Knowing the right types of mushrooms to eat can give you a headstart
to maximizing this food's health benefits. Of the 900 million pounds of
mushrooms Americans consume every year, the majority is the button
mushroom.
Furthermore, there are currently over 100 species of mushrooms
being evaluated because of their potential health properties, with half
a dozen already shown to offer immunoprotective benefits! On the other
hand, there are also toxic mushrooms, which if consumed may cause
poisoning.
To concentrate on the beneficial varieties and identify the
dangerous types of mushrooms, check out this infographic titled "The
Mushroom Advantage: Benefits and Uses of This Food." It also provides
information on mushroom nutrition and symptoms of mushroom poisoning.
Mushrooms are packed with numerous vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that provide outstanding health benefits. Discover more about this emerging superfood.through this infographic. Use the embed code to share it on your website.
Forget colonics and ultra-low-cal juice fasts. If you want to clear
out toxins and boost your overall health, there are smarter and safer
ways to do it. Here are five expert-approved tactics that are guaranteed
to make you feel like a better, fresher version of yourself.
Sweat it out
“Saunas have been used as part of detox protocols in integrative
medicine for decades,” says Susan S. Blum, M.D., assistant clinical
professor of preventive medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and author of The Immune System Recovery Plan.
Far infrared saunas (which mimic the sun’s rays, minus the UV
radiation) may be especially helpful because they heat up bodily tissue
more effectively than traditional saunas, she explains. As your body
gets hotter and blood flow increases, toxins that are stored in body fat
get released. Those might include BPA (which is found in many
plastics), pesticide residue, and both legal and not-so-legal drugs. If you’re currently trying to detox, aim to spend 10 to 15 minutes in
a sauna two to three times a week. “Make sure you drink enough water
and stay hydrated,” says Blum, who recommends that sauna newbies start
with just five minutes at a time. If you have a medical condition
involving your lungs or heart, play it safe and check with your doctor
beforehand. Same goes for anyone who has low blood pressure or tends to
get light-headed easily. RELATED:5 Beginner-Friendly CrossFit Workouts
Take a breather
Deep breathing—especially a technique called ujjayi breathing—may
help get rid of toxins in two ways. This technique builds heat in the
body so you sweat toxins out and it can help eliminate excess carbon
dioxide each time you exhale, says Sinda Anzovino, a Westchester, New
York-based yoga instructor at Yoga by Sinda, New York Sports Clubs, and Life Time Athletic.
To begin the process, sit in a comfortable position and breathe in and
out deeply through your nose. “While inhaling, imagine that your throat
is opening as if you were yawning,” says Anzovino. “While exhaling, try
to constrict the back of the throat and make a soft ‘ha’ sound as if
you’re mimicking the sound of the ocean.” Silently count to five on each
inhale and exhale; continue for five to 15 minutes. Afterward you
should feel relaxed and energized. RELATED: 10 Yoga Poses to Beat Stress
Snooze to lose
While you’re asleep your brain’s waste-removal team, called the glymphatic system, is working overtime, according to research from
the University of Rochester Medical Center. Toxic proteins linked to
Alzheimer’s disease build up while you’re awake, and getting adequate
shut-eye is key to making sure they’re cleared out as quickly and
efficiently as possible. In fact, scientists discovered that the
glymphatic system is nearly 10 times more active during sleep than while
you’re up and about. Most adults need seven to nine hours a night, so set your DVR instead of staying up late to catch your favorite talk show or TV series. RELATED:How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
Soak in good health
Whether you’re really sick or just run-down, chances are you’re low on glutathione, says Mark Hyman, M.D., founder of The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA and author of the new10-Day Detox Diet. Your
body naturally makes this protective antioxidant, which zaps free
radicals and helps your liver filter out toxins. However, things like
stress, illness, and environmental pollution all deplete your levels.
One easy way to build them back up is to take a bath with Epsom salts,
which contain sulfur. Sulfur boosts glutathione because glutathione is,
in part, made up of sulfur molecules, explains Hyman. “Epsom salt also
has magnesium, so it will help you relax and sleep.” Simply add two cups
the next time you draw a hot bath.
