Without realizing it, we are exposed to chemicals every day. This way we also get hormone-disrupting substances. In daily care products such as body lotion, deodorant, hand soap and even lip balm, hormone-disrupting substances can be found.
Investigate hormone-disrupting substances 111 care products
Antidote Foundation has researched endocrine disrupting substances, 111 popular care products were examined. 60 percent of these products contain one or more hormone-disrupting substances. The foundation researched shampoo, deodorant, body lotion, lip balms, hair styling products, hand soap and hand cream. You can read the report here:
‘Not just one substance’
Annelies den Boer of the Antidote Foundation indicates that we can make quite a difference with the substances you ingest in one day: ‘It is usually said:’ It is only one substance that you ingest. And there is only a very small amount in it. ‘ But we don’t just get one substance. ‘
Parabens
Some products contain multiple parabens. Parabens are substances that have been a concern for years, says Annelies den Boer. Butyl paraben has been on the list of Substances of Very High Concern this year‘because of its hormone-disrupting effect.
Fertility
Toxicologist Prof. Majorie van Duursen explains that the effects of these substances only become clear at a later stage. ‘Usually it only manifests itself when you look at the function of your body, so that means if you have to learn or if you want to have children later in life. So although the effects can occur quite early in life, they are not actually noticeable later in life. ‘
What can you do yourself as a consumer?
The substances are all listed on the label, but then you will have to go to the chemist with a magnifying glass to study them carefully. With regard to parabens, toxicologist Van Duursen gives the following tip: “If it says ‘no parabens’ on the packaging, it usually is.”
App
We have to wait for a good app that you can bring to the store in the Netherlands, say the experts. In Belgium you have the app Yuka, but this app does not work properly in the Netherlands. ‘It would be best if (potentially) hormone-disrupting substances were no longer used at all,’ says Den Boer.
– .
