Don't let Phthalates Mess With Your Hormones and Make You Fat!

Phthalates, GMOs, antibiotics, and other chemicals in cosmetics, air fresheners, food, cleaners, parfumes, deodorants, shower curtains, water and beverage bottles, can make us fat!

At Smart Health Talk we feel passionately that the subject of Phthalates is a very important issue because these chemicals which are really FAKE synthetic fragrances are now everywhere in our lives and we probably believe they are perfectly safe!  They are used in all kinds of products such as every kind of soap from dish soap, laundry soap and fabric softeners, body soap, shampoos and every kind of hair and skin product, air fresheners, cleaning products, as well as all kinds of perfumes that are sold under celebrity and brand names.  They can be used to disguise other things such as toxins in products that are nasty smelling or to make them smell like something so we even know they are there.  These products can have many other toxins in them such as benzene, a cancer causing chemical used to extract the oil out of plants and used in cosmetics and other oil products. Surfactants used to keep ingredients mixed and help them to stick if that is a purpose can be very toxic to people and the environment.  Antibacterial soaps are not even necessary.  Just washing with plain soap by itself or even just water can wash away most of the bacteria on our hands or body and IS THE BIGGEST PROTECTION FROM INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

The science of fake fragrance or phthalates (also found in plastics) is closely related to FAKE FLAVORS that are cheaper than real fruit or plant extracts and help manufacturers to increase profits at the expense of our health.  We can easily live with out them and the products that contain them, but first we need to be aware and understand how to identify them.

Phthalates are NOT breaking down in our environment and ending up in our air, rivers, lakes, oceans, water supply and sewage treatment plants.  There are so many of them that can end up in our body at once, and yet we have no idea how they can interact and cause new even more toxic chemicals that can mess with our cells, and other body chemistry such as hormones.  

That is how we believe these chemicals are making us fat (see below).  By turning hormone switches on and off and causing havoc in our bodies while throwing off our balances.  Besides making us fat this chemical imbalance can influence all kinds of other things related to health including mental health.  Best practice is to not even buy them at all.  There are alternatives that are made from organic plant sources and can instead provide healing and well being such as lavender oil which is very relaxing and calming.  

Please listen to our interview with Jack Coley who is the guy behind the fragrance.  He has created many scents in his life and worked on both sides including the synthetic and organic plant source side of the business and he prefers sticking with real plant sources and feels they are better for us.  He created the grapefruit scent for one of our favorite soaps of all times, Grapefruit scented Organic Fiji Coconut Oil Soap which is also used in Eco Friendly dish soap.
Leah Zerbe is an online editor for Rodale.com, but is also a wife, mother, and farmer.  She lives on Potter's Farm, a 100 y/o chicken farm she has been renovating with her husband. It's an educational farm, with fun events like spooky hayrides for Halloween. These kids are getting to meet one of their chickens first hand.  Hard work and exceptional fun.

Perfect example of company dedicated to keeping anything harmful or toxic including phthalates out of there products to protect customers.

Leah Zerbe writes for Rodale.com and knows her stuff.  Hear our 45 min. interview with Leah and you'll learn at least 10 new things about what's making us fat!
Listen to the short promo for the show.

Listen to Leah Zerbe, Rodale.com full interview
Don't have time to listen to this broadcast right now.  No problem.  Download the file and listen later on your computer, cell, notepad, or in your car.  You don't have to miss all that information Leah shared with us.  
Leah Zerbe Online Editor Rodale .com
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Leah Zerbe, Rodale.com Online Editor 
Tells us what's in our food that is also making us fat.

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Leah Zerbe and Singer Jack Johnson
Go to press release published online article
Source: Smart Health Talk Radio Show 
Dated: Aug 29, 2012

Everyday products could be making us fat. Leah Zerbe, Online Editor for Rodale.com, has researched this subject extensively and will join Smart Health Talk Thursday, August 30th at 4:00 pm PST so we can better protect our families.

If taking weight off wasn’t hard enough, the 80,000 or so chemicals used in everything from food to shampoo could be forcing our bodies to do things that can also make us fat. Like we need something that we didn’t even know was there, that can cause us to make more fat cells in our bodies, and not just any fat cells but fat cells that can store even larger amounts of fat, and at a time when we are facing the largest obesity rates in history.

Obesogens as they are called, confuse the body’s nerve centers by sending false messages. They take up docking stations that are only meant for something our body made for that purpose and not outsiders. Their presence prevents insulin and hormones from taking their place and keeps them in the blood at high concentrations. With docking stations full, our bodies are tricked into thinking it should decrease production of key hormones. Low hormone levels can have a negative impact on overall health and the body’s ability to defend itself.