Eat clean
Cruciferous veggies such as broccoli,
cauliflower, kale, cabbage and bok choy contain phytonutrients that
also help your body produce more glutathione, sys Hyman. Other detox-friendly foods include
dandelion greens, which improve the flow of bile in the liver; celery,
which increases urine output; and cilantro, which Hyman says can help
remove heavy metals such as mercury and lead from the body. Wash down
whatever you’re munching on with a cup of decaf green tea to give your
metabolism a kick and further aid in the eradication of unwanted toxins.
“View each meal as a chance to heal,” says Hyman. “If you eat the
right foods, the body knows what to do so you can regain your health by
eliminating problems such as fatigue, bloating and brain fog.”
Environmental toxins are everywhere, and pregnant women and their
unborn child are especially vulnerable to their pernicious effects.
These chemicals do not only come from the environment, but may already
be inside your home, car, purse – or worse, on your dinner plate!
The reality is, there are about 75,000 distinct chemicals that are
produced here in America or imported from abroad. Many of these toxic
agents have not been regulated properly. At this very moment, you may
be holding in your hand a chemical cocktail, and your unborn child is
especially at risk because of his or her underdeveloped system.
Don't let the toxins damage your health or that of your baby or any
woman you know who's expecting. Check out this infographic, “Top Toxins to Avoid Especially if Pregnant,” to discover the most common toxins that you’re exposed to, as well as where they come from. Share and spread this important information to every parent you know!
When pregnant, you should take extra
care with the foods you eat and the chemicals you use in and outside of
your home. There are many sources of toxic exposure that may put you,
and your unborn baby, in harm's way. If you are expecting a child or
know someone who is, share this infographic on the most common environmental toxins that pregnant women should avoid.
Senate Environment and Energy Chair John Marty joins Julie to explain a
new law banning the use of Triclosan, a chemical used in soaps and
toothpaste to kill bacteria.
It will take a few years before this harmful ingredient is off the shelf in Minnesota, and probably much longer before it's off the shelves of other states, so knowing this information, take charge of your own health and don't buy these harmful products.
Triclosan,
one of the most prevalent antibacterial compounds found in
products, is the focus of a campaign undertaken by a coalition of
health
and environmental groups led by Beyond Pesticides and Food &
Water
Watch, aimed at removing triclosan from the market. Over the last
few years, as a direct result of pressure from consumer
groups and the media regarding the need for triclosan in consumer
products and the mounting scientific evidence documenting adverse health
effects, including impacts to the thyroid hormone, major manufacturers
have quietly reformulated their products without triclosan.
Studies have increasingly
linked triclosan (and its chemical cousin triclocarban), to a range of
adverse health and environmental effects from skin irritation, endocrine disruption, bacterial and compounded antibiotic
resistance, to the contamination of water and its negative impact on fragile
aquatic ecosystems.
When introduced to
the market in 1972, triclosan was confined to hospital and health care
settings. Since then triclosan exploded onto the market place in hundreds
of consumer products ranging from antibacterial soaps, deodorants, toothpastes,
cosmetics, fabrics, toys, and other household and personal care products.
Triclosan’s success on the consumer market has been aided by the
false public perception that antibacterial products are best to protect
and safeguard against potential harmful bacteria. However, an article
in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, entitled "Consumer
Antibacterial Soaps: Effective or Just Risky?" (2007),
concludes
that antibacterial soaps show no health benefits over plain
soaps. In 2010, FDA stated that, “Existing data raise valid concerns
about the [health]
effects of repetitive daily human exposure to [triclosan]” and announced
plans to address the use of triclosan in
cosmetics or other products.
Minnesota Bans Triclosan in Consumer Personal Care Cleaning Products
Triclosan has been banned from consumer personal care cleaning
products in the state of Minnesota by an act of the state legislature.
This public health measure, SF 2192,
states that “no person shall offer for retail sale in Minnesota any
cleaning product that that contains triclosan and is used by consumers
for sanitizing or hand and body cleansing.” The legislation takes effect
on January 1, 2017. One of the legislation’s lead sponsors, state
Senator John Marty, predicted that the odds are good that most
manufacturers will phase out triclosan by then as a result of this
effort and other marketplace pressure. For More information see Beyond Pesticides' press release.
