Posts Tagged ‘Andrea Canning’

Dateline NBC Video: Andrea Canning reports on health risks of BPA, Triclosan and Phthalates

NBC Dateline: Hormone Disruptors, Part 1

On Dateline NBC, on Sunday March 24th, NBC Correspondent, Andrea Canning, embarks on a study of her everyday products to better understand her exposure to chemicals - BPA, triclosan and phthalates - also considered hormone disruptors.

Part 1 features Dr. Emily Rissman of the University of Virginia who has studied how BPA can affect the health of mice, connecting exposures to ADHD. “Research has found an association between some hormone disruptors and a range of potential problems including childhood obesity, autism and infertility.”

Environmental advocates Rick Smith and Bruce Laurie, authors of “Slow Death by Rubber Duck”, go through Andrea’s home to find BPA, triclosan and phthalates in the products she and her family uses.

Andrea tests her urine levels and finds she has BPA, triclosan and phthalates. When she avoids products that contain hormone disruptors, her levels of these chemicals drop. The next day, she changes her routine to use products that contain hormone disruptors and her levels of these chemicals increase again.

NBC Dateline: Hormone Disruptors, Part 2

In Part 2, Andrea receives the results of urine tests performed on her daughters to measure the levels of hormone disruptors in their systems. All three children have measurable levels of BPA, triclosan and phthalates in their urine.

The levels of triclosan were the most startling. Her youngest daughter, under 1 yr old, had triclosan levels almost 10x higher than the national mean and in her 2 year old daughter, triclosan levels were almost 100x higher than the national mean.

Industry vigorously defends its use of BPA and phthalates, while experts on either side of the debate on hormone disruptors agree that triclosan should be avoided. [Read here why you should avoid BPA and phthalates from Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Center]

Andrea Canning learns that she needs to read labels carefully and shop smarter to avoid unnecessary chemical exposures for her family.

At Nine Naturals, we believe making the switch to safer, natural, chemical free products doesn’t need to be difficult. With Nine Naturals, you never have to worry. All Nine Naturals products are made with 100% plant-based ingredients and are BPA-free, triclosan-free and phthalate-free.

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Nine Naturals Feature on Dateline NBC: Make simple changes to go BPA-free, phthalate-free, triclosan-free

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Two weeks ago, our founder Grace had the honor of taping an interview with Andrea Canning of Dateline NBC.

On the back of this interview, we thought this would be a great opportunity to share some of the information that Grace provided to Andrea during her interview: 1) Why do we need to worry about environmental toxin exposures? and 2) How do we create a safer environment for our children?

Why do we need to worry about environmental toxin exposures?

Our children today live in a fundamentally different environment than the one that we grew up in. In the last 50 years, over 80,000 new chemicals have been introduced into use in industry and in consumer products. Fewer than 20% of these have ever been tested for toxicity in children.

These numbers alone may not be startling, except that there have been many recent studies linking synthetic chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA), triclosan, phthalates and others to diseases and development disorders like cancer, ADHD and autism - all of which are on a significant rise in young children.

The developing fetus and young babies are the most susceptible to chemical exposures. On a pound-for-pound basis, even small exposures can be impactful, and in the womb and through age 2 is when children’s bodies, including their organs and brain, are growing at their fastest rate. Chemicals can actually affect children’s development resulting in long-term, lasting effects on their health.

What is most troubling is that these synthetic chemicals like BPA, triclosan and phthalates are found in everyday products that we use in our homes, on our bodies and on our children. These products include water bottles, beauty products, soap and toothpaste.

How do we create a safer environment for our children?

Consumer legislation has been slow to catch up with the mounting scientific evidence linking many of these synthetic chemicals to health issues. In the US, only 11 chemicals have been banned or restricted in use in cosmetic products, whereas in the EU, over 1,100 chemicals have been banned or restricted in use.

Until consumer legislation catches up, it has to be our duty as mothers to become better educated and more vigilant about the products we use in our homes and on children and on ourselves.

This may feel overwhelming, but small, simple changes can make a difference. For maximum impact with the least amount of effort, start with the products you use the most and switch these out first. Imagine if you switched out your shampoo that you use EVERYDAY. You’ve just eliminated one regular source of exposure.

The Nine Naturals product line focuses on simple, impactful changes. Our shampoo, conditioner, body wash and belly butter were created to be natural, safe replacements for the products you use everyday and designed with performance as well as purity in mind. With the Nine Naturals product line, changing to natural products from your favorite non-natural products just got easier. We want to empower you to make better choices for you and your family. All our products are sulfate-free, phthalate-free, paraben-free, BPA-free, triclosan-free, DEA-free and petrochemical-free.

Since you’ve become pregnant, what changes are you making to limit your environmental toxin exposures?