Page 72 - Family Resource Guide Spring/Summer 2025

HEALTH NORTH STATE PARENT FAMILY RESOURCE GUIDE SPRING/SUMMER 2025
Choose a safer sunscreen
Sunscreen remains a crucial way to help prevent lasting skin damage and skin cancer caused by sun exposure. But it can be a challenge to find sunscreens that are effective and free from chemicals of concern that can harm humans and also aquatic life. EWG recommends avoiding these chemicals in sunscreens:
• Oxybenzone
• Vitamin A, also called retinyl palmitate
• Added insect repellant
• Avoid sprays, powders and products that are over
50 or under 15 SPF. Choose creams that contain zinc oxide or mineral actives.
Eat more sustainable proteins
Reduce your impact on the environment and improve your health by exploring your protein options, then pick a day to go meatless. On other days, try using meat as a flavor or a topping instead of the main dish.
Choose grass-raised or pasture-raised beef, and lean cuts of certified organic and humanely raised meat. Avoid highly processes meats containing nitrates and preservatives. Eat sustainable seafood, avoiding air-freighted fish and farmed salmon and shrimp.
Create a healthier home
Look around for products that contain or emit toxic chemicals and choose safer alternatives with this simple checklist:
• Use cast-iron, stainless steel or glass instead of
nonstick cookware.
• Choose glass or stainless steel over plastic and
never microwave food in plastic containers.
• Use filtered water in a reusable stainless steel or
glass water bottle instead of plastic.
• Cook with fresh, frozen or dried ingredients
JULY
JUNE
Reduce your exposure to toxic BPA and its regrettable substitutes
You may find this month’s goal more challenging because of the widespread use of BPA (Bisphenol A) and harmful alternatives such as BPS. But EWG has some simple steps you can take to limit your exposure.
• Substitutefresh,frozenordriedfoodforcanned
• Avoidpolycarbonate–hard,clearplastics–marked
with the recycling code #7 or the letters “PC.”
• Limittheamountofpackagedandprocessed
foods you eat. BPA may be used in the lids of glass
jars and bottles and in tins and aerosol cans.
• Saynotopaperreceiptsatstores,gaspumps,ATMs
and other locations. If you’ve handled a receipt, wash your hands before preparing food or eating.
Stay nourished and save money
We’ve all heard the saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away—but which other foods pack in a lot of nutrients at a good price? Here are EWG-approved suggestions:
• Pears have more fiber, potassium and folate than
an apple.
• Avocados contain more potassium than bananas,
OCTOBER
SEPTEMBER
AUGUST
with more fiber and less sugar for about the same
cost as a tangerine.
• Parsley packs a punch as potent as kale for a quarter
of the cost.
• Sweet potatoes contain twice the fiber, potassium
and vitamin A of carrots.
• Try goat, which costs the same as ground beef, with
more iron and less saturated fat.
• A serving of lentils or pinto beans is a quarter of the
cost of turkey. Turkey is one of the cheapest animal sources of protein, but produces one tenth of the greenhouse gas emissions.
whenever possible instead of using canned food.
• Avoid the most toxic formulations of air fresheners.
• Choose either fragrance-free products or those that disclose their fragrance
ingredients. Support companies that disclose all their ingredients.
• Skip laundry products you can do without like dryer sheets and fabric softener
• Choose furniture without chemical flame retardants. Don’t “protect” your fabrics and
carpets with chemical stain guard treatments.
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs, also called cfls, contain mercury and should be
handled and disposed of with care.
• Try to dust as much as possible, because chemicals from products lurk in household
dust.
• If your wood deck, picnic table or playground set was made before 2005, your
outdoor pieces likely contain arsenic. Replace them with safer wood or reduce exposure by sealing it.
Cook with safer utensils
Skip the nonstick, so you don’t breathe toxic fumes while cooking on high heat. Replace plastic tongs and spatulas with safer alternatives like bamboo utensils and ditch plastic storage containers.
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Take a sustainable approach to holidays
With all the cooking and shopping you probably do during the holiday season, it’s easy to forget to celebrate sustainably.
This year, why not make the festive season a celebration of healthy living? Challenge yourself to carry out at least one of the tips
below—you may inspire your friends and family to follow your lead.
• Carry items to family and friend gatherings in a reusable bag. A sleek grocery bag makes a nice gift for the host.
• Bring your own cup —like Klean Kanteen’s stainless steel pint cups—so you can avoid single-use party cups.
• Bring a seasonal dish for your holiday potlucks, and shop the farmers markets for loads of fresh, organic veggies for dinner. It’s healthy for you, your family and friends and it’s easier on the environment than meat-heavy dishes. Ó
72 North State Parent Family Resource Guide Spring/Summer 2025 • www.northstateparent.com