So I'd heard of parabens being used in personal care products, and concerns about them ... long story short, they're preservative substances that have been found in high concentration in breast tumors.  It's not yet clear whether there's a causational relationship going on, but they're hanging out in our bodies.  Does that give you the creeps?  It does me.

How do they get there?  Go look at the bottles and tubes in your bathroom and start reading the labels: "propylparaben," "methylparaben," "polyparaben" ... rub that stuff on you and it worms its way in.  Think about how many products you use every day - c'mon, really think about it.  I'm a bit of an earth mama myself, but I do use shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, face cleanser, toner, moisturizers, eye cream ... okay, maybe I'm not so much of an earth mama these days.  But you get my point.  Multiple products containing these chemicals applied to the skin on a daily basis over several years - decades - results in an accumulation of the little buggers.

 I'm reasonably cautious when it comes to my health.  I recently heard someone say they treat their body "like a temple, not a tent."  I liked it.  No tents here, I'm more of a Hilton/Marriott kind of girl.  (Yeah, the analogy kind of fell apart there ... sue me, I grew up Lutheran, we didn't go to Temple.)  So I don't use products that contain parabens.  I - just - don't.  Hello?  We have choices here.  We can read, we can buy accordingly.  What do I use?  My own stuff.  Duh.

 "BUT BUT BUT!!" said Butt the Hoopoe, to paraphrase Salman Rushdie (if you haven't read the book, give yourself a treat and do so) - I recently learned that checking for parabens in personal care products wasn't enough.  No!  During a quick trip into Harris-Teeter to pick up some grub, I zipped over to the bakery (see, I haven't cut out the wheat or cooked foods, so I'm not a real purist) and grabbed a baguette in a paper bag under a sign that said, "Baked fresh daily!"  The ingredient list seemed a little long, so I stopped and read it ... PARABENS!  In FOOD!  That was, per the store, baked that day.  Why ever did they need to add paraben preservatives to freshly-baked bread?  Little kids might be eating that bread!  Fortunately, right around the corner of that very rack were more baguettes that were free of parabens or any preservatives - except salt, I suppose.  I can deal with a little salt.

REAL FOOD, people.  CLEAN PRODUCTS.  It's not that hard.  Vote with your wallet.