• Use stainless steel or glass water bottles. Plastic bottles and the lining in aluminum cans leach out hormone-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA).
• Choose leaner meats and dairy. Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs; toxic, hormone-disrupting chemicals) accumulate in fatty tissue, so trim fat from meat and fish, remove skin, and choose nonfat or low-fat dairy. Going organic helps to avoid pesticide residues, as well.
• Buy PBDE-free furnishings. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), toxic flame retardants used in furniture and electronics, are particularly harmful to children. Visit thegreenguide.com for shopping tips.
• Filter your water. You’ll avoid perchlorates, a rocket-fuel additive found in drinking water at concerning levels in 22 states, according to the Environmental Working Group.
• Ditch nonstick. Use cast-iron or stainless-steel cookware to avoid the perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Teflon. Higher blood levels of PFOA seem to increase thyroid disease risk, according to a study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives. Source: Gregory A. Brent, MD.