Customer Reviews

The Safe Shopper's Bible: A Consumer's Guide to Nontoxic Household Products, Cosmetics, and Food

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you would like to reduce your personal toxic load, you probably will not find a better resource than the Safe Shopper's Bible by David Steinman (an excellent health writer) and Samuel Epstein (a well-known cancer researcher).

This book covers a large array of consumer products and foods with a specific focus on cancer-causing ingredients, with specific product types and brands listed for each category. It is based upon hard research from sources including manufacturers' Materials Safety Data Sheets, reports by the World Health Organization and Freedom of Information Act requests to the FDA, USDA, EPA and ATF (which perform their own testing that often never sees the light of day).

Deodorants, shampoos and conditioners, as well as fish, red meat, and various vegetables, are just some of the many products covered. All products are listed in easy-to-read charts by category, with an overall risk level for each, and more specific information if you need it.

In the seven pages the book devotes to deodorants, for example, we see that there are enormous differences in the carcinogenicity of the various products reviewed. They range from products like English Leather A Man's Deodorant Stick, with six ingredients placing users at risk for contact dermatitis (fragrance, parabens, propylene glycol), or cancer (D&C Red 33, FD&C Green 3, FD&C Yellow 6), to Desert Essence Tea Tree Deodorant, which has no such ingredients.

The main failing of the book is that it overlooks substances that are not known carcinogens, such as mercury. Hence, various seafood items are listed as safe which actually pose a mercury risk. A secondary failing is that it was written ten years ago, and the toxic burden of the planet, and hence of our food supply, has been shifting and increasing since then.

Both of these deficiencies can be remedied by a visit to the Environmental Working Group's Web site at http://ewg.org.

This page contains a nice summary of mercury levels in fish:

http://www.ewg.org/reports/brainfood/sidebar.html

More general coverage on mercury in seafood can be found here:

http://www.ewg.org/issues/mercury/20031209/index.php

I have personally adhered to the recommendations of the Safe Shopper's Bible and its predecessor, Diet for a Poisoned Planet, since 1990. During that time, I went from a person who had sometimes extreme allergic reactions to cigarette smoke, new carpet odor, gasoline fumes, perfumes, and a variety of other common substances, resulting in recurring bouts of bronchitis, to a person who is presently in excellent health with virtually no reactions to anything. There is more to the story than that, because I also had mercury removed from my teeth during this interval, but I feel certain that paying close attention to the lists in these books was a major contributing factor to the dramatic improvement in my own health.

All I did was place this book on my desk...wow...it was the conversation topic of the day...aluminum cooking utensils, pots and pans are harming us ...antiperspirants which we have been wearing since puberty contains aluminum which we spray and roll on daily...shampoos. hair dyes, plastic wrap on meat, get this...microwave popcorn packaging is slowly harming us....what do ya do...buy this book for your home reference library..get informed....they need to make this a pocket size book for easy referencing while shopping....someone bought my copy again so...i am buying my third copy...again!!!! BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

I have serious adverse reactions to the chemicals in many products, and need to avoid those that make me sick. Since most products do not list ingredients, there is no way of knowing what is actually in them, or if it may be a health hazard. This book lists the hazardous ingredients in many products, and also lists the ones that are safer. Great information for anyone who has health problems that are aggravated by various chemicals, as well as people who wish to avoid using harsh chemicals. I use the book quite often, in my search for safe products.

This is a great guide but needs to be updated badly. There are graphs of specific company's products with their pro's and con's listed beside them. The problem is that many companies have changed the formulations of their products since the book's original publish date of 1995 and many of the specific products listed are no longer made...some by companies that no longer exist.

However, as a reviewer noted below, it is an essential guide for knowing which harmful ingredients to look for.

I love this book and have walked into many stores carrying it. The only downfall is that many of the products have been discontinued. For example, Almay no longer makes the solid anti-perspirant unscented deodorant (you can get it in gel form, but I was looking for a solid), also several of the hair and makeup products have been discontinued by the companies that produce them. Since the book was originally published in 1995, it needs to be updated since products are constantly changing on the market. But the book has still been a useful tool for me.

I purchased this book because our family was wanting to become a toxin-free home and eat more organic foods. I wanted to know which products and cleaning items were the safest. As I read the book, often I was shocked, surprised and disappointed that our regulating agencies would allow toxic and carcinogenic ingredients in products we buy and trust. How could this be? This book does an excellent job listing which ingredients are not good for you and the reason why. It was interesting to look up the current products I use (such as toothpaste, shampoo, deodorent, bathroom cleaner) and see how they ranked. Needless to say, I have thrown away many items from my bathroom cabinet. I have also become a regular label reader. I feel educated and informed at choosing the best products. If you're not sure what to buy, the book gives you many excellent choices of brand name items that are considered safe or to have minimal risk on your health. I have read this book from front to back. It offers a list of many websites and mail order companies providing organic foods and non-toxic products. I think if more people knew what was in their food or personal products, that they'd make a change. This book does an excellent job of informing you. All they need now is an updated version with some of the newer products listed. Great book!!!!

This has been the book all aware people have waited for.Thank goodness a friend in the states sourced it for me and I look forward to the updated version which wil include data about the company that cares about people and preventing cancer..Neways International.I Have shared the information with many folk here and they are waiting for the book eagerly.Congratuations.

I was living in South Africa when I acquired this book and although VERY few of the products listed were available there, I still found this book to be excellent, most informative and helpful. Many of the BAD ingredients listed can be found in products all over the world and the alternative safe products eg: baking soda etc. can be found virtually everywhere too. The alternative recipes offered were easy to put together and very effective. We in Western society have been indoctrinated to believe that our homes are not clean and sanitary unless they smell like bleach or Pine-sol. It is a pity that some of us still continue to sit back in "quiet desperation" when there really are so many safe options out there. Yes, sometimes they are more expensive and in many cases not. And yes, it may require some effort on our part to seek them out. Isn't the Internet a wonderful tool!!!!! We can read. We are capable of making moral and ethical choices. There really is no excuse to sit back and be abused by governments, corporations and factory farms anymore. We can either choose to fight back or remain apathetic. INFORM yourselves! READ this book! Then use your SAVVY!

This is an excellent guide to products that we use daily. You can find the safest alternatives and information about what ingredients are harmful. The only drawback is that it does not include ratings on the newest products on the market but you can use the other info about harmful ingredients as a guideline. If you are concerned about product safety this book is a must.

I think this book is excellent. It tells about many different house-hold products. Some of the products it tells about is- Bathroom cleaners, Paints, Animal (pet) products. Cosmetics, Shampoos, Hair care products, Tooth care, Fruits and Vegtables plus many more. It also tells about carcinogenic products. I find this book very helpful when I want to find out about products I want to buy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to find about the products that are healthy for you and non-healthy for you.