Triclosan in Toothpaste Dangers

What is Triclosan?

Triclosan is an antibacterial ingredient used in wide varieties of consumer products including toothpaste, soaps, surgical equipment and cosmetics. Its primary function is to eliminate bacteria and fungi and inhibit their growth. Although it is significant in that, Triclosan has been found to be harmful to the human health since most of our body consist of helpful bacteria like normal flora which ensure the full function of our systems and prevent harmful bacteria. Researchers have recently found dangerous effects of this chemical to human health and due to this, critics piled a lot of pressure to Food and Drug Administration to ban consumer goods that used this compound. The administration did act but only banned soaps that contained the Triclosan and relented on acting upon toothpaste products.

Triclosan Dangers

Credit: Mike Mozart

Triclosan Dangers

Triclosan Alters Hormones

On a daily basis, we do come in contact with this chemical and its effects are less visible to our naked eyes but are very harmful. Triclosan has been detected in blood and urine sample thus raising concerns about its effects on estrogen-dependent responses. These hormonal effects may contribute in disrupting metabolism and reproductive system development

Triclosan affects Body Muscles

Research carried out in California University that involved laboratory mice exposed to a dose of this substance showed a reduction of 25% of heart muscle function. It confirmed that the chemical affects muscle function and the contraction ability of the skeletal muscles. A recent study has also linked it to heart disease and failure that always lead to death.

Triclosan Causes Cancer

Cancer is one of the most feared diseases as it comes in many forms and has no cure. Even with this in mind and the fact that mice exposed to Triclosan have shown a high susceptibility of acquiring liver tumors, big corporate companies have continued to produce goods with this chemical and worse discharging it into water bodies placing the aquatic life and the environment in a perilous position. Hepatocellular carcinoma, the type of cancer found in the experimented mice, is ranked third in the causes of cancer death worldwide.

Triclosan was first registered as a pesticide, and it is important to note the side effects it can have on us. We know pesticides are used to eliminate bugs and are also harmful to human health.

Triclosan Banned From Soap But Not From Toothpaste

The FDA banned soap with Triclosan in them due to the effects mentioned above, but it is not clear to us why it did not implement the same measure to toothpaste companies, and most importantly the Colgate Company that still uses the chemical in their products. The spokesman for the same company was questioned, and he purported that they had proved to FDA that its benefits to dental hygiene surpass its harm in which case there was no reason to stop production. If other companies were stopped why are they a particular instance? Is it not still harmful despite the argument of it having anti-bacterial properties? We, therefore, urge our readers to take note of products that have content of this dangerous chemical that can cause a lot of ailments to you. We do know the saying of prevention is better than cure.

All Natural Toothpaste Brands are free from Triclosan.

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