Stop Covering Yourself in Poison

As a health and wellness professional, I have spent years educating people on the importance of quality nutrition and exercise. I even teach people how to navigate the grocery store. I’ve always recommended putting good, high-quality products and food into your body. But I never gave much thought as to what we are putting on our bodies. So, I started asking questions, and I did not like the answers. At any one time, there can be over 300 toxins in our body from the products we use in our home. Just like learning about ingredients in our food, with knowledge comes power. And with power, change is not far behind.

For the last three years, I have had the eye-opening experience of diving into this subject. I continue to be amazed and stunned by the research I am finding. For example, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health studied 2,983 ingredients in our products at home - and found 884 toxic ingredients. Three hundred fourteen caused biological mutations, 218 caused reproductive problems, 778 were toxic to the human body. One hundred forty-six they knew caused cancer tumors - but were allowed in the US even though they were banned in other countries around the world. For example, in cosmetics alone, Europe has banned over 1300 chemicals while the US has banned only 11.

Wait...WHAT? How is this OK? It's NOT OK, and it all starts with awareness and education. Many of these items are lurking in your cabinets right now. I had no idea that I was covering myself in poison by putting on my lotion, deodorant, make-up, etc. Our everyday products can have so many toxins in them! I had my "aha" moment.

22 • Tell them you saw it in ON THE COAST Magazine Dr. Samuel Epstein, chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, says, “It is unthinkable that women would knowingly inflict such exposures on their infants and children and themselves if products were routinely labeled with explicit warnings of cancer risks. But they are not labeled.” You wouldn’t buy that baby lotion that says “TOXIC” in large print, right?

Since 1950, cancer rates for the general population have risen at a rate of about 1.2 percent per year, with extraordinary increases in certain cancers, notably the breast and prostate. (Miller et al. 1993)

This hits extremely close to home as I lost my mother to ovarian cancer. My brother has been battling lung cancer for over three years. Last year, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. We need to start paying attention to what we ingest and apply on our bodies. I'm on a mission to help unveil what chemical companies don't want us to know.

Another statistic from the American Cancer Society surprised me: only 5-10% of all cancer cases are from gene defects. That means 90-95% of cancer cases are under our control (i.e., what we eat, what we put onto our bodies and allow into our homes).

Endocrine disruptors interfere with the normal function of the hormonal system and can contribute to an array of negative health impacts.