Chemicals in Shampoo May Pose Health Risks

Have you ever read the label on your shampoo bottle? You'll be shocked to learn that the ingredients found in many shampoos may pose a threat to your health. 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Research has shown that various chemicals lurking inside shampoo may induce serious health risks, like memory loss, eye and skin irritation, hair follicle damage that can lead to hair loss, and even cancer.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies personal care products, it does not regulate them. Therefore, there are no legal guidelines or boundaries for shampoo manufacturers to follow. 

The descriptive "all-natural" has become a buzzword in the beauty world for environmental friendliness. What some shampoo makers leave out, however, is they still use the lathering agents, emulsifiers and synthetic fragrances that contain hundreds of harmful chemicals.

According to a company called Blinc Inc., it is very likely that the list of ingredients in a bottle of shampoo will contain some of the following additives: 

* Propylene glycol, known as the main ingredient in antifreeze, is also found in makeup, toothpaste and in your shampoo. It can cause allergic reactions.

* Sodium lauryl sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate are common causes of eye irritation. They can also damage hair follicles. When absorbed into the body from continuous contact, they can bring on asthma attacks.

* Synthetic fragrances contain hundreds of chemicals, some of which have been known to cause headaches, dizziness, rash, hyperpigmentation, coughing and vomiting.

*The National Toxicology Program found that applying diethanolamine to a mouse's skin induced liver and kidney cancer. DEA is readily absorbed through the skin and can also be toxic to the brain. 

But before you decide to never wash your hair again, Blinc Inc. is simplifying consumer education by consolidating official government research on questionable ingredients found in many shampoos, conditioners and body washes.

The company's philosophy of "Why take a chance?" means there are no controversial ingredients in its haircare products. They are 99.8 percent vegetable derived and as close to natural as possible while effectively cleansing without causing irritation to eyes or skin or damaging hair.

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ADDICTIVE FOODS and their Harmful Consequences

Most of us are fond of at least one product that has the effect of a stimulant and that eventually becomes an addiction. These products include exercise stimulant drinks (they come in cans and look like cola), fizzy aerated drinks, tobacco, betel nut, betel leaf, strong coffee, strong tea, mahuang (an ephedrine-like compound consumed in china), and alcohol.

A phoenix wing shaped- betel leaf plate in Vietnam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before I tell you why we shouldn’t consume these products, I’d like to deal with the question of why we do consume them in the first place.

There’s no one who doesn’t know that products like these, consumed in excess, can severely harm our bodies. Yet, we still find them hard to resist. The need to eat stimulant food is a simple human weakness that has existed for ages: humans (and many animals) have always indulged in foods that give a sort of emotional high. In clinical terms, this means rapid heart beat, a little sweating, dilation or constriction of the pupils of the eye, a warm flush on the face, and a sense of greater sensitivity, concentration and perception.

These sensations of ‘high’ die down within a few hours, and we are left feeling listless and low. This leads to a craving for that food again, to experience the high one more time. And there we are going round and round in a vicious circle.

The physiology of addictions is as follows:

When you eat an addictive food, it stimulates the hormone like substances found at the end of your nerves, which triggers an avalanche of similar stimulatory substances and you experiences a high. As the substances near the nerves are depleted, you get into the low phase, which leads you to crave that food again. This yo-yo phase of nerve stimulation and depletion leads to a pattern of addiction.

Consuming addictive foods is one of the oldest unhealthy food practices and, despite a revolution in health consciousness; it shows no signs of dying out.

Below are some side effects of certain addictive foods.

Alcohol Addiction: Erosion of stomach and intestinal lining, liver damage, nutritional deficiency.

Tobacco: Erosion of gum and tongue can lead to cancer of the buccal mucosa.

Betel nut: Leads to the discoloration of teeth, erosion of the lining of the mouth, and cancer of the mouth and upper tract. It also leads to heart problems among people who already have a weak heart.

Ma huang: It contains ephedrine and leads to heart problems.

Aerated drinks: High doses of caffeine.

Caffeine and xanthine: Found in tea, coffee. These become harmful only in very high doses; don’t consume more than five cups a day.

Mixed drug reactions: People who consume medications for the heart, hypertension and asthma have to be very careful about the interactions of the drugs with stimulant foods, as mixing the two can be fatal. After years of experience, all doctors know how difficult it is to break the food addictions of their patients. So like them, I can only advise a good compromise. If you can’t break the addiction, then at least you should practice moderation.

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