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Most of us turn a blind eye to the startling array of chemicals lurking in everything from shampoo to baby bottles to the money in our wallets, choosing to believe that government agencies ensure the safety of the products we wear, use, ingest, and breathe in daily. Yet the standards for product safety in North America lag far behind those of other countries. We frequently hear that a substance we've relied on for years turns out to have serious effects on our health, the environment, or both.
After coming to terms with the fact that the autism and cancer which had impacted her family were most likely the result of environmental toxins, author Deanna Duke undertook a mission to dramatically reduce her family's chemical exposure. She committed to drastically reducing the levels of all known chemicals in both her home and work environments, using the help of body burden testing to see what effect, if any, she was able to have on the level of toxins in her body.
Follow Deanna's journey as she uncovers how insidious and invasive environmental toxins are. Learn about your day-to-day chemical exposure, the implications for your health, and what you can do about it. And find out whether the author's quest is mission impossible, or whether she is ultimately able to improve her family's health by taking steps towards leading a chemical-free life.
Deanna L. Duke is an environmental writer, urban homesteader, and author of the highly acclaimed environmental blog The Crunchy Chicken.
Acknowledgments ix
Part 1 Laying It All Out 1
In the Beginning 1
Double Whammy 2
The bones of an 85-year-old 4
Trying to make sense of it all 6
The Non-Toxic Avenger 6
Lab testing 7
Deciding on the tests 8
Not getting ahead of myself 10
One more thing 11
Where did the bad stuff go? 15
Lab test snafus 16
What's so bad about a little lead? 17
Part 2 Getting Started 19
Clean air 19
Sparkles, jewels and dangly items 21
Seeing double 22
PVC-free dreams 23
What's that on your lunch tray? 26
Lice! 28
Keeping the chemo out of me 31
Of epidemic proportions 32
Foundations for autism 33
Cluing in on ADHD 34
Sticky situation 37
A frictionless surface 39
Coal tar cake with a side of Teflon 41
Falling for candles 45
Mammograms and mercury, oh my! 48
Part 3 The Baseline 53
Testing, testing, 1-2-3 53
Stinkout 55
Lead and water testing 57
Nail polish 58
It's the pits 60
Tapping the' tap water 63
Holy fluorosis, Batman! 66
Chlorine: It's not just for breakfast 66
Other junk 67
Filth filter 69
Clearing the air 70
Leafy indoor air purifier 74
Emma's birthday bash 77
Happy birthday! Here's your bra (.)(.) 81
Halloween 83
Pfucked by PFCs 86
Not-so-sweet dreams; 88
Getting down 92
Pining for pajamas 94
Avoiding Robespierre 96
Blow me 97
Licking the windowsills 103
Pure as the driven snow 104
Parabens and phthalates results 105
Halloween: What actually happened 113
Heavy metal lab results 115
Part 4 Adjusting to Non-toxic Living 123
Getting my drink on 123
Heating oil headaches 130
Teflon slip-up 132
Getting clean with grease 134
Bodywash brainwash 137
Deodorant part deux 138
Squeaky clean 140
Going zits up 142
Yellow gold 144
Makeup! 145
Lubed and lotioned 146
Blocking out the sun 150
Poos and don'ts 152
Goops and greases 153
In the land of the moldy 156
Exercising with toxins 160
Moles in my molehill 164
Going BPA bananas 166
Heating with PFCs 167
Dishwasher 168 .
Clean eating 170
Winter gardening 172
Watch out 173
Part 5 Going a Little Bonkers 177
Leaving the sanctuary 177
Stuck in the sink 180
Liplocked 182
Laminated turkeys 183
Snow and toothpaste 184
Missing labs 186
Cancer update 186
Thanksgiving 188
Holiday lighting 189
Off-gassing chess set 192
Oh! Christmas tree 193
Getting orthopedic 195
CFLs and dirty electricity 196
Happy pits 200
Getting bloody 201
Getting sick from medications 202
Washing it all away 203
Coffee log 205
The not-so-sen yoga mat 206
Body art 207
Tingle time 209
Lab results unearthed! 211
Throw your watch away 215
Getting faked out 216
Dirty money 218
Unscented scent 219
Non-toxic Christmas gifts 220
Trying to keep it all straight 220
Part 6 Figuring it All Out 223
Kissed by the sun 223
Apple of my eye 226
Flooding with pineapples 228
Pine poisoning 230
Numbness and pain: Part deux 231
Talking about the detox 232
The high cost of organics 236
The moment of truth: XRF analyzer 238
Lab results reckoning 241
Final health updates 245
Part 7 Wrapping It Up 249
It was the best of times 249
It was the worst of times 251
What does it all even mean? 252
Additional Resources
Notes 254
Index 265
About the Author 277
greenmomster
Posted February 26, 2012
The Non-Toxic Avenger, by Deanna Duke, is the fascinating story of one woman’s attempt to find out how significant our exposure is to “everyday” toxins. Spurred on by her husband’s diagnosis with multiple myeloma and her son’s diagnosis with Asperger’s syndrome, Deanna Duke decided to take a look at toxins and determine whether it’s possible, or even desirable, to remove every toxin exposure from one’s everyday life.
The author begins by discussing the reasons for this project – her husband and son’s diagnoses, and her newly acquired knowledge that many chemicals which she believed were regulated by government agencies were not. Her plan for the project is pretty simple. She’ll get tested (both blood and urine tests) for specific chemicals found in our man-made environment, try to remove as many toxin exposures as possible over several months, and then get retested. The first question is, does her daily life lead to any abnormally high toxic loads? The second question is, can she reduce these loads by reducing exposure? The third question is, can she live with the changes necessary to reduce the toxins?
The author leaves no stone unturned as she addresses the very high levels of various phthalates and parabens in her system. She looks at exposures from food, indoor and outdoor air, clothing coatings (to reduce flammability), all the way to yoga mats, hula hoops, and Halloween costumes. Did she succeed in reducing her exposure? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
The book is well-written with many humorous anecdotes. Ms. Duke is definitely not anti-science and is willing to say when changes are simply not doable in her life. The information on the lack of regulation regarding various chemicals, and the differences between the European and U.S. regulations was quite informative. I must admit, I felt a little like a troll as I read about her attempts to find the right cosmetics and hair dyes (I’m obviously not keeping up in the beauty department). And there were definitely times when I wanted more numbers – Ms. Duke often states that exposure to various chemicals can lead to birth defects, nervous disorders, etc., but I wanted the numbers for the exposure levels. She does provide substantial footnoting for the reader desiring more detail.
The Non-Toxic Avenger is definitely worth reading – one woman’s adventure into reducing toxic loads. You’ll come away from this book much more conscious of your everyday choices, from soaps to shampoos even to Halloween costumes.
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Overview
Most of us turn a blind eye to the startling array of chemicals lurking in everything from shampoo to baby bottles to the money in our wallets, choosing to believe that government agencies ensure the safety of the products we wear, use, ingest, and breathe in daily. Yet the standards for product safety in North America lag far behind those of other countries. We frequently hear that a substance we've relied on for years turns out to have serious effects on our health, the ...