Summer sun - Good or Bad?

By Glenn Forrester of Ground Soap


There’s nothing quite like the feel of warm sunshine on your skin. That radiant glow through the lids of your eyes is an experience that we share with even our most primal ancestors and for those of us who live above 30 degrees latitude, its an experience that signals the long awaited arrival of summer. We need that warm glow for our health but just like all things that Mother Nature provides in abundance, too much of a good thing is, well… a bad thing.  

Goldilocks zone

Essentially the sun is nothing more than an unimaginably massive ball of fiery nuclear fusion in space, contained by only the gravity that its massive fuel supply creates. Needless to say, it’s a good thing that we keep our distance. Here on Earth we’re in what’s commonly referred to as the goldilocks zone, an area in orbit around a sun where conditions are just right for life to exist. These conditions are incredibly rare in our universe and the short of it is, we humans should really count ourselves as lucky to have found such a warm and cozy spot to set up camp. The sun provides us with good health and good spirits as well as being responsible for providing, either directly or indirectly, 100% of the food we eat and the energy we use. It’s what makes the wind blow and the rain fall. It is the main source of energy for the chemical reaction that makes plants grow and is solely responsible for the entire base level of the food chain.

So if we evolved hand in hand with the sun in just the right proportion why is it harmful to us?  Well, for the same reason that walking into a den of lions is probably not the best idea. While we live in the same sandbox as they do, venturing too far into their corner of it makes us look like dinner.  We actually have developed good defenses against the sun’s harmful rays. If your race evolved close to the equator your skin was made to easily handle longer exposure to direct sun whereas someone living in temperate climates evolved skin that can respond to varying amounts of sun and still manage to absorb its vital benefits. But these defenses were built to suit only our basic survival needs and at least in this case, evolution doesn’t reward vanity.  

You have natural sunscreen

Have you ever wondered why your skin turns darker when you tan? It’s because of a pigment produced by the skin called melanin. Your skin’s outer layer makes more of it as sun exposure increases to try and prevent damage to the deeper layers. It acts to block ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which over time damages the fibrous elastin in your skin causing it to blemish, wrinkle and sag. Cumulative exposure to UV can also cause basal and squamous cell cancers, which while serious, rarely spread to other parts of the body. More severe damage in the form of recurring sunburn, especially under the age of 18, is said to cause melanoma, a cancer that is known to spread to other areas of the body more readily.

The sun makes you happy

In the past couple of decades the sun has been demonized for these very real health risks but many healthcare professionals are now starting to question the wisdom of covering up entirely.  There is growing evidence that restricting our exposure to full strength sun disrupts the body’s production of the “feel good” hormone serotonin causing mental health issues like seasonal depression. We also know that upwards of 90% of the body’s vitamin D supply is produced by the skin during full sun exposure and without it we see increases in bone diseases like osteoporosis and rickets. Vitamin D also plays a key role in signaling immune system responses and is known to slow growth rates in some cancers. Further, there is growing evidence that sunlight plays a big role in the body’s ability to regulate sleep and is key in the development of proper eyesight in growing children. So if you take away our regular exposure to the sun that we evolved in step with we may be preventing more than just a sunburn.

How much is too much?

This is truly the million-dollar question and while common sense is probably the best guide, there are several important factors to consider. The darker your skin is the more natural sunscreen you have, meaning that you can safely spend more time in the sun and also that you need longer exposures to enjoy the sun’s health benefits. Inversely, people with very fair skin should obviously take great care when judging when enough is enough.  The intensity of the sun changes from season to season, place to place and with time of day and cloud-cover. Considering all that, the ideal personal exposure time for maximum vitamin D synthesis is roughly one quarter of the time it takes you to burn, twice a week.

