Recently, I read an article in HealthKeepers Magazine about toxins in our body care products. This is what it said and I agree that we should use more natural and organic personal care products for a healthier body.
Personal care products are supposed to make us beautiful. But have you read the list of ingredients on the label of your favorite shampoo, body wash, moisturizer, cosmetics or lotion recently? Have you come across chemical names like phthalates, triclosan, paraben or sodium laureth sulfate? What are these substances and what are they doing in these products that go directly on your skin?
Our body’s biggest organ is the skin. It’s your most important immune defense barrier as well as your largest organ for eliminating waste. Did you know that many chemicals found in body care products pass easily through the skin and tissues into the blood stream, which carries them throughout the body? While we have wonderful detoxification capabilities for eliminating harmful toxins, today there are so many synthetic chemicals assaulting our bodies from the air, water and food that we are experiencing toxic overload. Unable to adequately process and excrete the overwhelming number of incoming toxins, our bodies store them in our tissues, especially in our fat cells. This creates an ever-growing accumulation of toxins which can interfere with our normal biochemical processes and can eventually produce diseases or worse.
Toxins found in body care products generally fall into these categories: Neurotoxins; endocrine disrupters; irritants and allergens; and kidney and/or liver poisons. They’ve been linked with all kinds of disease, including infertility and birth defects; asthma and respiratory failure, convulsions; circulatory collapse; anemia; skin problems like acne, eczema and psoriasis; nervous system disorders like Parkinson’s and ALS; chemical sensitivity; and cancer.
Watchdog groups such as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and researchers at Vassar College are finding that these culprits are found in the following chemical groups: phthalates, triclosan, paraben and musks. Byproducts of these substances such as sodium sulfate and 1, 4-dioxide are suspected carcinogens.
When you consider the fact that we use an average of nine body care products a day which contain an average of 126 different synthetic chemicals, which are not all poisons, but many toxic enough to do serious damage to your health-you have to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this? What’s in these products?”
What can you do about this? Vote with your dollar. Carefully read the list of ingredients on product packaging to stay away from these chemicals. Suggest to your local pharmacy and supermarket that they carry more natural and organic personal care products or visit your local health food or natural product store to find healthier alternatives.
In next month’s article, look for Part II and get the “Dirty Dozen”. Find out what toxins to avoid.
To learn more about products that are more health friendly contact Lynn for information on a full skin care line. There are a number to choose from and they don’t have to be costly. My new favorite is a package of five facial care products for as little as $85 that will last you a couple of months. The kit contains a cleanser, toner, antioxidant serum, skin repair cream and lipid complex. These products do not have these harmful ingredients listed in this article.
HealthKeepers Magazine April 2012
