Anti-Aging Choices and Healthy Homes

DID YOU KNOW?

A product that kills 50% of lab animals through ingestion or inhalation can still receive the federal regulatory designation "non-toxic" (Doris Rapp, "Is This Your Child's World?")

Of the 17,000 chemicals that appear in common household products, only 30% have been adequately tested for their negative effects on our health; less than 10% have been tested for their effect on the nervous system; and nothing is known about the combined effects of these chemicals when mixed within our bodies. (World Resources Institute, The 1994 Information Please Environmental Almanac.)

No law requires manufacturers to list the exact ingredients on the package label. (Debra Lynn Dadd, Home Safe Home (Tarcher-Putnam, 1997)

Worldwide, over 100,000 synthetic chemicals are now on the market, and about 1,000 new ones are added each year.

There are absolutely no warnings on products about possible negative effects of long-term exposure.  This is unfortunate because most diseases linked to chemical exposure are the result of long-term exposure.

Personal care products refers to just about anything we use to clean our bodies or make ourselves look or smell good. The closes thing to a regulatory agency for the personal care industry is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and their power is extremely limited.

Over 800 chemicals available for use in cosmetics have been reported to the government as toxic substances. The FDA has very few regulations to protect consumers from the ingredients used by the cosmetic and personal care industries.  The FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of their products, prior to their release into the marketplace. 

Neither personal care products nor their ingredients are reviewed or approved before they are sold to the public

Manufactures are not required to list the exact ingredients on the label.

Even if harsh and dangerous active ingredients are listed on package, often times the remainder of ingredients are lumped into a category known as "inert" (not active) ingredients.  This term may lead you to believe that these chemicals are not toxic or hazardous.  In fact, many of the 1,000 different chemicals used as inert ingredients are more harmful than the active ingredients. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not require manufacturers to identify most inert chemicals, or disclose their potential harmful effects. Even suspected carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) are used as inert ingredients in household products. (John Harte, "Toxics A to Z" (University of California Press, 1991)

One New York study found that 85% of products they examined had incorrect warning labels. Some were labeled poisonous, but weren't; others were poisonous, but not labeled as such; others gave incorrect first aid information. (Debra Lynn Dadd, "Home Safe Home")

Chemical names are often disguised by using innocuous "trade names." So even if the chemical is listed on the label, you may not recognize it for what it is.

The Cosmetics and household industries have been self-regulated since 1938.  The FDA classifies products but does not regulate them.

The FDA cannot require recalls of harmful personal care products from the marketplace. (United States Food and Drug Administration, FDA Authority Over Cosmetics (Office of Cosmetics Fact Sheet, 1995)

"We look good, we smell good and we expose ourselves to 200 different chemicals a day through personal care products."  U.S. News & World Report

Dibutyl phthalate, a known hormone disruptor and an ingredient in nail polish, has shown up in pregnant American women in damaging concentrations.

Household cleaners are the leading cause of poisoning reported by the Poison Control Center.  Cosmetic and Personal care products rank #3.

Triclosan, a commonly used anti-bacterial ingredient in products like hand lotion and dish detergent, is listed as a most hazardous pesticide by the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to several current published reports, low-dose chemical exposures have harmful and disruptive effects on human health.

Sodium Lauryl sulfate, a common ingredient in toothpaste, contributes to mouth ulcers.

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed 2,983 chemicals used in personal care products.  The results were as follows: 

884 of the chemicals used were toxic;

314 caused biological mutation;

218 caused reproductive complications;

778 caused acute toxicity;

148 caused tumors; `

376 caused skin and eye irritations

(Judith Berns, "The Cosmetic Cover-up," Human Ecologist 43 (fall 1989)

The NIOSH isolated 125 known cancer-causing agents in personal care products, and many more suspected of causing birth defects.

The National Cancer Institute has stated that mouthwashes with 25% or higher concentration of alcohol increase your risk of oral and throat cancer.

Dr. Kenneth Green, Ph.D., D.Sc., of the Medical College of Georgia warns that eyes affected by sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) -- found in many shampoos, lotions, toothpaste, and other products -- take five times as long to heal.

There is enough fluoride in 4 ounces of most brands of toothpaste to kill a small child.

Mouthwashes containing more than 25% alcohol can prove dangerous to young children -- one ounce can cause seizures and brain damage and five ounces can kill.

The World Health Organization has linked aluminum to Alzheimer's disease. Several brands of deodorants and cosmetics contain aluminum.

Every 30 seconds a child is poisoned in the United States, and of those children that are poisoned, 60% of them are under the age of 6?  

The most common products involved in these poisonings are first, cosmetics and personal care products, second, prescription drugs, and third, cleaning agents?

Every year more children are poisoned to death by personal care products and other chemicals than are accidentally killed playing with guns?

In 1997 the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that 146,661 children had been poisoned.

This year over 563,000 Americans are expected to die of cancer. That’s more than 1,500 people per day.  In fact, more people have died from cancer in one year than the total number of American soldiers who have died in combat over the last 100 years. Nearly 5 million lives have been lost to cancer since 1990.

For many years our skin was considered the perfect barrier protecting the body from harmful elements. However, research has found that one the of skin’s main functions is to transport nutrients from the surface of the skin to the bloodstream.

Scientific research is discovering that many ingredients in personal care products may actually pose potentially serious long-term health threats when used over an extended period of time. Researchers have identified numerous chemicals in personal care products that are toxic and carcinogenic; meaning that they can potentially cause cancer.

Products such as the "diet patch" and the "nicotine patch" were developed to utilize the skin’s very unique delivery system. Now it’s very common to see transdermal delivery systems in a variety of health related products. However, the ability of the skin to transport elements from the outside of our bodies to the inside can also create major health concerns. For example, if the skin transports nutrients to the bloodstream and personal care products contains harmful and even carcinogenic ingredients, then many of these chemicals and toxins are absorbed by the body through the skin.  If you continue to use these products for long term the toxins can build up in your liver, kidneys, and other vital organs, and tissues.  

The personal care industry has grown so large and the number of ingredients so extensive, it’s almost impossible for the government to regulate them. In addition, these huge corporations have tremendous resources to fight and delay any governmental action to limit the use of these dangerous ingredients.