Let's TALC about health!

Let's TALC about health!

From my humble observations it seems that the public awareness of what constitutes TALC is very low. It’s even lower when it comes to its long-debated toxicity. For many of us talc is simply talc. I hope the short text below will cast some light on the murky clouds surrounding talc. I decided not to give talc the benefit of the doubt and discontinued using it (and any other products containing it) long time ago. I use a minimal amount of cosmetics from well-established manufacturers of safe cosmetics (recently I seem to favour Urtrekram, but there are many other manufacturers whose products might be locally available in your areas, such as Jason, Burt's Bees, Weleda).  

TALC [(derived from the Persian tālk (تالک )] refers to both mineral talc and industrial mineral products that are marketed under the name talc and contain proportions of mineral talc that range from about 35% to almost 100%. Talc occurs naturally in many regions of the world and its softness has made it valued for centuries as a body powder. Mineral talc occurs naturally in a platy (flat) form, but may also occur as asbestiform fibers (which describes the physical form and does not imply the presence of asbestos). Mineral talc products prior to mid-1970’s may have contained asbestos fibers. Nowadays the purer forms of talc (approx >90%) are used in many cosmetic products, including those for feminine hygiene, baby powders, soaps, blushes, powder compacts and eye shadows, foundations and beauty creams.

Unfortunately, numerous pathological studies have shown that particles and fibres that enter the body can migrate to distant organs. Analogously, following perineal application, talc particles can migrate from the vagina to the peritoneal cavity and ovaries. The association between talc use in the perineal region and ovarian cancer was investigated by a number of research groups worldwide. A very large number of studies have found that women who used talc experienced excess risks of ovarian cancer; some results were statistically significant and some were not. Some studies linked the use of talc with other forms of malignant tumours. In 2006 International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of WHO) evaluated data available on TALC and classified it as a possible carcinogen (group 2B).

International Agency for Research of Cancer - evaluation of talc: 

IARC evaluation of TALC

Research report on perineal use of talc and risk of ovarian cancer:

Abstract of Research Report

Big businesses can afford strong lobby groups. Here is a European lobby group which clearly downplays the research findings about toxicity of talc:

EUROTALC

The World According to Monstanto

The World According to Monsanto

For many people living in Europe the name Monsanto most likely means nothing, but to many other inhabitants of the world it means destruction, extortion, exploitation, obliteration, extinction. Its looming presence should worry all of us as I don't think the beast's hunger has been satisfied yet.  

In a long time I haven't seen a documentary as good as this one. It's a foolproof guide to understanding the dynamics of seizing the power at all costs.

Also read:

Toxins from Monsanto's GMO Found in Human Blood and Passed on to Unborn Children 

Yay! Monsanto facing GMO lawsuit

The Story of Cosmetics

The Story of Cosmetics

I often wonder what goes through people's  minds. I often wonder why some things never go through people's minds. Being a zealous toxicista, I always keep under close surveillance what my fellow shoppers in the queue are unloading onto the check-out belts. Shopping baskets don't lie; they tell the naked truth and it's not always pretty. They often tell me a story of people whose minds seem to be in some kind of semi-comatose state in which they trustingly embrace the world of goods carefully displayed for them on the endless shelves of the endless shops. Some goods have sunk into our minds to such a depth that their existence is seldom questioned. In a simplistic and almost iconic way soap is soap, shampoo is shampoo, conditioner is conditioner, frizz control spray is frizz control spray, body lotion is body lotion, face cream is face cream, foot cream is foot cream, eye cream is eye cream, anti-cellulite cream is anti-cellulite cream, nail moisturiser is nail moisturiser, hand cream is hand cream, make-up remover is make-up remover (...). They are. Unquestioned, indisputable, axiomatic, absolute.

Not tailored to our needs. It's our needs that are manipulatively tailored around them.

Not to the benefit of our earthly bodies, but to the benefit of corporate bodies.

Not 'pure as nature desired', but  purely synthetic chemical cocktails.

Don't let your mind be silenced.  

DOUBT. ASK. CHALLENGE. Look behind those glamorous labels to find THE TRUTH.

THE STORY OF COSMETICS (2010) by Annie Leonard