Toxins, toxins everywhere…

I’ve been on a bit of a crusade lately to help you see just how toxic our home environments are.

Today, I want step out of the kitchen and away from your cleaning supply closet, and talk about one of the dangers lurking in your medicine cabinet. And, for once, I don’t mean the medicines.

Personal care products—lotions, body washes, deodorant, makeup, and the like—are one of the biggest sources of toxins you’ll encounter on a daily basis. Because they absorb directly into your skin, they pose a huge, hidden threat to your health.

And there’s a good chance you’ve been misled into believing that one of the most toxic personal care products on the market is actually good for you…

The FDA investigates SPF

I’ve written about the dangers of sunscreen before, but even I didn’t realize just how bad the situation really is. In fact, new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testing shows that six of the most common active chemicals in sunscreen absorb readily into your body, where they can stay for days—even weeks.

This is a real problem for a number of reasons. For starters, the FDA has always assumed these active ingredients to be GRASE—or, “generally recognized as safe and effective.” But you know what they say about assumptions…

Decades ago, the FDA started requiring more rigorous testing for any product that would absorb into the bloodstream in any significant way. But because the active ingredients in sunscreen were already established on the market, they were “grandfathered” in without any—and I repeat, any—safety testing at all.

Until now, the FDA’s response to this has been to urge sunscreen makers to do more of their own testing. And I don’t need to tell you what a joke that is. Especially because they’re not required to do it.

Clearly, this is a bunch of hot air. The FDA could have, and should have, demanded such testing. Instead, they just went ahead and did their own legwork. And surprise! The results were concerning.

To their credit (which you know I hardly ever give), the FDA didn’t cut corners. They tested aerosols, pump lotions, and sprays alike, all when used as directed. And they found the following six common chemicals all absorb into the body in substantial amounts, where they stay for as long as three weeks afterward:

1. Avobenzone
2. Oxybenzone
3. Octocrylene
4. Homosalate
5. Octisalate
6. Octinoxate

As a result, the FDA states these ingredients will need more safety testing before they can be considered GRASE. But, once again, the sunscreen makers were asked to perform this testing. And let’s just say, I won’t be holding my breath…

Buyer beware

Not to put too fine of a point on this threat, but let me offer you some insight: In the FDA’s testing, blood concentrations of oxybenzone surpassed 180 times their current level of concern.

And that’s just after a single application. It was more than 500 times higher after four days of use!

And believe me, there’s plenty of cause for alarm here. Research shows this chemical affects breast development, sperm function, and infant birth weights. It’s also been implicated in coral reef death—which is why Hawaii has banned sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate, effective next year.

Other risks include hormone disruption at a minimum—and potentially even cancer. Basically, we have no idea what the full biological effect of sunscreen in the blood is.

Which means that, once again, we are all being used as guinea pigs in yet another concession to big corporations.

Not to mention, most Americans have also been brainwashed into slathering sunscreen onto their skin every single day—multiple times—in an effort to protect our skin from sun damage. It’s a national habit now… and the byproduct of decades of public health education about mostly benign skin cancers.

As a result, none of us have adequate levels of vitamin D in our bodies anymore… but we’re chock full of toxic chemicals instead.

So start thinking twice about what kind of products you purchase and apply to your skin. I only ever use sunscreens that use zinc oxide only. They’re harder to apply, and harder to take off. But at least I know I’m not getting my sun protection with a side of nasty toxins.

P.S. I recently exposed the less obvious sources of pollution lurking in your home in the February 2020 issue of my monthly newsletter, Logical Health Alternatives (“The invisible culprit behind diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and more than 200,000 deaths every year”). I highly encourage you to check it out, if you haven’t done so already. And if you’re not yet a subscriber, consider signing up today. Click here now!

 Source:

“FDA Sunscreen Report Raises Concern Over Chemicals.” Medscape Medical News, 01/21/2020. (medscape.com/viewarticle/924035)