continued from previous page are most important for a pregnant woman to avoid in her daily life? Andersen: First, the dangers behind smoking, obesity and unsafe living environments such as domestic violence or drug use far outweigh all these environmental risks. I just want to get that in, to make sure you know what level of risk we are talking about. 1.) If I had to pick a few to know about, I would pick mercury because the evidence that it harms the fetus is overwhelming and because we don’t know if there is a safe level. In Minamura, Japan, children born after industrial spill of mercury in the water had severe developmental delay, limb deformity and blindness. A study done at Harvard in 2008 found that 3-year-olds whose mothers had the most mercury in their systems scored lowest on intelligence exams. A study in 2004 concluded that as many as one in six pregnant women had enough mercury in their bodies to affect their unborn fetus. (Levels of mercury are difficult to check because mercury does not stay in the blood; it is sequestered in the tissues. Also, once it is there, it may be more dangerous to try to get rid of it than to leave it.) You can’t completely get away from mercury. It is in the water in many places, and in car emissions, computers, some light bulbs and some dental work. You can minimize your exposure by eating less predatory fish. Fish that live a long time and eat other fish (shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tile fish especially, salmon, trout and tuna to some degree) concentrate mercury and pesticides in their fat. That is unfortunate because humans need large quantities of the type of fat that is in fish, especially for brain and eye development. Low levels of those fats decreases the
disease and nerve disorders. Most compavisual acuity and intelligence of the baby nies are now making water bottles withat birth. We get around that problem by out BPA, so look for those. Do not wash recommending supplements to women BPA-laden containers in the dishwasher or with the fatty acids made by algae, krill or microwave food in them. filtered fish oil to remove the impurities. 4.) Triclosan: An antibiotic found in 2.) Teflon and other perfluorinated hand soap and hand sanitizers, the chemicompounds: Used to create nonstick cal now contaminates almost all the water surfaces, these compounds accumulate in the United States and is found in the in the body and are connected to cancer, blood of most people. Another endocrine birth defects, infertility, immune disorders disruptor, triclosan especially affects the and liver problems. They off gas when the thyroid, which produces hormones critical surface is heated and they mix with the for fetal brain development. To make it food. They are easily avoided by going worse, studies show it does not improve back a few decades to the cast iron pan or the bacteria count over normal soap. And stainless steel. Also, watch out for these most of us don’t need anything that clean. in packaging, such as the nonstick areas in A little bit of dirt and bacteria keeps our microwave popcorn bags and hot pockets. immune system focused on the contami3.) BPA: Used to harden plastic, this nants that are out there in the world and chemical can soak into water in water not on our own bodies. Wash with regular bottles or into food if a plastic container soap so this chemical does not end up in is heated or put in a detergent and reused. your water supply. It is also in heat-treated cash register NCJ: How does class play into environreceipts and in some canned goods. It is suspected of affecting fetal brain tissue, behavior and the fetal prostate gland. It acts as The “Dirty Dozen,” buy these organic: The “Clean 15,” lowest in pesticides: an estrogen in 1. Apples 1. Onions the body and is 2. Celery 2. Sweet Corn connected to 3. Sweet bell peppers 3. Pineapples endocrine dis4. Peaches 4. Avocado ruption, includ5. Strawberries 5. Cabbage ing early puberty, 6. Nectarines – imported 6. Sweet peas diabetes, obe7. Grapes 7. Asparagus 8. Spinach sity, infertility, 8. Mangoes 9. Lettuce 9. Eggplant breast and 10. Cucumbers 10. Kiwi prostate 11. Blueberries – domestic 11. Cantaloupe – domestic cancer. It is 12. Potatoes 12. Sweet potatoes also conPLUS green beans and kale/greens 13. Grapefruit nected to (may contain pesticide residues 14. Watermelon heart of special concern). 15. Mushrooms
Pesticides in Produce
SOURCE: ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP/EWG.ORG
mental awareness in pregnancy? Andersen: This is a great question. There are so many layers here. First, as I am sure you know, there are the environmental inequities related to poverty. The poor get saddled with homes closer to probable sources of contamination and with the riskiest jobs, like harvesting food sprayed with toxins. Then they have limited access to health care. They get a late start at obstetric care waiting to get on Medi-Cal. They have difficulty getting to the appointments because of transportation issues and long work hours with little protection from being laid off. Medi-Cal pays less than regular insurance pays for OB care. That does not mean the doctor spends half as much time with Medi-Cal patients, but it does mean if you practice in a poorer area, then you have to see more patients to make ends meet. So a patient in a relatively poor area, like Humboldt, might get less consultation, overall, than one in Beverly Hills. Even with adequate time, these patients have concerns that far outweigh lessening their environmental toxin exposure. They frequently have difficulty getting food or adequate shelter. And there is a limited amount a poor woman can do to address the issue. Better-off women who are pregnant might shop organic, or replace their pots and pans with cast iron, but a woman on a strictly limited budget will need to continue to get her food at the dollar store and eat foods that are possibly imported from places with lower environmental and consumer protections or grown here but in a pesticide soaked field. NCJ: What environmental health advice would you give to women of childbearing age in Humboldt who are trying to become pregnant? Andersen: 1. Quit smoking. That is smoking anything at all. Lighting up exposes you to pesticides used to grow the crop and also introduces high temperatures, which create new chemicals in whatever you’re smoking. We know smoking continued on page 16
SIMPLE CLEANERS LIKE BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR WON’T RELEASE THE HARMFUL CHEMICALS THAT ARE IN SOME CLEANING PRODUCTS.
14 NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, JAN. 31, 2013 • northcoastjournal.com
NONSTICK PANS CAN EMIT GASES WHEN THEY ARE HEATED UP, SO OLD-FASHIONED SKILLETS CAN BE A SAFER CHOICE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN.