Question from Johanna

I have very sensitive teeth and have been told to use a non-alchohol mouthwash and sensitive toothpaste. Well, all the sensitive toothpastes I can find have nitrates in them. Even just using them once a day has caused severe migraines for me. My mouth hurts though! What can I do? Any nontoxic products out there that work very well at stopping the pain and stopping more gum recession? I am sure if I were to ask the pharmacist he would recommend a prescription for toothpaste with extra fluoride. I am sure this isn’t good either. Help…Thanks!

Debra’s Answer

Readers? Any recommendations?

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Question from Christy

It’s all well and good to say that these products will change your environment , but what about the expense? We are a family of 6 on a very tight budget and buying reusable grocery bags, energy saving light bulbs and natural cleaners are just not in that budget! I understand that the start up to change your life is off set by what you will save in the long run, however still do not have the money for “start up”

What I have done is start to make my own using essential oils , vinegars, peroxide, herbs and many other items. I am always looking for recipes like the four thieves wash and I expected that your site would contain more of this type of info. Please consider that there are many like me who want to make these changes but only can in an affordable way.

Thanks

Christy

Debra’s Answer

I do consider affordability all the time. And there are some books on the Cleaning page of Debra’s Bookstore that have a lot of do-it-yourself recipes. I just posted a question about a very affordable laundry detergent sold at Costco. Recently I saw at Home Depot energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs–6 bulbs for $7. Reusable bags cost a few dollars. I actually SAVE money living green. (I make most of my cleaners, too.)

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Question from suzanne mikula

Hello Debra and readers!

I have a question about some Woodchip and Seagrass baskets which I was considering buying. The person selling them purchased them from World Market, but there is no information on the basket’s tags or on their website about the materials used to make the basket.

The person selling these baskets has the lightest (almost white) colored ones and said they don’t look stained, but bleached if anything. I called World Market, but since they don’t have the light colored basket in stock, they can’t tell me about it’s materials. I tried to do some research on Woodchip material online, but couldn’t find much. Any advice? I love baskets but I’m wondering how one goes about telling which kinds are non-toxic and which aren’t. I know one way to tell is by smelling them; but is that always a reliable way to tell whether something is toxic or not? In the case of these baskets, I cannot smell them, unless I buy them, and if smell may not a reliable method, what is? Even if wood looks unstained or isn’t painted, could it be chemically processed in some way? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Suzanne

Debra’s Answer

To the best of my knowledge, the thin strips of wood used to make baskets are not toxic, and neither is seagrass. Might they be treated with something? Yes. Are they? We have no way of knowing because nobody has the information.

If they were treated with a toxic wood preservative, it is likely you would smell it.

I myself have at least a dozen baskets in my house and have lived with baskets for many many years. I tend to stick with the natural color baskets, or those that look like they have natural vegetable dyes, as painted baskets DO often have toxic fumes.

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Question from Tamara

I’m in a trial period of giving up refined sugars, but I’m also including any sweetener that is digested quickly (right now my okay list includes agave and brown rice syrup, though mostly I’m just avoiding sweeteners as much as possible). I assumed that fruit spreads, even those without added sugar of any kind, would be off limits because of fruit pectin. To me it seems fruit pectin would have a high glycemic index because of the way it is processed, and so isn’t very healthy. Thoughts?

While I’m here, any thoughts on the best sweetener for someone who wants a “whole food” sweetener that is also easy on the body and environment? Maybe agave or barley malt syrup?

Thanks for your response!

Tamara

Debra’s Answer

You bring up some interesting points that I actually hadn’t thought about. I hadn’t considered how processed fruit pectin might be (it sounds so natural, like “fructose”) but in fact, it is an isolated substance that is very processed, and mostly standardized with sugar (I’m assuming that’s refined white sugar). This is the problem with food labeling. Labels are only required to state the final ingredients used in the food product, and not the ingredients that are contains in the ingredients. So here, someone thinking a fruit spread is all fruit (because it is labeled as such), is actually buying a product that contains at least a bit of sugar.

So if this is the case, the pectin one would use to make one’s own fruit spreads would be that same pectin.

I think one needs to consider how much of a substance one needs to ingest before it becomes harmful, and that would be different for each person’s body.

Fruit spreads bring up another issue as well, and that is the concentration of the fruit sugar.

If one wishes to be “natural,” natural would be an apple, for example. An organic apple–whole and fresh in the state it is in on the tree. As soon as you cook it, it’s no longer in it’s natural state, and the sugars are concentrated. If you separate the juice from the fiber, again less natural and more concentrated. And then you cook that down, and it’s even more concentrated. But it is thought to be natural because it originally was an apple. But concentrated apple juice doesn’t exist in nature. Our bodies are designed for fresh organic apples.

When I started this website, I was looking for sweeteners that were a step away from refined and artificial sweeteners. Now, more recently, I’m wanting to eat whole, sweet foods.

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Question from Nancy

I have tried many brands of stevia in order to find one I both liked and that I did not react to. I also tried using the ground herb (the green powder) which doesn’t really dissolve well at all. Finally I found Sweet Leaf brand; I use their Stevia Concentrate. It has no flavorings,etc only water added; it has no after taste. I find since it’s a concentrate it goes further if I dilute it with water. As I don’t bake with it I can’t comment on this. I use it just for my coffee sweetener.

