Sunday, January 5, 2014

Triclosan Backlash: Should You Care?

Recently the FDA has come out and stated that companies that use antibacterial ingredients in their soap have a year to prove that they are better and more safe then regular soap.  Washing hands is a great way to help prevent the spread of germs but having the added antibacterial is pretty much mute.  The most widely used antibacterial is Triclosan.  Triclosan may actually be a hormone disruptor and have a negative effect on your Thyroid function.

Environmentally it also has negative influence.  Most chemical treatment plants do not get all of the Triclosan out of the water so it ends up in our water system.  It has been proven to have negative effects on our aquatic life.

When you are constantly exposed to these low levels,  the use of antibiotics has a diminishing return.  So when you actually need to take an antibiotic, you need a stronger or larger dose.  This allows the emergence of bacteria that are antibiotic resistant.  Not good!

As an antibacterial, it has no effect on a virus.  Seems pretty simple, yet I see this misunderstood quite a lot.

When the FDA starts asking is this really safe for a product that is already on the market,  I think it wise to pay attention.  The FDA is pretty slow in moving to approve new procedures medically, hence why many Pro athletes seek newer care in Europe, but they are generally even slower to make corrections.

In the end, just choose regular bar soap.  It's no more expensive, environmentally wiser and it most likely much healthier for you.


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