New research on the chemicals in Soaps & Plastics

Image by Jack Black's Stunt Double via Flickr

I've been leery of the antimicrobial chemicals in products -- especially when they started putting them in everything (hand soap, dish soap, waterless hand cleaners, cutting boards, highchairs, kids toys, etc). Now there's another study that says I might be right to keep away from them. In an article carried by NPR, "New Questions Raised On Chemicals In Soaps, Plastics", Allison Aiello, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health is quoted saying "There may be such a thing as being too clean."

NPR reports, "Aiello and her colleagues published a study that suggests kids with higher exposure to triclosan — which gets into our bodies via everything from antimicrobial soap to toothpaste to cutting boards — may cause them to be more frequently diagnosed with allergies." Also, "adults exposed to higher doses of Bisphenol A (BPA), which is found in many plastics like the linings of food cans and baby bottles, may also have trouble with their immune systems."

I'm interested in what the FDA will say in light of this new study. Other countries have been banning these chemicals, but the FDA continues to say they don't have enough research. Because of my gut feeling about these chemicals and studies that have come out before questioning their safety, our family tried (and love!) the safer cleaners from Shaklee. We have seen positive changes in our overall health, and specifically our asthma, allergies, and ADD/ADHD when we use these cleaners; and they're actually more economical that store cleaners. When we run out and buy the safer things on the store counters, we start having more problems.

I wonder when the FDA will have enough research to be able to say these chemicals aren't healthy?

Related articles

• Too Much Hygiene May Affect Immune System, Study Suggests (nlm.nih.gov)
• Study suggests that being too clean can make people sick (eurekalert.org)
• Being too clean could make you prone to more allergies (news.bioscholar.com)
• You can be too clean: Chemicals in soap can harm children's health (dailymail.co.uk)
• Too Clean: Antibacterial Linked to Disease, So Why is It Still Around? (health.change.org)