Originally published April 19 2004
Research shows antibacterial soaps to be useless; ingredients may be
toxic
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
New research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that
household antibacterial soaps and other products offer no protection
whatsoever against infections. I've said this for years: antibacterial
products are at best a product marketing gimmick and, at worst, a health
hazard to consumers. How could they be a health hazard? The
antibacterial property of the soap is achieved by adding toxic chemicals
to the soaps (that's what kills the bacteria, get it?). The chemicals
used are frequently highly toxic substances: one of the most popular
chemicals used in consumer soap products is chemically similar to Agent
Orange, a biochemical weapon used in the Vietnam War. These chemicals
get absorbed through the skin of consumers where they can cause nerve
damage and liver damage. Consumers have been blindly purchasing
these products for years based on the unproven promise -- promoted by
the soap sellers, of course -- that antibacterial products offer
"protection from germs!" It's those nasty germs again! Yet, in reality,
no kitchen is a sterile environment in the first place. Take a breath of
air and you're inhaling "germs." Sleep in your bed and you're covered in
germs. Dry yourself with yesterday's towel and you're scrubbing yourself
with germs. We have germs all around us, which brings me to the immune
system. The immune system's job is to take care of all those germs you
have been exposed to, eliminating the need for toxic chemicals in your
kitchen and on your dishes. In fact, the very idea of washing your
dishes in Agent Orange strikes me as absurd, and yet it's very nearly
what tens of millions of consumers are doing every day.
Word of
advice: avoid all soaps, detergents, shampoos and other products
containing fragrance or artificial colors. Use what I use: Dr.
Bronner's soaps, available at any health food store. Or buy Sal Suds for
your dishes. Check out the cleaning products made by a company called
Seventh Generation. That's what I use for my laundry. I wouldn't
touch any cleaning product sold at WalMart or regular grocery stores...
those products are simply too toxic!
But I'm the exception. Most
U.S. consumers regularly load up their shopping carts wish all sorts of
toxic chemicals. Then they wash their clothes and dishes in those
chemicals. Following that, they eat off those plates and wear the
clothes that have been soaked in toxic chemicals. And they can't figure
out why they feel so sick all the time. Go figure...
"For years we've been using antibacterial products and everybody
assumes a health benefit," says study author Elaine Larson, a professor
of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research at Columbia University School
of Nursing in New York City.
One explanation for the findings is that the infections that occurred
might have been viral and not bacterial, Larson says.
"It's possible [these products have a role] in different settings with
different modes of transmission and different likelihoods of
transmission," says Weber, an antimicrobial resistance expert who is
assistant to the director of the National Center for Infectious
Diseases.
"If you want to kill a lot of germs on your hands quickly, the best
thing is to use one of the alcohol hand rinses because they work much
faster than soap and they kill bacteria and viruses much more," Larson
says.
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