When it comes to approving products for human use, regulators like the FDA often don’t recognize a difference between adults and children when it comes to what is safe to consume. And while you’d be correct to think that if it isn’t good for children, it probably isn’t good for adults either–and vice versa. However, a study published in the British Medical Journal found that children have a greater risk of developing cancer than adults due to children still being in a development stage.
So, to minimize that risk, here are five common household items with known carcinogens. A few of them are truly shocking!
Infant Formula – What??? The very food we’re sold is a carcinogen? It’s true. Most baby formulas have been treated with a common insecticide/herbicide/fungicide called Cupric Sulfate. This chemical has more than 50 known adverse side effects, such as:
- Nausea
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Lung lesions
- Lung inflammation
- Reduced body weight
- Jaundice
Baby formula does exist without this chemical. One example is Similac Sensitive. You can learn more or purchase it here.
Caffeine – It’s unlikely that you’re waking your kids up with a cup of coffee, but what about caffeinated soda like Coke or Pepsi? Still no? Ok, well you might be surprised at where this little drug shows up. Small amounts can be found in non-cola sodas like root beer and orange soda. It’s often snuck into chocolate and ice cream. It’s very common to put caffeine into over-the-counter pain relievers, even children’s pain relievers. And it’s even made its way into certain brands of breath fresheners, oatmeal, and beef jerky.
Children’s Multivitamins – Your typical children’s multivitamin does more harm than good. Not only are the gummy vitamins mostly sugar, containing on average only 9% of active ingredients, most vitamins you pick up at the grocery store contain various cancer-causing (and other ailments) ingredients such as Aspertame, Cupric Oxide, Coal Tar and Sorbitol.
The general marketing strategy of these products is to make them as much like candy as possible to make kids excited about them, which makes parents excited by them, and when you add in the sense that what you’re giving your child is healthy, you’ve got product flying off the shelves.
Of course, there are good vitamins for kids out there. Start at My Natural Market for organic and GMO-free vitamin options.
Bath Products – It’s not uncommon for some children’s bath products to contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. It has been found in some really popular brands, such as Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Sesame Street Bubble Bath, Huggies baby wash, Baby Magic Baby Lotion, and most American Girl shower products.
BPA – This one is so difficult to avoid. It is one of the highest-volume chemicals produced worldwide. It’s almost ubiquitous in any sort of plastic container. Short for Bisphenol A, this industrial chemical is a crucial ingredient in making clear, hard plastic, which is why you find it everywhere you look from your water bottle to your baby utensils to lunchboxes and everything in between.
The best policy is to use glass when possible. Obviously, glass has its dangers in the hands of small children, so you CAN find plastic containers without BPA and BPA-free products online.
It’s true that being constantly hyper-vigilant can be exhausting. And no parent is perfect, but it’s better to know about some of the more important hidden problems that could exist in your home. Keep your eye out. Parents unite!