When the docking stations become full from phthalates and take the place of our own hormones, high blood concentration levels of insulin, glucose, and hormones accumulate and can damage vital organs and lead to other disease conditions.

Numerous sources can be identified with high levels found in pesticides on food and personal care products, and even air fresheners and detergents. Packaging can also contribute to phthalate load with chemicals of its own.

Obesogens have been associated with increased cancer risk.

Before this week it was thought that the primary mechanism for phthalate induced breast and prostrate cancer tumors were hormone based. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) had reported that phthalates are known animal endocrine system disruptors.
New research just released on August 27th in the FASEB Journal has found enough evidence to suggest there is another pathway phthalates can promote cancer that does not involve hormone receptors.  In other words there are even more ways phthalate exposure can give us cancer.

This new information is cause for concern since Americans are ingesting and applying chemical additives on our bodies in even higher concentrations.  
Just look at a food or shampoo label to find a long lists of man made chemicals as ingredients.  Same with air fresheners.  What’s even more unsettling is what is missing from the label, but is really there in the product.  Phthalate ingredients are not required to be listed on product labels even when they are present in the formula. 

Women using multiple beauty products are especially vulnerable.  After lotion, shampoo, crèmes, make up, and hair spray one estimate reported by Reuters in a November 2009 poll of 2,016 women by personal care products manufacturer Bionsen was that the average woman wears around 500 chemicals each day.  That is just on the outside of their bodies.

The President’s Cancer Panel tried to warn us when they came out with a list of food and environmental toxins that we could be increasing our cancer risk.  You don’t hear much about the report because most of the products containing those ingredients are made by 10 companies that control most what is found on supermarket and drugstore shelves and they don’t want to advertise their use and the risks associated with them.  Doesn’t make for happy customers when they find out what they have been unknowingly exposed to in products they trusted.

How does antibiotic laced meat sound for dinner?  With 80% of antibiotics produced each year going to animal production, it’s not a matter of if, but when we will have to pay the price for this obvious abuse of the drug.  

Reports of people getting sick and dying from bacteria that can survive even our strongest antibiotics increase each year.  According to a report published in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment, more than tripled between 1997 and 2006.
Urvashi Rangan, director of Consumer Safety at Consumer Reports, an independent product-testing organization, called the misuse of antibiotics a "public health crisis."

Farmers add antibiotics to animal feed daily because it allows them to fatten up livestock quicker even though they keep them in stressful, crowded and inhumane living conditions that make animals sick.  Farmers cannot allow a sick animal into the food system so if they do get sick, they need special treatment, and cannot be slaughtered until they recover.  Sick animals increase work and expense for the farmer.  This is especially true for large industrial operations.  Crowded factory farms also provide the perfect conditions for the spread of salmonella, a potentially deadly public health risk.

Could we also be fattening up humans with antibiotics and obesogens in foods and personal care products?  
Leah Zerbe, Online Editor for Rodale.com believes regular use of antibiotics to treat conditions that don’t even involve bacteria, together with ingestion of meats from animals that have been fed antibiotics their entire lives is making children and adults fat.  She also sites the widespread practice of allowing chemicals that have undergone limited safety testing in products for adults and children.

After reviewing the research, Leah wrote several articles explaining how obesogens coming from antibiotics and other chemical sources are messing with our hormone and insulin levels.  Not only are we getting fat, but ingesting these obesogens puts our body in a constant state of defense and is causing unpredictable cross chemical reactions.

Tune in to Smart Health Talk this Thursday, August 30th from 4-5:00 pm PST as Leah Zerbe joins us to explain what obesogens are doing to our health and how to avoid them.

Anyone can listen to the show live from anywhere in the world.  Go to KCAARadio.com and click on top left hand corner icon that gives you the option to watch the show on USTREAM or listen on “Tune In.”  If you have a “Tune In” radio app on your phone you can just type in “KCAA Radio 1050 AM” and listen like you were in the studio with us.  If you miss a show you can catch up with podcasts are on KCAARadio.com when you click Elaine McFadden’s picture, or you can find them on the SmartHealthTalk.com website under “podcast tab.”
Have quick references for emergencies or to answer questions as they come up ready.  Your questions could end up being important and even life saving so we encourage you to be curious, and let Smart Health Talk help.  Our resource section is a good place to start. We support other organizations that offer helpful services.  Click the spray bottle below to go to a favorite site for toxic chemical information:  Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.