Sunscreen

Basically there are only two types of sunscreen, ones that absorb UV and ones that reflect it. Products that absorb UV use a chemical such as oxybenzone to filter UV. Such chemicals, while highly effective sunscreens, are readily absorbed by the skin and may present some health concerns. Oxybenzone is thought to be an endocrine disruptor, which means that it may interfere with normal hormonal function in the body leading to possible cancers and birth defects. The safer option is to use cremes that present a physical barrier to reflect UV light from the skin. Zinc cremes are the most common and are considered safe for use by all ages.  Check out Badger Balm if you’re looking for a safe sunscreen option this summer.

Endocrine Disruptors

The second group of toxins that are commonly found in household products are called endocrine disruptors. The endocrine system can be described as the language of our internal bodies and is made up of glands that produce hormones and receptors that sense the hormones.  There are 67 different hormones produced in the body and each has matching receptors that are capable of detecting various amounts of that hormone and taking some action based on the level that it detects. This system either controls or influences just about every function of the human body at every stage in life. 

In a developing fetus, hormones tell cells what to grow, when to grow them and for how long. A hormone triggers a woman to go into labor and hormones govern every stage of growth until maturity.  After maturity hormones still play a role in every part of a body’s functions from making blood to controlling reactions like our fight or flight response. Hormones can make us feel good, make us gain or lose weight, and even make us attracted to another person.

It makes sense that such a finely tuned communication system would be prone to outside interference from the environment. The receptors are tuned to sense hormone signals as low as a few parts per billion so it doesn’t take much to interfere with the proper workings of the system. This is never more critical than at the development stage in utero. During development cells are rapidly dividing and growing every part of the body at once, from toes to brain cells and timing is everything. Hormones control much of this so the results of interfering with the system at this point can be catastrophic. In our adult lives, disruption of hormones can cause infertility, weight gain or loss and can damage the immune system leaving us prone to disease, among may other things.

So what can interrupt the system? Studies have proven that hormones like estrogen and thyrotropin (thyroid gland) can be interfered with or ‘mimicked’ unintentionally by outside toxins but not much study has been carried out beyond this. In fact studies in the field of the endocrine system only began in the early 1990s. Before this endocrine disruptors had been identified as hazardous but the mechanisms weren’t known.

The first was DDT. DDT was an insecticide that was in widespread use by the mid 1940s all over the world. Soldiers were even issued it to spray their bedding with. The substance was later banned due to its negative effects on animals in the environments in which it was used. Since it’s ban though, it has been found to cause development problems in both male and female genitals and fertility and is linked to childhood obesity. DDT levels in humans have been declining since it was banned.

PCBs were developed as a lubricant in industrial machinery. Very early on workers began to show the effects of the substance in the form of skin irritation. It was later linked to skin, liver and brain cancer but its manufacturer, Monsanto, downplayed this in order to keep selling it. It was eventually banned worldwide in 1977 but not before millions of tons of the compound were dumped into the ecosystem. Levels are still declining in humans and the environment.

BPA is a plastic that most will have heard of by now. Thousands of studies done in the past decade have revealed that it’s an endocrine disruptor that causes cancers, diabetes, early puberty, reproductive problems and obesity.  Due to its widespread use in bottles and other products though, many governments have been slow to ban its use. Canada was the first country to declare the substance toxic and has banned its use in baby and formula bottles but it’s still widely used in other applications.

Possibly the worst offender currently are PBDEs. These compounds are made from bromine and are used as a fire retardant in household furniture, electronics, cars and building materials and are very prevalent in our modern environment. They are easily absorbed by inhalation and skin due to the fact that they’re soluble in oil and also accumulate in breast milk causing higher levels in breast-feeding children than in their parents. They have been shown to inhibit the development of the nervous system and to interfere with estrogen and thyrotropin functions and cause liver damage. Most PBDEs have now been banned for use in new products but much of it will remain in our homes and cars for many years. Levels in humans are trending up and are expected to continue for some time before declining.

