Tag Archives: toxins

Fall is RUINED – Goodbye Pumpkin Spice Latte

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If you’ve seen this Food Babe post on Pumpkin Spice Lattes then you are likely as devastated as I am. My go-to fall drink (because how else do you tell the seasons in California if not by the Starbucks beverage options and cup colors!) is filled with all sorts of disgusting things I do not want in my body. Topping off that list is Carmel Coloring, made with ammonia and considered to be cancer-causing.

This Consumer Report’s article provides info on the risks of Carmel Coloring (4-MeI – also found in many sodas), but the basics are that a federal government study found it caused cancer in mice in 2007 and since 2011 it’s been listed as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Since 2012, California (man I love my state!) has required manufacturers to label the product with a cancer warning if it exposes consumers to more than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day. I have definitely had more than one PSL in a day..crap.

So, goodbye Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Until Starbucks makes some serious ingredient changes, my fall will remain PSL- and cancer -free.

Below: Happier times, last fall sipping on my first PSL of the season when I was blissfully ignorant about the toxins entering my body:

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Hide your kids, hide your wife.

While the above may be an exaggerated blog title, this is the headline I wake up to:

Major Retailers Sell Carcinogenic Shampoos, Lawsuit Claims

And I thought: no wonder everybody knows someone that has cancer, and about that gem of a news story from 2012. Maybe we should stop putting cancer in our F’ing SHAMPOO.

The culprit ingredient is cocamide diethanolamine (cocamide DEA), used to make foam and bubbles, which was added last year as a known carcinogen to Cali’s Proposition 65 list (chemical disclosure law) based on the assessment by The International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization and super legit).

The Center for Environmental Health (kickass NGO focused on protecting people from toxic chemicals) bought products around the bay area and had them independently tested, as companies were supposed to remove it by June. Testing found 98 products contained the chemical and offenders included Colgate Palmolive, Paul Mitchell, Lush, and store-brand products purchased at Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Kmart and Babies R Us.

To see the full list of shampoos you, your kids, and your wife should definitely not be lathering on click here.

Smoothies with a side of Toxin

naked juiceIf you haven’t yet heard (and you might not have since Pepsi is working very hard to keep this quiet), Naked Juice (which they own) was sued for falsely claiming to be “All Natural” and incorrectly marketing their juices and smoothies. This week Naked/Pepsi settled for $9 million and agreed to remove the “All Natural” labels from its products.

Let’s look at what actually is in these claimed-to-be “All Natural Products”:

  • Fibersol-2 – an engineered soluble corn fiber that acts as a low-calorie bulking agent
  • Fructooligosaccharides – an alternative sweetener which comes from fruits and veggies but then is processed to make a commercial mixture. It ‘seems to be safe when taken in less than 30 grams per day, can cause intestinal gas, intestinal noises, bloating, stomach cramps, and diarrhea’ but ‘these effects are usually mild if the dose is less than 10 grams per day’ Great.
  • Calcium pantothenate -a synthetically produced vitamin made by condensing isobutyraldehyde with formaldehyde. FORMALDEHYDE! Also found in skin/hair products..yum.
  • Genetically-modified soy – shocker that Pepsi contributed $2.5 million to defeat Cali’s GMO labeling Prop 37

There are more. These ingredients (obviously) do not exist in nature so Naked was called out for being the liar that they are. Way to go USA consumers – let’s hope this kicks off more thought, interest, and inquiry on accurate labeling.

‘Transparency is not a choice. It’s gonna happen, the only choice is does it happen to you or do you participate in it’..  Alex Bogusky

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