When it comes to selecting gifts I have a few recommendations, and words of caution that may not be what you normally read. We see that foods are labeled with what's inside, but are the toys and gifts we buy labeled with as much caution? The soft toys that children and pets put in their mouths are made with plastics that may be toxic and may cause long lasting harm. Some wonderful gifts like wooden toys, very durable, colorful and stimulating for the imagination are painted with lead based paints. So, here are just a few guidelines to keep in mind:

1. Check the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website to see which toys, games, gardening tools, jewelry and artist gift sets have been recalled. Most recalls involve excessive lead paint. You may have picked up a home test kit for lead, but the CPSC announced that these kits were inadequate to evaluate consumer products for lead.

2. Phthalates are everywhere, not just in toys. This ingredient commonly added to plastic to make it soft and flexible is also found in shower curtains, shampoo and water bottles and perfume. Avoid direct contact with skin, avoid storing or heating foods in plastic containers, avoid drinking from plastic bottles, and avoid teething toys for children made of soft plastic. Also, don't forget pet chew toys that are plastic. They carry the same cautions as children's toys. Read More on Toxic Toys ...

3. Don't put anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat. That may sound odd, but we know that your skin is the largest organ in your body and it readily absorbs whatever you put on it. Once its in your system, how is that any different from the food you eat? So, lotions, soaps and shampoos should be non-toxic too. Avoid sulfates like sodium lauryl sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate which are low cost ingredients yet powerful irritants; likewise for petroleum based products like propylene glycol. Avoid toxic preservatives like formaldehyde and parabens, the latter of which mimics estrogen. Avoid synthetic fragrances which can also cause irritation. How safe are the products you are using? Find out here...