What IS that Stuff ... Checking Suspicious Chemicals

There are tons of strange chemicals, drugs and other suspicious materials around you; how do you find out if they are hazardous? I'm a great advocate for looking up health effects of the food additives listed on packaging labels, your prescription drugs and other chemicals around you, but you may not know where to start. Here are a few clues:

• Check out the Material Safety Data Sheet or MSDS. Any chemical used in manufacturing must have an MSDS so workers and employers know how to handle it safely. A quick google search for 'chemname' MSDS will usually get a few hits with material data safety sheets for the chemical. If not, dig deeper and expect to find problems.
• Contact the manufacturer and ask about published information and health studies.
• Search on-line, or better still, get help from a librarian. (Yes, there really are still librarians out there)

If you find WAY too much contradictory information to draw a conclusion, dig deeper; you may find books on the stuff, and you may be inspired to do some serious reading. I promise you this- research a few food additives or household chemicals this way, and you'll learn far more than just the answers than you were looking for. You will start to understand the stuff you put in your body. There's a powerful education waiting for you, and it can change your life!

Poison Pills ... Feel better??

Modern medicine does some great things... but there is a cost. No, I don't mean the rising cost of health care, I mean the cost to your body in damage from toxic drugs. We all know about the powerful toxins, Chemo and Botox, but drugs we take routinely can do lots of damage, too. Too often, we try to 'get better' by taking poison pills.

It's a good idea to consider any drug you use, as a toxic, hazardous material unless proven otherwise. Prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and natural supplements will often be toxic to the liver at some dosage. The kidneys also can be damaged or destroyed by drug toxicity.

Given the purpose of these strong chemicals, it's hardly surprising that hundreds of FDA approved medications have potential to do serious damage to internal organs. Generally, most drugs are poisonous if you take too much, take it too long, or take them in the wrong combinations. Health care professionals are busy, goal directed and sometimes they don't ask enough questions. In the US, a new organ failure victim is added to the transplant waiting list every 10 minutes. If you want to be a survivor, don't wait for the doctor or pharmacist; ask lots of your own questions about chemicals you put in your mouth, unless you're prepared to add your name to that growing transplant list.