Pioneering consumer advocate Debra Lynn Dadd -- author of Nontoxic, Natural & Earthwise, TheNontoxic Home & Office, and Home Safe Home -- gives advice for choosing products that are betterfor your health and the environment. She discloses health and environmental effects of commonproducts, reveals harmful ingredients that aren't on product labels, tells how to choose safer products,and offers tips for making products yourself.
Do you want to choose and use products that are better for your health and the environment, but don'tknow how to choose them or where to find them? Then this column is for you.
SENSIBLE SUNNING With all the concern about getting sunburn and skin cancer fromincreased harmfulrays due to the thinning ozone layer, it's important to keep in mindthat some sunshineis vital to good health. The interaction of sunlight with skin producesvitamin D, a vitalnutrient that is not found in foods that are common in our modern diet.(Vitamin Ddoes occur naturally in egg yolks, liver, yeast, shrimp, salmon, tuna,and fish liver oils,and is added to fortified milk and enriched bread. However, sunlight isstill needed tohelp the body synthesize vitamin D from these sources.) Since ancienttimes,sunbathing was recommended as a restorative for health. Modern studieshave shownthat exposure to the sun can increase energy levels, lower bloodpressure, enhance theimmune system, and have other good effects.
It is important for our bodies to be exposed to natural light on a dailybasis--just asimportant as getting proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise, so spend asmuch timeoutdoors as you can. This doesn't mean direct sunlight, or even being inthe sun at all.Shaded light is perfectly acceptable; in fact, it's preferable. You cansit on a screenedporch, under a shaded tree, or next to an open window (a closed windowblocks theessential ultraviolet rays). At work, go outdoors on your lunch hour.
Take precautions to protect yourself from direct exposure to both UVAand UVBradiation. UVB rays have shorter wavelengths and are the principal causeof sunburn,skin cancer, and premature aging of the skin. UVA rays have longerwavelengths andpenetrate more deeply into the skin, contributing to skin cancer andaging.
MINIMIZE EXPOSURE
The most natural protection from the sun is to minimize your exposure.Allow yourskin to adjust slowly to sun exposure. Start by exposing your skin tothe sun only afew minutes each day and take care not to burn. Sun damage to your skinisirreparable. It breaks down collagen and elastin fibers in the skin, andits effects maynot be visible for thirty years. Minimize your exposure to directsunlight between tena.m. and three p.m. when the sun's rays are most intense.
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
If you need to be in the sun, the most prudent and resource-efficientway to shieldyour skin from the sun's harmful rays is to wear protective clothingsuch aswindbreakers, shirts, scarves, gloves, and wide-brimmed hats. There arenow somecatalogs that specialize in special sun protection clothing andaccessories that would beworth looking into if you're out in the sun a lot. Specialsun-protection fabrics blockmore than 97 percent of both UVA and UVB radiation.
SUNCREENS
There are many lotions and creams on the market, with a wide variety ofnatural andsynthetic ingredients, offering protection that ranges from little ornone to completeblockage. Some sun protection product, like zinc oxide ointment, arephysical barriersthat reflect or scatter all light. Other sunscreens are chemicalbarriers that absorbultraviolet light.
Sunscreen products are rated with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF), whichindicates howmuch longer you can remain safely in the sun while wearing the sunscreenthan if youwere to go unprotected. For example, SPF-2 would allow you to stay outtwice aslong; SPF-30 allows you to stay in the sun thirty times as long.
- SPF-2--4: minimal protection, and permits tanning
- SPF-4--6: moderate protection and permits some tan
- SPF-6--8: extra protection and permits a limited tan
- SPF-8--15: maximum protection, with little or no tan
- SPF-15+: ultra protection, and no tan at all
The general recommendation is to choose a sunscreen with an SPF-15.Other brandsare offered for those who tan easily or, at the other end of thespectrum, have veryfair skin that needs extra protection. The average fair-skinned personbegins to burnafter twenty minutes in full sun. Wearing SPF-15 sunscreen allows thatperson fivehours in the sun before burning. Reapplication of the sunscreen may benecessary, asit can be diluted by sweat or washed of by swimming. Reapplicationdoesn't extend thetime of protection, but helps maintain the protection. The SPF systemmeasures onlyUVB, not UVA rays, so it is important to check the labels foringredients that blockboth types of radiation.
All sunscreens use the same FDA-approved list of active ingredients.Most popularnow are the cinnamates (cinoxate, di-ethanolamin p-methoxycinnamate, andoctylmethoxycinnamate), derived from cinnamon and coca leaves. These andpara-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) offer good UVB protection.
Your natural food store carries a number of natural sun lotions thatwill protect youfrom UVB rays. There is one sunscreen product that is made withorganically-grownoil and biodynamically-grown herbs. A few other natural food storebrands containorganically-grown or biodynamically-grown herbs--check the labels.