FDA Will Require Manufacturers to Prove Safety and Efficacy of Antibacterial Products; Beyond Pesticdes' Press Release
December 2013 - A new rule proposed by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) will now require manufacturers of
antibacterial hand soaps, body washes, and other consumer goods to prove
that their products are both safe for long-term use and more effective
than regular bar soap in order to remain on the market. This
announcement, though long delayed, represents a positive step towards
reining in the unnecessary use of antibacterial chemicals.FDA’s new
rule, announced Monday, will be open for public comment for 180 days and
manufacturers will have one year to submit new data on their products.
FDA hopes to finalize its rule and determine whether antibacterial
products can be “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by September 2016.
Read FDA's Consumer Update.
Let Yor voice be heard on these new proposed rules! The agency is accepting public comments until June 16, 2014. Submit your comment here.
Proctor & Gamble To Eliminate Triclosan From its Products by 2014
September 2013- Multinational manufacturer Procter and Gamble
(P&G) announced that it will eliminate the harmful antibacterial
chemical triclosan from its products by 2014. P&G’s notice is the
latest in a growing trend across the county, as both governments and
private companies continue to move away from the use this dangerous and
unnecessary substance. While P&G does not name the specific products
from which it will be removing triclosan, it notes that the only
remaining uses of triclosan are in the company’s antibacterial dish
soap, professional hand soap, and some other personal care products
(brands like Dawn and Safeguard Antibacterial Soaps).
Minnesota State Agencies to Stop Procurement of Triclosan
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced on March 3,
2013 that state agencies have been ordered by Governor Mark Dayton to
stop buying products that contain triclosan, a synthetic, broad-spectrum
antimicrobial agent that has become ubiquitous in consumer products
ranging from face-washes to fabrics. This ban, which will go into effect
in June, comes as the debate over the efficacy and necessity of
triclosan intensifies in the Minnesota State legislature. A bill banning
triclosan’s use outside of medical settings is expected to be
introduced, and the legislature conducted a hearing Tuesday on the
possible human health and environmental consequences of the chemical.
It is time once again to tell EPA to remove this dangerous chemical from the market. In March 2013, EPA opened the federal docket for triclosan, offically beginning the registration review of triclosan. Under
pressure after its 2008 review, EPA announced that it would again review
triclosan in 2013, five years earlier than scheduled. Over the last few
years, as a direct result of pressure from consumer groups and the
media regarding the need for triclosan in consumer products and the
mounting scientific evidence documenting adverse health effects,
including impacts to the thyroid hormone, major manufacturers have begun
to quietly reformulate their products without triclosan.
Johnson & Johnson to Phase Out Triclosan.
Health care and cosmetics giant Johnson and Johnson has announced that
it will soon begin phasing out a number of potentially dangerous
chemicals from its personal care brands, including triclosan. The
company cites consumer concern over the safety of triclosan as among its
reasons for the alteration in its products, hinting that it was
uncomfortable with growing body of science linking triclosan to a number
of health concerns. The phase out is scheduled to be complete by the
end of 2015.
Canada Declares Triclsoan Toxic to the Environment.
The Canadian government declared triclosan toxic to the environment, a
move which would see the use of the chemical curtailed sharply in
Canada. The draft risk assessment found triclosan to be toxic to the
environment but did not find enough evidence to say it is hazardous to
human health. A toxic designation under the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act triggers a process to find ways to curtail a chemical’s
use, including a possible ban in a range of personal-care products.
Video: Triclosan 101. Allison Aiello, PhD discusses the antibacterial ingredient triclosan,
its efficacy, and potential health impacts as part of the Pesticides and
Health Panel at "Healthy Communities: Green solutions for safe
environments," Beyond Pesticides' 30th National Pesticide Forum, March
30-31, 2012, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Issac Pessah at Beyond Pesticides 31st National Pesticide Forum. In 2012, researchers from the University of California at Davis (UC
Davis) and the University of Colorado found that triclosan impairs
muscle function in fish and mice and stated that the results they found show “strong evidence that triclosan could have effects on animal and human health at current levels of exposure.” Issac Pessah, Ph.D., co-author of the muscle function study and chair of the Department of Molecular Biosciences at UC Davis spoke at Beyond Pesticides 31st National Pesticide Forum. His talk in its entirety can be viewed here.
From PRI: Triclosan Safety Questioned. Public Radio International's Living on Earth (download
the show) recently interviewed Beyond Pesticides about the toxic
antibacterial agent triclosan, which is found in many consumer products
like toothpaste, countertops and children’s toys. The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) was also interviewed.
