Leah's Blog

Many of you that know me at all know that I have a home business where I work with an international wellness company that manufactures safer products for the home and family. I have been a customer of this company for over 3 years now and have worked my business off and on over those 3 years. When I was introduced to this company I was educated about how dangerous many everyday products I had in my home could be to myself and my family. I was very skeptical at first and didn't want to be involved in any kooky conspiracy but I was really intrigued by the research and we decided to start using some of these safer products in my home and very quickly converted my home completely over to safer products. I have never regreted making this decision for my family and I can say that of the almost 400 products that Melaleuca makes I use and love nearly 90% of them every day in my home. Off and on I have had the opportunity to share this company with some of my friends and family but it was always hard for me to do this because I didn't want anyone to think I was trying to get them to do "another one of those home business things" so I chickened out and didn't talk to many people about it because of that. However, over the past few months, I have begun to hear so much more in the media about how dangerous certain household products can be and have heard some really tragic stories about children being poisioned by hand sanitizers and a lady being poisioned by applying too much icy hot for pain, that I have really become passionate about making sure all of the people I care about are aware of these dangers as well and that there is an alternative to having these types of harmful products in your home and around your children and the people you care about the most. I feel I have done the people I care about an injustice in not telling them sooner. This is not at all about getting people in on a business opportunity for me but its about making homes healthier and safer. Please take some time to look through some of this startling research for yourself and then be sure to contact me because I can point you to a company that has been in business for 20 years and their goal is to enhance peoples lives not to harm them. My family is the most important gift I have been given and I feel it is my responsibility to take care of them. I thank God for allowing me to find this company and these products and giving me the peace of mind to know that I am keeping them safe.

Household toxins you should be aware of

TOP "10" KILLER HOUSEHOLD CHEMICALS
• AIR FRESHENERS: Most air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve deadening agent. Known toxic chemicals found in an air freshener: Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Phenol: When phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives. Can cause cold sweats, convulsions, circulatory collapse, coma and even death!!
• AMMONIA: It is a very volatile chemical, it is very damaging to your eyes, respiratory tract and skin.
• BLEACH: It is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It may cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. WARNING: never mix bleach with ammonia it may cause fumes which can be DEADLY.
• CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY SHAMPOO: Most formulas are designed to over power the stain itself, they accomplish the task but not without using highly toxic substances. Some include: Perchlorethylene: Known carcinogen damages liver, kidney and nervous system damage. Ammonium Hydroxide: Corrosive, extremely irritable to eyes, skin and respiratory passages.
• DISHWASHER DETERGENTS: Most products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentrated. # 1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers.
• DRAIN CLEANER: Most drain cleaners contain lye, hydrochloric acid or trichloroethane. Lye: Caustic, burns skin and eyes, if ingested will damage esophagus and stomach. Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant, damages kidneys, liver and digestive tract. Trichloroethane: Eye and skin irritant, nervous system depressant; damages liver and kidneys.
• FURNITURE POLISH: Petroleum Distillates: Highly flammable, can cause skin and lung cancer. Phenol: (see Air fresheners, Phenol.) Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbed through the skin, extremely toxic.
• MOLD AND MILDEW CLEANERS: Chemicals contained are: Sodium hypochlorite: Corrosive, irritates or burns skin and eyes, causes fluid in the lungs which can lead to coma or death. Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Irritant to eyes, nose, throat, and skin. May cause nausea, headaches, nosebleeds, dizziness, memory loss and shortness of breath.
• OVEN CLEANER: Sodium Hydroxide (Lye): Caustic, strong irritant, burns to both skin and eyes. Inhibits reflexes, will cause severe tissue damage if swallowed.
• ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANERS: may contain: Triclosan: Absorption through the skin can be tied to liver damage.
• LAUNDRY ROOM PRODUCTS: Sodium or calcium hypocrite: Highly corrosive, irritates or burns skin, eyes or respiratory tract. Linear alkylate sulfonate: Absorbed through the skin. Known liver damaging agent. Sodium Tripolyphosphate: Irritates skin and mucous membranes, causes vomiting. Easily absorbed through the skin from clothes.
• TOILET BOWL CLEANERS: Hydrochloric acid: Highly corrosive, irritant to both skin and eyes. Damages kidneys and liver. Hypochlorite Bleach: Corrosive, irritates or burns eyes, skin and respiratory tract. May cause pulmonary edema, vomiting or coma if ingested. Contact with other chemicals may cause chlorine fumes which may be fatal.
OTHER NASTY THINGS THAT ARE AROUND YOUR HOME • PESTICIDES: Most pesticides have ingredients that affect the nervous system of insects. Imagine what these extremely poisonous chemicals do to your body or your baby's. Dimpylate: Better known as Diazinon, extremely toxic. Impairs the central nervous system. Chlorinate Hydrocarbons: Suspected carcinogen and mutantagen. Accumulates in food and in fatty tissue. Will attack the nervous system. Organophosphates: Toxic and poisonous. If you can smell it, your lungs are absorbing it.
• FLEA POWDERS: Why put toxins on "man's (or woman's) best friend." Carbaryl: Very toxic, causes skin, respiratory and cardiovascular system damage. Chlordane: Accumulates in the food chain, may damage eyes, lungs, liver, kidney and skin. Dichlorophene: Skin irritation: May damage liver, kidney, spleen and central nervous system.
• LICE SHAMPOO: Especially vulnerable are children. Lindane: Inhalation, ingestion, or ABSORPTION through the SKIN causes vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and circulatory collapse. May cause liver damage, stillbirths, birth defects and cancer. Lice RX is a non-toxic alternative to pesticide based Head Lice Products
• CAR WASH AND POLISH: Petroleum Distillates: Associated with skin and lung cancer, irritant to skin, eyes, nose and lungs. Entry into the lungs may cause fatal pulmonary edema, most marked Danger, Harmful or Fatal. • TAR AND BUG REMOVER: Contains XYLENE and PETROLEUM DISTILLATES.

