’s Answer

Actually, though non-organic cotton is grown with pesticides and may be GMO, those residues are removed during the processing of the cotton into fabric, so you’re not being exposed to them when fabric touches your skin.

Have you looked at Decent Exposures?

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Question from ANDRE FAUTEUX

Are wind farms saving or killing us? A provocative investigation claims thousands of people are falling sick because they live near them

The symptoms they claim to have suffered may vary – including dizziness; increased blood pressure and depression – but the theme remains the same

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2199284/Wind-farms-Are-wind-farms-saving-killing-A-provocative-investigation-claims-thousands-people-falling-sick-live-near-them.html

Dr. Brad Weeks says “Solar farms are equally toxic.” http://weeksmd.com/2012/09/windfarms-causes-toxic-electrical-pollution/

Dirty electricity needs to be measured and corrected in every home.

I use Graham Stetzer filters all over my house, but did you know you that before using them, you need to ensure there are no wiring and grounding errors/problems in your home? If not, they could make your power dirtier and generate strong magnetic fields all along the unbalanced circuits.

Details from electrician Sal La Duca, B.Sc., former nuclear plant operator and technician and great American Baubiologist:

http://www.emfrelief.com/capacitive-filters.html

His conclusion:

As a general rule capacitive filter installation is NOT recommended without a thorough evaluation of the electrical system to: 1) identify and eliminate any wiring errors, and 2) NOT recommended if the neutral current takes many divergent paths as shown in the house with the electrical service at one end of the house and the water pipe at the other end, and 3) NOT recommended if there are any other options (like removing dimmer switches, replacing compact fluorescents or fluorescents in general with standard lamps, reducing the number of digital devices, etc.) available to eliminate the problem.

Andre Fauteux, Publisher/Editor

La Maison du 21e siecle magazine

maisonsaine.ca

Question from PJ

A kitchen store employee suggested that I use “food grade silicon caulk” to seal the rim of the fine sieve I purchased to rinse quinoa. The dry grain was getting stuck under the rim and swelling, making it impossible to remove. I have looked for a replacement fine sieve and they all look like they are made the same. I am uneasy about the suggestion. I would appreciate your input. Thank you

Debra’s Answer

Silicon caulk is toxic when applied, but does cure to be nontoxic as the solvents evaporate. If you are going to use it, do use one that is food grade as it is especially designed to be food safe to FDA standards (though I don’t always agree with them).

You might want to search the internet, if you haven’t already, for “fine sieve.” I just did and found various styles. I don’t know which you are using, and I don’t rinse quinoa, so I don’t know what to suggest. Perhaps a reader will respond.

I just remembered my grandmother rinsing rice, washing the starch off by rubbing it between her hands. At the end she just poured off the water through one hand, leaving the grain in the bowl. Sometimes our hands are the simplest tools and work just fine.

Or line a bowl with cheesecloth and pour the quinoa through.

Think “outside the sieve” on this one.

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Question from Shoshana

Do you know which brands of organic rice have less arsenic or no arsenic?

Debra’s Answer

Here is an article from Rodale that I think answers your question: Rodale: How Companies Are Coping With Arsenic in Rice.

Arsenic is a poison, but it is also a naturally occurring element, present throughout the Earth’s crust in minute qualities. Our bodies are designed to process arsenic, which can pass through the body in a few days. The problem occurs when there are higher concentrations of arsenic in rice or other foods, usually due to pesticide contamination of the soil. And some people eat a lot of rice as a dietary staple.

There are two ways to reduce the total amount of something. One is to choose a sample that contains less, and the other is to be exposed less frequently. Reducing the amount of rice you eat from every day to three days a week or once a week will be the same as eating rice with a lower amount of arsenic.

The fact that we cannot always eliminate toxic exposures is one of the reasons we also need to support our bodies in the ability to detox the chemicals we are exposed to (see my Toxic Free Body website).

Personally, I don’t eat rice. Occasionally I use Lundberg Sweet Dreams Brown Rice Syrup in a recipe. This is made from brown rice grown in California by an established organic farm.

I would stay away from cheap off-brand rice and stick with well-known organic brands such as Lundberg.

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Question from Donna

Hi Debra, I’m trying to find a cute toothbrush holder and soap pump for my son’s bathroom, but most of them are made of “resin.” Is resin safe for bathroom accessories? Thank you, Donna

Debra’s Answer

Resin is a substance that begins in a viscous state (a thick, sticky consistency between a solid and a liquid) and then hardens.

There are many natural resins, one of the most familiar being the aromatic sticky stuff that oozes out of Christmas trees. But many other plants produce resins, too, and they have been used by humans for thousands of years to make various everyday products, including varnish, lacquer, inks, perfumes, jewelry and other objects.

Today most resins are are made from petroleum. Resin refers to the type of material, rather than the chemical it is made from, so you can have, for example, polyester resin, acrylic resin, epoxy resins, and the like, each of which have different toxicity.

In general, however, the rule of thumb is hard plastic is safer than soft plastic, so if this is a hard resin, it’s probably pretty safe.

You could call the manufacturer and ask for the type of resin used and their MSDS. Then I could give you a better assessment.

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White children exposed to high levels of bisphenol A are five times more likely to be obese than children with low levels, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research is the first to link the chemical to obesity in children; previous studies reported links in adults and animals. Traces of BPA – used in some canned food and beverages, paper receipts and dental sealants – are found in virtually every U.S. adult and child.

Environmental Health News: BPA Linked to Obesity in White Children

In 2011, a study found that evidence of BPA in participants’ urine decreased by 50% to 70% after only three days of eating fresh foods, instead of eating canned foods that contained BPA. This tells me that BPA leaves the body quickly, so presence of BPA in the body is due to continuous exposure, rather than accumulation of multiple exposures over time.

There are many things we each can do to minimize our exposure to BPA from foods and beverages and other sources. I’ve put them all together in my free ebook How to Reduce Your Exposure to Bisphenol-A (BPA).