Clean Green Living

By: Anita Kaiser

While living in Windsor I owned a store specialising in eco-friendly products.  One of my favourite parts of running the store was being able to meet other people who were on their “green” journey.  Some people had been on the path for a long time while others were just beginning to re-think what they put on or in their body.  Often the first products that someone was willing to try and switch to a more natural alternative were toothpaste and deodorant.  

In mainstream toothpaste, there are two ingredients in particular that I am concerned with.  The first item is fluoride.  Although there are benefits to fluoride in terms of topical application of the teeth, I felt that since I was ingesting fluoride in the water I was drinking, any additional fluoride was not necessary for me or my family.  

There is a lot of controversy around the issue of fluoride.  Many folks believe that there are benefits to adding it to our drinking water but when I reviewed studies done in both communities with fluorinated water and those without, I did not see results showing that fluoride (provided in any form other than topically) has any benefit at all.  

In fact, the studies that I have reviewed state that in communities with high fluoride concentrations in drinking water, many children have shown lower IQ scores.  Too much fluoride can also result in dental fluorosis (a defect of the teeth marked by increased porosity of the enamel) as well as calcification of the pineal gland.  Another ingredient of concern was FD&C colouring.  

“FD&C” means that the colorants have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in food, drugs and cosmetics.   “D&C” signifies the colours can be used only in drugs and cosmetics, but not food.  All of these colours are made from synthetic ingredients that are most often petroleum based.  The mere fact that these colorants are used in all three applications of food, drugs and cosmetics makes me wonder about them.  

These days we are exposed to five times more colorants than we were in 1955.  Many of the more common childhood diseases (ADHD, ADD, Asthma, OCD, ODD, etc.,) we are now seeing have direct links to these ingredients. If you are interested in finding out more about these dyes and some of the potential side effects, check out these studies by colour:
(http://diet-studies.com/).    
If you are looking for information about ingredients – here are two great links for you to check out.  

http://chemicaloftheday.squarespace.com/home/
http://anitakaiser.miessence.com/en/miessenceStory/ingredientsWeShun

                                 Anita Kaiser
                Pure Unrivaled Organic Goodness
                            www.MiOrganic.ca