Personal Development, Shamanism and Environmental Issues

Shamanism | Personal Development | HomeSchooling | Self Help

Archive for April, 2008


Americans Contaminated by Sunscreens

CDC Finds 97 Percent of Americans Contaminated by Sunscreens

Posted by Ina Woolcott

I never use sunscreen, I always want the sun straight on my skin. As for my daughter, only on really hot days I will use organic sunscreen. Generally I don’t bother. So when I came across this from Natural News, I felt relieved that I have always followed my instincts.

(NaturalNews) The Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a new study showing that nearly all Americans are contaminated with oxybenzone, a widely-used sunscreen ingredient. This chemical so far has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage, as well as low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Oxybenzone is also a penetration enhancer, a chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin. So where has the FDA been on this?

In their online cosmetic safety database, EWG identifies nearly 600 sunscreens sold in the U.S. that contain oxybenzone, including leading brand names like Hawaiian Tropic, Coppertone, and Banana Boat, and many facial moisturizers as well. On top of that, they also show many of these so-called sunscreens offer inadequate protection from the sun. In fact, they found that sunlight also causes oxybenzone to form free radical chemicals that may be linked to cell damage, which is the exact opposite reason many women mistakenly use the sunscreen - to protect them from damaging free radicals which lead to premature aging

And interestingly, as sunscreen sales have risen, so has the rate of skin cancers.

To find out more follow the link CDC Finds 97 Percent of Americans Contaminated by Sunscreens

Protecting Children From Toxic Toys

Protecting Children From Toxic Toys

Posted by Ina Woolcott

Protecting one’s children is of utmost important to parents. Unfortunately, it is now necessary to educate ourselves about how to keep our children safe from potentially harmful chemicals in their toys.

In addition to phthalates, lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, bromine, antimony, chromium, tin, xylene, toluene, and bisphenol-A should all be avoided in children’s toys.

One mistake parents make is assuming that products must be proven safe before they can be sold and they trust that the government wouldn’t allow unsafe toys to be sold. Government regulations are very outdated and ineffective when it comes to the ever-changing world of chemicals and their use in consumer products.

To read more:
Protecting Children From Toxic Toys