Is Your Toothpaste Making You Sick? The Hidden Health Risks of Toothpaste
Think your toothpaste is safe? Think again!
Most people don't give much thought to what they're cleaning their teeth with. If it's sold in the supermarket it must be safe to use right? Wrong!
You may be surprised or even shocked to find out that many of the commercial brand toothpastes at the supermarket contain harmful chemicals that have been linked to all sorts of health problems.
Plus your mouth is one of the most absorbant places in the entire body.
Over the course of a lifetime, the average person uses about 75 litres (20 gallons) of toothpaste, and even if you spit most of it out, some of the chemicals it contains make their way into your bloodstream. Whilst you're brushing, the ingredients in your toothpaste enter your mouth and gums, which are the gateway to every system in your body.
Dangerous ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), aspartame, fluoride, and triclosan are on just about every toothpaste label.
Not only do the FDA and toothpaste manufacturers know the ingredients are dangerous, in the USA toothpastes are required to have a warning label that warns you it’s not safe to swallow. Wow! Something we are supposed to clean our mouth with is dangerous if swallowed?
If you're from the USA, you'll have seen those toothpaste warning labels, though if you're from other parts of the world, including Australia, you won't have seen those warning labels on toothpastes, as the Australian government doesn't require that warning on labels. Yet, in Australia they are the same toothpaste brands with the same ingredients in the toothpastes.
When shopping for toothpaste, here's a list of chemicals to avoid and why:
Triclosan
Included in most conventional toothpastes is used as an antibacterial agent. It has been linked to many health problems including thyroid problems, hormonal disruption, infertility and it may cause cancer. The American Medical Association suggests triclosan not be used in the home as it may encourage bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Researchers at Virginia Tech have found that triclosan, when mixed with chlorine as found in tap water, forms chloroform. Every time you brush your teeth with toxic toothpaste and tap water, you are creating a highly toxic chemical reaction directly in your mouth.
Toothpaste appears to be one of the most potent delivery vehicles for the chemical, as research found people who brushed their teeth with Colgate Total had more than five times as much triclosan in their urine as those who did not. [1]
SLS Sodium Laurel Sulphate
A common ingredient in toothpastes, SLS is a surfactant used to create the foaming action. SLS is readily absorbed in the body and is considered a carcinogen. It can also cause skin and eye irritations, hormone imbalances, denaturing of structural proteins, canker sores and mouth ulcers. According to the Journal of the American College of Toxicology Vol 2 No 7 1983, SLS can act as a mutagen, meaning that in sufficient amounts it is capable of changing genetic information found in cells. SLS can damage the immune system and cause skin inflammation or damage
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners like saccharin, sorbitol, and aspartame are added to the toothpastes to mask the horrible chemical taste. Saccharin is manufactured from petroleum products. Formaldehyde is a by-product of aspartame. These artificial sweeteners can cause side effects like: headaches, dizziness, mood changes, vomiting or nausea, abdominal pains, diarrhea, seizures, memory loss, fatigue, numbness, joint pain, depression, anxiety, blurred vision, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, systemic lupus and various cancers.
Flouride
Fluoride is categorized as a “toxic drug” by the FDA. Fluoride is an endocrine disrupter that calcifies the penile gland, and it can reduce thyroid and adrenal gland function. Fluoride increases cancer risk, causes damage to DNA, inactivates enzymes within the body, accelerates aging, disrupts the immune system, and should be avoided both in toothpaste and in water.
Not only found in toothpastes, fluoride exposure adds up when you take into account the dental products, dental treatments, and water supply all contain fluoride.
Colours
Colours often included toothpastes are FD & C Blue Dye # 1 & 2.
These can cause behavioural, learning & developmental problems in susceptible people, particularly children. They can also trigger allergies, asthma, headaches and are a potential cancer risk.
Diethanolamine (DEA)
Diethanolamine (DEA), is in products that foam like toothpaste. DEA disrupts hormones and forms cancer-causing nitrates. Dr. Samuel Epstein, professor of environmental health at University of Illinois, states that repeated exposure to skin may lead to increased risk of liver and kidney cancers. A 2006 study from the University of North Carolina found potential danger from DEA in fetal brain development and miscarriage risk.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) ranks DEA as a number 10 in its cosmetics database (the most toxic score) due to high concerns of organ system toxicity, contamination concerns and irritation, along with moderate cancer risk. The California Environmental Protection Agency lists DEA as a possible human carcinogen. DEA is listed on ingredient labels as Cocomide DEA (Diethanolamine), DEA Laurtyl Sulfate, Lauramide DEA, Linoleamind DEA, Oleamide DEA or TEA (Triethanolamine).
So which toothpaste should you use to clean your teeth?
The list of health risks from conventional toothpastes is enough for every health conscious person to look to switch to a green toothpaste. Though when going green, make sure that the products you choose are actually chemical free. Unfortunately some companies are jumping on the 'green bandwagon' offering products that aren't as green as you would hope.
You need to choose a company you can trust. A company that lists all of the ingredients on the label and a company that doesn't use chemicals.
I use Young Living toothpaste, as Young Living is a full disclosure company, that use all-natural ingredients, with all ingredients listed on the label.
Young Living offer 3 toothpastes, plus a toothpaste for kids. Each toothpaste has it's own flavour and benefits.
My personal choice is the Thieves Ultra Toothpaste. In Thieves toothpastes there's:
NO Tricolsan
NO fluoride
NO dyes/colours
NO SLS
NO DEA
NO synthetic ingredients
NO preservatives
NO GMOs
NO artificial sweeteners
NO synthetic perfumes
Find out which Thieves toothpaste is for you in the Thieves Toothpaste Review here
Other articles you may be interested in
Find out why brushing is not enough, why conventional toothpastes don’t work
Find out if your toothpaste is making you sick, the hidden dangers of toothpaste
Find out if toothpaste is making your kids sick, the hidden dangers of children's toothpaste
Find out the dangers of children swallowing fluoride in toothpaste
Find a safe children’s toothpaste with the KidsCents Slique Toothpaste review
Looking to get your own Thieves Toothpaste? We would love to help you!
In Australia? Then purchase your Thieves toothpaste.
In the USA or elsewhere in the world? Then click here to view Thieves toothpaste and add it to your shopping cart.
Sources:
1. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/09/09/toxic-toothpaste-ingredients.aspx
2. http://drleonardcoldwell.com/2013/07/02/how-toxic-is-your-toothpaste/
3. http://www.ebay.com.au/gds/The-5-Harmful-Ingredients-in-Toothpaste-READ-THIS-/10000000003239604/g.html
4. http://lotusdental.com.au/resources-toxic-toothpaste/
5. http://www.naturalnews.com/050936_toothpaste_toxic_ingredients_oral_health.html#
