Drop-dead Clean?
Are we too clean? Are we covering our bodies and filling the air around us with “scents” that are harming us? A recent study, published October 24, 2006 in Environmental Science and Technology, found triclosan — a chemical commonly used in toothpastes and antibacterial soaps — hastens the transformation of tadpoles into adult frogs.
Okay, why am I so concerned about frog development? Well, I don’t just think frog. I think endocrine disruption. (Triclosan reacts with the free chlorine in tap water to produce compounds that convert into dioxins upon exposure to sunlight; dioxins are extremely toxic, and are very potent endocrine disruptors.) So, I think young girls (dare we call them tadpoles?) getting their periods at increasingly younger ages. Yes, and I think cancer. (Triclosan can combine with chlorine in tap water to form chloroform gas, a probable human carcinogen.)
Our world has become increasingly phobic about deodorizing and sanitizing our bodies and our environments. We plug-in chemicals to “freshen” our air. We lather and slather ourselves, our clothes, and our homes with antibacterial soaps and deodorants and shampoos, washes and scrubs, pastes and creams, detergents and cleansers, and…well, you name it. The result is that we simply prod the bacteria into growing stronger and more resistant, so that we have to use more and stronger and…again, you get the picture.
In our rush to “protect” ourselves we compromise the very systems, inside our amazing bodies, that we depend on for real protection. And all to fill the coffers of mega-companies that focus only on the next profitable drug or plug they can sell a gullible, fearful public.
Please join me, and “Just say no!” to unnecessary and unnatural drugs, plugs, and antibacterial chemicals. Let’s give our livers a break, and let’s live closer and kinder to the earth and to ourselves.
Okay, why am I so concerned about frog development? Well, I don’t just think frog. I think endocrine disruption. (Triclosan reacts with the free chlorine in tap water to produce compounds that convert into dioxins upon exposure to sunlight; dioxins are extremely toxic, and are very potent endocrine disruptors.) So, I think young girls (dare we call them tadpoles?) getting their periods at increasingly younger ages. Yes, and I think cancer. (Triclosan can combine with chlorine in tap water to form chloroform gas, a probable human carcinogen.)
Our world has become increasingly phobic about deodorizing and sanitizing our bodies and our environments. We plug-in chemicals to “freshen” our air. We lather and slather ourselves, our clothes, and our homes with antibacterial soaps and deodorants and shampoos, washes and scrubs, pastes and creams, detergents and cleansers, and…well, you name it. The result is that we simply prod the bacteria into growing stronger and more resistant, so that we have to use more and stronger and…again, you get the picture.
In our rush to “protect” ourselves we compromise the very systems, inside our amazing bodies, that we depend on for real protection. And all to fill the coffers of mega-companies that focus only on the next profitable drug or plug they can sell a gullible, fearful public.
Please join me, and “Just say no!” to unnecessary and unnatural drugs, plugs, and antibacterial chemicals. Let’s give our livers a break, and let’s live closer and kinder to the earth and to ourselves.
