Women · Eco-Chick

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Bummer! Soda Causes Cancer (Ready to Finally Give Up the Cola Now?)

Drinking soda is often sexualized and sexified, like in this image. But it’s one of the worst substances you can consume on a regular basis. Image via Mark Sebastian on Flickr.

Most of us know that soda is a not-great treat, one that most nutritionists advise us against. But how many women do you know with an admitted “Diet Coke addiction”? Well, it may be way worse than just an attachment to a bubbly beverage.

According to the trustworthy Rodale.com, it looks like unbeknownst to most of us (soda company honchos insist that it’s totally fine to consume it, of course), soda – especially colas like Coke and Pepsi – contain a cancer causing element.

High levels of a carcinogen known as 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MI, are created when certain forms of ammonia are used to create the caramel food dye used in some of the most popular soda brands on the planet. Although CSPI is lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to change label requirements, for now, it’s perfectly legal for soda to harbor hidden carcinogens without any disclosure on the label.
The Food and Drug Administration says the chemical is still safe despite the fact that CSPI projects common levels of 4-MI found in Coke and Pepsi cause 15,000 cancers a year. Part of the problem? Chemicals are introduced into the food system before being adequately tested for long-term effects in humans. “It’s hard to know how serious a problem food dyes might pose to health because the science is so difficult to do,” says Marion Nestle, PhD, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University.

Want more reasons to stay away from the carbonated stuff? It has negative health effects whether you’re over- or underweight, or whether you drink diet soda or the sugary stuff. According to The Stir’s piece entitled “Drinking Soda is Now Just as Bad for You as Smoking” (haha!), “Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found that drinking two or more sugary drinks a day dramatically raises women’s risk for diabetes and high cholesterol. And while women who regularly quaff sugary beverages, like soda, are also much more likely to become obese, even skinny female soda drinkers had a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes.”

Diet soda is just as bad for your health, just in different ways. While it too has been linked to an “…increased risk for stroke and heart disease,” even more disturbing is how artificial sweeteners in soda affect the body in strange ways. According to Rodale’s excellent piece, “9 Disturbing Side Effects of Soda”:

“Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center monitored 475 adults for 10 years, and found that those who drank diet soda had a 70 percent increase in waist circumference over the 10-year study, compared with those who didn’t drink any soda. Those who drank more than two diet sodas per day saw a 500 percent waist expansion! A separate study the same researchers conducted on mice suggested that it was the aspartame, which raised blood glucose levels, that caused the weight gain; when your liver encounters too much glucose, the excess is converted to body fat.”

I enjoy a good root beer – with vanilla ice cream – about once year, and in the summer I love a gin and tonic, but that’s about it for my soda consumption. I usually opt for tapwater with lemon or herbal tea at restaurants. At home I drink Emergen-C in my water, make tea (cold chamomile and green teas) and fresh-squeezed juice.

What do you drink instead of soda?

aspartame, cola, diabetes, health, heart disease, mountain dew, Rodale, soda, sugar, The Stir, women

“They Have the Right to Live in Dignity”: A Look at Cambodian Women Garment Workers (Video)

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by Starre Vartan · 03/06/12

Beyond The Garment Factory’s Floor from savann.oeurm on Vimeo.

Sometimes people think that covering and promoting eco fashion is frivolous. This is why it’s not.

Cambodia, eco fashion, Fair Trade, women, worker's rights

Heroines for the Planet: Model and Skincare Chef May Lindstrom

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by Lindsay E. Brown · 02/19/12

Photo by Larry White

May Lindstrom is a self-professed explorer, skin chef and conscious epicurean. Her deep connection to the earth seeps into every facet of her work as a successful model, green makeup artist, painter and now, entrepreneur. May’s new, artisanal skincare line, May Lindstrom Skin, is a collection of the purest concoctions imaginable, personally crafted using only ingredients that are organic, bio-dynamic, wild crafted, cruelty free, vegan, sustainable and conscious. Since each bottle is formulated, hand-blended and filled by May in her private studio, she controls precisely what goes into her products, avoiding harmful chemicals, outsourcing and labs that are commonly used and abused in most beauty and skincare products.

I had the pleasure of catching up with May recently. She shared how wildly passionate she is about her new line, where she sources her ingredients from, how her modeling career took off, and what she loves most about her job.

Lindsay: Congratulations on your skincare line! What inspired its creation?

