Our guest this week is Sophia Gushee, a mother of three. She has collected several books to guide her in taking care of her babies. One day she read that there are some cancer causing and hormone disrupting chemicals in some baby bottle nipples. She researched further and found legitimate concerns but was disappointed when she couldn’t find any alternative options for the baby bottles.
She became really passionate about spreading awareness and informing others so that they can make healthier choices. She ended up organizing all her 8 years of research into the book A to Z of D-Toxing: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures.
“There is a lot I can do individually as a mother but there’s even more we can do collectively as a community.”
This is a great interview especially if you're trying to conceive or you have young children. We talk about:
1. Chemical explosion. 84,000 chemicals have been introduced into American commerce and less than 1% have been tested for safety. By Oct. 2015, only 5 chemicals could be regulated by the EPA. These show up in our lives as really useful products like shower curtains, toys and so many things and they create value and benefit.
2. Regulation of chemicals, the EPA, and the Toxic Substances Control Act, which went into effect in 1976. It was sufficiently protecting public health and was just updated a few months ago.
3. Sources of chemicals in our daily lives
4. Endocrine disrupting chemicals
5. Effects of toxic exposure - these may not be seen immediately
6. Products to avoid due to toxicity and which ones to use
7. Chemical filtration options
8. Diet and organic food eating – the dirty dozen and the clean 15
Sophia recently started a podcast series where she shares her continued discoveries about how to live a practical non-toxic life.
To learn more about Sophia Gushee, you can find her on her website and on social media:
Thanks for listening.
Bridgit Danner, Founder of Women's Wellness Collaborative.
And here's the video where we talk about 3 chemicals that disrupt women's hormones.