Featured Posts

A Year Ago at Green Your ApartmentA Year Ago at Green Your Apartment 2008 Fourth "Tips for Green Living" Carnival The fourth Tips for Green Living blog carnival.

Read more

15th Carnival for Green Living15th Carnival for Green Living Welcome to the fifteenth edition of Tips for Green Living! We have so many good submissions, so let’s get started!. dining & entertaining Sam over at Best Cheap Weddings shares some...

Read more

A Year Ago at Green Your ApartmentA Year Ago at Green Your Apartment 2008 Back to Basics: Recycle The final post in a series of three on the basic principles of green living.

Read more

A Year Ago at Green Your ApartmentA Year Ago at Green Your Apartment 2008 Call to Action Will you help save the earth with only one hour of your time? www.EarthHour.org Back to Basics: Reduce The first in a series of three posts on the basic principles of green living. Back...

Read more

What are Parabens, Exactly?What are Parabens, Exactly? Labeled as one of the new culprit for many a-modern defect is a group of preservatives called parabens. You may have seen the Breast Cancer Fund site's rundown of them or just saw a lotion bottle on the...

Read more

What are Parabens, Exactly?

Category : Featured, Health & Beauty

Labeled as one of the new culprit for many a-modern defect is a group of preservatives called parabens. You may have seen the Breast Cancer Fund site’s rundown of them or just saw a lotion bottle on the shelf at the store proudly and boldly proclaiming the product “Paraben-free”.

So what the heck are parabens, exactly?

Parabens are antibacterial and antifungal agents used as preservatives in foods and pharmaceuticals (thank you Merriam-Webster.com). They are pretty ubiquitous in modern life, found in everything from tanning lotions to toothpaste and are even used as food additives.

What’s the problem?

Good question. Parabens have similar chemical structures to some of our own hormones, mostly estrogen. While some naturally occur in various plants like blueberries, it is their “esters” or alcohol-derived forms that are more potent “pseudo-estrogen”. A certain amount of estrogen is the body is clearly a good thing though healthy levels are dependent upon sex, age, and individual. However, constantly slathering oneself with lotions containing 0.01-0.3% with up to or consuming a “pseudo-estrogen” in their food can raise those levels and cause problems. Breast cancer, for example, is encouraged by high levels of estrogen. In fact, they have found parabens in breast cancer cells which led to the early 2000s email declaring everyone should swear off antiperspirants.

But does this mean parabens cause breast cancer?

Not quite, which is why the jury is still out. The FDA’s website says:

A study published in 2004 (Darbre, in the Journal of Applied Toxicology) detected parabens in breast tumors. The study also discussed this information in the context of the weak estrogen-like properties of parabens and the influence of estrogen on breast cancer. However, the study left several questions unanswered. For example, the study did not show that parabens cause cancer, or that they are harmful in any way, and the study did not look at possible paraben levels in normal tissue.

So this is a cause versus correlation issue. Do the parabens cause cancer? Or are parabens and cancer co-related through some other factor?

The answer: We don’t know.

Should I avoid parabens?

The FDA’s verdict: No.

The EPA’s verdict: Maybe.

Green Your Apartment’s verdict: Would you eat it?

Up to 70% of what you put on your skin can be absorbed into your dermis and blood stream. That ratio is more efficient than even consumption – that’s why we have a birth control patch and a nicotine patch.

So I ask again, would you eat your face cream? Your shampoo? Aside from the fact it may not taste so good, would you be more worried about poisoning or allergic reactions?

I believe you have your answer.

—-

Image courtesy of djcodrin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Know What’s in Your Shampoo

Category : Health & Beauty

This tip is a simple one that I think is really important. So often as Americans, we buy products based on the commercials that promise any array of imperfection correction.

But have you ever thought about what you are washing with? What exactly is in that mascara that gets in your eyes?

Skin Deep (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/), a website run by the Environmental Working Group, lists various cosmetics and rates their toxicity hazard on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high). They are very clear that their research is not the be all and end all of toxic hazards in cosmetics, but I say it’s an excellent place to start.

Some personal examples:

I thought I was eliminating my hazard risk by going with Burt’s Bees Carrot Nutritive Night Cream until I saw the 4/10 moderate risk hazard rating. But why moderate? Turns out allergies to many of the ingredients are common, which can cause toxicity and irritation. But hey! I’m not allergic to any of the ingredients, so I still feel great using this product that works and is plant-based.

Turns out my toothpaste is a total winner! I use Tom’s of Maine Natural Antiplaque plus Whitening Gel Toothpaste in Peppermint, which rates at a 1/10 hazard! Makes me feel good that only 4% of toothpastes in their database have lower concerns. Brush away, I say!

However, my Pantene Pro-V Color Revival Conditioner didn’t fare so well at 6/10 hazard rating. Why so high? Ingredients in the conditioner are linked to developmental and reproductivity toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity, including “Other concerns for ingredients used in this product: Neurotoxicity, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Miscellaneous, Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Enhanced skin absorption, Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes” and “Violations, Restrictions & Warnings”.

Now my shampoo is a generic Trader Joe’s Essential brand, which Skin Deep doesn’t list. But you can also look up ingredients! The top ingredients in this shampoo are “aqueous extracts of calendula officinalis folower and hydrastis canadensis {Golden seal}, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, cocamidopropyl betaine” and “cocamide dea”. They have 0/10,  2/10, 4/10, 5/10 and 6/10 hazard ratings respectively. Hm… maybe Burt’s Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar would be a better choice with a 1/10 rating.

So today’s tip is to check your cosmetic routine out on Skin Deep and see how toxic (or clean!) your hygiene routine really is.

—–

Like the tips but have an even better one? Leave it in a comment!