If you're one of the millions of Americans who buys antibacterial soaps, you've been, at a minimum, duped. But more importantly, you've been exposed to harmful chemicals.
Antibacterial soaps sound good. After all, no one wants to imagine their hands teeming with bacteria.
We are utterly covered in microorganisms. That idea grosses us out, and some of that bacteria can make us sick. Kill them all, we think.
But in reality, we couldn't survive without beneficial bacteria, some of which help protect our immune system. And antibacterial soaps are no better at preventing disease than regular soap and water.
If you've ever purchased soap based on its deadliness to bacteria, you're a victim of false advertising. But it's not as benign as that.
You're also a victim of the harmful chemicals used to make those soaps โ triclosan and triclocarban.
In addition to the possibility of helping develop germs that are resistant to antibiotics, evidence suggests that these two chemicals may also disrupt your hormone cycles. And it's not just your skin. Triclosan can also be found in some toothpastes.
Comment: Read More about Pesticides in Your Toothpaste:
These chemicals continue making trouble even after they're washed down the drain. They're released into the environment via effluent from wastewater treatment plants or sewage sludge.
While triclocarban stays intact in the environment for several years, triclosan breaks down into cancer causing dioxins.
In light of their potential harm and lack of benefits, the FDA has finally banned them in consumer products. Although, hospitals and restaurants can still use them.
According to the regulation, corporations have a year to clean up their acts. That means that you might still find these soon-to-be banned chemicals in the store. So for the next year you should still read soap labels to avoid triclocarban and triclosan.
And when you do, keep in mind that despite evidence of their harmful effects, many companies chose not to do the right thing on their own and continued to sell products that contain both chemicals.
That's why a government regulation acting in the public interest was necessary for us to wash our hands of these toxins.
Have again been manipulated by the corporations that flood us with profitable pharma. There is an immediate claim of benefit against which all complaints are stonewalled for 20 years while 'more studies' are accumulated. At the end of 20 year of pay-back for the costly research the pharma undertook, the deadly consequences are admitted to and so called legal action removes the product from the market while the fine print allows all back stock to be sold so the corps are not financially injured or discouraged from further 'research.'
A REPEAT of the Vit A fiasco revealed by Indian children acquiring deadly cancers because of US drug experiments with high amounts of Vit A. Not deterred by the Indian children's cancers, back home the multiple vitamins on the market with high levels of Vit A continued to be sold until stock was eliminated. Such is capitalism. There is no 'best product wins,' there is only whatever the pharms, businesses, corporations, etc choose to sell us. Recommended Reading: Deadly Harvest by Duff Wilson.