October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. And now there's a term to cover companies that profess to be supportive of Breast Cancer research, but....are they really? There are often mixed messages, here.
The most glaring is this article:
http://action.storyofstuff.org/sign/procter_and_gamble_breast_cancer
Here, we find that although Proctor and Gamble, maker of so many personal care products used by women (such as Cover Girl, Tide, Pantene and Herbal Essence) is trying to appear supportive of the breast cancer research ideal, but....no muscle behind it. True, they have apparently pledged to donate $100,000 to fighting breast cancer this year. But they have taken NO action on taking carcinogens out of their own products.
BHA, amongst others in their products, is one of the "toxic ten". Instead of focusing on making their products safer for women to use, they are throwing money at the problem and hoping we, the public, think they are "the good guys." Do read the entire article.
And they're not the only ones jumping on the "let's support women with breast cancer" bandwagon.
The CBC has done an article on how big markets take advantage of this opportunity to sell more products to women. Often by offensive means. Read the entire article here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/pinkwashing-a-big-business-for-marketers-1.2775188
For example, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) was chosen to be a sponsor of Breast Cancer awareness. Yet, their product (the chicken) likely contributes to obesity in North America, and, obesity is a factor in breast cancer itself.
The article profiles a few other companies that have partnered with "the cause" yet more or less objectify women, and their breasts.
Beware pinkwashing. Think before you buy.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Safe Toothpaste. Who knew it was so complex??
I've been on a mission to find a safe toothpaste. This is not an easy task. For one thing, everyones definition of what constitutes "safe" is different.
Right up front, let's get the flouride debate out of the way. Some people consider flouride toxic. And it certainly can be, if you ingest it in sufficient quantities. On the other hand, I grew up in a small town without flouride, and, I can assure you, my teeth are now more filling than enamel. I have paid a large price for the lack of flouride in my drinking water when my teeth were being formed. My own children, who did have flouride in their water, have about 3 miniscule fillings between the 3 of them. They are now full grown adults. Many dentists side with the cause of flouride in toothpaste; many do not. I think I will leave this particular, controversial ingredient for you to sort out on your own, according to your own conscience. For me, I think having a flouride free toothpaste for small children who swallow toothpaste is a good idea. But that's just my opinion.
Let's move on to other ingredients. An easy one is triclosan. It's an antibacterial, and, one of the toxic ten. There is definitely no need to put triclosan in toothpaste. The mouth is a a natural home for many, many bacteria, and the odd brush with triclosan is not going to alter the state of affairs there significantly. Nor should it. But, using triclosan poses a threat to the environment, and may be responsible for the upswing of superbugs. Let's leave triclosan out of toothpaste!!
Artificial dyes. Do you really need striped toothpaste? Or blue? or green? This is an easy one. Check your ingredient list for any mention of dyes...and do not buy any that use them.
The next one - this one just amazes me - is our fondness for foamy toothpaste. Foamy toothpaste sells. I guess we just equate a nice foam with cleanliness, and efficiency. Too bad, because there isn't a connection at all. And, the nice foam in toothpaste comes from SLS - sodium lauryl sulphate. Another toxic ten ingredient. Sadly, it does not clean your teeth or add to the health of your mouth in any way. It just feels nice...we've gotten used to it...so manufacturers include it because we want it. Silly us. Let's change our mind on the value of foam and get SLS out of toothpaste.
I was horrified to learn that a few toothpastes contain parabens! Parabens act as preservatives...but, are also in the toxic ten. Parabens are endocrine disruptors...and the results of that are too lengthy for this article. Avoid toothpastes with parabens! (Or any other personal care product, for that matter.)
Next up is the abrasion factor. Some abrasion is not a bad idea. It removes surface stains. Unfortunately, the toothpaste industry can go overboard with a good thing. Most, if not all, toothpastes contain something that removes surface dirt, stains and hopefully tartar. But how much is too much? Fortunately I include here a fabulous, 4 minute clip of research done at the University of Colorado on toothpaste abrasion. I found the clip fascinating. But if you don't want to spare the 4 minutes, there is a clever little chart beneath the clip that features about 65 toothpastes, and rates them as to abrasiveness. Pick the one that suits your level of personal comfort. Too much abrasion can cause tooth sensitivity. Here's the link: http://www.freysmiles.com/blog/view/toothpaste-abrasiveness-low-abrasive-toothpastes
Like all other personal care products, let's read labels! Decide what is important to you, and vote with your wallet. If people do not purchase toxic products, manufacturers will stop making them.