May: Thank you so much, Lindsay. It has been the most incredible journey introducing this line into the world. I started formulating as a little girl, mashing plants and mud together and coming up with special “potions” for all my friends. I took playing in mud puddles very seriously! As I got older, the process evolved and I grew fascinated with the history of beauty rituals, the coming together of women to celebrate themselves and indulge in their own self care, the sharing and passing on of recipes and traditions from one generation to the next across continents and social divisions.
My own skin has also been a constant motivator. I am highly sensitive to several of the chemicals common in everyday cosmetics and beauty products and am fighting a never ending battle with these influences to my complexion. As a consumer, I have yearned for something nourishing and luxurious, deeply indulgent and beautifully packaged without sacrifice to purity and potency. As a formulator, it only made sense for me to make it myself. What a fun challenge this has been!

Photo Credit: Courtney Dailey

Beauty, cosmetics, health, makeup, may lindstrom, natural, skin, women

Heroines for the Planet: Laura Turner Seydel

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by Lindsay E. Brown · 06/06/11

Laura Turner Seydel is one of the most powerful women in the environmental movement. I’ve been fascinated by Laura’s work for years now, so I was honored and thrilled for a chance to interview her, to say the least. Ironically, one of my favorite shows as a kid was Captain Planet, a show which Laura’s father, Ted Turner, created. That show opened my eyes as a young child, and now Laura inspires me as she carries on her family’s dedication to eco-activism.

Her environmental work is simply a way of life for Laura and her family. Her Father passed down a deep love and appreciation for nature to Laura at a young age, which she and her husband, Rutherford, have instilled in their three children.

Outside of her home in Atlanta (which is LEED-certified, of course), Laura takes a hands-on approach to tackling eco-issues. She’s the Chairwoman of the Captain Planet Foundation, which promotes environmental education and gardens in schools, and Zero Waste Zone-Downtown Atlanta. She co-founded Mothers and Others for Clean Air, an organization which raises awareness about the link between asthma and air pollution. And she and her husband together created the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund, an environmental advocacy group that works to raise public awareness of issues related to the Chattahoochee River and secure measurable improvements in its health.

Laura’s work doesn’t end there. She’s equally passionate about keeping toxic chemicals out of consumer products. She works with the Environmental Working Group and the EPA to protect and inform the public about toxins and pollution. She also serves on boards including The Turner Foundation, Jane Smith Turner Foundation, the Turner Endangered Species Fund, the League of Conservation Voters, the Defenders of Wildlife, and the Waterkeeper Alliance.

I asked Laura about her tireless environmental efforts, her family and her thoughts on FOX, and she shared some of her favorite all-natural products!

Lindsay: Environmentalism seems to be at the root of your every endeavor. Your father raised you to be very close to nature from a young age. How did your experiences as a young girl mold you into the ardent environmentalist that you are today?

Laura: It was a natural progression. Growing up, our lifestyle was centered on environmental issues. We would pick up trash along the road, keep our thermostat at an energy-efficient temperature, and spent time in nature. It is something I still instill in my kids today. For example, when we go to the beach, we spend time picking up trash along the shore. I realized how important it is to protect our natural resources so our children will have them in the future.
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heroines for the planet, leaders, mentors, women

Fall Eco Fashion Beats the Chill In Style with Keds, Loomstate and Eileen Fisher Organics!

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by Haley · 10/15/10

It’s official. Fall is off to a cool start! The best part about fall is the chance to start anew: new initiatives (turn off that a.c. and switch to eco-bulbs), new motivations (make lunch), and new clothes! You want to look street smart even when it is cold and this new apparel is both warm and eco-chic.

The limited-edition eco-conscious Loomstate poncho!

Since there’s been a chill in the air, there’s never been a better time to sport a cute overlayer. But with the season not quite winter the hustle and bustle of a thick wool coat overwhelms. Eco-Chick has a solution! In mid- October Loomstate, a men’s and women’s eco-conscious brand, presents their limited edition poncho in celebration of Barney’s CO-OP’s 25^th Anniversary.

Pair the chic poncho with organic denim and prepare to be enviable!

The poncho is made from organic cotton canvas and recycled blankets. It’s cute brown and blue colors make it an essential wardrobe piece to pair with the cutest of cotton organic skinny jeans, for they go the best with the sneaks, like these from Eileen Fisher. Not only are these jeans made from cotton grown without pesticides, they are dyed (jean dyes are notoriously polluting) under the Global Organic Textile Standard. And if you’re not into this style, Eileen Fisher offers a whole line of organic denim on their site and in stores.

Made from non-polluting organic cotton canvas, these sneaks are eco-chic.

Sneakers are a must – whether you’re running around, walking home from work, or taking a stroll in a local pumpkin patch. Whatever you’re up to, cute comfortable sneakers are essential! Keds are superclassic and come in various colors – but this month they’re eco-chic too! Introducing Keds Organic Champions, chic footwear made from one-hundred percent organic cotton, stitched eyelets, and tea-stained laces. The sneakers are 55$ and can be purchased at www.keds.com.

Don’t back down for the fall chill. Beat it. Sport this super cute outfit and be an eco-chick.
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