Staggering Facts

So earlier this week I mentioned that I had purchased the book, There's Lead in Your Lipstick, by Gillian Deacon.

I'm approximately half way through and am thoroughly captivated and enjoying the book (regardless of how painful and staggering the information provided is).

I received a lot of comments from you indicating your interest in the book and the topic. Thought you may like a few excerpts from the book to further entice ... be prepared to be scared and shocked:

• "The average woman uses a dozen personal care products every day. (And these numbers arent' much different for men, so don't feel too smug, fellas.)  According to Environmental Defence Canada, before she heads out the door in the morning, that same woman has sudsed, soaked, slathered, and spritzed herself with 126 different chemicals, many of which are toxic."  page 6
• "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval rating "safe for human use" simply means that the product didn't give the test subjects a terrible rash five minutes after they smeared it on; it does not in any way reflect an understand of that product's impact on internal health or mean that the product will be safe to use over the long term." page 8
• "They (the Organic Consumers Association) recently posted a list of "fake" organic products ... in spite of their best labelling attempts to convince you otherwise, these are products to avoid:  Avalon Organics, Earth's Best organic, Giovanni Organic, Jason Pure, Natural and Organic, Kiss My Face Obsessively Organic, Nature's Gate Organics and Stella McCartney 100% Organic." page 10
• "Sperm counts worldwide have dropped by 50 percent over the past forty years." page 37
• "A 2004 study found parabens in the tumours of 19/20 women with breast cancer." page 38 - check your labels ... guarantee you there are parabens in your face wash and cosmetics!
• "Formaldehyde is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a carcinogen. It is banned in Canada, Japan, and the European Union but is deemed safe for use in cosmetics in the United States." page 37. It can be listed on labels as" ... formalin, formic aldehyde, methanal, methyl aldehyde, oxomethane, oxymethylene, DMDM hydantonin, diazolidinyl urea and imidazolidinyl urea." page 32

So perhaps your response is just to gloss over, ignore or even make light of topics such as chemicals in cosmetics or antibiotics in our food, etc.  But I urge you to learn a bit more.  It's not as if you have to give up makeup or never use a nice shower gel again, nor do you have to make all of your own products and start only shopping from dread locked hippies, there are plenty of safe and healthy options out there. 

With so much cancer out there and heart ache over lossed loved ones, don't you want to know what could be contributing to this and other illnesses? Even more, wouldn't you want to make changes that could ultimately affect you and your family's health? 

Would you want to be diagnosed with breast cancer and then told that it was because of that fancy mascara and nail polish that you wore for twenty five years? I'm guessing not. Have a read.