Chemical Connection, What’s Hidden In Your Home?

Have you noticed that so many people today are diagnosed with cancer? Have you stopped for a moment and wondered the cause?

1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. There is a key element that is connected to cancer:

CHEMICALS

Are you aware that it takes only 26 seconds for a chemical to enter your blood stream when you come in contact with it? Are you aware that 62,000 chemicals today have been grandfathered in thanks to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) of 1976? The question is, are they really safe? A chemical today is considered innocent until proven guilty. It’s the EPA’s job to demonstrate certain health or environmental risks of a chemical before it can require companies to further test their chemicals. It’s predicted that the EPA is not routinely assessing the risk of 80,000 chemicals that are in use today. So that means, we the consumers are walking around blindsided about what’s in our products and how they are affecting our health. We assume as consumers that because it’s on the shelves in our markets that the products are safe, but they are not.

Take for instance BPA it’s a billion dollar industry today and BPA is linked to endocrine disruptors. When these chemicals enter our bodies they behave like hormones, estrogen which in large doses can lead to estrogen dominance and in return we can end up with uterine or breast cancer. BPA when tested in Americans 93% were found with this chemical in their bloodstream. So what’s BPA in; cups, fabric sheets, laundry detergent, food cans, toys, dental sealants and much more.

But how can we know for certain if the products we use in our homes are chemical free? The answer is we can’t always know if our furniture or coffee mugs have chemicals in them because there is no labeling and no way to control it. The more we can educate ourselves about our environment and everyday product consumption the more we gain power and make choices to lessen our exposure.

Take babies for example, are you aware that over 200 chemicals coarse through a baby’s veins and are found in their cord blood when born? How can this be? Well personal products such as cosmetics contain parabens. Our skin is our body’s largest organ so anything we put on it enters our bloodstream within 26 seconds. So it’s a matter of life or death these days to invest in toxic free products because you will be saving more on medical bills in the long run by using these products. Since there is so much to learn, information can be over whelming. The biggest question I get asked as a Wellness Strategist is, how can we get started?

Here are three valuable tips to safeguard your family from detrimental chemicals:

1. EWG.org – Environmental working Group is a non-profit environmental research organization based in Washington, DC, they specialize in research and advocacy in the area of toxic chemicals and much more. You can enter a product name in their search box and the product entered will come up with an A – F rating scale. F is a true fail indicator and the toxic properties and adverse health risks will be listed.

2. Skin Deep – This is an app that we can download on our smart phone. The barcode reader supplies us with the toxicity rating of the product providing us with the opportunity to make a wise consumer educated decision on whether to purchase the product or not.

3. Look for products that are labeled as “Toxic Free” not just natural

There are companies out there today that are making a difference. Take Actress Jessica Alba’s company, The Honest Company for example. Jessica Alba and Christopher Gavigan started the company because as devoted parents they felt an intense responsibility to give their children the best possible start. They created the company to provide Moms the opportunity to give their children a better, safer start through the use of toxic free products. With 1/3 of children’s products containing harmful chemicals on our markets shelves it’s important to have a place to go to where you know that your child with be protected against life altering chemicals.

So whether you have children or you are a single woman that’s trying to do the best for your health it’s important to remember that we all have the power to influence the terms of our mortality. It starts with an awakening, an education exposure to what lurks in our products.