Bisphenol A (BPA)
What is it? Bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is an organic compound found in plastics. It is considered a toxic substance in Canada, but in the United States, it can still be found in water bottles, baby bottles, medical and dental devices, toys and household electronics.
What will it do? BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can mimic the body's own hormones, leading to negative health effects.
What's the solution? To avoid the toxic substance, look for plastic products with 'BPA Free' written on the label, and try to stay away from canned foods, as BPA is found in them too.
Soy
With the popularity of vegan diets on the rise, dairy products are frowned upon more often. It's easy to turn to soy milk and other soy products as an alternative, but it's best to do so in moderation.
What is it? Soy contains phytoestrogens, a group of chemicals that mimic the hormone estrogen. Women need estrogen to regulate their menstrual cycles and have babies.
What will it do? Some experts are concerned that an excess of soy will stimulate the growth of estrogen-sensitive cancers since high exposures of estrogen over a woman's lifetime are linked with an increased risk for breast cancer.
What's the solution? Don't give up soy altogether, but keep some variety in your diet. Coconut, almond, hazelnut and hemp milk are all great alternatives, and can be found in your local grocery store. Continue..........
What is it? The harmful effects of artificial sweeteners, like aspartame, sucralose and saccharin, are a great controversy in our society. Many argue that they are human carcinogens, causing bladder, colon, breast and prostate cancer, while others argue that there is no concrete evidence to prove this.
What will they do? While we are still uncertain if they are a cause of cancer, artificial sweeteners, like Sweet N' Low and Equal, have been proven to cause headaches, depression and increased hunger.
What's the solution? To stay away from these complications, it's best to stick with natural sweeteners, like sugar, honey and agave. You're not going to gain weight if you eat sweets in moderation, and you may even feel better once you make the switch.
Hot Dogs
Hot dogs, and all processed meats, contain cancer-causing nitrites.
What will it do? According to CancerProject.org, eating 50 grams of processed meat per day (about one hot dog) increases your risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent.
What's the solution? Don't eat 50g of processed meat per day. Save the hot dogs and Subway sandwiches for a special occasion, and keep your diet full of veggies and nitrite-free meat on other days.
Donuts
Hydrogenated oils, found in donuts, white bread, fast food (burgers and fries), non-dairy coffee creamers, ice cream, and even peanut butter, are dangerous to our health.
What will it do? Our bodies do not recognize this heart-clogging oil, and have a difficult time digesting the molecules. This can cause chronic inflammation, cancer, heart disease, digestive problems and weight gain.
What's the solution? Limit your junk food intake, and look for all-natural products. All-natural peanut butter and ice cream do not contain hydrogentated oils, and are better for you too.
Laundry Detergent
According to CBS News, scented laundry detergents release carcinogens, potentially raising the risk of cancer. Since emissions from dryer vents are unregulated, there's currently no way to control this problem.
What will it do? A study published in an issue of Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health found that more than 25 "volatile" air pollutants, including the carcinogens acetaldehyde and benzene, waft through laundry vents as our clothes are getting clean. According to the American Cancer Society, Benzene causes leukemia and other blood cancers, and Acetaldehyde has been shown to cause nasal and throat cancer in animal studies.
What's the solution? If this worries you, use unscented and all-natural products.
Watching TV
What will it do? Watching TV occasionally is not going to hurt you, but making TV your life, especially from an early age, might. According to Dr Sigman, an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society and author of Remotely Controlled: How Television Is Damaging Our Lives, it is the number of hours and the age at which they start which produces the biological effects.
Exposure to TV screens affects the melatonin levels of younger children, in particular at the onset of puberty. Reduced levels of melatonin can cause DNA to produce cancer-causing mutations.
What's the solution? Limit the amount of time you spend in front of the TV, and keep small children away from it altogether.
Cosmetics
Synthentic ingredients found in your makeup, hair and skin products may put you at risk for cancer.
What will it do? Coal tar, found in hair dye, has been linked to bladdar cancer. Alpha Hydrox Acids and Beta Hydroxy Acids, commonly found in products advertised to remove wrinkles, blemishes and blotches, have been linked to increasing the risk of skin cancer. Phthalates, industrial plasticizers widely used in personal care products to moisturize and soften skin, cause a wide range of birth defects and lifelong reproductive impairments, targeting every organ in the male reproductive system and causing problems ranging from low sperm count to serious genital deformities that can lead to an increased risk of cancer.
What's the solution? To stay away from these toxins, read the labels on all of the products you buy, and don't use products with synthetic ingredients for an extended period of time.
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