The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World Out of Balance--and the Cutting-Edge Science that Promises Hope (No Series) (36 page)

Some schools and hospitals are replacing chemical-based cleaning agents with natural alternatives. Since September 2006, a state law has required schools in New York to use cleaning products that do not carry any endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, or scents that can trigger reactions such as asthma. Other states may soon encourage similar changes, especially if they hear from enough constituents who support such legislation. Meanwhile, most grocery stores now offer a wide array of safe and toxin-free cleaners (Biokleen, Earth Friendly, and Seventh Generation offer toxin-free product lines). As an alternative, try making your own household cleaners. It’s both easy and inexpensive. For furniture polish, mix one part white distilled vinegar, three parts olive oil, and a dash of natural lemon oil. For cleaning glass surfaces, try plain club soda or a mixture of half vinegar and half water in a pump spray bottle. More great household-cleaner recipes abound on the Web (see www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/coamerica.htm).

THINK BEFORE YOU PINK.
Our skin is the largest organ of the body—and remarkably porous and adept at absorbing toxins. Cosmetic products are full of a disturbing number of chemicals. According to another study by the Environmental Working Group, in a test of fifteen thousand cosmetic products, almost 80 percent contained harmful impurities that include known or probable carcinogens, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, plasticizers, and degreasers. Despite these impurities, many of these products were nevertheless labeled as “organic” or “natural” because the government does not regulate personal-care-product labeling, and a product need only contain one or two botanical extracts to acquire the “natural” or “organic” label. The FDA has reviewed the safety of only 11 percent of the 10,500 ingredients being used in personal-care products today. Which means the onus is on you to do your own screening. Avoid cosmetics that include parabens (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butylparabens); phthalates; sodium laureth/sodium laurel sulfate; butyl/ethyl acetate; petrolatum; cocamide DEA/lauramide DEA; diazolidinyl urea; propylene glycol; toluene; synthetic colors and fragrances; and triethanolamine. Likewise, avoid using synthetic perfumes and cologne. Studies show that many perfumes and colognes often contain phthalates and parabens (both of which are known endocrine disruptors). Instead, look for organic products that have joined the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, such as the Body Shop, Burt’s Bees, Kiss My Face, Aubrey Organics, Avalon Natural Products, and TerrEssentials. Or visit thinkbeforeyoupink.org for a list of companies that produce products that are paraben and phthalate free.

AVOID DARK HAIR DYES.
As we learned when we went through Becky’s day, women who use dark hair dye have three times the risk of developing lupus.

SKIP THE NAIL POLISH.
The European Union has been moving aggressively to remove phthalates from nail polish. Phthalates are often used in nail polish so that it doesn’t chip as readily. In the United States, where regulators wait for proof before taking action, a few major cosmetic makers are electing to eliminate phthalates from nail polish since they have had to reformulate their products for the overseas market. Some companies are also producing polish that is free of two chemicals that are equally troubling to environmental public health groups: formaldehyde, a preservative, and toluene, a solvent that helps polish to flow more evenly. Nevertheless, the majority of nail products still contain phthalates, formaldehyde, and toluene.

One concern with nail polish is that it is often used by even very young girls, and “play” polishes for children abound. To date, Procter & Gamble, Estée Lauder, and several others have eliminated phthalates from their nail polish. (Ingredient labels on nail polish sold in retail stores must now state whether it contains phthalate as an ingredient, although salon nail polish does not have to.)

WASH YOUR HANDS!
A recent study found that people infected with rhinovirus, the cause of half of all colds, contaminate many of the objects they touch, leaving an infectious path for those who follow them. The study, conducted in hotel rooms, showed that an adult with a cold who stayed one night in a hotel room left behind residual virus on everything from television remote controls and telephones to light switches and faucets. The study sheds light on how long viruses can survive on common surfaces such as doorknobs and handrails. Viruses left on surfaces are, say researchers “available for transfer for at least one day.”

In order to infect an individual, germs must reach the eyes or the nose—usually by way of our own fingers. More than a third of Americans say they seldom or never wash their hands after coughing or sneezing. The average American washes his or her hands fewer than seven times a day, and 70 percent of Americans wash their hands for less than twenty seconds, the amount of time recommended by the Centers for Disease Control for a hand-washing session. (One trick: wash your hands for as long as it takes to mentally hum your ABCs—that’s twenty seconds.) To avoid picking up germs left behind by others who have come before you, wash your hands often, avoid touching your mouth, nose, and eyes, and always wash your hands before eating. When you have to sign forms at the doctor’s office or sign a credit card receipt at the store, have your own pen ready and use it. You might also consider bringing a handkerchief when you go out to run errands or head to a doctor’s appointment. Hold it over the doorknobs or handles rather than using your bare fingers.

MAKE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND, COMMON-SENSE CHOICES.
Use your common sense when making any purchase. For instance, next time you buy a car, consider buying a used hybrid; you’ll emit less pollution into the environment as well as avoid owning the car during the period of time when the “new car smell” is at its peak as the vehicle releases manufacturing chemicals such as flame retardants and plasticizers. Drive a few extra miles (in your hybrid) to use organic dry cleaners; buy wooden toys rather than plastic ones for your children; avoid installing new carpets (which are loaded with flame retardants). Each time you think about purchasing a new item or using a product, ask yourself, based on what you have learned in these pages, whether using this product in your home will cause more chemicals to slowly leach into your body and into the bodies of those you love. If the answer is yes, search out a greener solution. They are increasingly easy to find.

Each small choice adds up. By making small, carefully calculated—and relatively simple—decisions that help us to lessen or eliminate as many chemicals as possible, we decrease the influx of agents that have the potential to tax our immune systems to the point that our bodies make costly mistakes and disease ensues. When we think of the body’s capacity to deal successfully with chemical, viral, heavy metal, and emotional stressors as analogous to a barrel that should never be filled to the point of overflowing, we can begin to see each choice we make as one that matters greatly. Nevertheless, as we make decisions that are important in keeping us healthy, we have to avoid, as best we can, living in a state of mental fear of every potential trigger that might surround us. How optimistically you perceive the world around you also impacts your stress level and your health. As Albert Einstein once said, the most important decision you ever have to make is whether you live in a friendly universe or a hostile one.

In the future, perhaps we will all have made enough educated choices, exercising cumulative veto power as consumers and demanding accountability from government officials and agencies, that that roomful of high school students we imagine talking with their teachers seventy years from now—your great-grandchildren, and mine—won’t be pressing teachers as to why we didn’t foresee the polluted, disease-laden legacy we were leaving behind. Rather, they will be asking how a generation of scientists, researchers, patients, and concerned parents were prescient enough to come together to stop an autoimmune epidemic in its tracks. There can’t be a friendlier universe—or a better legacy—to leave them than that.

AUTOIMMUNE AND RELATED DISEASES

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or more information about the diseases on this list of more than one hundred autoimmune and related disorders, please contact the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) at:

The following diseases are known to be autoimmune in nature:

The following disorders have a suspected autoimmune component:

The following allergic disorders involve a hypersensitive reaction of the immune system against the body itself: