Welcome to Focus Friday!
Our current series focuses on harmful ingredients found in our everyday products.
Today we do a deep dive into Phthalates.
What are phthalates?
Where are they commonly found?
What are they also known as?
Why are they unsafe for us?
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Episode Transcript
Happy Friday.
Eco mamas.
Today, I want to talk to youabout Phthalates.
It's spelled P H T H a L a T ES.
It doesn't sound like it'sspelled.
It's spelled with a silent pH onthe front, but phthalates, is
says how you pronounce itproperly.
(00:58):
Valleys are known as theeverywhere.
Chemical.
Because everywhere you lookthere.
Phthalates is a family ofchemicals that are used to make
plastic more pliable.
It softens the plastic itself.
So that it can be molded intothe different shapes that people
(01:20):
want to use it for.
Now, phthalates aren't just usedin plastics, they're used in
other products because of thecomponents that they offer.
So they can be used in plastics,food containers, storage
containers.
They're also used in food, andpersonal care products.
Now you may be wondering, well,why would they put plastic in
(01:41):
personal care products?
Well, the same compounds thatallow the plastic to be flexible
from the phthalates, also allowsproducts to adhere to your skin
better.
Think of a perfume lingeringlonger on your skin.
Or a lotion that themanufacturer wants to stay on
(02:01):
your skin longer or the smell ofit to stay longer.
They use phthalates in order toaccomplish that.
Phthalates are found in, as Imentioned, a lot of our personal
care products.
In particularly perfume, nailpolish, cosmetics, hairspray,
shampoo and skin conditioners.
Lotions and other personal careproducts, anything that the
(02:24):
industry wants to adhere to yourskin.
They're in wood finishes,detergents, most adhesives, most
plastic plumbing pipes,lubricant, solvents,
insecticides, many buildingmaterials, vinyl flooring,
shower curtains.
Shower curtains can be anepisode in itself.
(02:46):
Foods that commonly havephthalates.
I would just think of anythingprocessed really, to be honest
with you.
Because that's where a lot ofthe phthalates can be hidden.
In the processed foods and theiringredients, but in particular,
High-fat dairies, fatty meatsand poultry.
Cooking oils.
Restaurant, cafeteria, andalmost all fast food
(03:09):
restaurants.
Now phthalates can be ingestedinto your body by eating and
drinking things that are eitherserved or packaged in plastics
that contain phthalates.
You can also eat or drink foodlike dairy products and meat
products from animals that havebeen exposed to phthalates.
Even something as simple ashaving contact with dust in a
(03:31):
room where carpet, upholstery,wall coverings or wood
furnishings have phthalates getit into your system.
It's pretty freaky stuff to knowthat something, harmful like
that can just absorb right intoyour skin, into your body, into
your bloodstream.
Phthalates, is something toavoid it all costs.
That's why we don't like to useplastics in our house.
(03:53):
I try to do glass as much aspossible.
We save every single.
Jar from food products that weuse, that we reuse Mason jars.
Now don't get me wrong.
Plastics do get into my house.
So sometimes the plastics willcome in because it was a gift or
maybe somebody brought us someleftovers.
Because I'm aware of it, I tryto minimize it where I can.
(04:14):
There's other ways to getexposed to phthalates.
If you work in industries withpainting, printing, or plastic
processing, it can get absorbedinto your body.
You might be more likely to getexposed as well if you suffer
from a medical condition such askidney disease or hemophilia.
Kidney dialysis and bloodtransfusions often use tubing
(04:36):
and other supplies that are madewith phthalates.
So there's still a lot ofresearch to be done around
phthalates.
Most of it, unfortunately hasbeen done through animals.
I'm not big into testing onanimals.
The chemical community has donethat.
Chemical industry to see how itmight affect us.
Because they don't want to teston humans, but inevitably they
(04:56):
are testing on humans.
When there's not enough researchto prove that it's safe.
It's still allowed to go out onthe market.
We see how.
How we get phthalates in oursystem.
We know what they are.
They are a family of particlesused to strengthen plastic and
make it more pliable.
So who is most affected by theseand how?
(05:18):
Well, unborn babies and childrenare among the most affected, and
they can do more harm to malesthan females.
Kids in puberty are also at ahigh risk because their bodies
are changing.
During that transition ofhormonal development.
They're just more vulnerable.
And then adult women tend tohave more side effects than men.
(05:41):
The theory there is that womentend to use more personal care
products.
And I totally believe that.
Totally believe that.
So many chemicals now arereferred to with initials.
So when you are Looking on theback of your products and you're
looking at the list ofingredients.
(06:02):
That's what I'm sharing withyou, things that you need to be
looking for.
It's also known as AKA.
So phthalates also known asDEHP, DID P, DINP.
Those three that I mentioned areon an interim ban from toys.
Being allowed to put in toysthat might go into a child's
mouth.
Phthalates have been linked tobirth defects.
(06:25):
And they're known in theindustry as an endocrine
disruptor.
If you're not familiar withendocrine disruptors.
I mentioned them briefly lastFriday, when we talked about
fragrance.
