Most of us are aware that today we live in a more toxic world than ever. We know that there are numerous toxins in our air, water and even food. Some of us are taking steps to drastically reduce our exposure where we know definite risks exist.
However, there are many products in our everyday lives where we may not perhaps consider what chemical toxins may be lurking. While I am completely on top of things like personal care and cleaning products, there are some places where I would have never imagined to find potentially hazardous chemicals in everyday items.
My eyes were particularly opened after I read the fantastic book “Slow Death By Rubber Duck“. It is really sad ultimately that today in our world we have somehow made it okay to poison each other just for the sake of money and convenience. I always wonder about the people who produce so many of these chemical products in terms of how they do not realize that, whether directly or indirectly, they are hurting themselves and their families too.
Thus today, I want to bring your attention to three items, two of which at least I think you will find very surprising to contain hazardous toxins.
Electronic Units
Most of us love our high-tech gadgets but do little to think even for a moment what the price of using those gadgets may be. A member of the family bought a GPS unit and asked us to program it. Not thinking twice, my husband did, only to read the box the unit came in, in full afterwords and read the following fine print on it:
“Warning: This product, its packaging, and its components contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm. This notice is being provided in accordance with California’s proposition 65. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please refer to our web site at www.garmin.com/prop65/.”
I mean I don’t know about you, but this makes me think about what is seriously wrong with our world? How can we be poisoning each other like this by exposing ourselves to hazardous chemicals. And what is worse, think about it, how many people are actually going to read this fine print on the box of this GPS system itself. This model by the way is the Garmin nuvi 255, if you want to avoid it. However, it makes one wonder about other electronic units, and all those that are not sold in California and thus do not require such a label…
The state of California has some of the toughest laws when it comes to many things, including chemicals. This unit by chance was sold in Canada, but thank goodness for us that it came with this label, otherwise we would have never known about the potential danger of this unit. But again, it really makes you think about so many other gadgets in our lives, all those that come with no warning labels.
Garden Tools
A few summers ago I bought a garden hose. No one would ever think about a garden hose posing any danger, than perhaps tripping over it in your backyard. Well, after I unpackaged it and hooked it up outdoors, out of mere curiosity I decided to read the labels that it came with before I threw them out.
To my shock the label said something along the following lines (I don’t have it anymore to quote it for you): wash hands after use, do not drink water from it, or allow children to play with it, as the product contains lead. It also quoted California again, that the label was as a result of California law, having found this product to pose a health hazard.
So again, the very first thing that comes to my mind is, how many people seriously read all the fine print on every package they buy? It is one thing if these things are not labeled properly, but some of them by law are, and most of us are still missing the message.
Most of us are well aware of and have kids who play with garden hoses without thinking twice. Some even drink water from them directly, some of our pets do as well. And I am sure that both kids and adults do not always wash their hands after using a garden hose.
I am not sure if this was an isolated case and this one company chose to use lead in making their garden hoses, or if this is a regular thing. I am hoping that this hose was part of the minority of what is available on the market today, for the toxic effects of lead are widely known. Needless to say my hose went right back to the store from which it came.
Produce
Most of us are well aware that unless produce is organic, it is likely to be treated with pesticides. So while it is no surprise to find toxins on or in some of our food, what might not be expected is that produce that travels over far distances has to usually be treated with extra chemicals. This is just another reason why buying local makes more sense.
Take for example the box of oranges I bought at my local grocery store a couple of weeks ago. A new shipment came in where you could buy whole crates of oranges. Most of the time I buy organic whenever I can, but it was not possible to do so in this case. Had I known what I now know, just by taking a little extra time to examine the box they came in, I would not have bought them at all. Here is what the box said:
“Treated to maintain freshness in transit with one or more of the following: Imazalil, Sodium O’Phenylphenate, Thiabendazole.”
On top of that these were also coated with either food-grade vegetable-beeswax, and/or lac-resin based wax or resin.
So what do these lovely names mean?
Imazalil is a fungicide widely used in agriculture, particularly in the growing of citrus fruits. According to pesticideinfo.org, it presents toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity, as well as toxicity to aquatic organisms.