Phthalates are found in beauty products, air fresheners, and soft plastics and have been shown to interfere with the development of the male reproductive system and inhibit the development of the genitals. They have also been linked to obesity and allergies. Governments are now banning their use in baby products but due to a lack of a cheap substitute its use will continue indefinitely in many other household products.

While endocrine disruptors can be found in many of the products that we buy a few simple choices can make a big difference. Don’t use BPA plastic! It’s everywhere - I know, but don’t drink from plastic bottles, especially when pregnant or breastfeeding. Find toys that don’t contain plastic and replace old plastic and melamine furniture with wood. Next time you renovate, rip out that old carpet, use cotton fabrics in curtains and don’t buy anything vinyl.  Check beauty product labels to make sure there are no parabens and beware of “all natural” claims. Many products claim to be made with “all natural” ingredients but if the ingredients on the back don’t look all natural, it’s a safe bet that they’re not.


Angela Youngs

Angela is the owner of Ground Soap, an organic soap company in Ontario, Canada.

www.groundsoap.com

info@groundsoap.com

Carcinogens in Beauty Products

This week I’m continuing on the subject of harmful substances that are absorbed through the skin and focusing on carcinogens in personal hygiene products.

Carcinogens are substances that are known to cause cancer. This happens when the substance damages the DNA of a cell and interrupts it’s normal biological processes. It can cause cells to reproduce themselves uncontrollably, which is how tumors are formed. Carcinogens are all around us and are both created by human activity and also occur naturally.  

Rates of cancer around the world have been increasing but the good news is that mortality rates due to cancer have been either staying the same, or in some cases actually going down due to better testing and diagnosis and better treatment. Most of us know from experience though that battling any form of cancer, despite its treat-ability, leaves scars both physical and mental.

So how can we reduce our exposure to carcinogens? First we need to know where they’re hiding and what they’re called. Here are a couple of examples of the most common compounds.

1,4-Dioxane is a foaming agent and carcinogen and can be found in most widely available washes, shampoos and soaps. It was linked to cancer by the state of California in 1988. It forms as a by-product of ethylene oxide during a procedure called ethoxylation, a process used to smooth out harsh ingredients. It’s actually a by-product of another process so you wont find it in the ingredient list, but if you find anything with the letters ”eth” in the name such as sodium laureth sulphate or Polyethylene glycol you can be sure that it’s there.

Parabens are a widely used and low-cost preservative used in everything from toothpaste to makeup, to KY. They have also been found in the tissue of breast cancer tumors. Researchers have concluded that the presence of Parabens in the tumors can only be explained by absorption from a topical cream or body lotion. Remarkably, up to 60% of all breast tumors are found in just one-fifth of the breast - the upper-outer quadrant, nearest the underarm.  Given the fact that most underarm antiperspirants contain Parabens, underarm skin is very thin, and deodorants linger on the skin, a link is likely. "I personally feel there is a very strong correlation between the underarm hygiene habits and breast cancer," said immunologist Dr. Kris McGrath, the author of a 2004 study at Northwestern University. 

There are many good alternatives to hygiene products that contain carcinogens though and they can sometimes be found on the shelf right next to the bad ones. Johnson and Johnson has just committed to phasing out formaldehyde from its baby shampoos and hundreds of companies are now starting to get the message about suspected carcinogens and make commitments to change. It’s an uphill road though. Large corporations will always put what’s cheapest and most profitable ahead of what’s right. Maybe someday soon they’ll find that what’s right is also what’s profitable, but it will take people voting with their wallets to make that happen. 

In the meantime there are some great resources to help in your everyday buying decisions. The Environmental Working Group has a database of almost 70000 products that they have tested which can be found here.  It’s as easy as just typing in the name of a product that you want to know all about and hitting GO! In Canada we have the Environmental defense “Just Beautiful” campaign of which Ground Soap is a pledge company. Their website can be found here. They have a “ Toxic Ten” list that goes into detail about the toxins hiding in beauty products and the action that Canadians are taking to remedy the situation. You can also check out their booth at the Green Living show in Toronto this weekend.

