What is it about germs that just scare us? Germs actually make us stronger yet thanks to big business we’ve become afraid of them. We see commercials, newspaper and magazine ads that entice us to use antibacterial products to ‘protect our family’. Marketing hype is a funny thing, it’s there to sell a product and make money rather than to look after your well being.
I’m pretty open about that fact that I don’t care for anything antibacterial because of the serious risks than can come with using it.
Let’s take a tiny step back and talk about bacteria in our body. Bacteria actually outnumbers our own cells by 10 times. 10 times! Not all bacteria are bad and dangerous, in fact most bacteria are good. Consider for a moment that 80% of our immune system is located in our gut. It is our immune system that’s designed to interact with bacteria, this process ultimately creates a stronger system.
Here’s why I’m against anything antibacterial:
It’s All Marketing Hype
No documented benefit above regular soap and water exists.
Resistant Bacteria
Antibacterial soaps are involved in creating antibiotic-resistant super bacteria – which encourages the growth of superbugs that are resistant to antimicrobial agents.
Hormone Disruption
Think of your skin as a giant mouth. Anything you put on your skin immediately seeps into your blood stream without being processed through the liver, making them more potent than food brought into your body via the mouth. The chemicals used in these antibacterial soaps act as an endocrine disruptor (women- this is all about your thyroid and hormones!) The body is totally interconnected, so once your hormones are unbalanced other challenges will likely soon follow.
The Environment
Beyond disruption in your body, these chemicals are washed down drains and into the water system- they’ve actually been found in waterways around the world. This affects marine life and the ever-important algae.
My best advice? Get dirty! Expose yourself to nature. And when you need to wash your hands, do it with natural soap and water. Below is my current favorite natural soap.
What to you think? Are you ready to let go of your antibacterial products?
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I like this liquid castile soap. I use it on everything – in my laundry, in my shower and for my hands. I actually buy a half-gallon at of it at a time; it works great in this awesome little pump foamer. I use these bar soapsfor travel.
Kick that up a notch by adding in a little essential oil – like lavender or lemon too. Here is my simple natural foaming hand soap recipe.
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