On July 22, 2005 I was intrigued by an article in the Los Angeles Times. The title, “Dozens of Chemicals Found in Most Americans’ Bodies” was especially compelling because with all of my years in product development and research, I always believed that personal care products were cause for alert due to the high amounts of toxic chemicals that they include and it was only going to be a matter of time that our bodies would reach a plateau, finally breaking down, exhausted from the struggle.

The article concluded that The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) with Commonweal conducted the largest chemical studies ever done on human beings and found that we are harboring dozens of pesticides and toxic chemicals in our bodies. Many of these compounds were proved to be linked to consumer products and right up there, just as i imagined they would be were skin care and cosmetics. From pyrethroids , phthalates  and petrochemicals, the CDC and the EWG combined discovered over 200 substances unintended for the human body in fetal blood and newborns and of the 289 people the CDC studied in September 2000, every single person tested positive in their body for a particular phthalate called dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The CDC speculates that cosmetics and personal care products play a significant role in this exposure, however it is important to know that phthalates are found at alarmingly high levels in everyday household products like soft plastics, grout and paint. When studied, laboratory animals exposed to phthalates sadly show some very familiar trends. These are contributing to the decline of human male reproductive health. However, though ever-present phthalates in the human population may justify the theory that they are contributing to significant health problems, a cause and effect relationship has yet to be fully established. So, until phthalates are proven safe it would be wise to consider them unsafe and a contributing factor in declining sperm count, undescended testicles, and testicular cancer.

 The Most Vulnerable

DBP is just one of over 75,000 chemicals manufactured in the United States and it is only now that health officials are beginning to understand their negative effect on fetal blood and the risks they may be posing in utero. Amazingly, an embryo grows at such an explosive rate the first eight weeks of pregnancy that if it were to continue at this super speed, you would have a fetus the size of a million planets combined. However it is the first eight weeks that we see the beginnings of eyelids, hair follicles, joints, nipples, lips, working fingers and toes, a four-chambered heart and even a footprint! The fetus then continues on a very complicated journey of growth. Cells are now multiplying and segmenting into specific organs and tissues, and in the fifth month of pregnancy a fetus swallows and breathes, and now this fetus has little lungs and a tiny gut that begin to fill with the same amniotic fluid that collects in the fetus’ urine. Any pollutants or chemicals excreted in this waste are recycled right back into the body of the fetus endlessly bombarding it with these toxins. To make matters worse, the mother’s body in the third trimester  is dissolving stored fat which is given to the fetus through the blood. If this fat has pollutants like flame retardants and dioxins clinging to it, then the fetus is going to get a second  load of industrial chemicals. As a whole, these windows make it possible for more pronounced risks and effects in childhood than adulthood because though a mother’s exposure to dioxins, mercury or certain pesticides during pregnancy could measurably harm her baby they may not affect her health at all. This kind of exposure during such a complex and sensitive stage is being theorized to have severe health consequences that range from birth defects, cancers and neurodegenerative disease as well as behavioral disorders and premature development.

A baby’s excretory system (and all their systems) take up to seven years to fully develop. This means that the majority of environmental elements they absorb through their skin and their fragile brain-barrier will stay within. Think about their clothing, the plastic of the diapers, their bedding, the varnishes on their crib, the paint used in their nursery, the plastic toys they are putting in their mouths and the unnecessary product that is being slathered on their skin every day. Excellent health starts at home and if the parents do not ensure a non-toxic home for their new baby then the odds are against your little one. They are like sponges, however unlike a sponge, you cannot squeeze a saturated baby clean and clear of chemicals.

It is important to note that the CDC and EWG conducted random studies. They did not choose fetal blood or children that have been exposed to noxious elements because their mothers work within a chemical industry or because they were known to bear problems from in utero exposure. The main objective of their study was to prove that everyone is vulnerable.

The challenges scientists and environmentalists face to test for chemicals in the human body are enormous.  To begin with, manufacturers do not have to disclose how to properly test for their compounds in human beings, making the process very difficult from the start. Then, only a few laboratories in the U.S. are prepared with the equipment needed to run the proper tests and even if they are, may times they do not have the financial backing to exact the methods to test human tissue for a limitless array of chemicals. The few tests scientists are currently able to accomplish are very expensive costing an estimated $10,000 per cord blood analysis.

Also, the government has failed to mandate chemical safety studies and instead has passed the responsibility on to voluntary programs that are supposed to gather more information about industrial compounds. However, this is already proving ineffective in creating a clear statutory requirement that will protect children in and out of the womb.

Responsible Consumerism

To be safe from toxic poisons we can no longer shop with free abandon. In these times, consumers have a responsibility and must think twice about their purchasing habits while also doing online research so that they are kept abreast of information that will help them make healthier choices. Understanding that every purchase has either a positive or a negative impact on our health and the health of our environment is a big step in the right direction.

Below are some basic steps I have compiled to make the transition simple and immediate. 

• Do not ever cook food in non-stick pans, aluminum pans or use plastic utensils when cooking. 
• Do not drink water in plastic bottles and instead buy an aluminum water bottle that you can refill. 
• Install water filters in your home.
• Avoid mass produced skin and body care (men included) and remember that a drug or department store is NOT where you buy food for your skin. Shop instead in stores like Pharmaca, Whole Foods, and other neighborhood holistic/health food stores so you have a better quality of options. 
• Do not store food, especially if it is still hot, in plastic containers. Always use glass.
• Do not use product on your baby. Remember they are born with the most perfect skin. Why interfere with that? When bathing baby, use Dr. Bronner’s baby castlile soap or a little amond oil to massage the skin. That’s it!
• Use only organic cotton bedding, especially for baby! 
• Do not let baby use pacifiers and diapers made of soft plastics. 
• Bookmark ewg.org and healthybaby.com. Use them as your ultimate family health resource. 
• While pregnant use only the cleanest skin care on your pregnant body.  
• When registering for your baby shower make sure to include only the healthiest products, non-toxic furniture and flame retardant free car seats and bedding. Also, definitely make sure to spread the word to other parents. Information is meant to be empowering not frightening, so take charge now to live an optimum life! 

Personally, I have not used mass-produced skin care in fifteen years. I never used aluminum based deodorants (thanks to my mother’s insistence) and I was raised on a primarily whole food and organic diet. I grew up taking supplements and herbs and tonics and overall I believe I am a healthy young woman. However, even I cannot help but wonder what toxic burden my body is harboring and  how a seemingly healthy body can properly handle, break down and expel such chemicals. I can only assume, knowing why we have an immune system and what its functions are, that the healthier we are, the better able we are to excrete and ward of unwanted toxins. This is important to keep in mind and a key aspiration to have because let’s face it, we live in a polluted environment and unless we decide to walk around with gas masks and sheaths covering our entire bodies, we are exposed. Would you rather be healthy and strong so you can fight these chemicals head-on, or weak and unhealthy, unable to fight even the slightest cold. I guess Darwin knew best when hypothesizing his Survival of the Fittest.