Switching to A Toxin Free Home: The Ingredients & Why

Here is part two of Switching to A Toxin Free Home! Last week we talked about the importance of mindset and making change.  If you missed it, you can read about it here.

Today let’s take a look at what is in your products and the harm they can cause.  Keep in mind that this is a process.  It’s not going to happen at once and can be overwhelming.  Just typing and trying to spell these toxins correctly was a challenge.  Let’s jump straight into toxins to be aware of when you’re reading your labels.

 

Ingredients to Look For

Toxin Free Cleaners

Keeping your home clean shouldn’t run the risk of putting you or your family’s health in danger. Conventional & industrial cleaners aren’t meant to be used routinely in your home. They can promote antibiotic resistant bacteria and bring cancer causing chemicals throughout your home.

Germs are good for your health and the environment. That’s why things like sauerkraut and raw milk are great for the gut. Plus, they help keep the ‘bad’ bacteria at bay. Here are some facts I’ve found about Essential Oils (EOs) and germ fighting:

• Oregano EO:
  • Soap with Oregano EO at 0.5% dilution was as effect as commercial antimicrobial soap and more effective than plain soap in reducing bacteria on hands and surfaces. It maybe an alternative to cleaners such as chloroxylenol and triclosan.
• Tea Tree EO:
  • When diluted to 0.08%-0.8%, was shown to be as efficient as parabens.
• Peppermint EO:
  • Has shown strong antimicrobial effects when diluted between 0.062%-0.5%, except for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P aeruginosa was inhibited by concentrations of 0.5% or higher
• Clove EO:
  • has antibacterial properties against food borne bacteria
• EO’s of herbs (thyme, origanum [Marjarom], mint, cinnamon, clove):
  • Found to possess the strongest antimicrobial properties

I also use 3% hydrogen peroxide or Take Down spray when cleaning toilets or on my counters before cooking. For general cleaning and wiping of things, I use a vinegar recipe you can find here. If I have a particularly tough spot to clean, I use an old toothbrush and make a paste with a 1:1 ratio of castile soap and baking soda.

Toxin Free Personal Care

Look for ingredients you know! Butters, oils, and essential oils can all provide healing benefits along with giving your body a good clean. Many body soaps are ‘detergents’ due to the ingredients that they are made with! No one wants a detergent stripping away natural oils and germs from their body.  This can leave them prone to damage and infection.

Toxin free products can get expensive. If this is a barrier for you, try making some things yourself. 

The biggest tip is read your labels.  This is the only way to truly know what is in your products and avoid toxins.  As you can see on the list below, many of the ingredients are hard to pronounce.  Being able to pronounce the ingredient is a great start.  Also, the less ingredients there are usually the better off you are too. There are also some apps out there, like Think Dirty, that will scan the item and point out the toxic ingredients and they’re warnings.

Ingredients to Be Aware Of

More commonly known ingredients 

• Parabens
  • These guys have been getting a bad rep lately & for good reason. They can make dry eyes worse and are linked to early puberty, breast cancer, & infertility
  • A study performed on urine in 2005 found these in 99.1% of samples. They can cause organ system toxicity and mimic estrogen, which increases the growth of breast cancer cells. Multiple studies have shown women have higher levels of parabens in their systems when compared to men, probably because of the use of cosmetics.
• Fragrance (Parfum)
  • Look out for products that say “contains essential oils”. Although that is awesome, sometimes companies will still slip this guy in.
  • Can hide 100s of ingredients since they do not have to disclose (similar to natural flavoring in the food world)
  • Side effects include nervous system toxicity (headaches, dizziness, etc), asthma, and other respiratory problems
• Colorants/Dyes (FD&C or D&C then a number)
  • This is one you also don’t want or need in your food. It’s completely unnecessary. 
  • By product of petroleum and tar, which means you don’t want them on your skin.
  • They contain heavy metal salts that may deposit toxins onto the skin, causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic.
  • Linked to hormonal imbalances, infertility, cancer, and organ system toxicity

Lesser known ones

• Ethanolamine, DEA, TEA, MEA
  • usually contaminated with cancer causing compounds
  • There has been a link between topical application and cancer in lab rats, although the FDA denies any link.
• Benzalkonium chloride, BAK
  • It’s toxic to the cells that help keep dust, water, and bacteria out of your eye to keep it healthy
  • Belongs to a group of germicides knows as “quats“; linked to cancer, allergies/immunotoxicity, and organ system toxicity.
• Formaldehyde, DMDM hydantoin, Diazolidinyl urea, Imidazolidinyl urea, Methenamine, Quaternium-15, & Bronopol
  • linked to allergies, cancer, is a known skin sensitizer
  • Remember when women were suing Unilever for hair loss after using their shampoo? That’s because these agents were hidden in the shampoo. Brazilian blowouts, which leave your hair soft and shiny, also contain these chemicals. The US allows them in care products, the EU restricts it’s usage, and Sweden and Japan entirely ban it.
• Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS), Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
  • These are strong detergents that strip the oils from your hair, leaving them prone to breakage & increase frizz.
  • Can damage cell membranes and possibly cause hair loss. They’re linked to skin and eye irritation, organ toxicity, developmental/reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, ecotoxicological, and biochemical or cellular changes, and possible mutations and cancer.
• Triclosan
  • When triclosan comes in contact with your skin, it stays there for many hours. It’s similar to the pesticide Agent Orange
    • can cause decreased fertility, birth defects, and damage to major body organs; can act as an endocrine disruptor; has been shown to bioaccumulate in fish and can be detected in human breast milk.
• Ureas (Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl, DMDM hydantoin, & sodium hydroxymethylglycinate):
  • These can release formaldehyde and cause joint pain, heart irregularities, and a weakened immune system.
  • Ureas are a primary cause of contact dermatitis
• Propylene Glycol, Propylene Oxide or Polyethylene Glycol
  • Linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity, and organ system toxicity.
  • Propylene glycol weakens skin cells.
• 1,4-Dioxane
  •  You may see “known to the State of California to cause cancer”, yet you won’t see it listed on an ingredient label on a product. It is a ‘contaminant’ of the ethoxylation process, rather than an ingredient.
  • Avoid synthetic ethoxylated ingredients, including those with myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, any other “eth,” PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or oxynol, in their names.

Here’s the final part of this series: making small changes.

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