Sodium O’Phenylphenate is used as a post-harvest fungicide for specific fruits. SOPP was listed as a carcinogen under Proposition 65 in 1990. Today it is a recognized carcinogen and suspected of being a toxin to the liver and gastrointestinal tract.
Thiabendazole is a fungicide and parasiticide. According to pesticideinfo.org, this substance also presents a toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity, as well as toxicity to aquatic organisms.
And how about the waxes? While the first name appears recognizable, the second one “lac-resin” actually comes from the secretions of a tiny insect. (I am not sure how a strict vegan would feel eating that produce.) The lac insect secretes “lac-resin” from its glands onto a host tree. The resin is then gathered, crushed, sieved, washed and purified into food grade shellac. In the end, most waxes do include various synthetic ingredients, but at the end of the day, they do not come nowhere as close to being dangerous as some of the pesticides listed above.
So in conclusion, I cannot overstate how important it is for one’s health to buy organic and local as much as possible. Yes, it may cost more, and yes sometimes it may be less convenient, but I truly believe that in the long run it is worth it. We and our health are worth it.
Conclusion
So what message can we take away from this?
We won’t be able to prevent exposure to all the chemicals in our world today, but we can for sure do a great job minimizing our exposure. We just have to get a little more conscious.
I understand that in order to lead some kind of a “normal” life we need to balance the risks with benefits, and ultimately this is a very personal choice. Sure in the grand scheme of things any of these products can prove no harm to us whatsoever, but what we have to remember is that it is never about just one product. In an average day, the average person today comes into contact with numerous, hundreds if not thousands of different chemicals, and it is the combination and the toll of them all, that eventually may manifest as a disease or some other ill condition. Hence, the key is to minimize exposure as much as we can.
Hence if nothing else, read all your labels! Food labels, cosmetic labels, cleaning labels, clothes labels (you would not believe what some clothes are being coated with today), electronic labels – all labels! And based on them, you can decide further, whether the risks are worth it to you.
It is one thing if we are deceived or intentionally kept in the dark, but quite another if we choose to be ignorant, especially where our health is concerned. To me personally it is definitely worth the extra few seconds to read labels to minimize my exposure to harmful substances and I intend to be even more conscious of it from now on, on all products.
*Photograph 1 provided by SashaW
*Photograph 2 provided by suncana
*Photograph 3 provided by wealhtheow1
*Photograph 4 provided by maesejose
About the author:Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.
13 Comments to “Hidden Toxins Where You Least Expect Them”
Unbelievable! We, and our children, are being systematically poisoned – and it’s totally legal.
Another great article, Evita. Thanks for opening our eyes.
Without knowing it, I may be poisoned slowly. I’m so glad you posted this kind of article. So very helpful. Thanks!
I feel that there is a double edged sword here at work. We can say something negative to just about anything. If we look for it, we will find it. If we don’t find it now, we will invent it in the years to come which will lead to the next revision. I am not saying that this isn’t effecting us or the environment in any way, because everything has an effect on everything else. So how we define our experience with an object completely matters if we choose to live in a realm of definitions. We can also be thankful for what is before us no matter where it came from. However, our curiousity will eventually lead us to what resonates for us personally, which may be what we call a healthy diet or outlook on life. What we align ourselves with externally is a symbolic representation of what we look and feel like inside of us.
Labels are another thing. Someone can write anything on a label or omitt anything on a label. It is also double edged sword. If someone says its fat free, then people make the excuse that it is good for them. Well, sugar has always been fat free.
I think what it comes down to is exactly what you said Evita. Buy locally, but with consciousness. Know the people that produce the produce or the product that you align your self with. Do they give the product love and respect. Do they have the energy that you want to ingest and match vibrationally with. We can not trust labels that the governement mandates. But we can trust our feelings when we witness how a material object was manifested into Being. By seeing the essence of one’s purchase, we too are seeing the essence of who we are becoming and what we have always been.
I used to drink out of my hose all the time. In fact I just did this last summer. I would never have thought this was a health issue. Thanks for making me a little more aware. I have to be more careful of what I put into my body.
Our bodies are our temples. If we don’t take care of them, they won’t take care of us as we get older.
I don’t like even watering veggies and our blueberries with our hose, just b/c it’s plastics, and all, and this affirms my concern, plus some more!!!!!
