Sunday, 2 December 2012
Diazolidinyl urea - Maria Amin
12 Chemicals in Cosmetics (Photograph)
Retrieved November 22, 2012 from, http://worldtruth.tv/12-chemicals-in-cosmetics/
Have you ever thought about the ingredients
in the products you slap on your skin on a daily bases? Have you ever stopped
to think that the products we use to make us look young and youthful could
actually be slowly killing us?
I bet you that you haven’t because I never
did!
One particular ingredient, which is
actually an organic chemical that is found in our products, is a preservative
called Diazolidinyl urea—don’t worry, I can’t pronounce it either! And if you
think that is hard, try pronouncing this:
1,3-bis(hydroxymethyl)-1-(1,3,4-tris(hydroxymethyl)-2,5-dioxoimidazolidin-4-yl)urea
It’s IUPAC name [1].
Diazolidinyl urea is a white powdered substance used in cosmetics and acts as a biocide
(bacterial poison) making it suitable for use in shampoos, soaps, cleaning
products, etc. [5]. In other words, it keeps the bacteria away!
This sounds like a good
thing right? Well it would be a good thing if it weren’t a potential
carcinogen—capable of causing cancer. In humans, diazolidinyl urea also acts as
a formaldehyde releaser, which means that diazolidinyl urea decomposes to
produce formaldehyde, a known carcinogen [4].
Formaldehyde releasers can have dangerous health
effects to the human body even at low levels of exposure [4]. They can irritate
the eyes, nose, and throat and create serious respiratory problems [2]. On a
serious level, formaldehyde can put those exposed to it at more risk of forming
myeloid leukemia and rare cancers of the nasal passages and upper mouth [4].
So what can you do?
Purchase products labeled formaldehyde-free or
purchase alternatives, which include but not limited to products containing essential oils, grapefruit seed extracts or even
products containing Vitamin E [3].
Keep in mind though that cosmetics and
beauty products require the addition of preservatives in order to keep bacteria
and other microbial organisms from growing in it. Without preservatives, it
also leaves us vulnerable to infections and a variety of other health issues.
So, it is up to you as a consumer to decide what is more important to you—use
beauty products that could “potentially” lead to cancer or use beauty products
that will lead to risks of infections because of the bacteria growing in it?
The choice is yours.
1. Lehmann, S. V., Hoeck, U., Breinholdt,
J., Olsen, C. E. and Kreilgaard, B. (2006), Characterization
and chemistry of imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea. Contact Dermatitis, 54: 50–58. doi:
10.1111/j.0105-1873.2006.00735.x
2. Lundov, M. D., Moesby, L., Zachariae, C.
and Johansen, J. D. (2009), Contamination versus
preservation of cosmetics: a review on legislation, usage, infections, and contact allergy. Contact Dermatitis, 60:
70–78.
3. Pure Alternatives: Preservatives. N.p.,
Dec. 2001. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.purealternatives.net/preservatives.html>.
4. “The
Determination of Certain Formaldehyde Releasers in Cosmetic Products." The Scientific Commitee of Cosmetic Products
and Non-Foods Products Inteded for
Consumers. Dec. (2001). MRU. Web. 9 Oct.
2012. <http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/sccp/out188_en.pdf>.
5. Zachariae, C., Hall, B., Cottin, M.,
Cupferman, S., Andersen, K. E. and Menné, T. (2005),
Experimental elicitation of contact allergy from a diazolidinyl urea- preserved cream in relation to anatomical
region, exposure time and concentration.
Contact Dermatitis, 53: 268–277.
Have your cake and eat it too? (Acesulfame potassium) - Shantel Coronelia
(6)
Acesulfame
potassium is a white crystal powder that is 200 times as sweet as sugar.
Acesulfame potassium is commonly found in products such as diet sodas like coke
zero presented above, baked goods and gum (1). This chemical is commonly used
to enhance sweetness and as well as to prolong shelf life. Since this chemical
is so stable it can go through more processes compared to other artificial
sweeteners. An example could be that of baking where this chemical’s bonds are
so stable that the bonds don’t break when it’s put in high temperatures, unlike
another artificial sweetener like aspartame where it deteriorates in the last
stages of baking. Due to its stability acesulfame postassium doesn’t get broken
down by the body and it doesn’t build up in the body either, suggesting that
once acesulfame potassium is consumed it directly gets absorbed through the
gastrointestinal tract to only get excreted within 24 hours (1). This means
that you can have your cake and eat it too, literally! For this reason it is
popular with diet sodas and people with diabetes.
Accidently
discovered by Karl Klaus and Harald Jensen in 1967 through good lab practice by
not washing their hands and licking their fingers to pick up a piece of paper
(3). Recently the use of acesulfame potassium has increased over the past years
from 150, 000 tons being imported worldwide in 1995 to 300,000 tons being
imported worldwide in 1999 (2).