Unfortunately, if you want protection from both UVA and UVB rays, youmay needto accept some petrochemical ingredients. Active ingredients ending in"benzone" (suchas dioybenzone and glyceryl animobenzone) offer good UVB protection, butare madefrom petrochemicals. Other petrochemical ingredients found in sunscreensincludeethanol, artificial fragrance, and mineral oil (which is drying to theskin).
While sunscreens are widely recommended, there is some concern thatregular use ofeven natural sunscreen can interfere with your skin's ability to producevitamin D. TheJournal of Clinical Endochronologic Metabolism reports thatscientifically controlledstudies of skin not treated with sunscreen versus skin treated withsunscreen (SPF-8)demonstrated a large difference in vitamin D production. The sunscreenedskinshowed no change in vitamin D, while the untreated subjects hadblood-level increasesof 1600 percent.
NOTE: The FDA cautions parents not to apply sunscreen to babies untilthey are sixmonths old.
SUNGLASSES
Sunglasses look cool and give your eyes protection from harmful rays,but are mostlymade from plastic, a nonrewable nonbiodegradable material. Analternative is to wear abaseball cap or wide-brimmed hat, which allows your eyes and face to beshaded whilestill allowing natural light.
by Debra Lynn Dadd
Author, Home Safe Home
To contact Debra, e-mail debra@dld123.com .Copyright © Debra Lynn Dadd
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Written by: Debra Lynn Dadd.
To contact Debra, e-mail debra@dld123.com ."The queen of green" - New York Times
"The guru of nontoxic living" - KCBS-TV News
"One of the country's few authorities on natural and nontoxic consumer affairs"- Boston Globe
"The godmother of natural living" - New Age JournalDebra's work as a consumer advocate, author, and consultant has been a leadinginfluence on the natural products market-to consumers, marketers, andmanufacturers-for almost two decades. Many refer to her well-researched consumerguidebooks as their "bibles."
Back in 1980, when a "green" product was one the color of grass and "hazardouswaste" was something you found only in a factory, Debra was diagnosed with animmune system disorder commonly known now as "environmental illness" or"chemical sensitivity." Her widely varied symptoms were disabling, but she was toldthere was no cure-other than removing toxic chemicals from her home. As no bookson household toxics or nontoxic alternative products were then available, she set out towrite one, and in the process healed herself and countless others.
After self-publishing her first consumer manual for others with chemical sensitivities,the makers of nontoxic Bon Ami Polishing Cleanser sent her on a media tour topromote the concept of nontoxic cleaning products. By then it had become clear thatthe issue of chemicals in products was much larger than a few sensitive individuals; asshe researched toxic chemicals in products Debra found that many products containedchemicals that are harmful to the general public and that illness caused by thesehousehold toxics could be prevented. Nontoxic & Natural was published in 1984,followed by The Nontoxic Home in 1986. Both books not only alerted consumers totoxic dangers, but offered alternative products.
By 1987, Debra was living in a completely nontoxic home in an idyllic NorthernCalifornia forest. Having taken the idea of toxics within the home as far as it would go,she realized that our consumer choices also affected the larger environment as well asour own health. She began to research the environmental effects of consumer productsand in 1990 came out with Nontoxic, Natural & Earthwise, adding products that hadenvironmental benefits--such as being recycled, energy-efficient, biodegradable, ororganically-grown--to her lists of nontoxic and natural goods. In 1992, her other bookwas updated to The Nontoxic Home & Office.
As products with environmental claims flooded the market, Debra became concernedthat many of the products that made environmental claims were nothing more thangreen hype. Because there were no standards or guidelines for evaluating greenproducts, Debra set out to discover what it means to truly live in a way that isresponsible to the earth. Her book, Sustaining the Earth, called for sustainability to beused as the standard for evaluating consumer products, and told everything aconsumer needs to know to evaluate green products for themselves.
Debra's work came full circle in 1997 with the publication of Home Safe Home, anew, completely revised edition of her books on household toxics. With new scientificevidence showing the dangers of common household products to be even worse thanpreviously imagined, her work continues to be timely and valuable.
In addition to writing books, Debra published her own newsletter (1985-1991), andhas written occasional articles for Vegetarian Times, New Age Journal, Greenpeace,East West Journal (now Natural Health) and Self magazines as well as majornewspapers, including USA Weekend. She has written columns for Let's Live(1986-1990) and Environmental Action (1990-1991) magazines and is currently acolumnist for Natural Home magazine.
Debra is also a co-founder of WorldWise, Inc., a company that provides useful productsthat enhance sustainable living through mass market outlets. To contact Debra, e-mail debra@dld123.com .
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