Category Archives: Home Health

Fragrance Chemicals and Your Health

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Fragrance Chemicals and Your Health

This article was written by Jesse Golden with www.thegoldensecrets.com

Fragrance chemicals damage your health & those around you.

Phthalates are one of the hormone and endocrine disruptors that interfere with your body’s natural hormone production. They are linked to health issues like reproductive problems in men and women, diabetes, weight gain and according to a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, phthalates are toxic to the brain and nerve cells, which can affect brain development in children. Plus artificial musks can accumulate in the body and be found in breast milk. Phthalates are used to make fragrances last longer and some artificial musks are even linked to cancer. And if you have asthma, fragrance formulas are considered to be among the top five known allergens that can trigger asthma attacks.

Fragrance is the new second hand smoke.

When you choose to use products with fragrances in them not only are you destroying your own health but also the health of anyone you come into contact with. This is why it’s so important to stop using fragrance-filled products. Unfortunately now that you know this information, you will see that fragrance is in almost everything from your personal care items to your trash bags. In a 2016 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives tested 1,500 items from more than 100 brands and found that every single product contained at least one type of phthalate — even baby lotion!

Despite all this evidence, phthalates are still widely used in personal care products as well as cleaning products including dishwashing liquids and soaps due to their ability to enhance fragrance performance while boosting viscosity.*

Phthalates are proven hormone disruptors.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are something that everyone should avoid but especially if you’re pregnant or planning on having children in the future and this goes for men too! In 2009 a U.S. government study found that phthalates disrupt the development of male reproductive organs in fetuses, infants and children.

Phthalates act like estrogen in the body and have been linked to infertility and birth defects.

Phthalates are chemicals used to make plastics more flexible. They act like estrogen in the body, which means they can cause reproductive problems and birth defects in babies.  They have also been linked to low sperm counts, testicular cancer and decreased testosterone, which can affect fertility.

Are Dryer Sheets and Fabric Softeners Harming Your Health?

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Are Dryer Sheets And Fabric Softeners Harming Your Health?

Detoxification is the cornerstone of colon hydrotherapy, but it has its limits when combatting environmental toxins. Being aware of how we contribute to the toxicity of our planet and making simple changes can have an enormous impact on our health, the health of our planet and all who inhabit it.

Have you ever walked by someone in public, and noticed a strong, perfumy smell wafting off that person? Or, have you found yourself, when wanting to enjoy a lovely, warm day of sunshine and fresh air being forced to go inside your home and close all your windows in order to avoid the unnatural smell of fake perfume permeating the air and lungs which is coming from a neighbor’s dryer vent? Are you aware that this odor is extremely toxic? These odors are toxic to the air we breathe, to our water, to our skin and to landfills; which get filled with plastic bottles and throw away dryer sheets that do not break down for decades and sometimes hundreds of years.

According to research done by health and wellness experts, there are many types of harmful and carcinogenic chemicals in fabric softeners and dryer sheets. Some of the most harmful chemicals include:

  1. Benzyl acetate – linked to pancreatic cancer
  2. Benzyl alcohol – linked to upper respiratory tract irritation
  3. Ethanol – linked to central nervous system disorders
  4. Limonene – a known carcinogen
  5. Chloroform – a neurotoxin and carcinogen
  6. Fragrances and dyes – can cause skin irritation as well as allergic reactions
  7. Glutaraldehyde – can cause respiratory issues and skin irritations
  8. Hexylene Glycol – associated with eye, skin and respiratory irritation. May effect liver, kidneys and nervous system
  9. Hydrochloric Acid – can cause severe burns and skin damage and is toxic when inhaled.
  10. Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Di-C14-18) – a chemical that can cause serious eye damage or skin irritation.

What makes these chemicals even more toxic is that they stay in your clothes for long periods of time, which is what allows fabrics to stay soft and static-free. Softeners soak into your clothes and then into your skin, causing irritation. Dryer sheets release chemicals and fragrances that stick to your clothes when they heat up. Some of these chemicals react with the air to create formaldehyde, a probable carcinogen, which gets into the lungs. Other common pollutants from dryer sheets are acetaldehyde and benzene, which are also commonly found in vehicle exhaust. Dryer sheets have been linked to respiratory illnesses including asthma, and in some cases, cancer. They also have been shown to be endocrine and hormone disrupters. Do you want this on your skin or in the air you breathe, or worse yet, on your baby’s? It is very easy to remove from yours (and your neighbor’s) environment. Stop using them and look for alternative sources. Listed here are some such alternatives.

Seven Green Ways to Ditch Static Cling Without Resorting to Toxic Dryer Sheets According to diyNatural.

  1. Hang Dry
  2. Dry Synthetic Fabrics Separately
  3. Reduce Drying Time
  4. Use Distilled Vinegar as a Fabric Softener
  5. Use Wool or Aluminum Foil Dryer Balls
  6. Use Soap Nuts
  7. Use Distilled Vinegar in the Dryer

Educating ourselves is the first line of defense when it comes to our health, then taking the steps to make simple and easy changes.