Second thoughts on Sunscreen

Since I've started work on a farm for the summer, I'll be wearing lots of sunscreen every day!

Did you know that there are controversial issues surrounding sunscreen use?

The Environmental Working Group has put together a great site highlighting some of the studies and controversies about sunscreen ingredients and effectiveness.

After doing some research, the major points I've incorporated into my sunscreen habits are:

1. Avoid Vitamin A, also known as retinyl palmitate and retinol.
Studies have linked this ingredient to faster skin tumour and lesion development when it is applied to skin and exposed to sunlight.
2. Avoid oxybenzone and 4-MBC.
These chemicals are endocrine (hormone) disruptors.
3. Rely on clothing, hats and shade more than sunscreen to protect against skin cancer.
4. Choose a sunscreen with a good score on the EWG rating site.
You can search for your brand and see how it rates!

I started using Green Beaver (a company near Ottawa) sunscreen after I saw it on EWG's Best Of list. It's expensive, but rates really well. The sunscreen is certified organic, fragrance-free, with no nano particles (which are fairly new and lacks research into potential effects). I don't use it on my face as it doesn't really absorb and stays sticky for a long time. A solution for that might be their SPF 15 face cream, which I haven't tried.

I'm curious, have you heard about any of these issues regarding sunscreen?

Better Toothpaste for our Amphibians

I spent a few minutes in the toothpaste aisle of my nearby drug mart today. I really wasn't sure if triclosan, that environmentally harmful ingredient I blogged about earlier, would be found in all mainstream toothpaste or not.

source: http://www.ivyswoodcreations.com/bath_time/frog_toothbrush.jpg

As it turns out, half if not more of the products did not have triclosan. So avoiding the toxin is as simple as checking the front label of the toothpaste box and making sure triclosan is not mentioned. If there is triclosan, it's labelled as a medicinal/active ingredient, next to the fluoride compounds.

Chemical of Concern: Triclosan

Have you heard of triclosan?

It's a common antibacterial ingredient in lots of products you use, from toothpaste, soap, hand sanitizers and antibacterial plastics, and many other things. In the course of us say, brushing our teeth or washing our hands, triclosan ends up in our wastewater. Only some of it gets taken out during water treatment, so triclosan is being dumped into our rivers, and since it also ends up in the sewage sludge from the water treatment process, triclosan is being spread over land that uses sludge.

Health Canada and Environment Canada have just published a risk management document of triclosan in the Canada Gazette. There is a 60 day comment period for anyone wanting to comment on their review and proposals.

They recommend that triclosan be added the Toxic Substances List in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Triclosan can accumulate in fish tissues (so probably in other living things as well) and it has serious effects on algae, plants, invertebrates, amphibians and fish, like reducing their growth, reproduction and survival. According to the government report, levels of triclosan in our water right now, especially near waste water treatment plants, are high enough to harm aquatic life, if they haven't already.


So far, there isn't enough data to say how triclosan may affect humans.


If you've just learned about triclosan, take a look for it in the products you use! Where did it show up? 

There are many effective brands of toothpaste that don't use triclosan, but I'm not sure if these are sold at non-health food type stores (Does anybody know? I'll have to take a look!). 

Regular (not "antibacterial") soap disinfects just as well as the kinds with triclosan.You can use alcohol-based hand-sanitizers instead of triclosan containing ones.

For more info see these articles and quick overviews!

More Natural Fabric Softener

Do you know what chemicals are in your fabric softener?

According to Adria Vasil's guide to environmentally friendly products in Canada, your fabric softener likely contains:

-chloroform - a probable human carcinogen
-benzyl acetate - linked to kidney, liver and respiratory problems
-toluene - a hazardous gas
 
But unless you really don't mind getting electric shocks, static cling and levitating hairstyles, what can you do to avoid these nasty chemicals? There are a few options:

-Add vinegar to your final rinse cycle
-Use a reusable chemical-free cloth
-Use naturally derived liquid options from environmentally friendly companies
-Use wool balls in the dryer, scented with essential oil

I haven't tried the first three options, but I did make myself 4 wool dryer balls (by wrapping 100% wool yarn into balls and felting in a sock, see tutorial here). Their pros are supposed to include reducing static and lessening the time it takes to dry your clothes and eliminating wrinkles due to their bouncing action which separates clothes as they dry.

Other than it taking a bit longer than I expected to wrap the wool into balls, I am pretty happy with my finished product! They do make noise in the dryer, so that is something to consider. They work well for reducing drying time and wrinkles. I am noticing a bit more static than usual, but not enough to give me shocks or a bad hair day, so I think I'm going to stick with this option for a cleaner laundry habit!

Have you tried any of the above options? If so, what did you think?

Documentary

Today I'll leave you with a link to a Nature of Things documentary on the links recently being drawn between environmental toxins, body fat and obesity.

I haven't watched it myself but will do so the first chance I get. If you do watch it, please let me know in the comments and share your thoughts or any questions it might bring up.

I'm also wondering if you've had questions occur to you about environmental chemicals of concern and the science and regulations behind them? I'd love to research and blog about a particular chemical, issue or idea you are curious about in this field! Please share any comments or questions that could help drive this blog series.

P.S. If you are going to snuggle up with a blanket and snacks for this movie, you might want to skip the microwave popcorn,and your kids too, or at least don't inhale the smell.

Parabens

A few weeks ago I posted a link to the Suzuki Foundation's "Dirty Dozen". These are twelve chemicals to avoid in your personal care products. Once you start noticing them, you'll see that some of them can be difficult to avoid. Case in point: parabens. I've even found them in the majority of "natural" products I picked up in health food stores. Although it is possible to avoid them. Once you find a paraben-free product you like, stick with it!

Parabens are thought to act similar to estrogen and thus disrupt a person's hormones. By "thought to" I mean, they're listed as a Category 1 chemical by the European Commission on Endocrine [hormone system] Disruption. Category 1 means there is research "evidence of endocrine disrupting activity in at least one species using intact animals." In Europe, concentrations of parabens in cosmetics are regulated. There are no regulations around them in Canada.

The thing about hormones is that very small amounts can trigger changes in your system. An article in the news this week reported that a new study detected parabens in 99% of 160 breast tumour samples tested. Of course this doesn't prove a direct link between paraben exposure and breast cancer, but it is interesting, and not the first time this result has been observed in research.

I also found it interesting that the study mentioned a variety of paraben sources (see list below), and the researchers were quoted as saying they were intrigued that even women who did not use deodorant had parabens in their tumours.

Sources of parabens:
-moisturizers
-make-up
-shaving foam
-tanning products
-toothpaste
-deodorant
-processed meats
-some natural foods

In general, when reading studies about the safe doses of synthetic chemicals and the potential risks, I keep in mind that in these modern times, I'm exposed to a myriad of chemicals everyday. Until we can map out the many chemicals we are exposed to every day, the interactions between each and every one of them and the physical variables in our bodies that change our vulnerabilities (age, gender, acidity) we have no way of predicting what the cumulative, or even synergistic impacts of these chemicals will be. Maybe a couple of parabens in my deodorant everyday won't harm me. But maybe that dose, along with the others in products I use that have yet to be quantified, will reach a threshold above which physical effects will occur.

I think we're better off safe than sorry. If you can afford the time and money to, try to avoid parabens. Most have the name "paraben" in the ingredients. For example, methylparaben, butylparaben etc. However, fragrances may also have parabens, and there is no way of knowing that, as companies are not required to list the ingredients in their fragrances. (Source: David Suzuki Foundation)