Right up front, let's get the flouride debate out of the way. Some people consider flouride toxic. And it certainly can be, if you ingest it in sufficient quantities. On the other hand, I grew up in a small town without flouride, and, I can assure you, my teeth are now more filling than enamel. I have paid a large price for the lack of flouride in my drinking water when my teeth were being formed. My own children, who did have flouride in their water, have about 3 miniscule fillings between the 3 of them. They are now full grown adults. Many dentists side with the cause of flouride in toothpaste; many do not. I think I will leave this particular, controversial ingredient for you to sort out on your own, according to your own conscience. For me, I think having a flouride free toothpaste for small children who swallow toothpaste is a good idea. But that's just my opinion.
Let's move on to other ingredients. An easy one is triclosan. It's an antibacterial, and, one of the toxic ten. There is definitely no need to put triclosan in toothpaste. The mouth is a a natural home for many, many bacteria, and the odd brush with triclosan is not going to alter the state of affairs there significantly. Nor should it. But, using triclosan poses a threat to the environment, and may be responsible for the upswing of superbugs. Let's leave triclosan out of toothpaste!!
Artificial dyes. Do you really need striped toothpaste? Or blue? or green? This is an easy one. Check your ingredient list for any mention of dyes...and do not buy any that use them.
The next one - this one just amazes me - is our fondness for foamy toothpaste. Foamy toothpaste sells. I guess we just equate a nice foam with cleanliness, and efficiency. Too bad, because there isn't a connection at all. And, the nice foam in toothpaste comes from SLS - sodium lauryl sulphate. Another toxic ten ingredient. Sadly, it does not clean your teeth or add to the health of your mouth in any way. It just feels nice...we've gotten used to it...so manufacturers include it because we want it. Silly us. Let's change our mind on the value of foam and get SLS out of toothpaste.
I was horrified to learn that a few toothpastes contain parabens! Parabens act as preservatives...but, are also in the toxic ten. Parabens are endocrine disruptors...and the results of that are too lengthy for this article. Avoid toothpastes with parabens! (Or any other personal care product, for that matter.)
Next up is the abrasion factor. Some abrasion is not a bad idea. It removes surface stains. Unfortunately, the toothpaste industry can go overboard with a good thing. Most, if not all, toothpastes contain something that removes surface dirt, stains and hopefully tartar. But how much is too much? Fortunately I include here a fabulous, 4 minute clip of research done at the University of Colorado on toothpaste abrasion. I found the clip fascinating. But if you don't want to spare the 4 minutes, there is a clever little chart beneath the clip that features about 65 toothpastes, and rates them as to abrasiveness. Pick the one that suits your level of personal comfort. Too much abrasion can cause tooth sensitivity. Here's the link: http://www.freysmiles.com/blog/view/toothpaste-abrasiveness-low-abrasive-toothpastes
Like all other personal care products, let's read labels! Decide what is important to you, and vote with your wallet. If people do not purchase toxic products, manufacturers will stop making them.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Safe Deodorants
Well...if we didn't sweat...we wouldn't need a deodorant, would we? Why do we sweat? First and foremost, it's the body's way of cooling off and controlling temperature. So we sweat when it's hot outside. In addition to cooling us off, sweating also is one of the few genuine ways of removing toxins from the body. In the book "ToxIn ToxOut", the authors try many things to see what actually removes toxins from the body. Ionic foot cleanses and internal cleanses do not remove toxins. Sweating, however, does. Sweating is good for you!
Sweat itself isn't the problem. It has no odor of its own. Unfortunately, the armpit is home to many bacteria, and, it is the bacteria that causes odor. When resident bacteria meet up with sweat, you get, well...bad smells.
Seems like an antiperspirant would be a good idea, right? Antiperspirants prevent sweating, which means the bacteria have nothing to interact with, and, voila! No scent! But as mentioned above, sweating is a necessary and useful function. We actually do not want to suppress sweating. Another problem is, our skin is the largest organ of our body and absorbs whatever you apply to it. You are not only what you eat, but, also what you apply to yourself. So in addition to sweating being a good thing, we prefer to avoid antiperspirants because the chemicals necessary to prevent sweating are, well...toxic.
