Jennifer Campolong, CRNP, Lifestyle Educator, Toxic Free Coach
Did you know there is more to weight control then diet and exercise? Did you know chemicals found in every day personal care and household products, such as antibacterial soaps, makeup or mattresses can change how your thyroid or other hormones work?
Unfortunately, this is a reality in our society. Currently, there are more than 80,000 industrial chemicals registered in the United States with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. Of those 80,000 plus chemicals, 11,000 of those chemicals are already banned in Japan and Europe.
Numerous chemicals used in personal care and household products, food production, furniture and building supplies, and bedding have been categorized as harming our nervous system (neurotoxin), hormone system (endocrine disruptor), or our gene expression (carcinogenic).
With our skin being our largest organ, it only takes 26 seconds for up to 60 percent of a chemical to be absorbed or inhaled. You can see why it is so easy to come in contact with a harmful chemical, even if you are only exposed in small increments. Even the most fragile beings, developing fetuses, are being affected.
In 2008, a study done by the Environmental Working Group documented, on average, there were 200 chemicals found in the core blood of newborns, (EWG.org). These newborns had just taken their first breath, but had already been exposed to harmful chemicals that could change how their brains and bodies would function for the rest of their lives.
You might ask yourself why companies are allowed to use harmful chemicals. In the United States, the chemical industry has significant gaps in regulation. The companies are allowed to use chemicals without testing for safety or long-term consequences before being used in products (Harvard School of Public Health, Feb. 13, 2014).
This is the exact opposite of the pharmaceutical industry. A pharmaceutical company must to go through a regulated testing protocol prior to being released to the consumer.
When you take a medication, you are given the side effect profile that reviews the consequences of taking a medication. Therefore, you and your medical provider can make an educated decision if the benefits of taking the medication outweigh the risks.
When you are using a personal care or household product, you are not given a safety profile sheet alerting you to the health risks associated with the product. You assume since there is not a warning on the product, it is safe. This is incorrect.
Because the exposures to the chemicals come from so many different sources with minimal to no physical signs, it is incredibly difficult to pinpoint what chemical is causing what problem. The only way an industrial chemical is pulled from the market is after the damage has been done to your health and or the environment. This can be years.
For example, Bisphenol-A, BPA, a known endocrine disruptor, has been used since the 1950’s in production of plastics. It was commonly used in baby bottles, sippy cups, and in the liners of baby formula in addition to other products that utilize plastic (Am J Public Health, 2009, Nov. 99).
In 2012, the FDA made regulations to prohibit the use of BPA in these popular baby products. This is more than 60 years of a hormone altering chemical that we have not only exposed ourselves to but, more importantly, to the most fragile of all, our children.
They have found a replacement for BPA, called, Bisphenol-S, BPS, but yet the safety of the chemical is still raising questions due to the similarities to BPA (Washingtonpost.com, Jan. 12, 2015).
In 2013, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AGOG), had written a position statement regarding exposure to toxic environment agents. In this document, they were encouraging all Ob/GYN practitioners to discuss environmental influences during preconception and prenatal visits.
They identified 45 toxic chemicals that could negatively impact the unborn fetus. Their recommendations to limit the toxins included limiting processed foods, using BPA-Free products, limiting foods high in animal fat, avoiding pesticides and solvents, washing fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoiding fish with high mercury levels.
Also in 2006, The Lancet: Neurology, a peer reviewed scientific journal, had identified 6 neurotoxins (chemicals that damage the brain): Pesticides, Lead, Methylmercury, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Arsenic, and Toluene.
Then in March of 2014, the same journal had expanded the neurotoxin list to include six additional chemicals: Manganese, Fluoride, Chlorpyrifos, Dichlorodiphyenyltrichloro Ethane, Tetrachloroethylene, and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers.
Also, on March 21, the World Health Organization determined glyphosate, the main pesticide ingredient in Roundup, is a probable carcinogen. This is widely used to treat crops from genetically engineered corn and soybeans.
Not only is there a large health risk associated with these widely used chemicals, there is a significant healthcare cost. A study published March 5 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism estimated at least $175 billion (U.S. currency) in healthcare cost just in connection with exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals.
With numerous scientific bodies supporting that every day chemicals we are exposing ourselves to is causing our families great harm, I want you to be your own patient advocate. I want to you to start getting educated on how to avoid these dangerous chemicals.
The Environmental Working Group, ewg.org, is an excellent online resource to research the safety of personal care and household products, in addition, to other health topics. They are a third-party, independent, watchdog group that reviews individual products and rates them according to health risks.
Two of their most popular databases are Skin Deep guide to Cosmetics and the Healthy Cleaning database. Their ratings are very user-friendly. They range from 0-10 with 10 carrying a highest health risks or rating from A to F with F carrying the highest health risk.
Your goal should be to use products that carry little to no health risks. Therefore, you’re looking for products that carry the 0-2 or A and B scores. You can also use The National Institute of Health (nih.gov), Center for Disease Control (cdc.gov), or the Environmental Protection Agency (epa.org) as additional resources.
Doing your own research is a great way to improve your health and reduce the toxic chemicals with in your home. You may find unusual rashes, headaches, or respiratory symptoms improving or resolving with the use of “cleaner” products.
You may also find hormone difficulties such as menses, acne, or weight control also improving. Some changes you can see immediately and other changes may take months, but know that your body will thank you for reducing toxic exposures within your home.
Some of the tips that we have implemented in our home include eliminating as much plastic as possible, especially when in contact with warm food or drinks. We are using glass or stainless steel for food or drink storage.
However, if you must use plastic for food storage, use plastics with a one or two in the triangle on the bottom of the containers. They have the least amount of leaching into your food or drinks.
Also, making sure the food is room temperature before placing in a plastic container can reduce risk of leaching. Planetbox and Bento stainless steel lunch boxes have been a very popular alternative to plastic containers.
There is also numerous glass and stainless steel drinking containers such as Kleen Kanteen, that eliminate the possibility of chemicals leaching into your drinks.
I also recommend everyone follow the AGOG recommendations listed above to limit exposure to toxic chemicals. The Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen reference guide is also an excellent resource to help consumers avoid pesticides when out shopping for groceries.
It will help you choose the most affordable produce with the least amount of pesticides. This list can be found on the Environmental Working Group site, ewg.org. It can also be downloaded on smart phones. This is a very useful app to help you navigate this complex issue when away from your home.
Lastly, you can also look for the “Toxic Free” label on household and personal care products. This label is different than the “Non-Toxic“ label we are used to seeing. The “Non-toxic” label means that 49 percent or less of the persons or research animals in contact with the chemical had injury or symptoms directly related to the use of the product.
Therefore, you can still use products that have the “Non-Toxic” label but yet still carry significant health risks. There is no regulating body for the term, “Non-Toxic” (Consumer Reports, greenerchoices.org).
The label “Toxic Free” is awarded by the Toxic Free Foundation. It is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the toxic ingredients in personal care products, cosmetics, household cleaning products, food additives, and packing and materials.
Once again, it is up to you to research your own products. That is why we do not look at pretty packaging or fancy words to determine if something we are using is healthy or unhealthy. Remember we vote with our dollars.
Stop giving your money to companies that are using unsafe chemicals. The sooner we impact a company’s “bottom line” the sooner we will get healthier, safer products for all. Get educated and make changes today!
The Women’s Health Task Force is a small group volunteering their time to educate women and families on important health issues. If you have an interest in health, work in a caring profession, or just want to volunteer with other sincere women, consider attending our planning meetings.
These meetings are held the first Thursday of each month beginning at 12 p.m.. Our next meeting will be held on Aug. 6 at Penn State Extension, 511 Spruce St., Suite 4, Clearfield, PA 16830.
All interested persons are encouraged to attend. Additional information is available by calling Robin Kuleck, Penn State Extension, at 814-765-7878, Ext.2. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/whtfclearfieldcounty