Debra’s Answer

What a great idea to dilute stevia! Why didn’t I think of that! That would make it so much easier to measure.

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Question from DB

We are looking for a safe finish on a wood chair for our 1 year old. We are looking at a few European imports, such as the Svan and the Stokke. Actually, we ordered an unfinished restaurant high chair, but it has been on back order for months. (It is coming from China and may not really be the best choice. We want to cancel the order.) We decided to put our two older children on regular chairs elevated by the “Kaboost”. This won’t work for the little one. She needs a safety belt. Currently, she is sitting on our lap;-) So, any thoughts would be appreciated.

Also, we purchased an unfinished table from Ikea. We polish it with beeswax and walnut oil. Should we be concerned about the kids eating off this surface? Sometimes I wonder what type of glue adheres the boards together. It never seemed to outgas any odor.

I find your site very informative and interesting. I have really enjoyed the articles. Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Readers? What are your recommendations? Not having children of my own, I have no experience with this.

I’m not concerned about your children eating off the table from Ikea. Not all glues are harmful. If you don’t smell anything, it’s likely there are little or no VOCs.

Good for you with the walnut oil and beeswax finish!

Debra 🙂

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Question from Ralph Jones

I am currently involved in a non toxic construction project and was wondering if you could give me some information on galvanised metal. Ive heard metal is a good material to use for the chemicaly sensitive in general especially stainless steel. But are galvanised metals still safe? I cant seem to find any information on the process and was wondering whether by making the metal weather proof it was made toxic in some way? Is galvised steel toxic? Or potentially harmful to the chemicaly sensitive?

Thank you so much for your time.

Debra’s Answer

Galvanizing is the process of coating iron or steel with a thin layer of zinc to prevent the metal from rusting. There are two methods: “hot-dipped”, which consists of passing the continuous length of metal through a molten bath, followed by an air stream “wipe” that controls the thickness of the zinc finish; and “electro-galvanizing”, which fuses the zinc to the metal electrolytically.

I don’t see anything toxic about this.

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Question from Laurie

Help! I want not just great tasting food using my beautiful pots and pans–but one that I can trust for our continued well-being.I have some wonderful pots and pots. By wonderful I mean, they are truly chef-quality. My question is are they safe?

What specific questions should I ask the manufacturer to get this question answered?

Most of my collection is 18/10 stainless steel, some with the heavy bottom, some light weight with added copper.

Though beyond the above, I have a greater concern for the ones in these fine name-brands–but are also non-stick with what I believe a life-time or 75 year guarantee.The coating doesn’t seem to budge. They are from tv like Cooks Essentials, Ultrex, Wolfgang, Emmerilware..and some that are cast iron with a finish that doesn’t stick. The performance is great. How is the safety?

Debra’s Answer

First, about the stainless, it’s not a matter of asking the manufacturer…you can test it yourself with magnets (see Q&A: Magnetically-attractive stainless steel cookware). But even if it passes the magnet test, if you have been using metal utensils or scouring your pans with steel wool, you’ve ruptured the steel and opened the way for the metals to leach into the food.

About the nonstick finish. It’s not a matter of the finish peeling or chipping, but what may be offgassing from it. Most nonstick finishes are made from the same group of chemicals, unless it is a completely different technology, like Thermolon. If I were researching this, I would contact each manufacturer, and ask them the name of the nonstick finish used and find out anything you can about it. Then you can look up those finishes on the internet and find out about the chemicals used to make them. But from my experience looking at the nonstick finishes, most are more or less the same.

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Question from Kavita Shourie

Hi Debra,

I use this anti-allergen detergent regularly and I wanted to find out if it you thought it is safe to use on my clothes. I have 2 cats and an allergy and asthma to mold, dust mites and many pollens it is advertised as being safe and low sudsing. This website has a pdf of the ingredients. Allersearch website

I am pregnant now and use as many green products as possible and wanted to make sure this is a product you would okay for use.

Thanks for you help.

Sincerely,

Kavita Shourie

Debra’s Answer

This website has the MSDS, but does not list the ingredients. Instead it says that it contains no hazardous ingredients that are required to be listed.

I’d say it’s fine, based on this information.

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Question from Calicokitty

Thank you so much for this site! It is a wonderful resource.

My question is: have you looked at Yacon syrup as a sweetener? I’ve seen it touted as a “pro-biotic”, but most of the information I’ve found is from sites that sell it, so I’m looking for an unbiased source of information.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Debra’s Answer

I really don’t know any more than you do about it, except I have a bottle.

It is a syrup from the root of the yacon, a plant native to Peru. It’s sugar is an ogliosaccharide, so it doesn’t spike blood sugar. The one I have is both organic and raw.

I’ve had this bottle on my shelf for over a year, and it hasn’t inspired me to use it. It has a consistancy like honey or agave, but it is less sweet and has more of a strong flavor. So any dish containing it would necessarily have to have the flavor to get enough sweetness.

Agave is great because it doesn’t add any flavor of it’s own. You could only use yacon with foods that had compatible flavors.

It’s not an unpleasant flavor…it’s similar to dates. But for me, ogliofructose from chicory root (Sweet Perfection) is much more versatile as an all-purpose sweetener.

I have no reason to believe that yacon is harmful to health in any way, so I have no objections to using it. It’s just, for me, it’s use is limited and I am not so in love with the flavor that I would use it in a recipe for taste.

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