Is Your Shampoo or Other Personal Care Products Making You Fat?

Paula Baillie-Hamilton, an expert on metabolism and environmental toxins, was one of the first to make a link between the obesity epidemic and the increase in environmental chemicals. Baillie-Hamilton argued that exposure to chemicals can damage your body's natural weight-control mechanisms. She calls toxic chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors "chemical calories."

Environmental researchers now call these chemical calories "obesogens." These organic pollutants can derail the hormonal mechanisms that control your weight.

According to Grist:
"... [I]t is impossible, now, to tease out how much of obesity is caused by chemicals, and how much by energy balance. They're intertwined, anyway, with imbalances in appetite-regulating hormones like leptin and ghrelin causing us to want to eat more of the available food ... [S]teer clear of Bisphenol-A ... [and] shampoos, cosmetics, and soaps containing phthalates."

Even buying organic shampoo and other personal care products may not protect you. As the Center for Environmental Health recently reported:

"Dozens of shampoos, lotions, toothpastes,and other personal care products sold by national retailers including Target, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Whole Foods and other stores are mislabeled as organic, in violation of California law, according to a lawsuit filed … by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH)."

Several of the products contain potentially toxic ingredients, including disrupting hormones, despite being labeled as organic.

Sources:
Grist June 28, 2011
Obesity Reviews April 4, 2011
Center for Environmental Health June 16, 2011

Comments from Janis at JESorganics.com

It may sound like a joke to think about your shampoo or any of your personal care products making you fat.  However, the majority of personal care products contain a host of toxic chemicals in addition to endocrine disruptors.  Endocrine distrupors cause premature puberty, obesity and increased risk of cancer, just to name a few.  As far as your shampoo is concerned, the primary endocrine-disrupting chemical culprits are phthalates. Phthalates are used as plasticizers in everything from vinyl flooring to detergents, hoses, raincoats, adhesives, air fresheners, and toys, but they're also found in some soaps, shampoos, lotions and nail polish. One 2002 study by the Environmental Working Group detected phthalates in nearly three-quarters of personal care products tested, noting that:

"Major loopholes in federal law allow the … cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of phthalates into many personal care products with no required testing, no required monitoring of health effects, and no required labeling."

Phthalates are not only being linked to weight gain … they are the same group of "gender-bending" chemicals also causing males of all species to become more female. 

We founded JES Organics because of our research into ingredients and toxic chemicals.  Toxic chemicals are everywhere and they have an accumulative effect on our bodies.  Over time, our bodies start breaking down from the toxic onslaught. 

Please become an educated consumer and read your labels.  It is highly unlikely that you will find non-toxic quality products at large high end or low end stores.  And if you think you are getting quality by buying expensive brand name products or even products promoted by doctors, think again! 

Read the label, don't be fooled by false marketing on labels (natural, organic, dermatologist tested or recommended, hypoallergenic, etc).  These words are not regulated and have no standards.  We joined the Compact for Safe Cosmetics immediately upon starting JES Organics and we continue to be a company in full compliance with full disclosure of our ingredients.