 Toothpaste may not be something you typically view as hazardous to your health. Toothpaste is no doubt an integral part of you morning and evening routines. Though you probably don't question what you're putting in your mouth as you go to scrub your pearly whites, EnviroCitizen.org thinks that perhaps you should!
Conventional toothpaste really is quite hazardous in some ways, both in terms of your health and in terms of the environment. It's filled with chemicals that are both unnecessary and harmful. For example, diethylene glycol is an ingredient found in most toothpaste. It's also found in anti-freeze. In 2007, three hundred people died in Panama due to ingesting toothpaste that had accidentally been mixed with a higher than usual amount of diethylene glycol! The other problem with the chemicals found in conventional toothpaste is that you spit that toothpaste out. After leaving your mouth, it then goes down the drain and ends up in water sources. If diethylene glycol can kill humans, one might conclude that it's probably not safe for aquatic life, either! Another chemical commonly found in toothpaste, triclosan, is a registered pesticide that has been shown to destroy fragile aquatic ecosystems. Potassium nitrate, another toothpaste ingredient, is a paraben that has been shown to disrupt the hormones in animals.
You might be thinking of the pea-sized dollop of toothpaste that you use each morning and wonder if it's really going to threaten aquatic ecosystems. The problem is the cumulative effect of more than three hundred million people spitting out a pea-sized dollop of toothpaste twice a day, every day of the year. In the United States, billions of tubes of toothpaste are consumed each year!
As if the toxic chemicals weren't enough to make you think twice about conventional toothpaste, there's also the issue of the plastic containers. Billions of plastic tubes that Americans use annually end up in landfills. There are also other ingredients, such as artificial flavoring and fluoride, which can be quite harmful to your health. If a toothpaste is endorsed by the American Dental Association, it is required to contain fluoride. Fluoride has been shown to cause several health issues.
EnviroCitizen.org has an easy solution to the environmental and health problems associated with conventional toothpaste. Choose not to use them! Companies like Tooth Chips Desert Essence, Weleda and Tom's of Maine all make excellent toothpastes that don't pose any environmental or health risks. Or, you might want to consider making your own toothpaste. Simply mix baking soda, water, sea salt and essential oils for flavor, and you can create toothpaste that poses no health risks, is surprisingly gentle on the environment and reduces your waste and carbon footprint.
If you'd like to switch to an all-natural toothpaste that is not hazardous to your health or the environment, check out EnviroCitizen.org's selection of eco-friendly, natural toothpastes!
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