Parabens : Beware Mommies!!

Salam Monday mommies :)

It's justa peaceful Monday today when half of the office clan is on annual leave.

Sunyi je...

Pencil jatuh pun bleh dengar..literally.

Mood pun dh ok sket berbanding last week.

Alhamdulillah.So, kembali lah kita mendesign!!~

And berblog :)

Just to share about parabens and how lousy i was for not being aware about it before.

I thought that I was doing right to buy J&J products for Iman and Amsyar, but it awfully turned out to be not a very good  thing afterall. 

Ok lah juga boleh sokong kempen anti-zionist products afterwards. Johson&Johnson kan one of it, besides the biggies in my daily consumables list :: McD, Nescafe and Nestle.

So let us learn about parabens today.

What are parabens?

Parabens are a family of chemicals that occur naturally in some foods and are added to many products to extend their shelf life. They're used in pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic, and toiletry products, including some baby products.

Parabens are inexpensive, highly effective preservatives. They prevent the growth of mold and bacteria that could spoil products or potentially harm consumers. Different parabens stop the growth of different organisms, so products often include a combination of parabens to protect against a broad range of microorganisms.

How do parabens get into the body?

They’re in some of the foods we eat. It's also possible that small amounts of parabens are absorbed through the skin.

Are parabens dangerous?

Parabens have been widely used as preservatives for over 50 years. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review, an organization that evaluates the safety of ingredients, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are satisfied that parabens are safe. However, the European Union's Scientific Committee on Consumer Products is still reviewing the safety of propyl, isopropyl, butyl, and isobutyl parabens.

Parabens have been found to mimic the female hormone estrogen, although they're 1,000 to one million times weaker than natural estrogen. A controversial study published in 2004 led to widespread concern that parabens in underarm deodorants could cause breast cancer. This study has since been discredited because it involved only 20 women and was poorly conducted.While studies have found some parabens can affect the reproductive systems of male animals when ingested or injected, we don't know whether they would cause similar problems in people.

How are parabens regulated?

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review recommends a specific limit on the concentration of parabens in cosmetic products sold in the United States.In the European Union, this limit is enforced by law.

What can I do to protect my family?

If you want to avoid parabens, look for products labeled paraben-free. (Many leading manufacturers of baby products use alternative preservatives.) Or check labels for these common types of parabens:

• methylparaben
• ethylparaben
• propylparaben
• butylparaben

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Parabens are usually found in most baby products Manufacturers use them in their products as a preservative. If you want to check you products to see if there is a paraben in the baby product you are using, check for these commonly used preservatives (namely methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butylparaben), which are listed on labels. The have recently been identified as xenoestrogens. An xenoestrogen is a synthetic compounds that mimics the sex hormone estrogen.

These parabens are absorbed very quickly into the babies blood stream. It bypasses the gastrointestinal tract where it might have been broken down so cosmetic products are one of the worst ways to be absorbed by the body.

In the July 2002 issue of the Archives of Toxicology , Dr. S. Oishi of the Department of Toxicology, Tokyo Metropolitan Research Laboratory of Public Health, Japan, reported that exposure of newborn male mammals to butylparaben "adversely affects the secretion of testosterone and the function of the male reproductive system".

"In this paper, we have shown that butylparaben had an adverse effect on the male mouse reproductive system and that it damaged the late steps of spermatogenesis in the testis," the researcher reports. "A dose-dependent decrease of both round and elongated spermatid counts in stages VII-VIII seminiferous tubules was observed, and the elongated spermatide counts were significantly lower in all of the treated groups. The serum testosterone concentration decreased in a dose-dependent fashion and was significant at 1.00%. These data demonstrated that butylparaben can exert an adverse effect on the male reproductive system at doses that are well below those of the accepted daily intake (ADI) in Japan."-Oh my!!

If you have young girls I'm sure you couldn't help but notice this growing trend of sexual development at younger and younger ages. Pediatrician and increasingly reporting the appearance of puberty in girls as young as two. There have even been some reported cases of girls having their periods in kindergarten.Lotions, soaps and cosmetics may all be contributing factors to these reproductive abnormalities. Women of child bearing age as well as babies should avoid parabens as a precaution.Double my!!

Finding products that do not contain parabens is not as daunting as it sounds. It may require a trip to your local health food store as opposed to the drug store where you usually buy baby products. However, just because something is labeled organic does not mean paraben free.

Always check the label.

Sources : Paraben1, Babycenter, parabenfreeprincess

Take the last sentence seriously, mommies : Always check the labels :)

I'm still searching for affordable alternatives,tho.

Maybe will share once found.Now Amsyar mandi with just a drop of body wash. Itu pun klu rasa2 cm macham sgt. Kdg2 takyah babywash pun. Bukan busuk pun anak mommy ni. Iman pun sama. cuma klu dh main kat luar mmg kena scrub habis lah kuku2 and feet. But still with minimal soap/babywash.

That's the least i could do :)

Happy Monday mommies,

Kepada yg bercuti hari ni.. Selamat bercuti.

Saya pun kalau masih berbaki banyak cuti.akan saya ambil hingga 1 January kelak.

hehehehe..

Love,

Zahra

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List of 'safe' products.But could make my pockets bocor..

SafeMama Top Picks

• Earth Mama Angel Baby
• Weleda Baby
• Dr Bronner’s Soaps
• Eden’s Kiss
• Terressentials Organic Baby Care
• LuSa Organics
• Badger Balm Kids & Baby

Paraben, Phthalate, PEG Free Baby Products

• California Baby
• Erbaviva Natural Organic Baby
• Nature’s Baby Organics
• Burt’s Bees Baby
• Clean Kids Naturally
• Lily Organics
• Aubrey Organics
• Little Twig
• TruKid Skin Care
• Mei Mei Baby Care
• Babecology
• Gaia Natural Baby
• Serendipity Soap, Wild Child Line
• Erba Organics
• Love Me Baby Me
• Nurture My Body
• Kiss My Face Kids Obsessively Natural
• EcoStore USA Baby Care
• Mambino Organics
• Tawna Hill Baby Care
• Oopsie Daisy Beautiful Baby