My Healthy Tidbits

Any artificial scent - in any product - can be hazardous to your health.  It can be air fresheners, detergent, perfume, fabric softeners, body care products, or candles: if it’s not from natural sources, you’re breathing in artificial chemicals and that’s NEVER a good thing.

The FDA has ZERO regulations on chemicals used for scent, and the manufacturers aren’t even required to put the ingredients on the labels.  Yet some of those very chemicals have been known to trigger allergic reactions and asthma, and others have been linked to problems in the immune, reproductive, and central nervous systems.  Synthetic musks have even been linked to cancer!

Some of the worst offenders are a class of chemicals called phthalates - but what good is it to know that this chemical can cause changes in the reproductive and endocrine systems, and in the liver, kidneys, and adrenal glands - if it is not even listed on the labels!

When the Environmental Working Group tested 72 personal care products a few years ago, they found that 75% of them contained these dangerous phthalates.  But again, you’d never know it, because it doesn’t have to be listed on the label.

Stop buying products with artificial scents.  There are tons of options out there that derive their scents from natural sources like essential oils.  Essential oils are super-concentrated compounds that you get from distilling botanicals.