Savvy by Nature

iamba — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:05:09 +0000

When will the resting ancestor toe the line on top of the killer?

Aluminum

iamba — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:13:01 +0000

About six months ago, I switched to natural deodorants. This is because all commercial deodorants that I know of contain aluminum compounds, and I’ve heard a lot of bad talk regarding aluminum taken topically and internally. The most distressing claims I’ve heard link aluminum to Alzheimer’s disease, as research has found that many (most? all?) Alzheimer’s patients have increased levels of aluminum in the brain. Recently, I decided to do a little of my own investigation to see if the rumors held up.

Aluminum is a silvery-white metal that has no known function in living cells (but has a wide variety of functions in our lives!). According to some websites, aluminum is contained in many food and cosmetic products, not just deodorants. However, it is most commonly associated with deodorants and antacids. In high doses, aluminum is neurotoxic. It competes with calcium for absorption in our bodies. It also seems to have some estrogen-like activity, which may explain its rumored link to some cancers.

Common aluminum-containing compounds in deodorants are aluminum chloride, aluminium chlorhydrate, and aluminium zirkonium tetrachlorohydrate glycine complex.

Common aluminum-containing compounds in antacids are aluminum carbonate and aluminum hydroxide.

Aluminum may be linked to breast cancer and prostate cancer, but this is controversial. As I stated above, this may be due to aluminum’s estrogen-like activity.

Aluminum may be linked to Alzheimer’s, and this is less controversial. Studies with lab animals show that injection with aluminum causes a disease process that mimics Alzheimer’s disease.

One study of aluminum chlorhydrate studied the skin absorption of aluminum. It concluded that very very scant amounts of aluminum were absorbed into the body. However, the study only had two test subjects that each received a one-time application of ACH to one underarm. Hardly the grounds for a thorough study! These results could be considered interesting, but not significant.

There is definitely room for more research into the effects of aluminum on our health. In the meantime, I like to err on the side of caution. Avoid aluminum-containing antacids, and use natural deodorants. There are adequate alternatives for both.

For the record, I’ve used Tom’s long-lasting deodorant stick, which I had to reapply throughout the day. I’ve used Tom’s long-lasting roll-on, which provided 100% protection for me all day, but my skin is sensitive to it – and I don’t normally have sensitive skin. Now, I use the Thai salt crystal, which works all day unless I sweat copiously, and which doesn’t cause a reaction. My only problem with the crystal rock is that I don’t know what kind of salts and other substances it contains. It could very well contain some aluminum. The label says “contains no aluminum chlorhydrate,” but doesn’t say “contains no aluminum whatsoever.” I’ll have to look into that soon.

A trip to the bookstore…

iamba — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:12:45 +0000

…yielded very satisfying results.

My bulging bookshelves now sport three new titles:

The Green Beauty Guide, by Julie Gabriel. It looks like someone has beaten me to the punch. Here is the book I wanted to write: everything you wanted to know about natural personal care products, natural and organic standards, the evils of synthetic chemicals, how to make your own products and care for yourself naturally, and how to be a savvy consumer. I find that it is last-minute up-to-date (she discusses topics that took place as recently as June of this year), well-researched and cited (tons of citations! a paper trail I can follow!), and an easy read that is intelligently written. Honestly, I’m glad someone else wrote this one. I just get to sit back and enjoy!
Natural Beauty at Home, by Janice Cox. Recipes! Lots and lots of body care recipes! They sound really, really yummy, too. I can’t wait to make some of the shampoos, bath bombs, and scrubs in here. It’s written and organized like one of my mom’s vegetarian cookbooks from the ’70s — cream-colored paper, a spattering of pen-and-ink drawings but no photographs, black and green ink, and titles to the outer edges of the pages to make browsing a breeze. I actually like the style a lot. All substance, no fluff.
Green Up Your Cleanup, by Jill Portvin Schoff. This is a spiral-bound volume. I’ve only flipped through it yet, but seems like a good resource on keeping your home clean without the use of harsh chemicals. It tells you what ingredients to stock up on (vinegar, baking soda, club soda, etc.), and there are some recipes for homemade house-cleaning products.