Resources
Sign
the Pledge. Join the campaign to end the consumer use of
triclosan.
Triclosan
Model Resolution. Get your municipality, institution or company
to adopt this resolution to not buy products with triclosan and supporting
broader elimination of non-medical uses.
Regulatory
and Policy. The latest information and history on legal procedures
to ban consumer uses of triclosan.
Find triclosan-free
products from a list of
companies who have already signed the pledge to be triclosan-free.
What's
the Right Answer to the Germ Question? As children go back to
school, protect them from germs without using hazardous chemicals
in lunch bags,soaps and sanitizers. (August 2009)
Beyond
Pesticides, Center for Environmental Health and Campaign for Safe
Cosmetics urges Bath and Body Works to stop selling Triclosan products.
With flavors like “tangelo orange twist,” and “sugar lemon fizz,”
popular body care chain, Bath and Body Works, has marketed an entire
line of antibacterial body care products to teens and young adults.
Unfortunately, these products contain the toxic hormone disruptor and
water contaminant, triclosan, which could be hazardous to teenagers
whose bodies are still developing. Join us in asking Bath and Body Works to stop selling triclosan products that claim to “Spread Love, Not Germs.”
Overwhelming support for the petition to ban Triclosan.
Over 10,000 individuals told EPA, via email and docketed comments, to
ban the dangerous antibacterial triclosan. Additionally, scores of public
health and advocacy groups, local state departments of health and the
environment, as well as municipal and national wastewater treatment
agencies submitted comments requesting an end to triclosan in consumer
products. EPA published the petition for public comment in December
2010 and closed the comment period on April 8, 2011. Beyond Pesticides
once again urged the agency to ban the uses of triclosan in consumer
products citing risks to human and environmental health.
Act by April 8, 2011. Let EPA know that it's time to ban triclosan.
EPA has extended the comment period for another 60 days to April 8,
2011.Your voice is critical in generating public comments on a petition,
published in the Federal Register, to ban the antibacterial chemical
triclosan. As you may know, this chemial, now found in the bodies of
75% of the US population, is linked to endocrine disruption, bacterial
and antibiotic resistance, dioxin contamination, and contaminated fish
and biosolids.
EPA announced a 60-day public comment period for the petition
filed by Beyond Pesticides and Food and Water Watch to ban the controversial
antimicrobial pesticide triclosan for non-medical use. The petition,
filed on January 14, 2010, identifies pervasive and widespread use of
triclosan and the agency's failure to address triclosan's impacts on
human and environmental health, conduct assessments for residues in
drinking water and food and concerns related to antibacterial resistance
and endocrine disruption. The petition cites various violations of numerous
environmental statues including the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking
Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Comments are accepted until April 8, 2011 at www.regulations.gov.
Direct comments to docket number: EPA–HQ–OPP–2010–0548.
When commenting, please specify the statute to which your comments refer
(FIFRA, FFDCA, SDWA, CWA, or ESA) and the specific issue(s) raised in
the petition regarding that statute on which you are commenting. (December,
2010)
Congresswoman
Urges FDA to Ban Triclosan. House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise
M. Slaughter and two colleagues asked
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban triclosan due to
the hazards that this chemical poses, including antibiotic resistance
and potentially leading to higher health care costs, citing both Beyond
Pesticides and Food and Water Watch's petition currently pending before
the agency (November 2010).
Newly
released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) finds that levels of triclosan in humans have increased by 50%
since 2004 (August 2010).
Beyond
Pesticides tells FDA that Triclosan is too hazardous to the aquatic
environment. In response to the agency's request for environmental
data regarding tricosan's use in certain over the counter products,
Beyond Pesticides and others reminded the agency that it must recognize
that significant adverse environmental impacts will occur with continued
triclosan use (May 2010).
FDA says, "existing
data raise valid concerns" regarding exposure to triclosan. FDA
is considering action in light of a petition
submitted by Beyond Pesticides, and others, and in response to a letter
from Rep. Markey (April 2010).
Beyond Pesticides,
Food & Water Watch and more than 80 organizations petitioned
EPA to ban triclosan for non-medical applications on the basis that
uses violate federal laws regulating pesticides, clean and safe drinking
water, and endangered species (January 2010).
