When a friend or relative is expecting a baby, we all immediately become more considerate of her and her baby's health. We usually make sure that the foods we cook and bring to the table are of quality, well cooked and genuine, we avoid smoking in his presence, we avoid making him shake or turning on the stereo at too high a volume so as not to alter his mood and not compromise her health, but - apparently - the health of pregnant women is endangered by far more dangerous things: 163 harmful chemicals, in some cases even banned.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous
When a friend or relative is expecting a baby, we all immediately become more considerate of her and her baby's health. We usually make sure that the foods we cook and bring to the table are of quality, well cooked and genuine, we avoid smoking in his presence, we avoid making him shake or turning on the stereo at too high a volume so as not to alter his mood and not jeopardize her health, but - apparently - the health of pregnant women is endangered by far more dangerous things: 163 harmful chemicals, in some cases even banned.
This is what emerges from a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives by researchers ofUniversity of California at San Francisco. Scholars came to this conclusion after examining 268 women - became pregnant between 2003 and 2004 - in which they discovered the presence of many substances used for the creation of products used in everyday life.
A few examples? Non-stick cookware, processed food products and personal hygiene products.
In almost all the women considered (percentage between 99 and 100% of the sample) the researchers found the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), used for the realization of paints, lacquers and sealing materials, i organochlorine pesticides (used to do DDT, banned in the United States since 1972), i perfluorinated compounds (PFC) present in the Teflon, with which the non-stick pans are produced, but also the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that are released into the atmosphere by industrial and vehicle combustion, perchlorate, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), used as flame retardants and currently banned in many countries, and bisphenol A (BPA), present in metal cans for food, which can help the development of cancer and brain problems and for this reason recently banned in Europe in the production of baby bottles.
"Many of these chemicals found in pregnant women have the same concentrations that, in other studies, have been associated with adverse effects in children," she said. Tracey Woodruf, first author of the scientific study on the presence of these substances in the body of women-. Exposure to multiple chemicals may also increase the risk of adverse health outcomes and may have a greater impact on exposure than just one chemical. "
In light of these results that highlight how toxic substances can be absorbed by the body, we invite everyone to re-read the article on 10 carcinogenic products to eliminate from your homes.
To learn more, here is the link to the study: Environmental Health Perspectives
