Despite the slick commercials featuring a perky Kelly Rippa hawking Colgate for a whiter smile and fresher breath, you might want to throw that toothpaste away. For the past 20 or so years, manufacturers have been including the chemical, triclosan, in their hand soap and toothpaste products. A new study on animal fetuses shows that this chemical causes disruptions in their endocrine systems.
Most of the hand soap manufacturers have voluntarily pulled this chemical from those products, especially after all of Europe banned triclosan. Minnesota is the only state to ban its use, interestingly enough. Colgate categorically refuses to stop using this chemical in its Colgate Total products. The company cites studies confirming the safety of triclosan. What they don't say it that these are industry studies, not independent studies. Remind anyone of the tobacco industry and its claims back a couple of decades ago?
Triclosan has been found in the umbilical cords of all the women who participated in a separate study about this chemical. It was also found in the blood samples of their fetuses. I am always amazed at the surprise that is elicited from the hosts of the shows (in this case, the CBS Morning Show) where these findings are announced. Our blood contains over 800 chemicals and the banning of just one that has finally been identified as harmful isn't going to make that tremendous of a difference, but it seems to make people feel as though they are getting some sort of protection against damaging chemicals.
My recommendation continues to be for all of us to discontinue using patent medicines and chemical-containing personal products (which are all of the commercially produced ones). We cannot avoid all the chemicals in the air, but we can certainly cut down on those that we put into our bodies or on our bodies, for that matter.
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