One of the most sacrosanct items in my daily food plan was recently deemed unsafe—tea, or more specifically, tea bags.  A lovely, strong cup of tea is one of my most cherished pleasures. However, I recently read that those faux-silk-like pyramid-shaped tea bags release billions of microplastic particles into each cup of tea, which can damage our endocrine systems and overall general health. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am.

Tea bags are just one tiny drop in a sea of unsafe food choices for boomers these days. I no longer heat food in plastic containers in the microwave to avoid dropping dead from carcinogenic BPAs. I try to wash my fresh fruit and veggies in a vinegar or baking soda-and-water mixture to remove most pesticides. I eliminated Costco’s $1.50 hot dog and Diet Coke lunch treat for a few years to prevent falling dead before I left the store, but I have regressed and rather enjoy gambling with my life expectancy from time to time. Occasionally, I go for broke and treat myself to their fake soft frozen yogurt sundae, which probably doesn’t contain a single natural or safe ingredient.

Big Ag has messed around with our food so much in the past few decades that it’s a miracle what we consume hasn’t killed us. The North American obesity problem with its attendant health issues is no coincidence. The fault lands squarely in the lap of food manufacturers and chemical agriculture. In fact, most of the food we consume today contains chemicals, fillers, and additives that would horrify our ancestors who grew their own food. While many of us try to buy organic whenever possible, I sometimes question the legitimacy of the “organic” designation, and organic or ‘natural’ doesn’t necessarily mean healthy.

Another consumer product I’ve eliminated from my shopping list is laundry and dishwasher pods. According to studies, like the tea bags referenced above, they also deposit millions of microplastic particles onto our dishes and clothing, which are harmful to our endocrine systems and reportedly can alter our DNA. Even powdered or liquid detergents aren’t above suspicion. I’ve now switched to Nellie’s dishwashing cubes, made in Canada and available on Amazon. Have you ever watched those online videos of deep-washing already-washed sheets, towels, and clothing with vinegar and baking soda? It’s shocking how much residue remains in our laundry even after it’s washed. Coffee pods, creamers, artificial sweeteners—and the list goes on—are all harmful to our health.

I try to read labels to sort out the riff from the raff, but it’s a never-ending struggle to buy and consume healthy products. My friend Gail introduced me to an app called “Yuka” that scans edible product barcodes and gives a rating from 1 to 100, indicating whether it falls in the healthy or unhealthy range. I find the app helpful, though it can be discouraging because my choices are often not the best.

My favourite Bonne Maman raspberry jam ranked poorly, but I spread it on my toast anyway. V8 juice, which I mistakenly thought would give me a quick vegetable boost, also failed. Fortunately, my favourite Yorkshire Gold Tea scored 90/100, which was incredibly reassuring. The biggest enemy ingredients are salt and sugar, but assorted unknown chemical additives are sneaky and turn up in the most unlikely places.

As a dedicated tea drinker, I rarely buy coffee—only when I’m expecting guests. To be sure I serve good quality, safe coffee to guests, I decided to Google which are the best-tasting and safest choices, and settled on Kicking Horse from British Columbia. I was shocked to learn that Starbucks and most supermarket coffees are loaded with additives. Who knew a simple cup of coffee could contain dangerous chemicals and pesticide residues? Breakfast cereals are dessert in a bowl; most yogurts are loaded with sugar and additives; even the shiny apples and other fruit and vegetables on display at the grocery store are coated in toxic wax to make them look appealing. Oranges have been bleached and dyed that characteristic, consistent orange colour for decades because consumers do not like seeing greenish, pale, blotched oranges.

There is a hidden downside to store-bought bread never going mouldy. Various additives and preservatives keep bread artificially soft and fresh-tasting. Some bread products and buns contain azodicarbonamide—a dough softener and bleaching agent used in plastics and yoga mats. Imagine that rolling around in your stomach and intestines. Speaking for myself, I can definitely feel that rubbery concoction accumulating around my own waistline. I hauled my 40-year-old Black & Decker bread machine up from my basement a couple of years ago and have put it back into service after reading that choice bit of news.

World-class soccer teams competing in FIFA earlier this year were justifiably skeptical about the quality of North American food. The Norwegian team brought all their own food to the World Cup competition as they didn’t trust the American supply. They wanted to ensure that nothing compromised their performance. Have you noticed a slightly metallic taste in prepared salads at fast food outlets and some restaurants? That’s because petrochemical bleach and ammonia baths are commonly used to disinfect produce like lettuce, fruits, and other produce. I can usually taste it and avoid premade salads, but what other chemicals are hidden in the foods we eat every day?

My friend Margaret is probably right that at our age, the damage is already done. That’s all the justification I need to continue some of my bad habits like the odd Costco hotdog, a bucket of chemical-laden popcorn with a poisonous fountain Diet Coke at the movies, a McDonald’s ice cream cone at the drive-thru when I have a hankering for a quick one, and a store-bought butter tart when that big mug of Yorkshire Gold Tea is just crying out for a side snack.

All we can do is try our best to do our best, without totally ignoring the good food rules. I’m never going to lose the 20 lbs. I put on at menopause, so why shouldn’t I live out my remaining days with a big smile on my face after consuming something that gives me pleasure? Pass the ice cream, please, but only if it’s Canadian-made Kawartha Dairy or Chapman’s. I really am trying to do my best. How are you coping?