Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Why does it feel like the US is so far behind?

I've been doing a little research about the baby products we use around here. (Next will be the grown up stuff.) I have found some stuff that befuddles me.

Did you know that lots of name brand, every day products have some really bad stuff in them?! Like say, formaldehyde and other carcinogens. Scary. I know that it seems like every time we turn around there is a new warning out but to me, the stuff that I am putting on the baby with the brand new porous skin is pretty important. This is really not new information but it was new to me so I thought I would share.

As I understand it, the formaldehyde forms during the manufacturing process as other ingredients are broken down. The FDA has not banned dioxane from these products (although they do say that they are potential carcinogens) and has said that these trace amounts are not harmful. This may be true if that is the only product you use but what about as it adds up after using multiple products on a daily basis; lotion, soap, shampoo, etc?

In Europe, at a certain level, there are warning labels on these products but not in the US. Crazy.
Check out this website (old article I know) for a list.

So, are the levels of these toxins high enough to do damage? Nobody really knows. It's not like they are going to do research using infants and toddlers to find out and we will just have to wait and see. In the mean time, at our house, we use more natural products. They are readily available not all that much more expensive. It's worth it.

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