Looking for a product
free of triclosan? Find one from a
list of companies that have signed the pledge to be triclosan-free.
Take Action! Learn how you can help end the unnecessary use of this
toxic antibacterial chemical. Stay in the loop on triclosan and
other issues by joining us on Facebook.
Since cancer seems to be an ever-present enemy, we greet
the appearance of its lethal emissaries in prosaic objects with a morbid
lack of surprise: carcinogens lurk in coffee, hamburgers, rugs,
dry-cleaned clothes, even peanut butter. And it may apparently reside in
one of the most popular toothpastes on the market, a toothpaste you’ve
probably thrown into your own shopping cart with nary a second thought.
The
possible culprit is the germicide triclosan, found in Colgate Total,
the widely-used brand manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive. Introduced in
1997, the manufacturer claims that it is the “only toothpaste approved
by the FDA to help fight plaque and gingivitis” by blasting the teeth
and gums with triclosan.
The claim is at least partly
true: no other toothpaste in the United States contains triclosan,
though plenty of antibacterial soaps and cosmetics count it as an
ingredient. It is that bacteria-fighting capability that has recently
raised questions about Colgate Total’s safety, as well as about whether
the Food and Drug Administration knuckled under and did not heed
warnings about the compound.
Triclosan is a chlorinated aromatic compound:
very basically, two benzene rings (a sturdy hydrocarbon, with six atoms
of carbon and hydrogen each) linked by an oxygen atom, with three
chlorine atoms protruding like spokes, as well as a lone hydroxyl group
(oxygen + hydrogen). First used in the 1970s in hospitals, it has since
become a widespread antimicrobial agent. Not only is triclosan present
in Colgate Total and many household soaps, but it can also be found in
coolers, odor-protected shoes and makeup, according to Mae Wu, a lawyer
with the Natural Resources Defense Council. She says that triclosan is
“all over the place,” even if, as she notes, we had “been doing fine
without it” for several centuries of human-microbial cohabitation of the
planet.
“Triclosan is 110 percent marketing,” says
Michael Osterholm, who heads the Center for Infectious Disease Research
and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Osterholm, who helped
Minnesota become the first state to ban most uses of triclosan. He told
me the compound has been superseded by superior, safer antimicrobial
agents, and Procter and Gamble has begun advertising its Crest
toothpaste as being “100% triclosan free.” That may also be a triumph of
marketing, but one that could lead more people to question the presence
of triclosan in household items, thereby forcing Colgate’s hand.
“They understand that the public is getting this,” Osterholm says of the Crest claim.
“Triclosan isn't an essential ingredient in many products,” writes Dr. James M. Steckelberg of the Mayo Clinic.
“While triclosan added to toothpaste has been shown to help prevent
gingivitis, there's no evidence that antibacterial soaps and body washes
containing triclosan provide any extra benefits, according to the Food
and Drug Administration.” On its website,
the FDA says that soaps that contain antibacterial compounds like
triclosan have not been shown to be “any more effective at preventing
illness than washing with plain soap and water.” The FDA stops well
short, however, of calling triclosan a danger, merely suggesting that
consumers think twice about buying products that contain it.
Earlier
this summer, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology in America, whose
mission is to prevent hospital infections, made a blunt recommendation
to doctors in its guidelines for hospital hygiene:
“Do not use triclosan-containing soaps.” Those guidelines also cite
“concerns about the potential human and environmental impacts of this
chemical” and suggest, instead, the use of alcohol-based hand rubs.
The
FDA first promised to look at triclosan in handsoap in 1974. Four
decades later, that study remains incomplete, though it will reportedly
be released in 2016.
Meanwhile, most people are
absorbing triclosan whether they know it or not. Triclosan is nearly
ubiquitous, easily entering the body by ingestion or through the skin.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested 2,517 people in
2003 and found that almost three-fourths had triclosan in their urine.
Toothpaste is an especially potent triclosan-delivery vehicle. “People
who brushed their teeth with Colgate Total had more than five times as
much triclosan in their urine as people who didn’t use it,” Wu wrote in an NRDC blog post.
Far less clear is what triclosan does (or doesn’t do) to the human organism. For example, a review by scientists at the University of California at Davis
concluded that when it comes to triclosan and triclocarban, a
chemically related antibacterial agent, “the benefits may not be worth
the risks.” The researchers wrote that triclosan and triclocarban could
cause neural and cardiac ailments, though they also conceded that “the
research is in its early stages."