Are Toxic Household Chemicals Poisoning Your Family?

The Environmental Protection Agency defines chemical hazards as "acute" or "chronic:"
1. Acute hazard, includes highly toxic, or corrosive chemicals which cause an adverse effect to an organ after short-term exposure.
2. Chronic hazard, includes carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals which cause an adverse effect over a long-term exposure.
The Federal Code of Regulations defines "Hazardous Chemicals" in Section 1910.1200c Title 29. However, the term "Hazardous" does NOT include hazardous ingredients used in products designed for personal, family, or household use.
The Federal Code of Regulations section 1500.82, EXEMPTS manufacturers from full labeling, allowing them to exclude "Hazardous" chemicals from their labels.
The EPA reports toxic chemicals in our home cleaning and personal care products are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outside pollutants.
The President's Toxic Substances Strategy Committee warns 90% of all cancers are triggered by toxic chemicals in our home environment.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission connects 150 toxic chemicals in our homes to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities.
The EPA warns toxic chemicals in household cleaners cause women working at home to have a 55% HIGHER cancer risk than women working outside the home.
The EPA warns the nation's worst pollution is inside our homes. A number of homes tested have toxic chemical levels 70 times higher inside the home than outside.
The Mayo clinic warns Formaldehyde in our household and personal care products can irritate the respiratory system, cause skin reactions, and trigger heart palpitations.
The Harvard School of Public Health warns Formaldehyde can cause headaches, depression, joint pain, chronic fatigue, chest pains, ear infections, dizziness, and loss of sleep.
The California Public Research Group warns Phenol, which is used in most household disinfectants, can cause cancer, deactivate the sensory nerve endings, damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.
HERE IS A LIST OF KNOWN TOXINS IN SOME OF OUR EVERYDAY PRODUCTS Dove Beauty Bar : Quaternium 15 : (Formaldehyde) - Carcinogen. Causes cancer, dermatitis, neurotoxic, sensitizer-poisonious, irritant to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Butylated Hydroxytoluene , (BHT) Carcinogen.
Johnson's Baby Shampoo: Quaternium 15 : FD&C RED 40: Carcinogen, and causes dermatitis.
Crest Tarter Control Toothpaste : Saccharin: Carcinogen, contains Phenol Fluoride: Carcinogen If you accidentally swallow more than a pea-sized amount of this, you must contact the Poison Control Center immediately. This warning does not appear on the tube.
Tide & Cheer Detergent : Detergent : Can cause temporary respiratory tract irritation. Symptoms include stinging, swelling, or redness. Sodium Silicate : Can be corrosive. Can cause burns to the eyes and tissue damage to the skin, as well as cause burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach if swallowed. Sodium Sulfate : Corrosive, Severe eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Can cause asthma attacks. Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate : Carcinogen
Clorox: Sodium Hypochlorite : Corrosive. Sensitizer: Can be fatal if swallowed. Eye, skin, and respiratory irritant. Especially hazardous to people with heart conditions or asthma.
Cascade : Sodium Hypochlorite: (see above) Sodium Silicate : Can be corrosive. Can cause burns to the eyes and tissue damage to the skin, as well as cause burns to the mouth, throat, and stomach if swallowed.
Fantastic, Formula 409 : Butyl Cellosolve: Neurotoxic. Eye and skin irritant. Damages central nervous system, kidney, and liver. Readily absorbed through the skin. Damages blood and body's ability to make blood.
Windex Aerosol Glass Cleaner : Butyl Cellosolve (see above) Isobutane: Neurotoxic
Lysol Disinfectant : Dioxin ; Carcinogen. 500,000 times more deadly than DDT Ethyl Alcohol : Eye, skin, respiratory tract irritant.
Details on the above data are available in "The Safe Shopper's Bible" by Dr. Samuel Epstein, MD. & David Steinman. Macmillian, 1995. Lysol data from "The Environmental Health Newsletter."

