Why is the U.S. the "Wild West" of Toxic Chemicals?

The United States allows more than 84,000 chemicals to be used in household products, cosmetics, food and food packaging. Would you be shocked to find out that the majority of those chemicals have never been tested for safety?

Out of those more than 84,000 allowed chemicals, over 10,000 have questionable safety and most have never been tested in humans. Roughly 13,000 of those chemicals are used in cosmetics, of which only 10% have been evaluated for safety.

Scientific evidence strongly suggest that this exposure to chemicals is contributing to cancer, reproductive abnormalities, early puberty and a host of other endocrine, neurological and metabolic disorders
Food additives are not automatically required to get premarket approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Items that fall under the “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) designation are exempt from the approval process. Food manufacturers use this loophole to add ingredients without FDA oversight. This may be in violation of a 1958 law, which requires the FDA to determine the safety of an ingredient before it can be used in food.

What little safety testing is done, is typically done by the chemical industry themselves. The testing is done in isolation with only that one chemical at a time. The result is that we really don’t know the potential toxicity of the almost infinite number of combinations of these various chemicals. Their toxicity could increase exponentially when they are mixed into a toxic brew.

It’s thought that 1 in 5 cancers may be caused by exposure to environmental chemicals. According to a recent study published in the journal Carcinogenesis, this includes chemicals deemed “safe” on their own. The combination of chemicals also could have mutagenic properties.

Tips to Help You Avoid Toxic Chemicals:

It’s quite clear that the US government is falling short when it comes to protecting you from the onslaught of toxic chemicals that may have devastating health effects. Within this dysfunctional system, you are the best one to keep your family safe. Although no one can successfully steer clear of ALL chemicals and pollutants, you can minimize your exposure by keeping a number of these17 key principles from Dr. Mercola in mind:

1. Eat REAL food that is focused on locally grown, fresh, and ideally organic whole foods. Processed and packaged foods are a common source of chemicals such as BPA and phthalates. Wash fresh produce well, especially if it’s not organically grown.

2. Choose grass-pastured, sustainably raised meats and dairy to reduce your exposure to hormones, pesticides, and fertilizers. Avoid milk and other dairy products that contain the genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST).

3. Rather than eating conventional or farm-raised fish, which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury, supplement with a high-quality krill oil, or eat fish that is wild-caught and lab tested for purity, such as wild caught Alaskan salmon.

4. Buy products that come in glass bottles rather than plastic or cans, as chemicals can leach out of plastics (and plastic can linings), into the contents; be aware that even “BPA-free” plastics typically leach other endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are just as bad for you as BPA.

5. Store your food and beverages in glass, rather than plastic, and avoid using plastic wrap.

6. Replace your non-stick pots and pans with ceramic or glass cookware.

7. Filter your tap water for both drinking AND bathing. If you can only afford to do one, filtering your bathing water may be more important, as your skin absorbs contaminants. To remove the endocrine disrupting herbicide Atrazine, make sure your filter is certified to remove it. According to the EWG, perchlorate can be filtered out using a reverse osmosis filter.

8. Look for products made by companies that are Earth-friendly, animal-friendly, sustainable, certified organic, and GMO-free. This applies to everything from food and personal care products to building materials, carpeting, paint, baby items, furniture, mattresses, and others.

9. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter to remove contaminated house dust. This is one of the major routes of exposure to flame retardant chemicals.

10. When buying new products such as furniture, mattresses, or carpet padding, consider buying flame retardant free varieties, containing naturally less flammable materials, such as leather, wool, cotton, silk, and Kevlar.

11. Avoid stain- and water-resistant clothing, furniture, and carpets to avoid perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs).

12. Make sure your baby’s toys are BPA-free, such as pacifiers, teething rings, and anything your child may be prone to suck or chew on, even books, which are often plasticized. It’s advisable to avoid all plastic, especially flexible varieties.

13. Use natural cleaning products or make your own. Avoid those containing 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE) and methoxydiglycol (DEGME), two toxic glycol ethers that can compromise your fertility and cause fetal harm.

14. Replace your vinyl shower curtain with a fabric one.

15. Replace feminine hygiene products (tampons and sanitary pads) with safer alternatives

16. Switch over to organic toiletries, including shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants, and cosmetics. EWG’s Skin Deep database can help you find personal care products that are free of phthalates and other potentially dangerous chemicals.

17. Look for fragrance-free products. One artificial fragrance can contain hundreds, even thousands, of potentially toxic chemicals. Avoid fabric softeners and dryer sheets, which contain a mishmash of synthetic chemicals and fragrances.

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