Other recent research suggests that triclosan could cause breast cancer,
though the results were gleaned from exposure in mice. Triclosan’s
effects on the endocrine system, which delivers hormones throughout the
body, are also increasingly thought to be harmful; a 2006 study of bullfrogs and tadpoles exposed to triclosan in aquatic environments
found that “exposure to low levels of triclosan disrupts thyroid
hormone-associated gene expression and can alter the rate of thyroid
hormone-mediated postembryonic...development.” If triclosan does turn
out to be an endocrine disruptor, that would make young children,
infants and pregnant women especially vulnerable. (There are also
concerns about the accumulation of triclosan in waterways, where its
build-up could “disrupt aquatic life by changing native bacterial
communities,” according to aquatic ecologist Emma Rosi-Marshall.)
And
though the FDA is now urging Americans to think about their triclosan
consumption, the agency didn’t seem nearly as concerned with the issue
17 years ago, when it declared Colgate Total ready for supermarket
shelves. In 2010, the Natural Resources Defense Council sued the FDA for
access to documentation regarding Colgate Total’s approval; the
documents, totalling 35 pages, had never been seen by the public before.
Bloomberg News had three scientists examine the FDA’s approval of Colgate Total.
“The recently released pages, taken alongside new research on
triclosan, raise questions about whether the agency did appropriate due
diligence in approving Total 17 years ago, and whether its approval
should stand in light of new research,” Bloomberg concluded in its
extensive investigation.
“The literature is all over
the place,” admits Rear Admiral Sandra L. Kweder, who is the deputy
director of the FDA’s office of new drugs. She says that the burden is
on soap manufacturers to show that their product is safe and efficient.
Industry
lobbyists do have complexity on their side: given the number of
chemicals to which the average person is exposed, and the genetic
disposition some people have to cancer, it is exceedingly difficult to
make a direct epidemiological correlation between household products and
incidences of cancer. Even with well-known villains like bisphenol-A
(BPA) and phthalates, the science remains in dispute.
Some
aren’t waiting for a resolution that could come in the distant future.
Earlier this year, Minnesota became the first state to prohibit usage of
triclosan, though FDA-approved products like Colgate Total are outside
the purview of the ban, which doesn’t take effect until 2017.
Colgate-Palmolive
says its product is safe. Patricia Verduin, Colgate-Palmolive’s head of
research and development, sent me an extensive rebuttal of several
studies that seem to show triclosan’s potential dangers. She noted that
90 studies, involving a total of 20,000 people, have made Colgate Total
“the most extensively tested and reviewed toothpaste in the world.” She
added that studies linking the compound to cancer and thyroid problems
“use excessively high levels of triclosan — in some instances, thousands
of times greater than the level of exposure from use of consumer
products.” Verduin also pointed out that “regulatory authorities around
the world… affirm that triclosan as used in consumer products is not a
human carcinogen or endocrine disruptor.”
And in an op-ed she wrote for Fox News,
Verduin maintains that “[r]ecent claims that triclosan in Colgate Total
can lead to cancer are absolutely untrue.” She discounts findings about
triclosan’s potential endocrine disruption as “rumors.”
Yet if the battle over BPA (which also has its defenders)
is any indication, triclosan will probably meet with a rising tide of
public suspicion, and more and more products will appear with green
stickers proclaiming themselves triclosan-free, as Crest already does.
Many major corporations have removed triclosan from soaps and cosmetics.
Others will likely follow, if for no other reason than for an image of
healthful living.
Triclosan may be falling out of favor,
but, for some, the underlying concern is that of federal regulators too
easily convinced by science done not in the public interest, but for
the sake of corporate gains. Writing last year in a New York Times op-ed,
investigative reporter Ian Urbina noted that federal regulators
effectively allow industry to police itself, so that few of the 85,000
industrial chemicals in use today — including the ones on your bathrooms
shelves — have passed unbiased governmental inspection. “Unlike
pharmaceuticals or pesticides,” Urbina writes, “industrial chemicals do
not have to be tested before they are put on the market. Under the law
regulating chemicals, producers are only rarely required to provide the
federal government with the information necessary to assess safety.”
