bearing the burden

I do not have the answer for how to fix this.  And, that is the sad, unfortunate truth of much of what I write.

We have created a society where it is valued to smear products on our face, put chemicals in our food and homes, and where we walk through god knows what being emitted from business and cars.  As a result, our bodies get beaten up by this stuff.

Over the last few years, a group of women gave blood samples to determine the amounts of chemicals the body stores from exposure.  The thing that is important to know about these women is that they all work for various environmental agencies.  The significance is that these women, we can assume, are aware of toxic exposure in face products, make-up, non-organic foods, etc., and probably try very hard to stay away from those ingredients.  However, each of these women had anywhere from 25-45 foreign chemicals in their bloodstream.

Can you imagine what is in the blood stream of someone who is unaware?  Imagine the person who is heavily marketed to by various corporations.  Or, imagine the low income worker who is trying to scrape by a living and doesn’t have the priveledge of trying to stay away from this stuff.  And, then imagine a society that then will not give them healthcare when they get disease after disease from exposure.

It really is a shame.  The only thing we can do is stop using certain products ourselves and try to educate and advocate for as many people as possible so these chemcials are illeminated from the mainstream consumer goods.

nano-nano

A couple weeks ago I wrote an article about the possibility of nanoparticles doing more harm then good in cosmetics, vitamins, and the like. (You can find the original post HERE.)

The studies had indicated that absorption by the skin and blood stream could cause these nanoparticles to cross the blood brain barrier resulting in damage. A new article suggests that airborne nanoparticles in paint, cosmetics, sunscreens and plastics, can also cross the blood-brain barrier. The study used mice to show that exposure to the particles caused inflammation and cell stress… just read that: caused problems in the brain. The greatest shock, the stress resulted after TWO days and ONE inhalation exposure. By the end of the study, major damage had occurred in the brain.

The article discussed more about the significance of the findings, and the more interesting part is a sidebar defining nanoparticles and how they are used. HERE is the article.

what you put on your face

The latest and greatest marketing gimmick to women is the “nano” craze; micro-particles put into your skin cream and make-up that is supposed to help the aging process.

New data is showing that “the size of the particles may allow them to permeate protective barriers in the body, such as those surrounding the brain or a developing baby in the womb. Their scale also changes the way they interact with other cells, which might lead to unforeseen toxic effects. “

There was a time in my life when doctors thought they may have had to give me medication that crossed the blood-brain barrier. And, let me tell you, it was a very lengthy testing process filled with MRI’s, and heart monitors and much, much more. Doctors really take that barrier very seriously.

So the fact that cosmetics can get released in such a cavalier manner is horrifying. Sadly, very little testing is done and there are no requirements in labeling to ensure that the consumer has full knowledge of what they are doing to their bodies. It certainly doesn’t surprise me that this would happen, but it still upsets me.

You can go HERE for the full article.

girls, girls, girls

In a way, I can’t even tell you how much this breaks my heart.

Young women already have so much to deal with… body image and beauty issues, getting a good education, being treated equally, pressure to have sex too soon, drugs, cigarettes, a false need to seem older than they are, boys… or girls, for the matter. I’m sure boys have just as much stress in their lives, but I would doubt that the pressures put on them silently kills them the way it does women.

A report from the Environmental Working Group has found that teenage girls have high levels of contaminating toxins that disrupt their hormone regulating system. All of this because of the large amount of beauty products they use.

Read the article HERE.

If you have any teen women (or men) in your life… talk to them. Ask them about the pressures they face. Be a parent or friend or mentor and give them advice, or just be a person they know is listening to them. And, if they really, really, REALLY are commited to wearing two tons of make-up, instead of letting their natural beauty shine through… take them on a shopping spree! To buy ORGANIC cosmetics.