Healthier Products in your home

Did you know that if you buy products from a regular store you are most likely bringing toxins into your home?  When I started researching the ingredients that are in common everyday products I was shocked.  Some ingredients inhibit us from releasing toxins from our bodies while others are carcinogens.

What is in those everyday products that so many Americans use?  The three top most dangerous toxic chemicals found in everyday products are:

1,4-dioxaneThe Environmental Protection Agency considers 1,4-dioxane a probable human carcinogen. (EPA, 2003). The FDA has expressed continuing concerns about 1,4-dioxane, noting its potential to contaminate a wide range of products, its ready penetration through the skin, and the evidence linking it to systemic cancer in a skin painting study (FDA 2000). FDA notes that 1,4-dioxane can be removed “by means of vacuum stripping at the end of the polymerization process without an unreasonable increase in raw material cost” (FDA 2000), but such treatment would be voluntary on the part of industry. 

Phthatlates
Cosmetic companies tend to use phthalates because they cling to the skin to give soaps, gels, and perfume more power to stay with you for longer. Scientists at government agencies in the U.S. agree that exposure to the chemicals could cause a wide range of health and reproductive problems in people including damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive systems in animal studies. A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that five percent of women between age 20 and 40 had up to 45 times more phthalates in their bodies than researchers initially hypothesized. CDC found phthalates in virtually every person tested, but the largest concentrations -- 20 times higher than the rest of the population -- were found in women of child-bearing age.  Found in nail polish, lotions and deodorants.

DEA Diethanolamine, MEA Monoethanolamine and TEA Triethanolamine
These ingredients have been restricted in Europe due to carcinogenic effects but are still used in the U.S.!  Americans may be exposed 10-20 times per day with shampoos, shaving creams and bubble baths. Animal studies have reported effects on the liver, kidney, blood, and central nervous system (CNS) from chronic oral exposure to diethanolamine.  The National Toxicology Program (NTP) reported an increased incidence of liver and kidney tumors in mice from dermal exposure to diethanolamine.   DEA is used widely because it provides a rich lather in shampoos and keeps a favorable consistency in lotions and creams. DEA by itself is not harmful but while sitting on the stores shelves or in your cabinet at home, DEA can react with other ingredients in the cosmetic formula to form an extremely potent carcinogen called nitrosodiethanolamine (NDEA). NDEA is readily absorbed through the skin and has been linked with stomach, esophagus, liver and bladder cancers.

So now you know!!! READ YOUR LABELS and keep these toxins out of your home! For some GREAT All Natural, Organic and Green products please check out my website at www.AGreenOrganicLife.com