Is Your Bathroom Poisoning You?
If you are like most of us, you start your morning by heading to
your bathroom and getting ready to face the day. Let’s talk
about what happens when you perform your rituals and how you
might be adversely affecting your health and the health of your
family. You might not know it, but the soaps, lotions, creams,
toothpastes, deodorants, sprays, shampoos, and even the laundry
soaps you use on your towels might be the reasons you have less
than perfect health.
Let’s talk about what you might normally do, and what we can do
to solve the problem and keep you healthy. If you shave, whether
man or woman, you probably start by putting some hot water on
your skin to soften the whiskers and hair, and you then apply
shaving cream. The shaving cream lathers up. We think that is a
good thing. However, the shaving cream is loaded with toxic
chemicals. One of the very bad chemicals in most shaving creams
is sodium lauryl sulfate. This is also found in most soap and
helps to make creams and soaps foam up. It can cause skin
irritation, dry skin, and possibly even vision problems if it
gets in the eyes or is absorbed into the skin. If you use hot
water while shaving, the hot water will open up the pores of
your skin and give the chemicals an open route into your body.
Sodium lauryl sulfate exposure can also lead to headache,
difficulty breathing and hair loss. Also, if you cut yourself
shaving, chemicals have a clear path directly into your blood
system.
Your morning shower (unless you have a filter on your water
system) will expose you to a myriad of chemicals, including
chlorine. The steam from your shower opens your pores and allows
greater access to your body through your skin as well as your
lungs. Chlorine is used in swimming pools to kill bacteria. Our
bodies have about 100% more bacterial cells than human cells.
Bacteria help us digest our food, help protect our skin from
outside invaders, and help in our immune system function. By
exposing ourselves to chlorine, many good bacteria are destroyed
and the adverse effects on our health become far reaching. Women
using tampons or pads are also exposing themselves to chlorine.
These products are usually bleached and bleach contains
chlorine.
After your shave and shower, you proceed to brush your teeth. If
you ever took the time to read the side of a commercial tube of
toothpaste, you would see a warning, “Warning - harmful if
swallowing more than the amount used to normally brush teeth. If
swallowed, call poison control.” There are chemicals in
toothpaste that are harmful if swallowed, sodium lauryl sulfate,
dyes, sweeteners, and specifically fluoride. The type of
fluoride used in toothpaste, sodium fluoride, is classified in
the same group of poisons as arsenic and cyanide. Sodium
fluoride can affect brain function and cause nerve and tooth
damage. I have seen children be able to focus better in school
when they’ve stopped using fluorinated toothpastes. Fluoride has
also been linked to bone and oral cancers. If that isn’t bad
enough, a slick marketing ploy is to use only artificial
sweeteners such as aspartame or saccharin. The FDA has 92
potential side effects listed from aspartame ingestion. The
number one side effect is headaches and one of the side
effects…no kidding…is death! Saccharin used to have printed on
its label a warning linked to cancer in animals. If a product
states right on its label that it has been linked to cancer,
believe it.
You now put on your antiperspirant, which contains aluminum.
Research has shown there may be a link between aluminum build up
in the brain and Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological
conditions. Aluminum clogs our pores and prevents us from
sweating. Sweating is one of the ways our body rids itself of
toxins. The fragrance in antiperspirants can cause allergic
reactions as well as skin irritation.
So, what can we do? The good news is that there are alternative
products that work just as well, and in many cases better, that
are safe. Safe products are available at most health food stores
or online. The non toxic shaving creams may not foam up as well
as commercial shaving creams, but they do a better job at
removing whiskers and hair without drying out your skin. You can
also use castile soap, as both a body cleanser and a shaving
cream. Castile soap is made with plant oils and removes most
dirt as well as commercial soap. It is so safe you can even eat
it. I would not recommend this. I tasted it once and it was not
very tasty. If it is going to be absorbed into your skin, you
want to make sure it will not make you sick if you eat it.
Either way it gets into your body it should not harm you.
There are several toothpastes that do not have fluoride,
artificial sweeteners, or sodium lauryl sulfate. Use deodorant
instead of antiperspirant. Deodorants do not contain aluminum.
You might have to try a few different brands to find one that
works for you, but it is worth it to protect your health.
Feminine hygiene products can be purchased that are not treated
with bleach. A water filter can be attached to your shower head
to filter out chlorine, but a better choice would be to get a
whole house water filter. This way, all the water you drink,
bathe in, wash clothes in, and clean your fruits and veggies in
is safe. Detergents and dish washing liquids that contain no
toxic chemicals and are hypoallergenic can also be purchased.
They work very well and are just as easy to use as their
commercial counterparts. Many times I have seen patients with
unexplained rashes, allergies, and fatigue respond very well
when they’ve discontinued commercial detergents and switched to
a more natural soap.
By making some simple changes in your usual personal hygiene
products, you might be preventing health problems, not only now
but in the future.
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