You Thought What was Safe?!
By: Susan Booth
So you've been eating right, being physically active, taking vitamin supplements, and you're generally happy with your life, but you still just don't feel as good as you should? Lack of energy and vague feelings of malaise got you down? It may not be caused by your diet or lifestyle particularly, but by things you consider to be “normal,” “everyday” substances.
I'm not an expert on toxins, and from what I understand, whistle-blowers of the chemical industry get in hot water when they even question the use of some of major-industry's “pet” chemicals. But, I'd like to tell you about a few experiences I've had recently that helped me realize we live in a more toxic world than you might think. You may be eating organically grown food to avoid ingesting herbicides and pesticides, but what affect is your fabric softener having on you? Or your bathroom cleaner?
Dirty Laundry
After an experience recently with a noxious smelling big-brand-name laundry detergent that made a relative so dizzy he couldn't lift his head off the pillow for nearly 2 days, and after noticing that I can tell when it's been “laundry-day” for certain people because my throat will “catch” and I find it hard to breathe when they come around, I started asking questions. I did some research and talked to knowledgeable people in the environmentally-friendly cleanser business. What I found out is that it's no surprise that big-brand-name cleaners may be making people sick. That “catch” in my throat when I smell a cleaner or fabric softener, isn't necessarily the perfume or added fragrance. It could be a hazardous chemical added to make its cleaning or softening properties more effective.
Consumers have been led to believe that cleaners are only good if they whiten, brighten, and clean without scrubbing. But, this let-the-chemicals-do-the work strategy could come at a greater price than we might realize... at first.
Some people are so sensitive to cleaning chemicals and fragrances that they must avoid the cleaning/laundry products aisle in the grocery store, or take even more drastic measures to avoid the offending substances. Just getting out and getting some “fresh air” doesn't necessarily work either. Some folks may actually get sick while taking a walk in their neighborhood if someone is venting the clothes dryer outside.
Toxic Overload and Acid-blockers
Someone might ask... Are these extra-sensitive people just ill? If these substances were so bad, wouldn't everyone be sick? Isn't the body supposed to be able to detoxify itself?
I believe that more people may be ill from unintentional chemical exposure than is recognized. And yes, the body is supposed to be able to detoxify itself, but what happens when it gets too much exposure and simply can't handle it?
“Toxic overload” is the term used in the book Chemical-Free Kids to describe those who are highly sensitive to chemicals because they've simply gotten too much - either from something highly toxic, or things less intense but with exposure over a prolonged period of time.
“...With the accelerated production and use of synthetic chemicals has come a corresponding increase in a debilitating condition for which limited treatment options are currently available. This condition is multiple chemical sensitivity, or MCS, often referred to simply as chemical sensitivities or chemical injury. Its frequently incapacitating symptoms include blinding headaches, nausea, disorientation, chronic fatigue, memory impairment, brain fog (the inability to think straight), and respiratory problems. All are triggered by coming into contact with the smell of any number of common chemicals, such as household cleaners, and detergents, paints, perfumes and fragrances, floor polishes, gasoline, and pesticides (even those drifting from another locale.)” (1)
But, sometimes the flood-gates are opened and the toxins pour into the body without being handled by the body at all. This was the case with a man described in the book, No More Heartburn. A man who had been perfectly healthy, started taking Tagamet for heartburn. One day he went out to mow his newly
pesticide-treated lawn and was suddenly “overcome by dizziness, nausea, chest tightness, runny nose, and a pounding headache. Over the next several months these and newer symptoms, like an uncontrollable jerking of the eyes, worsened. In less than half a year, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and his health continued to go downhill.” (2)
The reason for this is described this way: “Because he was taking the H2-blocker Tagamet, which vied for the same detoxification pathways in his body as the pesticide did, he did not have enough detoxification reserve. Consequently, the pesticide's carcinogenic properties were magnified, not detoxified. Further, undetoxified pesticide residues damaged his mitochondria, the delicate little organelles inside each cell where energy is made, causing chronic fatigue. And they continued to damage his nervous system, especially the brain.” The book goes on to say that the fact that Tagamet and similar H2-blockers (such as Zantac, Pepcid, Axid, and Mylanta AR) vie for the same detoxification enzymes is common knowledge in medicine. “Even the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR), the standard textbook that describes drug actions and side effects, warns that Tagamet-like drugs compromise detoxification pathways.”
Noxious Packing Materials
A couple of years ago I had a “canary in the coal mine” experience. We had ordered some sound equipment, and eagerly unpacked the boxes in our living room after UPS made the awaited delivery. The molded stuffing smelled bad – it was not your ordinary curly “peanuts.” This stuff was noxious. We got the boxes and stuffing out of the house as soon as we could, but didn't make extra efforts to air-out the place. Within a day, one of our houseplants, a gardenia, was dead. Coincidence? I think not.
Status: Severe
I haven't even touched the subjects of the dangers of being around freshly laid asphalt (i.e. re-paving and re-roofing projects), all the places where heavy-metal poisoning can occur (mercury, lead, aluminum), the hazards of using hair dye. And what about the health concerns for those living on non-organic farms, or in agricultural communities where chemical sprays are used? The list seems endless.
Get Well Soon!
How do you feel after laundry day? Do other people complain about how strong your clothes smell? Has anyone had an asthma attack shortly after someone else used bathroom spray? Does cleaning the bathroom make you feel sick? These are things to take note of.
It's nice to know there are people – researchers, chemists – who are working to make sure you and I have good, effective cleaners that not only do the job, but don't harm us in the process. It's an ongoing process to find the safest substances to use, and there is often debate even among the “green,” “environmentally safe” cleaning manufacturers as to what is safe and what is not. But, here at Azure we carry the brands that are on the cutting edge of effectiveness and (perhaps more importantly) safety.
Another positive thing is that there are others who are working to give you and me information to help us make better choices. Websites such as www.scorecard.org have made it easier to find out about the chemicals we're using.
Have you been suffering from excessive chemical exposure? Maybe you'd feel better just switching to a natural laundry soap, or not using air fresheners. Hey, it's worth a try, and it can't hurt to reduce your toxic load now, so you can handle unexpected toxicities in the future!
References
1) Chemical Free Kids, by Allan Magaziner, D.O., Linda Bonvie, and Anthony Zolezzi. Twin Steams Books. Copyright 2003. Pages 164-165.
2) No More Heartburn, by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D. Kensington Books. Copyright 2000 Pages 8-9.