"Whatever you do in life, echoes thru eternity." - Maximus (from the movie Gladiator)

Children's Unique Vulnerability to Environmental Toxins

Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental toxins. This heightened susceptibility stems from several sources.
Children have greater exposures to environmental toxins than adults.
Pound for pound of body weight, children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air than do adults. For example, children ages one through five years eat three to four times more food per pound than the average adult American. The air intake of a resting infant is twice that of an adult per pound of body weight. These patterns of increased consumption reflect the rapid metabolism of children. The implication for environmental health is that children will have substantially heavier exposures pound for pound than adults to any toxins that are present in water, food, or air. This has been demonstrated clearly in the case of children's exposures to pesticides in the diet. Two additional characteristics of children further magnify their exposures to toxins in the environment:
• their hand-to-mouth behavior, which increases their ingestion of any toxins in dust or soil, and
• their likelihood of playing close to the ground, which increases their exposure to toxins in dust, soil, and carpets as well as to any toxins that form low-lying layers in the air, such as certain pesticide vapors.
Children's metabolic pathways are immature compared with those of adults.
As a consequence of this biological immaturity, children's ability to detoxify and excrete certain toxins is different from that of adults. In some instances, children are actually better able than adults to deal with environmental toxins. More commonly, however, they are less able than adults to deal with toxic chemicals and thus they are more vulnerable to them.
Children are undergoing rapid growth and development, and their developmental processes are easily disrupted.
Many organ systems in young children-the nervous system, the reproductive organs, the immune system-undergo very rapid growth and development in the first months and years of life. During this period, structures are developed and vital connections are established. Indeed, development of the nervous system continues all through childhood, as is evidenced by the fact that children continue to acquire new skills progressively as they grow and develop, crawling, walking, talking, reading, and writing. The nervous system is not well able to repair any structural damage that is caused by environmental toxins. Thus, if cells in the developing brain are destroyed by chemicals such as lead, mercury, or solvents, or if vital connections between nerve cells fail to form, there is high risk that the resulting neuro-behavioral dysfunction will be permanent and irreversible. The consequences can be loss of intelligence and alteration of normal behavior.
Because children have more future years of life than do most adults, they have more time to develop chronic diseases that may be triggered by early environmental exposures .
Many diseases that are triggered by toxins in the environment require decades to develop. Examples include mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos, leukemia caused by benzene, breast cancer that may be caused by DDT, and possibly some chronic neurologic diseases such as Parkinson's disease that may be caused by exposure to environmental neurotoxins. Many of those diseases are now thought to be the products of multistage processes within the body's cells that require many years to evolve from earliest initiation to actual manifestation of illness. Consequently, certain carcinogenic and toxic exposures sustained early in life appear more likely to lead to disease than do the same exposure encountered later in life.
This summary was prepared by the Center for Children's Health and the Environment of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. CCHE's mission is to promote the health of children by conducting environmental health and policy research. CCHE was established in 1998 with the support of The Pew Charitable Trusts. CCHE's director is Philip J. Landrigan M.D., M.Sc., a pediatrician who chairs the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Sources
• National Academy of Sciences: Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993.
• Landrigan, PJ, Carlson JE: Environmental policy and children's health. The Future of Children 1995;5:34-52.

***If you are interested in reading some more research go to: http://www.mmmteam.com/training/toxin_workshop/

***To find out about how Melaleuca's products are safer visit:
http://www.saferforyourhome.com/