Looks like I’ll be ready to stock up the apartment with nothing but homemade body- and home-care products when I move out. I think I’ll be ordering several gallons of liquid castile soap. Man, that stuff rocks.

Reading ingredients labels

iamba — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:26:36 +0000

When shopping for natural personal care products, make sure to read the ingredients labels. By law, the ingredients of a product must be listed “in order of predominance.” By reading what is in a product, you will be able to see for yourself how much of it is natural and how much is synthetic.

(One word to the wise: not ALL ingredients have to be listed. Some are considered “exempt,” and are indicated by the vague phrase “and other ingredients.” Exempt ingredients include those chemicals that are key to a company’s secret recipe. Also, some ingredients and additives may remain completely undisclosed. And of course, a product may always be adultered with substances that shouldn’t even be there, such as by-products.)

When deciphering ingredients, I pretty much go by the rule of thumb, “If you can’t pronounce it, it’s not natural.” Of course, this is just a shortcut and has its drawbacks. For instance, ingredients are customarily listed by their scientific names. Thus, you will see chemicals like “tocopherol” that sound like some sort of toxic compound, but are really the proper names of natural ingredients. Tocopherol is Vitamin E.

Oh, yeah. When I said that “ingredients must be listed in order of predominance,” I meant that they must be listed in order of quantity. Thus, the first few ingredients listed on a label are some of the most important to note, as they are what make up the bulk of the product. Here are a few ingredients that I’ve noticed commonly pop up in the first line of ingredients labels: water, mineral oil, propylene glycol, and sodium laurel sulfate. Of course, keep an eye on those “little” ingredients, too — the ones buried in the middle of the ingredients list or at the end. An otherwise completely natural product with one carcinogenic compound at the very end of its list is still undesirable. Size doesn’t always matter.

When you start reading labels, you might begin to recognize names as I have. Petrolatum, ammonium laureth sulfate, triclosan, aluminum compounds… These are common chemicals used in personal care products, and you might want to do some quick research on them if you are using them on your body frequently. That’s the cool thing about the Internet — it’s easy to plug the chemical names into a search engine and learn more about them. But be careful — you can run into a lot of misinformation, as anyone can write whatever they want on the ‘Net. Generally, the best source for info is from organizations like the FDA and from scientific reports. The NCCAM has a guide to evaluating resources on the Web here.

Of course, you might find that you have to compromise when shopping for your “natural” products. I like soaps without the detergent sodium lauryl sulfate, but my fluoride-free toothpaste has it. Likewise, my aluminum-free deodorant has propylene glycol. In these cases, I picked the lesser of the evils. I’m willing to put up with synthetic ingredients that — as far as I know — are nontoxic in order to avoid chemicals that I know are detrimental to health, like fluoride and aluminum.

What is green chemistry?

iamba — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:42:06 +0000

“Green chemistry“? I’d never heard of it before I started doing research on natural personal care products. What I first thought was a term OASIS had made up for its own purposes turns out to be a buzzword in the natural product and chemistry industries…

Green chemistry is a philosophy, a concept — not a process. It is about finding cleaner, non-toxic, safer, environmentally friendlier alternatives to chemicals and chemical synthesizing processes. For instance, ditching heavy metals to use water-based pigments to make paint, growing genetically-engineered cell lines that produce the anti-cancer drug Taxol (instead of killing yew trees to strip their bark and isolate the compound), using enzymes to break down the adhesives that contaminate recycled paper, and turning corn into biodegradable plastic via a process that employs bacteria. Often, green chemistry proves cost effective for companies, as it may use simpler processes and cheaper (safer) chemicals that are easier to clean up.

Also, instead of creating chemicals (like plastics and detergents) out of basic compounds and petrochemicals, green chemicals may be synthesized from plant materials, a process called “seminsynthesis.”

in the news

iamba — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:35:42 +0000

Products derived from natural, nontoxic ingredients — once seen as fringe — are now mainstream.

