Look out with the labelling!!

Back in 2000 a Daily Express writer, Lucy Johnston, was shocked to find that although she thought was healthy, she discovered that a single cell of her body fat contained 500 man-made chemicals - potentially harmful toxins, 2 of which are deadly and have been banned in Britain for years.

One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to start removing these toxins, is to find personal care and household products that are TOTALLY safe and environmentally friendly. That in itself is not easy when it comes to using high street and supermarket brands. Labelling is notoriously misleading at times and you have to be very careful if it is an issue that interests you, or people you care about.

Just as a piece of information that might help you I have a list (probably not exhaustive!!) of typical ingredients and possible reasons to avoid them....

Harmful Ingredients -

• Sodium Laurel Sulphate
• Sodium Laureth Sulphate
• Propylene Glycol
• Talc
• DEA/TEA/MEA
• Aluminium
• Mineral Oil
• Collagen
• AHA's

1. Sodium Laurel Sulphate

• Main Ingredient in Engine Degreasers & Garage Floor Cleaners
• Used because it's cheap / mixed with salt it makes a lot of foam
• Found in almost anything that foams or lathers
• Major Skin Irritant
• Causes Eye Damage / Cataracts
• Major Hormone Disrupter
• Oestrogen Mimic
• Acts like a catalyst, enables other chemicals to react with one another
• Increases the skin's permeability allowing more chemicals to pass through and into the bloodstream Absorbed in the brain, heart and liver

2.Sodium Laureth Sulphate

• Similar properties to Sodium Laurel Sulphate Slightly milder and therefore used in baby products
• Alcohol version of SLS and therefore more readily absorbed (alcohol Still dries the skin)

Also lookout for Zinc Perithian(1%) in dandruff shampoos

3. Propylene Glycol

• Used as a gliding agent in skin creams etc.
• Main ingredient in brake fluid, floor wax, paints and antifreeze
• Suffocates the skin and hair, locks in moisture, toxins and waste
• Shown to cause liver damage and kidney damage
• Comes with a skull and crossbones workers warned to avoid skin contact and wear protective clothing

4. Talc

• A known carcinogen
• Linked to Ovarian cancer
• Similar properties to asbestos
• Beware! some cosmetics may contain talc

5. DEA / TEA / MEA

• Diethanolamine, Triethanolamine and monoethanolamine
• Known to be carcinogenic
• Also a major skin and eye irritant
• Accumulates in organs
• Can also cause asthma

6. Aluminium

• Linked to cancer
• Linked to Alzheimer's Disease
• Accumulates in the organs
• Neurotoxin - i.e. Damages the central nervous system

7. Mineral Oil

• A derivative of crude oil used as a cutting fluid and lubricating oil. (drill bits etc)
• In skin CARE!!!? It forms an oily film that locks in moisture, toxins and waste, also keeps oxygen out

8. Collagen

• Derived from animal skin and ground up chicken feet.
• Again suffocates the skin

9. AHA's

• Can damage skin cells and protective barrier (mantel)
• The acids burn away the top layer of skin
• Doubling the chance of damage by the Sun
• It's in many consumers and salon products

Bear in mind also that one ingredient may be "ok" (??) on it's own, but may actually become carcinogenic when mixed with some others....

Are there alternatives? Yes, there are and finding them can be difficult when you take into account the labelling that is out there in the real world!

Check the labelling and if not sure - don't buy! ASK questions. The names on the labelling may well be different to the ones I have listed as some of the items in the list have several different names. Others are names that actually may have more than one ingredient....I repeat - BE AWARE that some chemicals that by themselves may only be an irritant (at best!) can, when mixed with others become carcinogenic. This is definitely NOT pointed out on the labels!!

With ANY product you use you should also find that a change will not cost any more than you would pay using the high street and supermarket brands.....the advantages may be incredible. I can see no reason why we need to subject ourselves to any more man made chemicals than absolutely necessary. Yes they are everywhere, but why use them on ourselves and clean our teeth with them every day if we don't need to?

There are always people who will say this is scare-mongering, but I believe the situation is such that this type of information should be brought out more. I have seen the results from changes myself and have also benefitted from them.

Take from it what you will - if you are interested in looking further - have a look at the weblinks below

One demo website would be http://www.healthyhomesclub.co.uk - please feel free and check if the questions apply to you...there is some free and interesting information on there as well. Just suppose you want to buy your own products that you can be confident in the knowledge that they ARE safe - not only safe but truely effective - have a look at this site - and sign up - it's free to do so. If you are in the States and Canada - take this link.

For digestive and other health problems you may like to view http://www.probioticsforhealth.co.uk/ - again more free information available there

Thanks for reading this far (if you did!!)

Bye for now

Mike