KNOW YOUR A.B.C's.

[sleepyangel30]

KNOW YOUR A.B.C's.
by Dr. Joyce M. Woods

Begin by thinking of your home as a toxic waste dump. The average home today contains 62 toxic chemicals - more than a chemistry lab at the turn of the century. More than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced since WW II. Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, or birth defects. The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects.
An EPA survey concluded that indoor air was 3 to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air.

Another EPA study stated that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air.

CMHC reports that houses today are so energy efficient that "out-gassing" of chemicals has no where to go, so it builds up inside the home.

We spend 90% of our time indoors, and 65% of that time at home. Moms, infants and the elderly spend 90% of their time in the home.

National Cancer Association released results of a 15-year study concluding that women who work in the home are at a 54% higher risk of developing cancer than women who work outside the home.

Cancer rates have almost doubled since 1960.

Cancer is the Number ONE cause of death for children.

There has been a 26% increase in breast cancer since 1982. Breast cancer is the Number ONE killer of women between the ages of 35 and 54. Primary suspects are laundry detergents, household cleaners and pesticides.

There has been a call from the U.S./Canadian Commission to ban bleach in North America. Bleach is being linked to the rising rates of breast cancer in women, reproductive problems in men and learning and behavioral problems in children.

Chemicals get into our body through inhalation, ingestion and absorption. We breathe 10 to 20 thousand liters of air per day.

There are more than 3 million poisonings every year. Household cleaners are the Number ONE cause of poisoning of children.

Since 1980, asthma has increased by 600%. The Canadian Lung Association and the Asthma Society of Canada identify common household cleaners and cosmetics as triggers.

ADD/ADHD are epidemic in schools today. Behavioral problems have long been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and molds.

Chemical and environmental sensitivities are known to cause all types of headaches.

Labeling laws do not protect the consumer - they protect big business. The New York Poison Control Center reports that 85% of product warning labels were either inadequate or incorrect for identifying a poison, and for first aid instructions.

Formaldehyde, phenol, benzene, toluene, xylene are found in common household cleaners, cosmetics, beverages, fabrics and cigarette smoke. These chemicals are cancer causing and toxic to the immune system.

Chemicals are attracted to, and stored in fatty tissue. The brain is a prime target for these destructive organics because of its high fat content and very rich blood supply.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found more than 2500 chemicals in cosmetics that are toxic, cause tumors, reproductive complications, biological mutations and skin and eye irritations.

Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure.

Pesticides only have to include active ingredients on the labels, even though the inert (inactive) ingredients may account for 99%, many of which are toxic and poisons.


I don't know how true this is... but i'm sure research could be done very easily and quickly for the people that are more inclined to do so.

[jaime15]

We do absorb alot. We probably stay sicker than our parents and theirs before us. Life has gotten extremely easier.
I'm tired at the end of the day but 98% of the time I still cook dinner.
I won't cave often to the fastfood chains.
All those preservatives.......makes you wonder if it's there to 'help' the food stay fresher or put toxins in our bodies, making us sicker so we need more medicine................oh my, I'm sounding like a conspiracy theorist.

Thanks, Angela.........some of those studies do make you wonder though...:)

[poetgirl]

There is truth to much of this. My mother is allergic to many of the chemicals found in common household items, cleansers and products. A couple of years ago, she and my dad had to replace some carpet in their house. She can't have wool because she's highly allergic to that, so they got one that was made with olefin, which you see in a lot of industrial carpet manufacturing. The fumes from the olefin in the carpet (which are released into the air -- that "new carpet smell") made her very ill for about a week or so.

Chemical pesticides used in farming have long been known to cause higher rates of breast cancer in communities where the pesticides made their way into the ground water or were ingested through foods. Neurological problems have also long been associated with exposure to chemicals. You see it a lot with people who work in dry cleaning stores, are housepainters or strip/varnish wood. There are "safer" products out there on the market now but that doesn't mean they are completely risk-free.

Over time, I have been changing out the cleaning products in our house to ones that are environmentally-friendly. First of all, I've noticed that even when I have the windows open in the bathroom and cross-ventilation going, I get nauseous and headachy from fumes from regular household cleansers that contain bleach or similar mildew/stain fighting ingredients. Second of all, both my stepston and dog have allergies (and sensitive skin) so I don't want to aggravate their conditions further with chemicals they are coming into contact with on their skin. Third, when you rinse all that stuff down the sink and through the drains, it goes back out into our sewers, rivers and streams. Some of that same "grey water" eventually gets recycled into our water supply too.

The hard part is that these things are so pervasive in our culture that they are very difficult to avoid using or buying. You really do have to make a lifestyle change and be conscious in your intent to purchase and use ecologically-produced/sustainable products. I'm not totally there yet, but am doing what I can.

[sleepyangel30]

i'am allergic to wool myself and it make me itch really bad. I'm also allergic to certain things I smell it cause my eyes to burn burn burn..