New special issue of the VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE provides orientation
Berlin, May 11, 2023. Whether we like it or not: in everyday life we constantly come into contact with pollutants and environmental toxins. They can enter the body via breathing, nutrition and skin contact and may cause damage to health there. The CONSUMER INITIATIVE has summarized how consumers can reduce daily stress.
Pollutants are found almost everywhere in the environment. The extent to which a person is affected depends on numerous factors, in particular lifestyle, diet, place of residence and type of work. Age also plays a crucial role. Babies, children and the elderly are considered to be particularly at risk from pollutants. Children because they come into contact with a larger quantity of pollutants in relation to their body size, more frequent breathing and because of their age-typical behavior (e.g. putting things in their mouths). Older people, on the other hand, have already accumulated more pollutants in their bodies over the course of their lives.
“Unfortunately, in this world it is impossible to completely avoid pollutants,” says specialist Miriam Bätzing in a nutshell. Suspicious and proven harmful substances and mixtures of substances are simply too widespread, and possible (interaction) effects are often not sufficiently investigated. “But the good news is that almost everyone can reduce their daily intake of harmful substances,” the speaker continued. Even small behavioral changes in everyday life could help.
“The most important parameters are in the areas of nutrition, skin care and interior design,” says Bätzing. For example, those who rely on fresh and unprocessed organic products can significantly reduce the intake of pesticides and pollutants from manufacturing processes. When it comes to skin care products, natural cosmetics are often the better choice. The general rule is “less is more”. Pollution can almost always be reduced indoors, too, e.g. B. by using harmless cleaning agents and paints. “It may sound banal, but regular ventilation is the be-all and end-all for airspace quality,” emphasizes the speaker.
We have summarized the measures consumers can take to reduce everyday contact with harmful substances in the new issue of the CONSUMER INITIATIVE themed series entitled “Harmful substances in everyday life”. The 16-page brochure can be ordered or downloaded for EUR 2.00 (plus postage) from www.verbraucher.com.
The VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE eV is the federal association of critical consumers founded in 1985. The focus is on ecological, health and social consumer work.
Contact
The CONSUMER INITIATIVE registered association
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13088 Berlin
030 53 60 73 41
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