Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t always just mean eating our vegetables. Today’s world bombards us with toxins every day as pollution is all around us. Toxic waves from our mobile phones and microwaves, oil spills destroying oceans, aluminium oxide sprayed in the skies, toxic poisons in our genetically modified food and even toxins in our makeup and soaps. These all do damage to us on a daily basis.
These cannot be avoided but we need to be aware of what we are putting on our skin, our hair and in our mouth. Protection from these harmful toxins come from vitamins, herbs and phytonutrients.
Some shampoos for example have a toxin in them called Sodium Lauryl Sulphate. This makes the shampoo foam when we mix it with water but it is also a degreasing agent which is why grease comes off easily when you wash your hands with soap. The problem is that when you’re putting this on your hair it is also entering the blood stream through your skin. Once this is in your blood stream it circulates to your organs and increases their toxicity. This can cause irritation in the eyes, affect your reproductive system and cause cell mutations.
Your skin does not protect your body because when toxins are absorbed by the skin they bypass the liver, enter the bloodstream and tissues directly. Also you are probably also using the shampoo in a hot shower which has opened all your pores in your skin and it becomes absorbed more easily.
When eating toxic food our body’s natural defences can help to break down some of the toxin. Enzymes in your saliva and stomach breaks them down and they go through your liver and kidneys to be left in the toilet but when something enters through your skin this does not happen so your shampoo may be poisoning your body.
There can even be a problem with natural shampoos as they tend to leave a residue on the hair that can make it look dull and feel unclean. They are also not always as pH balanced as you think, can damage the ends and they don’t lather as well so you don’t feel as if they clean properly.
Some shampoos and cosmetics can have what’s called dioxane in them and this can be linked to breast cancer. Diethanolamine or DEA is another ingredient in both shampoos and some cosmetics in concentrations that are often not safe. It reacts with preservatives and creates nitrosodiethanolamine which has also been known to cause cancer. This can stop you from absorbing Choline, which is one of the B vitamins important in development of the brain and during pregnancy. Parabens also found in shampoos can affect your hormones which maintain and regulate all functions in your body. Parabens are often disguised as Propylparaben, Parahydroxybenzoic acid, propyl-parahydroxybenzoic acid and several other names all containing the words benzoic acid or the word paraben at the end so start to read labels to see what is in your shampoo.
Another poison we may be putting into our mouth is called MSG which is commonly found in soups, sauces and other packaged foods. It could also be in your shampoo disguised in the form of glutamic acid or amino acid. Propylene Glycol found in antifreeze, tyre sealants, paint and varnish could also be in added in there because it acts as a solvent. It can irritate your skin and affect your liver and kidneys. Some side effects such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, drowsiness and in some extreme cases even death can be caused by these poisons.
So your seemingly harmless bottle of shampoo, soap or washing up liquid from the supermarket may not be as harmless as they look. Start to read labels and take your vitamins, antioxidants, digestive enzymes, drink enough clear filtered water and eat three fruits and three vegetables daily as well as at least one serve of protein. If you don’t protect yourself from these substances that pollute our world you may find one day it’s too late and you need to take a whole stack of prescribed medication for the illnesses these toxins and our polluted food and air have given you.
