but, this kinda feels important and i'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
i know it's easy to go off the cliff with this sorta thing, but frankly, i don't feel so crazy, changing my lifestyle in accordance with this sort of information. is it trustworthy? it seems so. have you heard of it before? maybe?
cut and paste from the other blog:
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howdy folks.
i'm recovering well, thank you! outside of isaac's foot spurring my stomach, while he rides around on my hip, things are good.
well, then there are those moments in the morning that i stretch without thinking and wonder if my stomach muscles just ripped. otherwise we're golden!
given i had infinite amounts of time to spent happily drugged while surfing the web, i'd like to say i'm now going to eat my words. i hope they're organic.
remember back when i declared i'm only going organic with my FOOD?! well....strike that.
given my operation failed to find much WRONG with my system, i've been left to wonder what else could cause my irregular cycles and horrific periods. if it's not endometriosis, and if i don't have cysts or adhesions or scar tissue....then WHAT!?
one evening while drifting around in outter space (hola to the cat at the farm! this shout out will make no sense to 99.99% of you.) while drugged on my laptop, i stumbled across a blog written by a women who has PCOS. many of you are aware that i have PCOS and obviously it's impeding upon my cycle regularity more than i gave it credit for. (how soon we forget those wretched years of counting cycle days...)
nevertheless, this blog drew my attention to environmental factors that exacerbated her PCOS. i lingered on the website and was redirected to a site called The Cosmetic Database. wow. essentially, it's a site that analyzes over 30,000 skin care, cosmetic, hair care products and tells you exactly what ingredients are in each one, and rates it on a scale from 1-10 based on toxicity. apparently, and i had no idea, since skin care/hair care/cosmetics aren't ingested, the FDA cares very little about what goes into them. shocker. but there you go. then they proceed to tell you which ingredients are scientifically known to cause certain physical ailments. cancer. allergies. organ deficiency. reproductive toxicity. the list goes on. with my mouth hanging open, i slowly entered the Cover Girl powder that i've been using since i was 14 years old. i am astonished to tell you it ranked as a EIGHT on the 10-point toxicity spectrum.
this is what the webpage discloses about this particular cosmetic, click to enlarge:
cancer, check.
reproductive toxicity, check.
violations, check.
then they list the incriminating ingredients:
parabens, check.
lead, check.
ingredients outlawed in Europe, check.
wanna hear something worse?
i decided to brave the bad news, and enter in Vasoline Intensive Care Lotion with Aloe. i've sworn by this stuff for YEARS. i slather it ALL OVER my body on a daily basis. and isaac's. so it was imperative for me to know what it ranks.
are you ready?
NINE.
it ranks NIIIIINE.
again: cancer.
again: neurotoxicity.
again: reproductive toxicity.
i am truly in shock. appalled!
with all of this said, my point in this lies with overall health. why switch my diet to organic when i allow all of these toxic ingredients to penetrate my skin and thwart my efforts? why negate it all?
it's hard to apply makeup this week, knowing what i'm doing....
what's even CRAZIER is i went to Whole Foods and bought this lotion, thinking it was all-natural and organic. heh.
i come home and enter it into the database:
score of FIVE, based on the 'neurotoxicity evaluated in the fragrance."
if you can't get a true organic lotion at WHOLE FOODS, what gives?! and i paid far too much for it, to have me settle on a FIVE. i guess i'll print out the low toxicity list and drag it with me when i return to WF. it appears there are varying degrees of 'organic' and that's just annoying.
i'm still not on board with energy efficient light bulbs (HATE!) or canvas shopping bags (always forget them!) but i can now say i'm working to become organic is ways i least expected....
funny how life takes a turn when you recognize the small things that could have large negative effects on your baby....
this whole organic inspiration has really opened Pandoras Box......
i'd love to hear people's thoughts on this information....go!
6 comments:
oh.my.gosh. i knew a lot of this, but thought the products I was using were safe - um...my lotion is an EIGHT!!
YES! I have heard of this!
My one client KNOWS why too much about toxic lotions. She tells me all the time. That is way I stopped putting ANY type of lotion on Abel. I only put the prescription kind on him when he REALLY needs it which probably has been about 10 times his ENTIRE life.
I rarely wear any lotion because of this.
I don't wear perfume (mainly because I get a rash when I wear it) but I figured it was just better for me since who knows what is in perfumes.
But I did love that Vasoline lotion when I was pregnant, but I switch to Gold Bond...guess I should check that out.
I also don't wear deodorant (I know whoever read that just thinks I'm gross) BUT I don't really ever smell. I started getting a rash from it years ago and thought let me try going without it. There are a lot ingredients in deodorant that can cause harm to our bodies esp. since they are going into our sweat glands.
I have also heard diapers can cause infertility in males (still need to do more research on that one).
BUT the thing is there are SO MANY things that can hard harm our bodies, that I am trying to find the balance without being extreme.
After reading this comment, I just realized how nerdy I sounded with all my rashes that I get from everything. ha!
My advice: just try to find a balance and remember LESS IS MORE!!!
this makes me sick. it's like you can't eat, apply beauty products or BREATHE without getting cancer or something else. it makes you feel helpless....tho i know you're not in the end. it's just so hard to know how far to go....
so julie said it! how do we FIND balance? how in the world do we check every single thing we eat, drink, swallow, smell, or slather on our bodies??? how do we live and make wise choices, and still "live?" it's so overwhelming, not only for US, but for the little lives we are responsible for! GEESH!
it's true! it's alot of information and it can be overwhelming.
i obviously think it begins with wanting to be more natural in my diet. that's not a complicated concept. highly processed foods get the boot. chips. soda. fast food. pretty straightforward. replace it all with veggies, fruits, whole grains, etc.
then once you feel you have a grasp on that, study up on why organic is a healthier choice. personally, switching to organic, for ME, was easy. like....that's it? i'm now organic? it happened over one day. organic milk, farm raised meats/poultries, organic produce, all it involves in putting something different in your grocery store shopping cart. any recipe can be converted to organic. so again, i felt it was pretty straightforward!
finally, the issue with cosmetic products will be something each person has to believe and do on their own. but i do believe it comes down to conviction. if you're conviction is that the chemicals are no good...then you'll switch. you'll research. but if you're not convinced and it's not your personal conviction, you probably will not be able to fight that uphill battle.
truthfully, i'm a CREATURE OF HABIT, so once i settle on a powder, or eye shadow, that's it for me. heck, i've been wearing the same foundation for 17 years! so all it will take is a switch to a healthier brand, a ONE TIME switch and from that point forward, i'll stick with it. same with lotions, same with hair products. it's making that first step and committing to staying the course.
i personally feel as though most of these decisions CAN be made in a day...but until i reached that day in my life....i wasn't interested. everybody is different!
but i appreciate the conversation for sure!!!! balances perspective is a MUST!
HEY! so i'm slow on checking the blog, but i went to the product website last night and GROSS. one thing i did find, though: my ABSOLUTE OBSESSION, molton brown lotion, has a low rating. it's pricey but velvety and wonderful and a little goes a long way...i've had the same bottle for about a year. i HIGHLY recommend it...
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