As I prepare my family for our big Florida adventure, I am going through my mental checklist. Clothes, ear plugs, a book that I won’t get to read, tons of Paleo food, a big hat to look silly in, etc. Not only do I try to make sure we have plenty of healthy snacks and food options available to stay on track, I want to make sure that we aren’t adding any unnecessary toxins to our bodies. Have you ever stopped to read the ingredient list on a bottle of sunscreen? Yikes! Who knew it was so toxic to protect ourselves from the sun. Considering our skin is the largest organ and has the largest pores for absorption, I have been very concerned with what products we have been slathering on this year. After doing some research, I have found there are some specific chemicals that we need to stay away from:
Oxybenzone: Widespread Detected in nearly every American; found in mother’s milk; 1-to-9% skin penetration in lab studies; Acts like estrogen in the body; alters sperm production in animals; associated with endometriosis in women; Relatively high rates of skin allergy
4-MBC: Pending FDA approval; Found in mothers’ milk; skin penetration in lab studies Stimulates estrogen-dependent tumor cells; associated with reproductive disorders and behavioral changes in animals
3-BC: Pending FDA approval; Found in mothers’ milk; skin penetration in lab studies Hormone-like activity; delays puberty and impairs reproduction in animals
And those are just the top three most toxic chemicals found in some commercial sunscreens! (If you want to see the entire list, click here). Anything that adds more estrogen to my body or acts like estrogen is a bad idea in my book. Especially when so many breast cancers are being caused by estrogen dominance. Keep an eye out for these ingredients in ANYTHING that you buy for your summer sun protection.
When I go to the store, I utilize Muscle Response Testing to determine which products are the best ones for my family and me. This is in addition to careful label reading. Well, let me tell you, not many of the sunscreens I tested proved safe for ANY of us! I was totally shocked that only ONE of the sunscreens was not toxic to someone or to an organ in one of our bodies. As someone who used to suffer from hypothyroid, fibroid cysts, and liver congestion (among many other things), I am not about to use a toxic product that will be absorbed right into my skin, and taken straight to the rest of my body.
This general purpose sunscreen and this one formulated for the face were the only ones that muscle tested positively for all of the members of my family. I always encourage my clients to bring anything from home that they would like me to test them on. This way we can rule out possible allergy sources as well as adding additional toxins to ourselves. This pale skin of mine has to be protected with something, and now I know that I can protect it and not have any allergic reactions or yucky side effects!
What type of products to you worry about using on your family?
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