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Plastic Food Storage Containers
The Facts: Phthalates are sometimes utilized in any such product as a result of they make plastics softer and extra versatile.
The Fix: You can search for a plastic model that claims “phthalate-free,” equivalent to Sterilite. But some consultants insist that it’s greatest to keep away from plastic altogether and purchase meals storage containers which are manufactured from glass or chrome steel. If you insist on protecting your previous plastic meals storage containers, on the very least, don’t microwave something in them. “The chemicals in plastic aren’t bound to the product. They’re additives, so they can leach out into the food that you’re eating, and heat accelerates that,” says Simona Balan, PhD, senior scientist at Green Science Policy Institute in Berkeley, California. (That goes for plastic take-out containers, too.) Instead, microwave your meals on glass, chrome steel, paper, or on a microwave-safe dinner plate.

Personal Care Products
The Facts: This is a large class that accommodates objects equivalent to shampoo, lotion, and physique wash. Anything that is available in a gentle, plastic container is suspect—particularly something that accommodates a perfume—as a result of it might include phthalates.
The Fix: Companies don’t must listing phthalates as substances, although they generally do. If you see something on an ingredient listing that ends within the phrase “phthalate,” don’t purchase it. Look for objects which are fragrance-free and take a look at corporations that make pure, phthalate-free merchandise, equivalent to Burt’s Bees.

Perfume/Cologne
The Facts: Phthalates are generally utilized in perfumes and colognes, as a result of they make the scent last more, says Balan.
The Fix: Switch to a pure, phthalate-free perfume, equivalent to a scent from Tsi-La Organics—and simply understand that you could have to re-apply it extra usually.

Frozen Meals

( Photograph by Frank Bean/Getty Images )

The Facts: Foods that is available in plastic meals packaging, like frozen meals, tubs of butter, yogurt, or plastic jars of pretzels might include phthalates.
The Fix: Whenever doable, keep away from plastic and purchase merchandise that are available glass or paper packaging.Fish
The Facts: There are 9 PCBs which were banned within the U.S. since 1979, however the issue is, we’re nonetheless uncovered to them—largely as a result of they’ve gotten into the land, air, and water. “They’re considered persistent chemicals, because they don’t break down. Some chemicals might be released into the environment when the chemical is made, when the chemical is added to products, when the product is used, and whenever the product is disposed of improperly. Little critters in the sea might ingest some of it, then a bigger fish may eat lots of those critters, and then we might eat that fish—so it climbs up the food chain,” says Veena Singla, PhD, employees scientist on the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The Fix: “In certain areas of the country—like in the Great Lakes area, for example—some bodies of water may contain fish that have higher levels of PCBs, because historically, PCBs may have been manufactured or disposed of there. If you sport fish, pay attention to advisories for specific lakes and rivers,” says Singla. PCBs have a tendency to construct up essentially the most in fish which are fatty and in fish that eat many different fish (a.okay.a. bigger, older fish). So when buying fish at a grocery retailer or restaurant, select ones which are low in fats, small, and younger. And contact your state well being division for extra details about fish and our bodies of water in your area. (Here’s the way to purchase the healthiest fish.)

Dairy & Meat
The Facts: PCBs creep into dairy and meat merchandise the identical manner that they creep into fish.
The Fix: You can select natural dairy and meat merchandise on the grocery store to make it possible for antibiotics and progress hormones aren’t allowed. However, even natural merchandise could include PCBs, for the reason that chemical compounds are nonetheless current in our surroundings. So your greatest wager is just to cut back your consumption of these things, if doable. For instance, strive taking “meatless Monday” to a brand new stage by going 100% vegetarian as soon as per week. (These 13 scrumptious vegetarian meals will get you began.)

Fruits & Veggies
The Facts: The situation with common fruit and veggies on the grocery store is that lots of them are sprayed with poisonous pesticides.
The Fix: The excellent news is that purchasing natural produce as usually as your funds permits means you could keep away from consuming pesticides. Be certain to at all times purchase these 14 fruits and veggies natural, as they include the best ranges of pesticides.

Candles & Air Fresheners
The Facts: Though you in all probability need your property to scent good, in 2011, the Natural Resources Defense Council examined 14 air fresheners and located that 12 contained phthalates (even ones marketed as “all-natural” or “unscented”).
The Fix: Choose a soy-based or beeswax-based candle with a lead-free wick that’s made with important oils and/or phthalate-free fragrances, equivalent to Soylar Candles.

Old Plastic Kids’ Toys

( Photograph by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images )

The Facts: In February 2009, the U.S. banned producers from utilizing six forms of phthalates in plastic youngsters’s toys and in sure plastic baby care merchandise (these for youths ages three and beneath to “facilitate sleeping or feeding, or to help a child who is sucking or teething”). If youngsters put toys made earlier than this ban of their mouths, they may ingest small quantities of those chemical compounds.
The Fix: Don’t settle for plastic hand-me-down youngsters’s toys, until you understand for certain that they had been made after February of 2009. To be most secure, purchase new ones. And in the event you purchase a plastic toy from one other nation, understand that that specific nation could have looser guidelines than the U.S.