7 Family Environmental Health Risks

Each year more than 80,000 untested artificial chemicals are added into American household products, food and food packaging.

In America, the average home contains around 3 to 10 gallons of toxic material, mostly household cleaning products alone.

Europe has banned more than 1300 chemicals from being used in lotions, soaps, cosmetics, toothpaste and other personal care products. As a comparison only 11 have been banned in America.

Other countless household items, including furniture, electronics, and baby products contain toxic flame-retardants. Experts are now warning that because of this, people are being continually exposed to dangerous levels of chemicals.

As many of these chemicals end up in household dust, young children in particular are at risk as they could ingest up to 55 milligrams of dust per day. Thus, household dust is a major source of toxic exposure that can cause both obesity and various other serious health problems.

Although it is unrealistic to try to avoid toxic chemicals entirely, you can reduce your exposure by being careful about what you bring into your home and use regularly. You can mostly always find safer and less expensive alternatives that are just as effective.

Read this review of 7 ways that toxic chemicals in the average home may be seriously impacting your health, as well as your weight.

1. Processed Foods

As well as being high in empty calories because of high sugar content, processed foods are a major source of synthetic food additives, colors, preservatives and flavor enhancers, of which most have never been tested for long term safety.

Even small amounts of chemicals when combined can increase the adverse affects of each other, the Danish National Food Institute revealed as after their recent assessment. But all risk assessment done on these chemicals is usually done on each one individually.

Surprisingly, researchers have discovered that even non-carcinogenic chemicals produce a synergistic effect to cause cancer, when combined.

A major cause for concern is that more than 10,000 additives are allowed in food and its packaging. The packaging sometimes contains bisphenol-S (BPS), bisphenol -A (BPA) and phthalates which can leach into your food.

2. Indoor Air Pollutants

Indoor air contains a long list of pollutants. A 2009 study of 52 ordinary homes near the Arizona-Mexico border revealed 586 chemicals in the air of these homes. This study identified the pesticides DDT, chlorpyrifos, diazonin, high levels of phthalates, and 120 unidentified chemicals.

Also, the Environmental Protection Agency maintains that indoor air can be contaminated with chemicals 2 to 5 times more than outdoor, and sometimes up to 100 times more.

The main culprits that contribute to polluted air in your home are the chemicals in paints, flooring, furnishings, air fresheners, cleaning products and almost everything in your home.

All scented products, with the exception of those scented with essential oils, can be considered a health risk.

The Royal College of Physicians recommends to air out your home for at least a few minutes daily to greatly improve your indoor air quality.

3. Flame Retardants

Toxic flame-retardants will be found in many items in your home: electronics, mattresses, cushions, carpets and children’s products. Serious health disorders like cancer, birth defects, infertility, hormonal imbalances, brain developmental delays, reduced IQ and behavior problems in children, have all been linked to the presence of these chemicals in the home.

Not only humans, but also the pets in your home are also being affected. Exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers has been linked to hyperthyroidism in cats. Recent tests have found that these chemicals have been poisoning both pets and wildlife.

The easiest way to avoid being exposed to flame retardant chemicals is to look for organic alternatives when shopping for clothing, furniture, kid’s toys and whatever you buy for your home. Disclosure of chemicals used to make their products fire safe is not compulsory for manufacturers.

4. Personal Care Products

All of the personal items which American women use every day including pads, tampons and liners contain an average of 168 dangerous chemicals. These include chlorine disinfection byproducts, dioxin, pesticides, and genetically engineered cotton. Men, on the other hand are exposed to around 85 chemicals, as they tend to use less products.

Of the 13,000 chemicals used in cosmetics, only about 10% have been researched for safety.

If you look for products bearing the USDA 100% organic seal, and habitually read ingredient lists, you can avoid toxic ingredients. To help you find organic personal care products look on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database.

5. Inappropriate Lighting

Other conditions in your home can also adversely affect your health besides chemicals exposure. To obtain optimal sleep at night, arrange the conditions in your home so you get plenty of sunlight during the day, and less artificial light at night.

6. Inappropriate Temperature

Many people keep their bedrooms too warm at night. Apparently, you can burn belly fat while you sleep simply by turning your air conditioner higher, or your heat down during winter. This is because your “brown fat”, which helps in regulating blood sugar, burns stored fat to keep your body warm

7. Excessive EMF Exposure

Lastly, exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and dirty electricity can play havoc with your attempts to live a healthy lifestyle.

Your body, a complex communication instrument is composed of tissues, cell and organs that “speak” to each other in order to perform bodily functions. This communication uses bioelectrical transmitters and receivers, which can be likened to tuning into a radio station.

When a radio antenna is exposed to external noise, static occurs. This is what is happening to our bodies. They are continually being bombarded by electromagnetic fields, not only from cell phones, but all dirty electricity can harm our health.

It is very easy to overlook all these health hazards in your home. If you address the most common ones, as reviewed in this article, you will be going a long way towards sanitizing your home from all these harmful substances and conditions.

The toxins in your food and household items, the emissions from electromagnetic fields, and the influences of temperature and light all play their part in undermining your efforts to safeguard the precious possession of good health.