Toys Ranked by Hazardous Chemicals: A Must See Before Holiday Shopping!

Before you hit the stores on Black Friday, you need to hear this!

 

Are you preparing your Black Friday search for bargains, but wary of purchasing toys this holiday season? Has the rash of recalls affecting more than a million popular toys got you wondering how to spread holiday cheer without harm? Well, there is finally some good news on the toy front.

 

The Ecology Center, in collaboration with the Washington Toxics Coalition and other leading environmental groups, has tested more than 1,500 toys and ranked them from highest to lowest in terms of harmful chemicals such as lead and PVC. They performed the tests using technology far more reliable than home testing kits. The results will be released to the public at www.healthytoys.org on Wednesday, December 5^th. Each week until Christmas more toys will be tested based upon shoppers’ requests.

 

So rather than braving the crowds this Friday, why not sleep in? This way you can wait to hear which toys are safest and avoid waiting on long return lines along with other customers who learn the toys they have purchased rated poorly on the test for hazardous chemicals.

CNN Reveals Body Burden data: Children have dangerous toxins in their bodies

 Bravo to CNN for shedding some light on the devastation that chemicals are causing. It is wonderful to see the mainstream media tackling the issue of chemicals and kids. For those of you who aren’t aware of the Body Burden study, I have included an excerpt from “Holler for Your Health: Be the Key to a Healthy Family”, which cites the study several times. If you are a parent or know someone who is, please tell them to check this out. Avoiding toxic chemicals and minimizing their impact on the body is truly the most important component of health in today’s world. Check out my links at http://www.holler4health.com to get started on a safer path.

Excerpt from “Holler for Your Health: Be the Key to a Healthy Family”:

“There is nothing on this earth equal to, no nation has any resource greater than, the potential of just one child.” –Richard Pelzer, Author of A Child Called It We all live in a toxic soup. We are bombarded with chemicals whose toxicity and potential dangers are often unknown. Although we may all suffer the effects of toxins, it is our children who are at greatest risk.

Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental toxins. Their rapid metabolism and growth and development expose them to more toxins by requiring increased consumption of food, water, and air for their body weight than adults. Children also behave differently than adults. They put everything in their mouth. Products may be considered to have “safe” amounts of toxins because they were not intended to be placed in the mouth. Crawling and spending more time on the ground places children in closer proximity to the toxins that settle in the earth and household dust. Toxins are also more likely to make a child ill because the systems required to detoxify or excrete these poisons are still maturing. Moreover, acceptable exposure limits are typically determined by risk assessment calculations in adults, not more vulnerable infants and children. ¹

We now know that children are contaminated before they even take their first breath of air.² This is especially concerning because the blood brain barrier is not fully formed until months after birth allowing these toxins to enter the brain causing irreversible brain damage in the unborn child.

 

Medical Stuff: The blood brain barrier shields the delicate brain from potentially harmful substances that may be circulating in the bloodstream.

 

Of the 287 industrial chemicals and pollutants found in umbilical cord blood from newborns tested in a 2004 study, 180 are known to cause cancer, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or developmental abnormalities.²

How did we manage to contaminate our children with all of these toxic chemicals before they have even taken a breath of air let alone smoked a cigarette? When we look at the information on toxic releases into our air and water, the answer is obvious. In 2004, U.S. industries released over 70 million pounds of known carcinogens, 96 million pounds of known developmental toxins, nearly 38 million pounds of reproductive toxins, more than 826 million pounds of suspected neurological toxicants and nearly 1.5 billion pounds of suspected respiratory toxicants into the air and water.³

Yet these releases are not our greatest toxic threat. For every pound of neurotoxins, carcinogens, reproductive or developmental toxins that industries reported releasing to the environment in New Jersey and Massachusetts, an average of 42 pounds of the same chemicals are used in products intended for use in or around the home.⁴ And so our greatest toxic threat comes from our own purchasing decisions. This means we have the power to change the state of our health by simply choosing to purchase safer products.

Unfortunately this is no easy task. Chemicals known or suspected of causing health problems are frequently not labeled so consumers have no idea how toxic their homes have become or how to choose safer products. This book is intended to change that by providing practical tools and tips for making healthier choices. But first we need to understand that others aren’t positioned to help. We must step up to protect ourselves.

Learn more about how to protect yourself and your loved ones at www.holler4health.com