Angela Youngs

 

Angela is the owner of Ground Soap, an organic soap company in Ontario, Canada.

www.groundsoap.com

info@groundsoap.com

Everyday Toxins and Your Skin

Much has been reported lately about toxins that come into contact with our skin in our daily routines and how they can find their way into our bodies through a process called dermal absorption. There’s both confusion and skepticism about exactly what this means and what, if anything, we can do about it.  I’ve done some extensive investigation and I’ll try to shed some light on the subject.  

A good place to start may be a bit of what is known about the actual science. Gerald B. Kasting, professor of Pharmaceutics and Cosmetic Science at the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy in Cincinnati is a leading researcher in the field of chemical absorption through the skin.  According to Kasting’s research there are many factors that affect the amount and rates of absorption of different compounds through our skin. These include the type of compound itself, the method by which it’s applied to the skin and where on the skin it’s applied. But one thing his evidence points to irrefutably is the fact that human skin readily absorbs many compounds that it comes into contact with in the environment. This research is used in assessing the risks involved with handling chemicals in the workplace, for use in the development of topical drugs, and also how chemicals in cosmetics and personal hygiene products are absorbed.

There are three proposed methods by which toxins can penetrate the skin. The first is through the intercellular lipid pathways. These are the channels between cells that are filled with fluid and fats that foreign material can migrate through and enter the bloodstream. Trans-cellular penetration is based on very small toxic molecules entering into and being passed from one cell to another through the semi-permeable cell walls. The final proposed method is through appendages like hair follicles and sweat glands. Contrary to what you might think though, this is actually the least likely pathway due to the very small surface area that it represents.

The main reason that any critical study at all is being done in this field is that it has recently been discovered that overall buildup of workplace chemicals in the body were actually attributed more to uptake by the skin than by inhalation or ingestion. Solvents are particularly prone to uptake due to their lipophilicity, (ability to dissolve in fats and oils), but there are over 160 chemical families that have a skin notation assigned by the American Conference of Industrial Hygienists. Work in the UK and Europe is now being done to change the safety laws surrounding chemicals in the workplace to include the risks posed by skin absorption. Dr. Sean Semple
 of the department of Environmental & Occupational Medicine at the University of Aberdeen has written a very informative article on the subject of workplace chemical absorption and it can be found here. http://oem.bmj.com/content/61/4/376.full

While the workplace may seem to be the most likely place to be exposed to chemicals that can be absorbed by our skin, we should also look at our everyday environment. In a study done by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality it was found that the average household uses roughly 25 gallons of products at home each year that contain chemicals. Of the roughly 17000 chemical compounds found in these products, only 30% have actually been tested to determine their effects on human health. The study found that the environment inside our homes can actually be up to five times more polluted that the environment outside. Furthermore, manufacturers of these chemicals are often not even required to list all of the ingredients in a product. Inactive or inert chemicals like solvents, dyes and fragrances can make up 90% of a product’s volume but not even be listed in the ingredients.

So we’ve established that there are chemicals all around us in our everyday lives and in the places where we work. We’ve established that our skin will readily absorb many of these chemicals and they will eventually end up in our bodies. But what happens next?  That depends on what type of chemical is absorbed.

There are three common chemical groups found in household products that can cause harm to humans. These are carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and endocrine disrupters and I’ll take a look at each in detail over the next few weeks in this blog. 

Until then, don’t worry too much about the details of all of this. It may sound alarming now but it’s a situation that we’ve been living with for at least a generation. There are many small changes that we can all make in our daily routines that will reduce the risks to our families and ourselves from these chemicals and I hope to propose simple solutions that don’t cost a fortune in the coming weeks. 

Angela Youngs

Angela is the owner of Ground Soap, an organic soap company in Ontario, Canada.

www.groundsoap.com

info@groundsoap.com