Research Links Phthalates to Type 2 Diabetes
This article is basically saying that we are depositing chemicals into our bodies 
by the thousands and in all different kinds of combinations.  They get there when 
we ingest them (eating, drinking), and absorb through our skin.  Each chemical is 
made up of metabolites which are particles that can interfere with normal blood glucose metabolism and balance.  These metabolites could bind and block, interact, destroy outright, disrupt key hormones that allow glucose to come into the cell, or a combination or more of the above.  Best to avoid them completely.

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Epidemiology/Health Services Research
P. Monica Lind, Björn Zethelius, and Lars Lind
Diabetes Care July 2012 35:1519-1524; published ahead of print April 12, 2012

Abstract
OBJECTIVE Phthalates are ubiquitous industrial high-volume chemicals known as ligands to peroxisome proliferator–activated receptors (PPARs). Because PPAR-γ agonists modulate insulin sensitivity and are used to treat type 2 diabetes, we investigated whether circulating levels of phthalate metabolites are related to prevalent type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 1,016 subjects, aged 70 years, were investigated in the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors Study. Four phthalate metabolites were detected in almost all participant sera by an API 4000 liquid chromatograph/tandem mass spectrometer. Type 2 diabetes was defined as the use of pharmacological hypoglycemic agents or a fasting plasma glucose >7.0 mmol/L.

RESULTS A total of 114 subjects were shown to have diabetes. Following adjustment for sex, BMI, serum cholesterol and triglycerides, educational level, and smoking and exercise habits, high levels of the phthalate metabolites monomethyl phthalate (MMP) (P < 0.01), monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP) (P < 0.05), and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) (P < 0.05), but not mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, were associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes. Using the fasting proinsulin–to–insulin ratio as a marker of insulin secretion and the homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index as a marker of insulin resistance, MiBP was mainly related to poor insulin secretion, whereas MEP and MMP mainly were related to insulin resistance.

CONCLUSIONS The findings in this cross-sectional study showed that several phthalate metabolites are related to diabetes prevalence, as well as to markers of insulin secretion and resistance. These findings support the view that these commonly used chemicals might influence major factors that are regulating glucose metabolism in humans at the level of exposure of phthalate metabolites seen in the general elderly population.

Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.

Avoid plastics that do not have the recycle #1. The products with #1 are safer for your family.

aka “Fragrance,” “The Softener”

Go to Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families website for more information on how to protect your family from toxic chemicals.

Phthalates like to make hard plastics more flexible, and to act as an adhesive, dye, and solvent in other products. Phthalates don’t care about fame — they prefer to stay hidden on product labels with simple pseudonyms like “fragrance.” Phthalates may be publicity shy, but given the right setting, they can off-gas and volatize with the best of them.
Air fresheners contain phthlates.
How to avoid
1. There’s no sure-fire way to completely avoid phthalates until Congress passes the Safe Chemicals Act, legislation that will require chemical manufacturers to demonstrate that their products are safe before they end up in our lotions, dashboards, and bodies.

Until then...

2. Skip the fragrance when choosing cosmetics, personal care products, cleaning products, detergents, and air fresheners. Manufacturers aren’t required to list phthalates on the label, but any item listed as “fragrance” is often a chemical mixture that can contain phthalates.

3. When buying cosmetics, purchase from companies that have pledged not to use phthalates.

4. Check the Healthy Toys database for toys bought before 2009 - they may contain phthalates.

5. Avoid buying plastics that may be treated with phthalates, including vinyl toys, shower curtains, and gloves. Look out for "PVC," "V" or the "3" recycling code on the item or its packaging.
6. If you have vinyl flooring in your home, damp mop regularly since phthalates bind to dust on the floor. Direct sunlight on vinyl tiles causes them to release phthalates more quickly, so put lower blinds on windows that shine directly on flooring.

Frequent hangouts
Cosmetics and personal care products; fragrances used in products ranging from cleaning products to perfumes and air fresheners; pharmaceuticals, medical devices, toys, food packaging, sealants, printing inks, vinyl shower curtains, and building materials such as vinyl flooring, house dust.

Why they're dangerous
Phthalates are linked to lower testosterone levels, decreased sperm counts and poor sperm quality. Exposure to phthalates during development has been linked to malformations of the male reproductive tract and testicular cancer. 

Young children and developing fetuses are most at risk. 
Phthalates also have been associated with obesity, reduced female fertility, preterm birth and low birthweight, a worsening of allergy and asthma symptoms, and behavior changes.

Fun fact
Enjoy that new car smell? Thank phthalates! Because phthalates are not chemically bound to products, they easily migrate or off-gas, making them easy to inhale.
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Plastic bottles can contain phthlates. Only choose bottles with the #1 recycle code. Avoid all bottles with the #7.
Find out what they're not telling you on the label.

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