But
for others, the chemicals aren’t dangerous if used with moderation. Dr.
Bruce D. Hammock, for example, runs the Laboratory of Pesticide and
Biotechnology at UC Davis and was one of the investigators involved in
the study on triclosan and triclocarban. “There are real risks to
triclosan,” Hammock says. “And there are real benefits.” He welcomes
more research into its effects on the human body.
Hammock
calls triclosan “quite a good antimicrobial” that belongs in the
hospital, not on the kitchen counter. “There’s no reason for it to be
there,” he says of its inclusion in hand and dish soaps.
Toothpaste
is another matter, and Hammock points out that the concentration of
triclosan is low in Colgate Total, while, at the same time, the
incidence of gingivitis is high enough to warrant the compound’s
inclusion. Hammock adds that he is happy with his toothpaste of choice:
Colgate Total.
Regulators share his confidence. Jeff
Ventura, a press officer for the FDA, sent me a statement asserting that
“based on the scientific evidence, in this case, the balance of benefit
and risk has been shown to be favorable for [Colgate Total].” The
statement does also say, however, that “use of an ingredient may be
acceptable for one product but not for another,” thus perhaps opening
the way for a ban of triclosan in soaps. After all, federal regulators
can’t ignore growing concerns buttressed by mounting evidence.
Asked if the FDA would revisit its approval of Colgate Total, Dr. Kweder hesitates.
As artificial and engineered ingredients have replaced the natural ones
our grandmothers used to cook with, we’re increasingly finding ourselves
exposed to potentially harmful chemicals. The problem is many of these
chemicals aren’t listed on food packaging either because they’re part of
the packaging or because they’re involved in the manufacturing process.
Learn more about some of the harmful chemicals you might be consuming.
Phthalates
This derivative of plastic is found in a wide variety of foods, but especially dairy products.
While the reason is unclear, it’s thought the plastic tubing used to
milk cows contains the chemical that then ends up in the dairy.
Phthalates are related to BPA and masquerade as estrogen in your body,
leading to hormonal disruption and a host of other effects.
BPA
BPA
was very publicly removed from plastic bottles, but is still widely
present in the environment and in certain foods. Cans are often lined
with BPA, which can then contaminate the food inside. Microwaving
plastic food containers can also cause BPA to leech into the foods inside.
Like phthalates, this chemical is similar enough to estrogen to act
like a hormone in the body, which can disrupt normal hormonal action.
Brominated Vegetable Oil
This chemical is commonly used in drinks
and helps keep ingredients from separating on shelves. The problem is
it’s been banned as a food additive in several countries and has been
linked to neurologic symptoms like headaches, fatigue and a loss of
muscle coordination and memory.
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
While the FDA has deemed this chemical to be
safe for human consumption, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has
said it’s reasonably likely to be a carcinogen. The chemical is a
preservative used in a wide variety of fast foods to prevent oils and
butters from going rancid. In animal studies, the additive has been
found to cause cancer in high doses and its effects on humans at lower
doses are unclear.
Food Colorings
Look on the side of any soft drink or candy bag
and you’re likely to see a colorant. Blue 2 (brain tumors), Green 3
(bladder and testicular cancer), Red 3 (thyroid cancer), Red 40 (immune
system tumors), Yellow 6 (adrenal tumors and allergic reaction) have all
been linked to a variety of cancers in animal studies. While companies
claim that low doses of these colorants are harmless, the chemicals are
often put in food without significant, long-term testing in humans.
3-MCPD
This chemical is used in the manufacture of tea
bags and sausage casings and is part of the factory process of breaking
down proteins often seen as “hydrolyzed soy protein.”
It’s also been found in oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and soy sauce. The
chemical is a known carcinogen and may disrupt fertility in males. It’s
rarely if ever listed as an ingredient.
Triclosan,
one of the most prevalent antibacterial compounds found in
products, is the focus of a campaign undertaken by a coalition of
health
and environmental groups led by Beyond Pesticides and Food &
Water
Watch, aimed at removing triclosan from the market. Over the last
few years, as a direct result of pressure from consumer
groups and the media regarding the need for triclosan in consumer
products and the mounting scientific evidence documenting adverse health
effects, including impacts to the thyroid hormone, major manufacturers
have quietly reformulated their products without triclosan.