Store shelves are lined with cleaners shouting ?antibacterial kills 99% of bacteria?. The public is convinced that they must use cleaning products that contain antibacterial properties to clean their homes and in their personal hygiene. However, the use of antibacterial products can be detrimental to you, your family's health and the environment.
A report on the Center for Disease (CDC) website stated ?no evidence suggests that there is evidence that the use of antibacterial soap containing 0.2% triclosan (active ingredient in antibacterial cleaning products) provides a benefit over plain soap in reducing bacterial counts and rate of infectious symptoms in generally healthy persons in the household setting.? Plain soap and water, in other words, gets rid of the majority of germs that linger on the hands and body?.
Additionally, another study concluded that there was no difference in infectious disease symptoms over a one year period in 228 inner city households using antibacterial cleaning products and those products that did not contain antibacterial agents. These findings further highlight the need to educate consumers on the limitations of antibacterial cleaning products.
The use of these so called antibacterial cleaning products claims to kill 99% of bacteria. However what becomes of the remaining 1%. This 1% remaining becomes the super germ. The overuse of antibacterial cleaning products breeds stronger and stronger organisms and thus less resistance to cleaning agents.
Furthermore, in order for antibacterial products to really remove 99% of bacteria, the cleaning agent should be left on the area which is being cleaned for at least two minutes for it to be effective. Most people do not have the patience to properly use antibacterial cleaning products.
Our bodies have an immune system to fight off bacteria, germs and virus. When we continually fight germs and bacteria with antibacterial cleaners we are hindering our immune system to naturally fight off these germs and viruses. Thus are immune system is continually weakened.
In Scientific American journal, it states ?It appears that after, say, spraying a counter with an antibiotic cleaner, some chemicals linger and continue to kill bacteria but don't get all of them. The ones that survive develop a tolerance: ?What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Soon we have populations of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
?What is this stuff doing in households when we have soaps?? asks molecular biologist John Gustafson of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. These substances really belong in hospitals and clinics, not in the homes of healthy people.?
In June of 2000, the World Health Organization warned that antibacterial products directly contribute to the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The American Medical Association (AMA) says ?(bacterial) resistance ascribed to overuse of antibiotics is a growing problem, and there is concern that some types of infections will eventually not be treatable with antibiotics?.
On June 13, 2000, the AMA advised consumers to avoid extensive use of ?antibacterial soaps, lotions, and other household products?. The AMA has also urged the Food and Drug Administration to increase regulation of antibacterial products.
So next time you purchase that antibacterial cleaning product keep in mind that they are hindering your natural immune system, and these products are very detrimental to the environment.
In 1958 the government passed the Delaney Clause Food Additives Amendment which prohibited companies from adding known harmful chemicals to our food. But in spite of this, there are still dangerous chemicals that are still being added to our food and it is important to understand which chemicals these are and what the potential dangers are.
The only defense we have as consumers is that all packaged food is required to list all the ingredients on the label. We need to educate ourselves and become familiar with the harmful food additives and read every label of the food we purchase. The challenge however, is that food companies tend to make finding these suspicious ingredients somewhat tedious, hiding them in hard-to-find areas of the package and making the print extremely small so as to discourage their discovery.
The names of these chemicals themselves can complicate matters. These chemical names are long and foreign-sounding and people typically skip over them because they are tedious to try and read. Food companies are also notorious for masking their products with health-related rhetoric that leads people into believing that the product is free of "bad stuff". For instance, "Natural Flavors" or "No Preservatives" are commonly found on packaged food products, but does this mean that the product is free of harmful food additives? Absolutely not. Again, you must check all the ingredients to determine whether a product is completely free of food additives.
Here is a helpful tip that relies on basic common sense. If you are reading the ingredient list and you find it is long and loaded with long words that you are unfamiliar with, guess what? This product almost assuredly has plenty of chemical food additives.
Here is a list of twelve food additives that you should definitely try and avoid. This is not an exhaustive list, however, these food additives have been linked to health concerns and harmful side effects.
Sodium Nitrate or Sodium Nitrite
Found primarily in lunch meat and hotdogs, this is a preservative and color and flavor enhancer and has been linked to cancer.
BHA and BHT
Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydrozyttoluene are used as a preservative. You can find them in things like chips, cereals and even chewing gum. They are know to oxidize the cells and cell oxidation is the precursor to cancer.
Propyl Gallate
Also a preservative. There has been evidence that this can be linked to cancer.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
MSG is one of the more well-known food additives and is primarily used as a flavor-enhancer. Much of the restaurant food we consume is flavored with MSG. This food additive can cause reactions in some people such as headaches and nausea.
Trans Fats
Trans-fats are proven to cause heart disease. Restaurant food, especially fast food chains, often serves foods laden with trans-fats.
Aspartame
Aspartame is a sweetener and is also known as NutraSweet. The brand of sweetener called Equal is also aspartame. This food additive has been linked to cancer and neurological problems.
Acesulfame-K
A new sweetener used in baked goods and candy, Acesulfame-K has had limited testing and there has been some evidence that it may cause cancer in lab rats.
Food Colorings: Blue 1, 2; Red 3; Green 3; Yellow 6
Food colorings are basically just a form of paint. They can liven up the walls in your living room but should definitely be avoided in food. Blue 1 and 2, found in beverages, candy, baked goods and pet food, have been linked to cancer in lab animals. Red 3, has been shown to cause thyroid tumors in rats. Green 3 has been linked to bladder cancer. Yellow 6 has been linked to tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney.
Olestra
Olestra is a chemical fat that is used in chips and can have a wide array of side effects. Additionally, Olestra can impede the absorption of vitamins from fruits and veggies.
Potassium Bromate
This food additive is found in many breads and products that use flour. It has been linked to cancer in animals.
White Sugar
White sugar is white because of bleach. Eating foods that add a lot of white sugar is very bad for you.
Sodium Chloride
AKA... salt. Most of the commercial foods we eat are loaded with Sodium Chloride. This additive has been proven to cause heart disease.
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