Hi Katherine,
I totally agree and understand. The whole world of plastics has been such a disaster on our health and environment… and we are just now waking up slowly, person by person to the ramifications. People cite convenience this and convenience that, but there is no convenient substitute for undoing the damage to the planet and our bodies.
@ HANLIE – Thanks so much Hanlie. You know how I feel about these topics, I just want to open people’s eyes to what they are eating or using, etc. We need to start becoming more educated about these products and more accountable for our own health, if we want to enjoy a long, happy and healthy life.
@ BRYAN – Thanks so much for your comments Bryan! It is sad in a way that this is going on, but the good news is that the more we learn, the better choices we can make about the products we use.
@ BERN – Good point Bern, indeed I know almost everything can indeed be viewed from a negative and positive side. My take on these things is always to look at the obvious points that we can become better aware of to reduce our chemical load and exposure.
And yes, I love the point you added about finding products that resonate with us. For me that is what it comes down to. I strongly believe in the spiritual side of things, where our mind is more powerful than any Earthly material. However, I also respect the so called “laws” of the physical and hence try to choose the best products and services that are best for my physical body and the Earth.
And yes, indeed another great point you mention about the labels. As I have found out over the past two years, so much is left out of labels….the laws are just too relaxed and money speaks over protecting the health of the consumer. So I am very grateful for any products that have any cautionary labels.
Thanks for all your thoughts Bernie!
@ KARL – Yeah, it is those odd places that sometimes have chemicals that we would least expect. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I would think the majority of hoses DON’T contain lead, but caution never hurts.
Indeed, how we treat our bodies today, shapes how they will work in the future.
bohzo (hello)
We have so many toxins in everything nowadays, it seems anything is okay for a profit, even if it kills.
@ DAVID – Hi David and thank you for your comment and visit. It is very true what you stated. Today money rules most people, not the general well being of each other or the planet.
But based on how I feel, this cannot last much longer. Mother Earth and people who are health conscious are seeking change and who knows it may come sooner, rather than later.
Evita,
Please take into account how far overreaching prop 65 is. Everything here in CA has a prop 65 warning on it. Parking garages have warnings because they could contain gasoline and car exhaust, hotels have warnings because their pools use chlorine. By the letter of the law our US coins should carry the warnings as well because they are known to contain nickel. Unless you were planning on consuming your Garmin and its packaging I would have to say you are more likely to poison yourself from your filtered water. Yes we absolutely need to eliminate toxins from entering our bodies. But please use some common sense and don’t take the sky is falling approach to facing the world. Your Garmin is not killing you unless of course it distracts you while and you crash your car(which should also have a prop 65 warning!).
Hi Jim
Thank you for your comment Jim and for clarifying that prop 65 is as it is. I do not live in California, so I do not know that it appears that everything seems to be labelled. But at the same time, most other states and here in Canada does look to California as an example for their strict laws where chemicals are concerned. And in all fairness both chlorine and gasoline are toxic, so there is some validity to the labels.
I totally agree with your ideas too that we need not take an alarmist approach. The thing for me, is that there are too many chemicals in everything, period. And the worst part is that we don’t really know what is where, in which case at least the consumer has some choice as to whether they want to use that product or not.
While one product may not kill us, the big issue and my common sense approach at the end of the day, is that all the chemicals we come into contact with daily are a problem for our bodies and health.
In the end, I am accountable to myself and for myself, especially where my health is concerned. This is what I teach people therefore – to get educated, take accountability and make better choices reducing as much exposure as possible.
I do not want to be one of the people in the future suing the company or government or blaming them for my health problems, when in the future they discover some direct links between some of the chemicals currently used in products and health problems we have, as they do so regularly. For me it is about taking accountability today, to ensure better health tomorrow.
I’m also sick of hearing report after report about poisoned products from China! Cheap = dangerous. We are “eating the bitter fruit of having our own way!” Americans need to stop importing from China and so many other countries, and learn to make/grow/distribute what we can here. We did it for decades upon decades before. Sure some tea from China, India was nice, but not necessary. Need vs. want!
So true!!
Oh I love your passion – it is because of people like you that positive change is happening :)