Natural personal care items grow in popularity

in the news

iamba — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:54:59 +0000

Govt. Report Says Fluoride Added to Water Supply May Harm Population

Research Links Plastics Containing Bisphenol A to Heart Disease and Diabetes

Companies Move Toward Nontoxic Chemicals and Products

Drinking Water of 41 Million Americans Contaminated with Pharmaceuticals

What is “organic”? Part IV

iamba — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:41:54 +0000

Controversy

A good amount of debate and controversy surrounds organic standards. It seems like most (if not all) of the issues fall into one of two groups: those dealing with national organic standards, and those dealing with private organic standards.

National Organic Standards

Controversy surrounding the national organic standards seems to have begun with a suit that was filed against USDA in 2002 called Harvey v. Veneman. In 2002, a new Organic Rule was adopted by the USDA. Mr. Harvey, an organic blueberry farmer, claimed that several of its provisions were inconsistent with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA). The OFPA, if you will remember, is the Act that required the USDA to develop organic standards. While the OFPA does not itself lay out the standards, it did lay down a framework.

In a nutshell, Harvey charged that three of the Rule’s provisions allowed for too many synthetic and nonorganic substances to be used in the production of organic products. (To read what they were, click the link above and scroll down about four paragraphs to the bullet points.)

Since then, it has been ruled that any substance to be added to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances must be individually reviewed by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) before being placed on the list.

Of course, that doesn’t keep the NOSB from placing some questionable items on the list. In 2007, the USDA proposed an amendment allowing 38 new substances to be placed on the list. The OCA’s alert is here, and the copy of the actual rule is here. Basically, the rule will allow for nonorganic hops to be used in organic beer, and intestines from nonorganically raised livestock to be used as sausage sheathes for organic sausages.

Private Organic Standards

According to the National Organic Program (NOP), personal care products that meet the national organic standards requirements may bear the USDA’s Organic Seal. Remember, the NOP sets standards for food, so personal care products must meet organic food standards in order to be certified as USDA Organic.

Being held to food standards isn’t always practical for personal care products, which — by necessity — may require substances in their production that are not accepted by the NOP. To recognize this, the NOP has allowed personal care products to be certified to private organic standards. The NOP does not regulate these private standards, so naturally, it would seem that pretty much anyone could form an “organic standards board” and “certify” products as “organic.”

One organic program called OASIS was created in the United States specifically to regulate personal care products. OASIS was formed partially by big name companies, such as L’Oreal. The OCA claims that OASIS deceives consumers, and that its standards are actually quite low. Honestly, I haven’t had enough time to swim through all of the documentation to be convinced one way or another. On first look, OASIS seems legitimate, but I’m skeptical.

Oh, yeah. Then there is Ecocert, a French organic certifier that is just atrocious.

Conclusion

If it bears the USDA Organic Seal, take it with a grain of salt.

If it doesn’t bear the USDA Organic Seal, take it with a bucketful.

Organic Backgrounder

iamba — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:52:02 +0000

Here’s a great site I just found. Everything you need to know about national organic standards, in one neat page. The law, the regulations, the exceptions to the rules.

http://www.ota.com/pp/legislation/backgrounder.html

Free NCCAM publications

iamba — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:02:41 +0000

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine just gave its website a face lift. I thought it was fine the way it was before, but now it’s even better!

If you haven’t visited the site yet, go now! They have a TON of free information for all facets of CAM — from Reiki to herbs to selecting a CAM practitioner. The great thing is, it’s all backed by research.

All of the publications are free to read, download, and order. They are also all a part of the public domain, so feel free to copy and redistribute the material to your heart’s content.

And now you can order a print copy of all of their herb fact sheets — compiled into one book! For free! I just ordered my copy. Hey — it’s my tax dollars at work.

The NCCAM home page: http://nccam.nih.gov/

The “Herbs at a Glance” series and free booklet: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/herbsataglance.htm