parabens Archives - Family Health Advocacy

Do you have any idea how many chemicals are in your foundation, lipstick, eye shadow or even eyeliner? What about your shampoo/conditioner, aftershave, body wash/soaps? Are you aware of the harm that they can do to your body? Well, just in case, let me tell you!

1 in 82,000 (eighty-two thousand!!) of the chemicals that you are smearing onto your face and body every morning are industrial chemicals. Examples of these include;

Many products that you are using include plasticizers, degreasers and surfactants.

Seriously, that sounds like you’re working in an auto repair shop, not in your own bathroom!

Make This Your Mission

Go to your bathroom and pull out your daily use cosmetics. I’m guessing it will include:

Face wash
Moisturizer
Bronzer
Foundation/concealer
Eyeliner/Eyeshadow
Lipstick/Lip liner
Shampoo/Conditioner
Shaving cream
Body wash/soap
Hairspray/gel
Deodorant
Hair dye
Nail polish

…And how many more?? To boot, these are all products that we use every day, or several times per week. The chemicals in each of these products create a compounding effect as they add up over time through repeated exposure.

Every Single Thing You Put On Your Body Ends Up IN Your Body

The largest organ you have is your skin. Therefore, if you are smearing it daily with toxins, there is nowhere for these toxins to go but in! By adding this toxic load to your body, you are putting excess stress on your entire system. Your body has to work extra hard to detoxify your system.

Click here to read, “Clean Living – How To Detoxify Your Life!”

The Worst Chemical Offenders To Stay Clear Of!

1. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives

Look for:

DMDM hydantoin
Diazolidinyl urea
Imidazolidinyl urea
Methenamine
Quarternium-15

Even small amounts of formaldehyde causes cancer. (Check your nail polish)

2. Parabens

Used as preservatives in a variety of cosmetics- they are endocrine disrupters and interfere with reproductive functions. Also look for related chemicals with “paraben” in their names, such as;

Methylparaben
Butylparaben
Propylparaben
Isobutylparaben
Ethylparaben.

3. Sodium Laureth (or Lauryl) Sulfate

This is found in cosmetics that create a foaming action. Shampoos, soaps, body wash and bubble bath are offenders of this. Often, it’s combined with 1,4-dioxane, which may cause cancer.

4. PEG compounds

These chemicals are petroleum-based compounds that are widely used in cosmetics as thickeners, solvents, softeners, and moisture-carriers, and are known carcinogens.

5. Parfum (Fragrance)

Any mixture of fragrances can be used and never have to be identified for their chemical composition! We have no idea what chemicals are used to create various fragrances because the only ingredient that must be listed is ‘parfum’ or ‘fragrance’. These chemicals trigger allergies and asthma. In addition, some are also linked to cancer and neurotoxicity.

[Here’s my story…]

When I stopped using toxic cosmetic products many years ago, the first thing I noticed was that my contact lenses were much more comfortable to wear and also much less dry. In addition, being disposable, they were actually still comfortable for up to 5 weeks of wear with organic makeup. This as compared to 3 weeks maximum, while unknowingly using toxic products.

So, What Is The Solution??

Firstly, find natural, organic, toxin-free products! There is a world of natural options with no toxins available at the natural health food store. Shampoos/conditioners, soaps and even make-up can be found toxin-free at the health food store!!

Secondly, bring this list with you as a basis to know what chemicals to avoid. Furthermore, do some additional research on your own.

Lastly, my number one guideline is: If you can’t read the ingredient list, put it back on the shelf!! Choose products that contain natural products that you can actually read and know what they are. Also, ask for the support of the employees at your natural health store as they are filled with additional knowledge and trained to help find the best products for you.

Click here to learn more about scientific anti-aging solutions.

Jo-Anne Richardson, RHN

Jo-Anne Richardson has almost a decade of experience managing a chiropractic office and educating patients on how chiropractic can allow your body to express optimal health. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and holds a Degree in Communications. She loves to experiment with raw vegan recipes, loves to salsa dance, travel and learn new holistic health information to share tips with everyone who visits the office.

For the last 40 years or so, salt has been getting a really bad reputation. Many people are terrified of salting their food, and actually think salt is UNHEALTHY for you.

Time for MYTH BUSTING!! The body needs salt and the electrolytes it provides.

Salt, NaCl, is an ionic compound made of sodium and chloride ions. It has been important to humans for thousands of years, because all life has evolved to depend on it.

Humans, like all life, need dietary salt to survive. Salt’s ability to preserve food was a founding contributor to all civilization. It helped to eliminate dependence on seasonal availability of food, and made it possible to ship some foods over long distances. (Think preserves, pickling food etc).

However, salt was difficult to obtain, so it was a highly valued trade item, and considered a form of currency by certain peoples. In fact the Roman historian Pliny the Elder stated as an aside in his Natural History’s discussion of sea water, that “in Rome … the soldier’s pay was originally salt and the word ‘salary’ derives from it …”

I was one of these people, rarely used salt except maybe to salt the water for my gluten free pasta noodles. But I found out this summer how much my body really loves salt, when friends invited us out to swim in their salt water pool. We took my 90 year old mother, my daughter and son for a daily 30 minute swim. Mum’s wrinkles softened, her body thrived, her aches and pains disappeared and all she did was float and soak. My daughter’s persistent rashes disappeared, and her skin felt like silk. At first we thought it was because we were enjoying the sun – Barrie summers are so short – but we didn’t get the same results in a chlorine pool at all.

By the end of October, my body was missing our beautiful swims, not just because I missed the exercise, but it missed the salt waters healing properties!!

Epsom salt baths didn’t feel quite the same (my tub’s not big enough to splash around in, and I am too impatient to sit around idle in a tub, I prefer to shower). Since my skin was getting dry I tried an experiment … mixing salt with my favorite moisturizer – coconut oil. I’ve never liked commercial moisturizers because parabens make itch and inflame my skin).

The result was: An amazingly effective and gentle exfoliant. At 62 years of age my skin is smooth, and almost entirely wrinkle free. I do not even need to moisturize afterwards! My daughter loves it too.

I used different salts till I found the right texture. Sea salt took too long to melt and was course, Himalayan salt was too rough and didn’t melt at all, but my favorite believe it or not is normal Sifto or Windsor salt. It melts quickly and isn’t abrasive, and most people are somewhat thyroid deficient in Ontario anyway so the fact that it is iodized is just fine, and I mixed it with coconut oil, added a dash of my favorite essential oil/aroma i.e calming lavender or rose, zesty tangerine or lemon to wake me up in the mornings.

Try it… I’m positive you will love it! Your body and senses will thank you. And your kids and significant other will comment on the silky smoothness of your skin.

By the way, if you have really sensitive skin use baking soda instead of salt, it’s very finely ground, and melts easily too, this is my daughter’s favourite facial scrub. You do not need a lot; a little goes a long way.

Worried about salt ingestion? Actually all the hoopla we listen to has been proven to be outdated and a result of faulty conclusions to data accumulated in the 1940’s. It comes from a time when everyone ate canned goods preserved with salt. Now we have refrigerators and we are more health conscious and eat fresh. Enjoy, but don’t overdo the pretzels and potato chips.

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Blog by Guest Author:

Jessy Morrison
For over 25 years now, Jessy Morrison has been called The UNflakey Reiki Lady/ a Body Talker/a Body Whisperer/ and a Healing Catalyst, but really, she is just a rebel with a cause. As single mother of a daughter who had “every allergy under the sun” and “failure to thrive” she is making sure everyone becomes their own best healer by not conforming to being a “Sheeple”, by embodying their true authentic self.
She was a Founding Member of the Ontario BodyTalk Association, co-founder of the Whole Life Learning Collective, & is the founder of Transformational Tuesdays for Soul-opreneurs. She is a contributing author to “The joy of an ex”, Another View, and Women with Vision Magazine, yet her passion is still working 1:1 with clients to heal their dis-ease labels, reclaim their bodies, refresh their mind, and renew their spirit.

Although she’s still a work in progress, her passion is to guide you on your own journey from “I can’t…” to “I AM!”

You can contact her at [email protected] 705-241-8680
www.jessymorrison.ca
www.transformationalTuesdays.ca (soon to come)