TODAY Food Club

As my two sons hit puberty, the topic of discussion around the dinner table lately has been about reducing pit odor.

My 18-year-old daughter who's been there...done that smiles bashfully and chimes in with the name of the latest & coolest mass-marketed brand. “All the guys use it, Mom,” with a drawn-out -om at the end of my name.

Then I broke it to them gently...again.

“Well guys, you know I won't buy that,” I stated matter of factly.

Full of unpronounceable ingredients, (and too many at that), encased in a non-recyclable plastic container, I couldn't bear the thought of my babies coating their sensitive skin with that. I was horrified to think of all the single-use plastic they'd generate envisioning it swirling around in the ocean garbage patches.

Let's take it point by point.

1. Chemical ingredients. My gut instinct told me to stay away from anything with “aluminum” in it. Any possibility that aluminum could contribute to Alzheimer's makes me run far away. I know it's impossible to prove something doesn't cause it. Who knows? The next experiment could show it does cause Alzheimer's.

I'm not waiting around to find out. Would you?

Then there's the antifreeze component (or close cousin of it) propylene glycol. Can't imagine that on sensitive skin.

“Fragrance” is a catch-all secret potion of up to 200 components. Most definitely among them are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) called phthalates. These carry the “pleasant” odor longer and farther.

As puberty is the time of rapid sexual development (known as raging hormones), exposure to EDCs at that time can cause permanent deformity or seriously mess up the sex organs. Not good.

2. Plastic container. Three words sums it up for me: I. Hate. Plastic.

We're literally drowning in our plastic waste. Plastic bits will soon outnumber fish in the ocean. Think about that for a second.

About 40% of all plastic is single use packaging. The plastics industry, delighting in shale gas from fracking, predicts 40% growth in plastic production over the next decade.

Cheaper to make new from fossil fuels than recycling it, I ask: Where is it all going to go?

China refuses to take anymore. Now many American cities resort to just burning it or landfilling it all. Both of these methods pollute air and water with very toxic, often cancer-causing chemicals.

So, what's a crunchy minimalist mom into natural living to do?

I literally scoured the web looking for a deodorant with only safe, non-toxic ingredients in an infinitely recyclable glass jar.

I honestly didn't think I'd find even one brand.

Wow! What a surprise to find over FIVE different ones. I read the reviews and ticked off the natural fragrance names to my boys. Chose them and waited.

A week later, my boys eyed them suspiciously. Humoring me yet again, they sniffed.

“Not too bad,” said the older one.

“Interesting smell,” said his baby brother.

Next day, after gym class, I asked the $64 question.

Score!

Everyone's happy.

Whew! What a sign of relief.

PS: Contact the author for her recommendations of natural, packed-in-glass deodorant that works! You'll sleep better at night knowing you've prevented your teens from toxic exposure to deodorant at a time in their life when EDCs are just plain bad.