An endocrine disruptor basicallymimics hormones in our bodies.
And makes us think things arehappening when they're really
(06:46):
not.
It could create a naturaloverproduction of certain
hormones or under production ofcertain hormones.
In addition, endocrinedisruption has been traced to
premature development, delayeddevelopment, as well as low
sperm count.
The inability for.
(07:08):
Newborn males, testicles tonaturally drop on their own.
And the heartbreaking journey ofinfertility that so many women
struggle with today.
Just another reason to avoidphthalates.
There's some really interestingstudies done by Dr.
Shauna Swan.
She has a book out calledCountdown.
(07:30):
And it addresses how our bodiesare being affected by many, many
chemicals in particularlyphthalates, how they are
affecting the sperm count inmen, reproduction abilities in
women.
Even the sex drives in women,they found that women that were
exposed to more BPA and otherphthalates had a lower sex drive
(07:51):
or sex satisfaction, than thosethat did not have the exposure
to them.
It's, it's just reallyinteresting to me.
Of how much coverage there is,but it's still not commonly
talked about.
Look for phthalate- free.
That is the best way you canprotect yourself.
Look for phthalate-free-products.
Use only microwave safe andphthalate-free containers.
(08:15):
They have wonderful products onthe market now that you can
completely avoid plastic wrap.
There's no more saran wrap in myhouse, there hasn't been for so
long.
Instead, I use wax wraps.
It's an organic cloth coated ina bees wax that is perfectly
food grade safe.
The warmth from my hands mold itinto place.
(08:36):
It will keep my food fresherlonger in the refrigerator than
it ever did with me wrapping itwith saran wrap.
The only caveat to those waxwraps is that you need to be
sure NOT to wash it with hotwater.
Heat can damage and melt awaythe wax.
It will pill and it will loseits its ability to wrap around
(08:58):
the food as well and keep itsafe.
If you do need to wash it, youjust wash it with room
temperature water with a mildsoap.
One more thing is to think aboutthe packaging that your products
are coming into.
We talked about plastic free isbest.
However, Not all of our productscome in glass containers our
(09:20):
personal care products orcleaning products.
The plastic containers that theycome in could still be made with
phthalates.
I don't know yet, how todetermine if that plastic
contains it or not, withoutgoing straight to the
manufacturer and just flat outasking.
But friends, I know that that isa lot of work.
(09:42):
Even for someone like me wholoves to do the research, that
is a lot of work.
There are brands though, thatare making.
Plastic containers out ofrecycled plastic.
So they're, re-purposingsomething that is already out
there.
And they've found formulas tomake it durable without using
(10:02):
phthalates.
One of the brands that I knowof, and this is how I learned
how possible it is, is Owl in aTowel.
They used recycled plastics forall of their containers and he
made them without valet.
So not only are their productsnow late free.
But so are their containers.
So you don't need to worry aboutbeing exposed to any valleys on
(10:24):
anything that they make.
So that's just an example of abrand that is mindful about
everything that they put intotheir ingredients.
From the core of the productthat hits your skin to the
containers that it is carriedin.
The best way to protect yourself from phthalates is to
(10:45):
focus on phthalate- free.
Read your labels.
Look for things that arephthalate-free.
Try to avoid plastic whenpossible.
Watch what you eat.
Know the source of your foods.
Where's your milk coming from?
Where's your meat coming from?
If you don't know the farmers orthe farms know the brands.
(11:06):
Know that you can trust thebrands.
Avoid fast food.
If You want to learn more abouthow fast food can affect the
body.
in a couple of weeks I have aspecial guest, Lucy Hutchings.
She's going to be talking aboutthe effects of fast food on
nutrition, how it could havenegative effects on our body and
how it wears us down over time.
(11:26):
And that's just another reasonit gets us sluggish.
If you have to go to thehospital or have dialysis, Blood
transfusions, et cetera, Ask forphthalate-free medical devices.
They are made.
They are not commonly usedbecause they can cost a little
bit more money.
I wish there was a way to justdo away with all these
chemicals.
They're so inundated andeverything we do in life today.
(11:49):
I try to be mindful in what I dobuy, what I do spend my money
on, who I buy from.
There are so many companies nowthat are aware of this.
Small businesses making productswithout phthalates without
fragrances.
Without other harmful chemicalsthat we cover in this podcast.
(12:10):
Thanks again for tuning intoday.
I hope you enjoyed my littlechat about phthalates.
I hope I didn't scare you toomuch sometimes.
Too much knowledge can reallyparalyze us.
And that is not my aim at all.
It is there, like we can't justignore it.
We can't ignore that thesechemicals exist in our everyday
(12:32):
lives.
We need to be more mindful ofthem.
And we need to protect ourchildren.
As much as we can movingforward.
And we do that by beginning tominimize the toxins in our home,
which is where we spend most ofour time.
Make sure you follow me.
Next release on Tuesday.
Where I talk about pesticides.
How they should and should notbe used around the home.
(12:54):
And in the yard.
Thank you so much.
I hope you have a wonderfulweekend.
Love to all.
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