Most people don’t think even contemplate that things that we use on daily basis can be dangerous to our health. We don’t want you to upset you, but it may be good to be aware of the potential dangers that you consume or use every day. We absorb thousands of chemicals into our bodies from personal hygiene paper and other products. Think about it. We even wipe our faces, hands and intimate areas with these products, exposing our bodies to harmful chemicals and toxins over and into our bodies repeatedly. We think we’re limiting the risk of disease, not increasing it.
Everyone will go for the softest and the whitest loo paper possible. Unfortunately chlorine is the most toxic for your body. The amazing fact that there are 100.000 chemicals used in commercial paper products: baby wipes, paper towels, coffee filters, milk cartons, etc is, frankly, mindblowing.
The most dangerous of these toxins is chlorine. Along with other chemicals, these substances enter through our skin, get into our blood and can cause serious illnesses. Chlorine is dangerous in a way that forms dangerous toxins dioxin and furans.
It’s common knowledge that toilet paper is made from wood. Logically, it should be brown. Why is it so white then?
Because we think white equals clean!
Paper industries use chlorine and chlorine dioxide to bleach it. Some scientists have said that bleached paper is the most carcinogenic chemical known to science. These chemicals react with organic molecules in the wood and other fibers to create many toxic byproducts, including dioxin. The term dioxin is often used to include three acutely toxic chemical groups: true dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). All these are responsible for many health problems such as cancer, hormone imbalances, immune system impairments, reduced fertility and birth defects. Chlorinated toilet paper contains highest amount of furans of all cosmetic tissues, and is one of the most toxic human-made chemicals. The scary thing is that dioxins accumulate in our body overtime because it cannot be excreted, and causes dangerous health situation. Studies have found correlations between high workplace exposure to dioxins and increased risk of cancer.
Other Harmful Chemicals in Toilet Paper
There are other chemicals in toilet paper thatweu are wiping onto our bodies and which are known to be carcinogenic:
– Bisphenol A (BPA) – concentration is proven to be very high in paper products, including recycled toilet paper.
– Formaldehyde – used ”to improve the wet-strength and other ‘important’ characteristics of paper and paper products”.
What To do? What to do?
You need to read the labels on your toilet tissue too.
Here’s what to look for:
– Brown or beige paper! Toilet paper brown or beige in color is usually made without bleach but lacks softness and comfort.
– BPA-free paper products that have not been recycled and have not, therefore, ever been exposed to chlorinated bleach.
– TCF (Totally Chlorine-Free items). Look for toilet paper marked TCF which is non-recycled paper bleached with oxygen, ozone, or hydrogen or
– PCF (Processed Chlorine-Free), recycled paper bleached with oxygen, ozone or hydrogen peroxide, therefore, processed chlorine-free.
– Avoid paper marker ECF (Elemental Chlorine-Free) which may contain higher levels of toxicity.
Look, chlorine has been introduced to us ina time when the idea of long term accumulation of toxicity in the body simply wasn’t spoken of. Today we know better.
BTW, chlorine has a nasty relative, chloramines, which is a half breed; half chlorine, half ammonia. It’s used by m,ore and more water facilities because: (a) it’s cheaper and (b) it stays in the water better than chlorine. So if you are chasing a water filter that is relevant to the water challenges we have today, ask if it removes chloramines as well. Most don’t.
If you can’t be bothered sifting through the hundreds on the market you can go for the best here.