As I mentioned in my previous post, for the past three months I have been on a journey of becoming very aware of what ingredients are in the products we purchase.
I started with the Enviornmental Working Group, basically a large group that monitors and studies "threats to our health and environment". They post articles, studies, and evaluate chemicals. In further reading, I have become aware that their databases are not always completely accurate, but their website is a good starting point. That being said, I learned quite a bit about how little the EPA regulates the toxins in our country. If you are interested in learning more, see the site.
I started doing google searches for things like "phthalates" or "parabens" or "sodium laurel sulfate". This led me to many websites and studies that either ranted on how horrible they were, or completely oppositely, that they were safe for our use. I looked up quite a bit on Pubmed, which is a legitimate site that contains scholarly articles.
There have been studies done that come to opposite conclusions. Some suggest that most chemicals in cleaners, detergents, and personal care products are effecting our endocrine systems (think hormones), are linked to cancers, cause birth defects, inhibit fertility, and other horrendous things. Other studies conclude that these chemicals are fine to use because our bodies can deal with them in small amounts and they are safe for us.
After a few days of initial freaking out, I started to think a little more rationally, but have made some major changes in my life. This is what I have decided.
Do I know for certain that any ingredients prepared in a lab are bad for my body? No. Can I know for sure that they cause things in me or my unborn child? No. Evidence points very strongly both ways. Do I know if a researcher has an agenda or is honestly searching for the truth? No.
But one thing I do know. I have a choice about what goes in or on my body (for the most part). I would rather err on the side of caution and find out later that certain chemicals were in fact okay for me to use and not vice versa.
So what products do we use?
I was a Chemistry minor is college and know a little about chemical processes (a very little and it's fading fast). When people talk about living a "chemical free" lifestyle, I laugh a little inside because technically speaking, water is a chemical, and essential oils can be very harmful drugs if used improperly. However, I understand where they are coming from. They are talking about only using products that are minimally processed, and only using ingredients that have proven themselves to be safe over thousands of years. Think olive oil and cocoa butter. Some people kick it up a notch and add essential oils and other "nature identical" products that have been produced for us.
After lots and lots of reading, I have decided to choose to stay as natural as possible. To keep it as simple as possible. I'll give more examples in upcoming posts. It's been an interesting journey to discover and create good alternatives for many mainstream products.
Let me be clear however. I am in no way being ungrateful or knocking aside things like modern medicine and research that is being done everyday for things like curing cancer. Without these things, Jack would not be with us today. What I am choosing to do is be careful what I bring into my home and what I use on my body everyday.
I just want to say up front that I am not even close to being an expert on this subject. I have much to learn. I am just an average consumer who is trying to decide what is the best way to be healthy. I realize that I am not using specific examples or linking to actual articles. I have chosen to do this because I am not completely knowledgeable in many areas of this topic and can not know for sure what is the truth and what isn't. If you are interested please do a little more research on your own. You'll be amazed what you discover I'm sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment