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.