What Is This?

I thought that I was doing so well. For a while, I've been eating organic produce. It was like a light went off in my head and I realized that there must be a direct relationship between what I eat and how I feel. Although pesticides have been used for a while, I shuddered at the thought of what all of the combination of pesticides over an extended period of time must be doing to my body. There are always assurances that the pesticides are safe, etc., but what if they find out later that there IS a connection between some pesticide use and some cancers or some diseases?

A corollary to this revelation caused me to try to be more conscious about my impact on the environment and then I tried to find a way to support the local growers. Farmer's markets are an easy way to get access to organic produce but there is also the added benefit in that I feel more of a connection to to the earth since I am buying directly from local growers. Also, since this produce is local, there is hopefully less impact on the environment in that the emissions from the delivery of the local produce is much less than from the produce at the grocery store, which is provided from worldwide sources.

But, then I realized that there was a glaring hole. While I was so conscious about what I was putting in my mouth, the mouth of my husband and the mouth of my baby, I didn't think about what we were putting ON our bodies. The skin is a very porous barrier and some body care ingredients are absorbed by our bodies on a daily basis. It first started with the shampoo. What is "sodium laureth sulfate?" I asked.....hmm, when I looked at my conditioner, I noticed that it had an ingredient that I didn't know how to even start to pronounce - "methylisothiazoline". What is this, I asked. Thank goodness for the internet (and wikipedia) and I was able to do some quick research.

According to wikipedia, "methylisothiazoline" is "a powerful biocide and preservative within the group of isothiazolinones, used in shampoos and body care products. Though long considered safe for use in cosmetics, one study has shown that high doses of MIT may be neurotoxic, causing damage to extracted rat nerve cells in laboratory containers. Long-term health and safety studies have been conducted on humans and there is no evidence of nerve damage or neurological effects associated with MIT for consumers or workers. Regulatory authorities in the USA, Japan and Europe and more than 25 other countries have all independently concluded the product is safe."

I understand the need to prevent the growth of bacteria and the like, but hmmmm, I don't know about you, but why would I want to expose myself to anything that may be neurotoxic??? This got me thinking, how could I have been so blind to the ingredients in my body care products when I was so vigilant about reading labels on all of my food products? I had a mental checklist of things to avoid in food products - cottonseed oil, check, sodium benzoate, check, sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite, check, etc. and I think that what made me more lax was the sheer number of ingredients that were incomprehensible to me in body care products. At least, when I was shopping for food, I could easily recognize most of the ingredients. But with body care products? Forget it. I could probably recognize a few, but not most of the ingredients.

Also, it made me think, was I so blinded by the marketing adverts promising shiny hair or beautiful skin and should I so trusting in corporations to provide products that are safe? I guess I assumed that if products are on the market, they must be tested and they must be safe, but with all of the product recalls, you can never be absolutely sure......

This started a crusade that started perhaps a year ago when my son was born. He was born pure and I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure that whatever we used or fed him was safe and pure.