Is Your Home Making You and Your Family Sick? (Part 2)

Are you aware that you might be bringing toxins into your home? Many of the products you buy to improve the look and smell of your home can actually harm you and your family. Many ingredients used in personal care products such as soaps, creams and deodorants are also toxic.

Here’s part 2 of a true or false quiz to test your knowledge about toxins in your home. The answers are at the end of the post. Have fun!

1. Household products manufactures are not required to list all of the ingredients on the label, only the active ingredients. The “inert” (inactive) ingredients, which happen to be the majority of the ingredients, do not have to be listed on the label. Here is a list of the commonly used inert ingredients, which are considered toxic: Acetone, Phenol, Formaldehyde, Asbestos, Xylene, Tetrachloride, Benzene, and Dioxin.

2. Formaldehyde should be handled with caution. It is a human carcinogen suspected of causing birth defects and genetic damage. It also causes headaches, joint pain, chest pains, depression, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep. Formaldehyde is in almost everything you use in your home, from toothpaste to laundry soap. (Source: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health)

3. The following chemicals, which are deadly poisons, are found in most laundry detergents: Phosphorus, Ammonia, Naphthalene, Phenol, and Sodium Aluminosilicate (also used as a pesticide).

4. Many ingredients used in personal care products are also toxic and can be easily absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream. These include some ingredients in soaps, lotions, creams, cosmetics, shampoos, deodorants, etc. Of the chemicals found in personal care products: 884 are toxic, 146 cause tumors, 218 cause reproductive complications, 314 cause biological mutation, 376 cause skin and eye irritations. (Source: United States House of Representatives report, 1989)

5. Toothpaste can contain a whole array of harmful ingredients that are classified as carcinogens or suspected carcinogens such as formaldehyde, mineral oil, PVP, and saccharin. Read the label on toothpaste, it sometimes instructs us not to swallow the paste!

6. The government cannot mandate safety studies of cosmetics, and only 11% of the 10,500 ingredients FDA has documented in products have been assessed for safety by the cosmetic industry's review panel.

Answers of the quiz: The answer is true for all these 6 questions!

The good news is that you can do something about it!

Here are the website links of two non toxic household companies that are committed to make a difference:

Biokleen
Biokleen manufactures natural, non-toxic cleaning products for your home and business without negative effects to you or the environment.

Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation produces and distributes environmentally safe household products.

Another useful website is http://www.cosmeticdatabase.org. Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own cosmetic products for safety, go on this website and search for your favorite brand’s toxicity level. Are they safe or not? This organization will inform you on this question.

I personally order my shampoo, toothpaste, cream and other personal care products from Wholefood Farmacy. They are totally safe and really efficient. My husband always makes sure that I order Sublime (body care) for him. He loves it!

Until next week,
Lots of Fun, Joy and Peace for you!


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