Friday, May 13, 2011

Antibacterial Soap and Their Dangers

Liquid antibacterial soap on a person's hand.Image via WikipediaTriclosan and triclocarban are common ingredients in many antibacterial soaps, including Bath and Body Works brands.
Antibacterial sounds good right? Well in this case, wrong. These two agents are placed in many soaps as a preservative and acting antibacterial.  What the ingredient list on your soap won't tell you is that these chemicals are among the top ten most common water contaminants. Meaning, it's in our tap water! These chemicals are related to estrogen and thyroid hormones. What does this mean? They are endocrine disruptor's. They have been found to affect the gender of frogs, fish and thyroid function in rats. Not something I want to be drinking. Triclosan  bio accumulates in fatty tissue of fish and animals, meaning eventually we end up ingesting it not only in our water but in the fish (especially farmed) that we eat and high fat beef.
Also because triclosan is antibacterial it is contributing to antibiotic resistance of organisms. Not what we need.
So read your soap and if it contains triclosan replace it with plain old soap and water!
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