• An uncontrolled chemical experiment - in your body! OCT 07, 2010

    • How would you feel if an uncontrolled chemical experiment was taking place inside your body?

      No matter how you feel about it, this is actually the case.

      As you read this, you have at least 700 synthetic chemicals in our body which are not supposed to be there. The scary part is that no one really knows how these chemicals affect us. But the scientific evidence on these effects is slowly emerging – and it’s not pleasant! (video after the break).

      First “test results” are coming in

      Even chemicals that by themselves are harmless can be dangerous when mixing with other chemicals in your body.

      The chemicals in many products that we use every day are not tested for these “mixes” – or so-called “cocktail effects” – but they can destroy our ability to have children.

      And that’s not all. Here are some other “test results”:

      • Male sperm quality has decreased 50% in the last 50 years
      • Men who are exposed to more chemical pollution have 6 times more abnormal sperm than men living in a relatively clean rural town.
      • Some of the highest levels of contaminants are found in women’s breast milk.
      • Between 1960 and 2002, men from Europe, the United States and New Zealand became up to seven times more likely to suffer from testicular cancer.
      • In heavily polluted Lake Apopka (Florida, USA) only female turtles can be found – males are no longer born.

      Protect yourself from ignorance

      We are exposed to chemicals everyday through all the stuff we buy: cosmetics, plastic food containers, paints and polishes, glues, electronics, food and so on…

      Up to 100,000 synthetic chemicals are used in the products we buy – and new ones are added every day. It is not realistic to test the billions of different combinations of chemicals. This is a strong argument to start applying the precautionary principle as an insurance policy against our own ignorance.

      The precautionary principle is simple. Instead of asking for proof that something is risky, it says that we must use things which we KNOW to be safe.

      We can’t stay completely free of chemicals in our everyday lives. But we can do a lot to avoid them – for instance by looking for safe alternatives when we go shopping. Lots of companies are committed to produce stuff without dangerous chemicals.

      Read more about chemicals in your body

      Watch this movie

      Check out the documentary “The Disappearing Male” for more info on the scary consequences of our use of chemicals (5 min. preview).

      Links