As I begin to think about school preparation myself, there are a host of things to keep in mind – not the least of which is the local school’s no nut policy. I have to buy a new lunch box for my son. My daughter needs some new clothes. There are school supplies to purchase and young brains to get back in gear.
As I’m planning for a number of purchases, I am thinking about the increasing number of allergic children around us. I’m also thinking a lot about the amount of human-made chemical exposures that are part of modern life. It seems to me that – just on principle – we need to avoid chemical exposure as much as possible. While a nice thing to do for allergic classmates (who already have stressed and over-stimulated immune systems), it’s also great for the health of any child.
So, I started to read up. After all, an informed consumer can make better choices. That led me to the book, “Slow Death By Rubber Duck”. This is a great book if you are concerned about healthy choices and don’t know where to start. The authors make it easy for anyone to understand the experiments they did – and how easy it can be to start to take action to protect our kids from unnecessary and dangerous chemical exposures.
As a result, I came up with a number of tips for shopping that will not only have you ready for school (with the right food on hand), it will also contribute to a healthier environment for your child, their classmates and the world:
- To reduce chemical exposures, a great place to start is plastics. Plastics are now a major source of endocrine-disrupting compounds. It seems to me that when dealing with allergies and sensitivities of all kinds, it just pays to stay away from heavily processed or non-natural materials (even though many allergies are to common, everyday items or foods). In the book, Slow Death By Rubber Duck, the authors provide a quick and easy rhyme to remember the types of plastic to avoid: “4, 5, 1, 2 – all the rest are bad for you.” That makes picking foods in safer plastics is really simple – stay away from containers marked 3, 6 or 7.
- Many of the “unmarked” plastics (without recycling codes on them) can leach plasticizers and other chemical components. They go straight into the garbage and create unhealthy leach-ate from landfill sites. To really avoid packaging, consider buying clothes at second hand stores; food at the local farmers’ market; and school supplies that use minimal packaging and recycled materials.
- Wash all new clothes before your children wear them – especially to school. Many new clothes are treated with a variety of “finishes” – which translates into chemical exposures of all kinds. Given that allergic immune systems are already in overdrive, it only makes sense to reduce the number of potential allergens in their world. It’s healthier for all our kids too.
- Reducing chemical exposures means that I think about what goes into my kids’ lunches too. Both of my children will have fully reusable lunch kits that are designed with low toxicity in mind. The food be mostly unprocessed. Think fresh fruits (don’t use one of those plastic produce bags – buy a reusable produce bag instead). Think raw veggies like cucumber or carrot. Many veggies can be eaten raw – we’ve just added kohl rabi sticks to our raw eating! Another great way to save money and waste is to peel those broccoli stems and use them for veggie sticks.
- Produce can be a significant source of your pesticide consumption. I use the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides when buying produce. The “Dirty Dozen” are the fresh foods with the highest pesticide residues: these include peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots and pears. These foods I only buy organic. Again, if I reduce pesticide exposure, I provide some rest for over-stimulated immune systems.
I’ll be sharing more on healthy alternatives to regular lunches and lunch boxes in my next blog.
Sources: Slow Death By Rubber Duck, Environmental Working Group