Deodorants are probably a better idea. They don't attempt to stop sweating, but rather, to kill the bacteria that causes odor. No bacteria = no smell. Sometimes deodorants contain scents to cover up any remaining odor.
How to find a good deodorant? Well, here are some ingredients to avoid:
(1) Talc. It may or may not contain asbestos particles...no way of knowing. Asbestos causes cancer.
(2) Triclosan (one of the toxic ten!) It does kill bacteria, but also disrupts our hormones and endocrine system. It may accumulate in the body. It may also cause allergic reactions.
(3 )BHT, BHA and Parabens. These are all preservatives. The first 2 may cause allergies and have been linked to cancer. Parabens are even worse! We know they mimic estrogen in the body. Further research is needed, but, they have been found inside cancerous breast tissue. Until proven safe, always best to err on the side of caution,.
(4) Propylene glycol. It's a known skin irritant.
(5) Phthalates. May be present on their own, or, be present but not listed because it's legal to not list them if they are part of the (6) Fragrance. Over 3100 chemicals fall into the fragrance category...and none of them have to be disclosed on a Canadian label. Many are untested for safety. Avoid synthetic fragrance!
(7) Aluminum chlorohydrate. This is the chemical that actually stops you from sweating. So, you will find it in anti-perspirants but usually not deodorants. Aluminum compounds are neurotoxic.
What to do? Read labels!! Aim for a deodorant rather than an anti-perspirant, and check the ingredients list against Environmental Defence's Toxic Ten!
Do check out eScential Wellness' deodorant:
http://escentialwellness.com/products/toxin-free-deodorant
Well...if we didn't sweat...we wouldn't need a deodorant, would we? Why do we sweat? First and foremost, it's the body's way of cooling off and controlling temperature. So we sweat when it's hot outside. In addition to cooling us off, sweating also is one of the few genuine ways of removing toxins from the body. In the book "ToxIn ToxOut", the authors try many things to see what actually removes toxins from the body. Ionic foot cleanses and internal cleanses do not remove toxins. Sweating, however, does. Sweating is good for you!
Sweat itself isn't the problem. It has no odor of its own. Unfortunately, the armpit is home to many bacteria, and, it is the bacteria that causes odor. When resident bacteria meet up with sweat, you get, well...bad smells.
Seems like an antiperspirant would be a good idea, right? Antiperspirants prevent sweating, which means the bacteria have nothing to interact with, and, voila! No scent! But as mentioned above, sweating is a necessary and useful function. We actually do not want to suppress sweating. Another problem is, our skin is the largest organ of our body and absorbs whatever you apply to it. You are not only what you eat, but, also what you apply to yourself. So in addition to sweating being a good thing, we prefer to avoid antiperspirants because the chemicals necessary to prevent sweating are, well...toxic.
Deodorants are probably a better idea. They don't attempt to stop sweating, but rather, to kill the bacteria that causes odor. No bacteria = no smell. Sometimes deodorants contain scents to cover up any remaining odor.
How to find a good deodorant? Well, here are some ingredients to avoid:
(1) Talc. It may or may not contain asbestos particles...no way of knowing. Asbestos causes cancer.
(2) Triclosan (one of the toxic ten!) It does kill bacteria, but also disrupts our hormones and endocrine system. It may accumulate in the body. It may also cause allergic reactions.
(3 )BHT, BHA and Parabens. These are all preservatives. The first 2 may cause allergies and have been linked to cancer. Parabens are even worse! We know they mimic estrogen in the body. Further research is needed, but, they have been found inside cancerous breast tissue. Until proven safe, always best to err on the side of caution,.
(4) Propylene glycol. It's a known skin irritant.
(5) Phthalates. May be present on their own, or, be present but not listed because it's legal to not list them if they are part of the (6) Fragrance. Over 3100 chemicals fall into the fragrance category...and none of them have to be disclosed on a Canadian label. Many are untested for safety. Avoid synthetic fragrance!
(7) Aluminum chlorohydrate. This is the chemical that actually stops you from sweating. So, you will find it in anti-perspirants but usually not deodorants. Aluminum compounds are neurotoxic.
What to do? Read labels!! Aim for a deodorant rather than an anti-perspirant, and check the ingredients list against Environmental Defence's Toxic Ten!
Do check out eScential Wellness' deodorant:
http://escentialwellness.com/products/toxin-free-deodorant
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