In the last few years I have lost several friends and family members to Cancer. I know of many others who are battling it and are currently in remission.

The people I knew died of leukaemia, breast, ovarian, stomach, and prostate cancer but I was really surprised to learn that there are 200 different types and the statistics are frightening.

In 1901 the rate was 1:8000. Now in 2006 it's 1:3 for women and 1:2 for men. Breast cancer affects 1 in nine women.

Why?

Some people say it's because of better diagnosis and the fact we live longer but with more and more younger casualties that can't be the full story.

Most scientists agree that 80% of cancers are caused by toxic synthetic chemicals. These are the generally untested, manmade concoctions, which both aid and destroy our lives

Of course they are not all bad and without some of them we would not enjoy the comfortable life style to which we have become accustomed, but toxic chemicals should remain outside the body. Somehow they manage to seep in.

Prior to 1940 there were very few chemicals but by 1980, eighty-five thousand had been approved by the Environment Protection Agency. These had never been tested for long term health effects either individually or in combination.

We find them everywhere and our world has become a toxic soup. Apparently each of us will be exposed to fifty thousand chemical agents in our lifetime and you will accumulate at least 500 toxic compounds in your body. What do you think about that?

Most of these will come from the food we eat. Many are in the soil and we are still being exposed to chemicals banned decades ago i.e. DDT because they have seeped into the soil and our water supplies.

Pesticides are sprayed on our crops, and chemicals are used in the processing, packaging and preservation of our food. Gone are the days of seasonal and location variations. Today you can get anything, any time, anywhere.

The independent Environment Working Group has compiled a list of the most contaminated fruit and vegetables. It suggests by avoiding the following top twelve you could reduce your pesticide exposure by 90%.

* Peaches

* Apples

* Nectarines

* Strawberries

* Cherries

* Pears

* Imported grapes

* Sweet ball peppers

* Celery

* Spinach

* Lettuce

* Potatoes

Apparently the average apple has 110 chemicals on it by the time you eat it and even after washing you'll still be left with between 20 and 30 artificial poisons on the skin so maybe the old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" is no longer as meaningful as it may once have been.

Unfortunately if you do fall ill your doctor will have no magic pill or potion but the medication offered will contain even more synthetic chemicals. It may treat the symptoms but not the cause and may even cause more problems.

Health and beauty don't go together either.

The cosmetic and personal care industry use 10,500 mostly unregulated synthetic chemicals to make their products look, feel and smell great, but the industry's own regulatory body admit to only having assessed about 11% of them.

That means there's an awful lot of unregulated synthetic chemicals sitting around in your bathroom.

Did you know that cosmetics and their ingredient are not required to undergo approval before they are sold? Manufacturers can use any ingredient except for ten prohibited substances without government review.

This means that once they have hit the market place you become the guinea pig or lab rat . How do you like that idea?

Many of the substances used are known to cause skin and eye irritation, respiratory problems, birth defects, fertility problems and tumours in the real lab rats.

Your skin is considered to be your third kidney. It is a two way membrane. Toxins are eliminated via perspiration and go in through your hair follicles and sebaceous glands.

Your skin will absorb 60% of what you put on it and as you have 65 hair follicles and 100 sebaceous glands in one square inch you need to be careful what you use.

The chemicals are used as emollients, humectants, emulsifiers and surfactants.

Emollients prevent dryness and protect the skin, Humectants attract moisture,

Emulsifiers hold the ingredients together that don't normally mix and Surfactants dissolve oils and dirt in suspension so it can be rinsed away in water.

These are all necessary processes but the synthetic chemicals used cause allergic reactions and dermatitis. Many are occlusive which means they don't allow the skin to breathe. Others are derived from petrochemicals and are potential carcinogens.

The industry claim the chemicals are safe because they are used in such small amounts but it is the build up over time of these unregulated toxic chemicals that creates the problem. The more products you use the greater your health risk.

If you want to take positive action to reduce the risk you need to seek products displaying Certified Organic logos. Fortunately they are available and it is the only way to ensure that you are not putting any toxic synthetic chemicals on your skin or in your body.