If you take the time to do a little research you will find
that many common chemicals in the products you use every
day are cancer causing. The truth is the home is a haven
for cancer. According to Michael Dufresne, a leading
reasercher in environmental cancers, "54% of women working
in the home are at a higher risk of developing cancer than
women working outside the home." The reason? Chemicals in
every day products.
Dufresne, a researcher professor at the University of
Windsor, who is also a research coordinator for Cancer Care
Ontario and a member of the US Barbara Karmanos Cancer
Institute, says that the presence of cancer-linked chemicals
in cosmetic and hair products, toothpaste, shaving cream,
furniture polish, dish washing liquids and other household
products should raise major concerns.
Dufresne said his greatest worry is the lack of information
given to the public about products they use every day, more
so because they are being used in concert.
He said "people are blindly being led in the use of these
products, they assume they are safe, and they are not." He
added, "scientists are discovering that exposure to a
variety of trace chemicals over the span of a lifetime is
dangerous."
Did you know that the US Public Interest Group reports there
are more that 100,000 synthetic chemicals in use? Scary yes,
but even scarier according to Dufresne is that unlike
cigarettes there are virtually no warning labels on
cosmetics and virtually no FDA regulations policing them.
What about price. If the product is expensive it must be
good for you right? Uh Uh. Dufresne's own study showed
that "men and women think they are safer if they pay
more, but there is absolutely no relationship between
cost and safety."
One product that saved farmers millions of dollars was DDT.
The U.S. government outlawed the use of the pesticide DDT
because of the cancer causing dangers research has proven.
Unfortunately most people are unaware that many countries
from which we import out fruits and vegetables still use DDT
because their respective governments aren't worried about
the effects since the produce is exported to the US.
Monsanto, one of the major chemical producers, manufactures
DDT and sells it abroad. Why? Because it works so well, it
is cheap to produce and of course it is good for the bottom
line. Profit. Unless you grow your food yourself or buy
organic produce, you may never really know what you are
adding to your diet. The choice is yours! As the adage
goes...buyer beware
So what can we do about it?
Buy organic!!... or we all become farmers, or we demand to
know more about our products so that we can make the choice
for ourselves!
The main reason most chemicals show up in so many products
is because they are inexpensive, simple and effective-and
the government allows them to continue to be used by
virtually every cosmetics and personal care product
manufacturer in the country. A lot of them were being used
before the Food and Drug Administration began regulating the
use of dangerous chemicals in such products and they were
"grandfathered in," and, at the time, seemed ok.
Below is a listing of some of those chemicals, their
properties, and their other uses. With this list in hand,
the next time you go to the drug store or even the grocery
store, or your own household cabinets you can examine the
labels on every product you have to see if some of them
appear in the ingredient list, and they usually do.
When you find these ingredients on the label the wisest
course is to put it back on the shelf and look for something
that does not contain these chemicals.
ALPHA HYDROXY ACIDS: This is one of the most touted
chemicals there is in the cosmetic industry today. It is
supposed to make your skin look younger and remove wrinkles.
It does that, all right. But at the cost of prematurely
exposing immature skin through the removal of the tough
outer layer. It exposes young, not fully developed skin to
the harsh aging and damaging environmental agents. The
"smoothing" of the skin is temporary and regular use of AHAs
could actually make your skin age much faster. Your outer
layer of skin is your first, and most important layer of
defense, and AHAs work to destroy it.
PROPYLENE GLYCOL: This is used as a humectant in cosmetics.
It is also used as an industrial anti-freeze, and as the
major ingredient in brake and hydraulic fluid. Laboratory
tests show it to be a strong skin irritant.
Material Safety Data Sheets (required by the government) on
this chemical warn to avoid skin contact as it is systemic
(affects the entire system) and can cause liver
abnormalities and kidney damage.
Amazingly, you will find this ingredient in hand and body
lotions and facial moisturizers that you rub into your skin.
It is also found in many other products. I am hard put to
find any useful and effective personal care product at the
drug store that does not have this poison among its
ingredients.
MINERAL OIL: Do you use this product on your baby's skin? On
yours? It's supposed to be "gentle" and good for you, isn't
it? It comes from crude oil (petroleum) that is used in
industry as metal cutting fluid. It may suffocate the skin
by forming an oil film. Healthy skin needs oxygen, and it
needs to release carbon dioxide. It should not be inhibited.
If you hold large quantities of moisture in the skin, you
can "flood" the biology. This may result in immature,
unhealthy, sensitive skin that dries out easily.
PETROLEUM BASE PRODUCTS: This has the same properties as
mineral oil. It is used in industry as a grease component
and many other uses.
SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE (SLS) OR SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE
(SLES):
Link to Data Sheet on SLS .....More Information... Of the
two, SLS is potentially the most harmful ingredient to be
used in personal care products. It is a standard ingredient
used in labs to purposefully irritate the skin of test
animals so that other, non-irritating ingredients can be
tested. It can inhibit hair growth, contribute to hair loss,
and could cause cataracts if it gets into the eyes. It's
industrial uses include: garage floor cleaners, engine
degreasers, car wash soap, among others. Dr. Keith Green,
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical College of Georgia
insists: "It may keep children's eyes from developing
properly and cause adult cataracts." (Source: A summary of
Dr. Green's report to "Prevent Blindness, Inc." Conference)
Both of these products (SLS and SLES) have been known to
cause potentially carcinogenic nitrates to form in shampoos
and cleaners by reacting with certain other commonly used
ingredients found in most shampoos. Dr. Green states that
very large amounts of nitrates may enter the blood system in
just one use of the shampoo containing the chemicals where
nitrates have formed. SLS and SLES are the only surfactants
in shampoos and cleaners known to enter the blood system
(SLES is the alcohol form of SLS. Sodium levels in the body
may increase with its use. It's slightly less irritating,
but may cause more drying out.).
And these are the ingredients you're expected to put in your
mouth or rub onto and into your skin. Why are they used?
Because they're cheap and a small amount generates lots of
foam. When salt is added, it thickens and gives the illusion
of being thick and concentrated (remember the television
commercial showing a man with two different shampoos on his
head, with the emphasis on the one that is "thick and
concentrated?"😉.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate has several names: Sodium Dodecyl
Polyoxyethylene Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate, Sodium
Lauryl Ethoxysulfate and Sodium Polyoxyethylene Lauryl
Sulfate. Ammonium Laureth Sulfate's alternative name is
Ammonium Lauryl Ether Sulfate
BENTONITE-KAOLIN: These are clays used in foundations, and
may clog the skin and keep oxygen out. These chemicals are
used to fight fires. And the same thing that can suffocate a
fire can suffocate your face.
GLYCERINE: It draws moisture from inside the skin and holds
it on the surface for a better feel. But it dries the skin
from the inside out.
COLLAGEN AND ELASTIN: This is derived from small animal
skins and ground up chicken feet. Another film that may
suffocate and over moisturize the skin. Cosmetic
manufacturers have heralded it (collagen) as a new "wonder
ingredient," but according to medical experts, it cannot
affect the skin's own collagen when applied topically.
Elastin is much like collagen in that it cannot be absorbed
by the skin and merely provides a suffocating coating on the
skin's surface.
BENTONITE: Used in facial masks. But it can have sharp edges
that scratch the skin. It forms films that effectively trap
toxins and carbon dioxide in the skin, suffocating it.
LANOLIN: Touted as being able to penetrate skin better than
other oils, even though there is little scientific proof of
this. It can cause allergic contact skin rashes and may
contain pesticides used on sheep and wool.
BAR SOAPS: Made from animal fat and lye. Bacteria can feed
in it and grow. It may also corrode and dry out the skin.
Did you know that over 400 "foreign" chemicals have been
identified in human tissue? That more than 500 chemicals can
be found under the kitchen sink, in the bathrooms, and in
the laundry rooms of the average home? That about 100 pounds
of hazardous waste are in storage in basements and garages
in the average home?
Did you also know that approximately 3,000 chemicals are
intentionally added to our foods and that 700 different
chemicals have been found in drinking water? Their are also
884 neurotoxic chemical compounds that are used in cosmetic,
personal care, and perfume industry products.Are they safe?
At what levels and in what combinations? Who is really
willing to take that chance? For those of us that have
either gone thru an illness or a loss of someone close to
us, we have first hand knowledge of the toll it takes on
ourselvs and the family. And what if it could have been
changed just by some simple little things in our lives?
What these products can do by themselves, let alone if they
are used in combination with each other. Those types of
studies are not done very often because of the thousands of
possible combinations and costs, but should we just ignore
that and hope that it is ok, not if we truly want to
ourselves and our family to be as safe as we can make it.
The funny thing is that it will not take much effort except
a change in our life style. It will require change and a new
commitment to ones life style, but being ill or not healthy
is the one of the biggest inconviences their is.
According to the founder of the Response Team for the
Chemically Injured, at least one study from the National
Cancer Institute suggests that as many as 98 percent of all
cancers may be linked to chemical exposures.
WARNING LABELS: They are appearing on more and more personal
care products every day, but we just ignore them and keep on
rubbing irritants into our skins, having our children (and
ourselves) brush their teeth with dangerous chemicals and
use mouthwashes that are not safe.
The labels warn us not to swallow. And if you do, to
contact the Poison Control Center if we swallow too much.
Other labels warn us of the danger of prolonged contact
with the skin of products that are designed to be rubbed
into the skin.
Learn the names of these harmful chemicals, and stop
ignoring the warning labels. Start reading the ingredient
lists, and if these harmful chemicals are listed, put it
back on the shelf. You may live longer and with fewer health
problems by doing just this one thing.