The Dubious Consumer Chemical Thread

Originally posted by wolfgang59
Is this a reference to the statistical study linking hair dye to bladder cancer?

Didn't Jackie have blood cancer?

I know there are a few hair dye studies, and they used to use all sorts before the laws caught up a bit, but they are still not thad good esp in the UK - the NHS prescribes 'Z drugs' for sleeping - they are all banned in the US as carcinogens but as they are cheap the nhs gets them...

DHMO :

I knew someone foolish enough to buy one of these machines;

http://www.electronichealing.co.uk/products/water_distiller.htm

It was expensive too. but deionised dhmo is bad, it upsets your sodium balance, thats why they sell mineral water... anyway dhmo - for you cynics 🙂

salicylic acid and hydrogen peroxide in spot creams.

These get into the thread for not really working! salicylic acid is also one of the active ingrediants in head and shoulders. It does not work as a spot cream if you have bad spots. it only works for people who have the odd one. There are lots of products sold to young people and I think they are a bit of a rip off, they make bad spots worse by drying out the skin to much.

topical erythromycin available from your GP is so much more effective you would not believe it, it almost makes spot creams look like a conspiracy it works that well.

I don't want to get conspiritorial in this thread - topical erothromyacin has big draw backs ( a shelf life of 1 month when prepared) and salicylic acid is useful so is witch hazel.

PFOA mentioned earlier has killed a lot of people, there are law suits, industrial regulations, plans to phase it out all together, I feel like a bad chemist putting it in the same thread as salicylic acid.

2 that should go in here are

Aspartame - for the shere volume of rubbish written about it on the net. I think if it actually was at all risky there would be more then enough data - its been around for 30 years i think... I think Aspartame is an example of net rubbish about a fairly safe chemical.

Sodium Benzoate - I am less keen on, and it seems quite omnipresent these days its in so many products, and cosmetics now instead of parabens. Re toxic fizzy drinks - they used to be out there, there are quite a few banned sweetners and sodium benzoate - not allowed cos it turned into benzene.

I think sometimes its like we are asked to 'adopt' certain toxins because it makes products convenient (eg cosmetics with a very long shelf life). Would you adopt one?

I would add gentically modified agricultural products, especially corn and sugar beets. I know Europe and Russia have banned GMO's but in the US and Canada this is a real problem. Monsanto is a very evil entity.

Originally posted by e4chris
DHMO :

I knew someone foolish enough to buy one of these machines;

http://www.electronichealing.co.uk/products/water_distiller.htm

It was expensive too. but deionised dhmo is bad, it upsets your sodium balance, thats why they sell mineral water... anyway dhmo - for you cynics 🙂

No, they sell mineral water because there is a demand for it. In most civilized countries, tap water is just as good or even better than bottled water.

Originally posted by Phranny
I would add gentically modified agricultural products, especially corn and sugar beets. I know Europe and Russia have banned GMO's but in the US and Canada this is a real problem. Monsanto is a very evil entity.

What's the real problem?

Originally posted by Phranny
I would add gentically modified agricultural products, especially corn and sugar beets. I know Europe and Russia have banned GMO's but in the US and Canada this is a real problem. Monsanto is a very evil entity.

I'm not sure how bad they are - I would put Du Pont higher on the list, they played a big part in the CFC problems.

Crops are grown on such a massive scale i can sort of understand GM. Its happened naturally for generations - breeding plant strains. I think the word genetic scares people but i would not worry to much about eating them, you don't pick up dna by eating it!

Plastic Kettles;

I have a theory that if you live alone and buy a plastic kettle it could kill you if its poor quality - Some plastics can trigger Non Hodkins Lymphoma. PCBs do

So you don't think I'm too crazy here is the wiki article on pvc - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride#Health_and_safety

The softeners used in pvc can leach out - if you buy a cheap plastic kettle and the inside has a chemicaly smell - you will be drinking that chemical, and it can't be good for you - phalates mentioned in the article aren't.

arabica / strong coffee

I've read that coffee is good for you, anti oxidants etc - but it has a side effect!! I had a friend who was a nurse who treated people in there homes and they told me there are a lot of people in there 40s-50s who are almost housebound because of incontinence caused by drinking too much coffee! true! I buy the mildest coffee I can get now.

Sulfur Dioxide (as a food preservative)

here is an article, apparently some can be sensitive.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-risks-sulfur-dioxide-dried-fruits-3921.html

I had a chemistry lecturer who ranted that it was bad for you, but apricots preserved with it do look a lot nicer then the natural ones so....

Coumarin that i mentioned earlier really is a bit dodgy, its common, toxic (plenty of data for that) and it seems a lot of people gag at deodorants made with it. I'm not sure why its used frankly...

A challenge for e4chris:

Find something safe to eat.

i think it is safe to eat peas wolfgang, they are safe! 😀

...edit... but apparently not potatoes
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/potatoes/p/solanine.htm 🙂

Originally posted by RJHinds
I drink skim milk and Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke and ice water. Probably good for what ails you, but I am ignorant of medicine and leave that to the medical professionals.

the darker the beverage , the more impurities. (That is certainly true with alcohol).
I also think that coke, (diet or otherwise is manufactured to be as addictive as possible). We call it "black gold".

Your diet may be free of sugar, but the nutritional value of those products is virtually nil.