There have been
concerns over this chemical and the use of methylene chloride in its production
(5). Methylene chloride is believed to be a carcinogenic creating concern. As
well as the concerns with the increase in insulin production, due to its
sweetness it is thought that when your body consumes it the sweet receptors
send signals to the brain of high glucose concentration. When insulin is
secreted to lower the glucose level that the body thinks it received, it lowers
the normal blood sugar levels leading to low blood sugar or otherwise known as
hyperglycemia.
The
FDA has approved this chemical as a food additive since 1988 (4). There are
presented by the FDA for acesulfame potassium to be used as an additive such as
it can be no less than 99% pure and having a fluoride content no less than 30
parts per million. The advised daily intake is quite large of 15 mg/kg/bw/d or
900 mg/p/d which is equivalent to 2 gallons of pop or 200 grams of acesulfame
potassium (5). The FDA also approved acesulfame potassium with the use of
methylene chloride since there was an insignificant amount that is found in the
final product.
(1)
Brimer, L. (2011). Chemical
food safety: Modular texts. (p. 223). Wallingford,
GBR: CABI Publishing. Retrieved from http://library.mtroyal.ca:2053/lib/mtroyal/docDetail.action?docID=10470377&p00=acesulfame
(2)
Gudoshikov, S. (2004). World
sugar market. (p. 84). Cambridge,
GBR: Woodhead Publishing Limited. Retrieved from http://library.mtroyal.ca:2053/lib/mtroyal/docDetail.action?docID=10131790&p00=acesulfame
(3)
shhonghaohg. ( n.d.). [Web log
message]. Retrieved from http://www.sinosweeteners.net/archives/275
(4)
U.S. Food
and Drug Administration. (2012, march 1). Title 21: Food and drugs. Retrieved
from http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=172.800
(5)
Food and Drug Administration.
(2003, December 17). Food additives permitted for direct addition to food for
human . Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/03-32101.htm
(6) Wayne. (Photographer). (2007). coke zero cartoon.
[Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/subjective_reality/1519444854/
Serotonin - Lisa Sills
Hey
everyone,
Have you ever wondered what
causes mood swings? Or what causes you to be extremely tired at times? Or what
causes you to feel anxious, aggression, violent or even suicidal? Your parents
probably think its just you being a hormonal teenager, but there’s a chance it
might be something different. It might be related to the serotonin levels in
your brain.
If you’ve heard about
serotonin, you’ve probably only heard about it in passing when talking about
depression, anxiety or another mental condition. But, here’s the interesting
part – serotonin is responsible for much more than just the link to mental
illness.
Serotonin acts as a
neurotransmitter, which is a type of chemical that “helps relay signals from
one area of the brain to another” (Bouchez, n.d.). Serotonin is made in the
brain, and out of the 40 million brain cells, it either directly or indirectly
influences most of those brain cells. Some include brain cells related to mood,
sexual desire, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation and
some social behaivours. While it’s primary function takes place in the brain,
90% of our body’s “serotonin supply is found in the digestive tract and in
blood platelets” (Bouchez, n.d.). Which means, after serotonin is made in the
brain, it is shuttled around our bodies through our blood, and every one of our
organs has special proteins that capture the circulating serotonin (Deans,
2011).
In order to keep our brains
and bodies as healthy with steady levels of serotonin, I recommend a regular
routine of exercise and a healthy diet. There are conflicting opinions on
whether a carbohydrate - rich diet or a protein – rich diet are best for
increasing serotonin levels (Deans, 2011), so until scientists figure it out, I
choose to stay right in the middle…with everything in moderation.
If you are having some of the
symptoms of low serotonin levels, such as extreme tiredness, mood swings,
feelings of aggression or suicide, please contact your doctor right away.
Mental illness is nothing to be embarrassed about, but it is one of the worst
things to live with if it goes untreated.
Benzalkonium chloride - Amanda Amyotte
Benzalkonium chloride is a chemical that is
comprised of 24 compounds that are structurally similar quaternary ammonium
compounds, also known as quats, that are characterized by having positively
charged nitrogen covalently bonded to 3 alkyl group substituents and a benzyl
substituent. In it’s finished form, these quats are salts with a negatively
charged nitrogen balanced by a negatively charged molecule. The most common
anion used is chloride but bromide can also be used. This chemical is also
known as alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride or ADBAC.
This chemical is used in many different skin
products, disinfectants and in antiseptics.
It is used in antiseptics as it has the advantage of not burning while
it cleans out wounds. This chemical is also used as an alternative for alcohol
in hand sanitizer as it is more gentle on the skin and does not
dry the skin out. It can help with cold sore and fever blisters and can be used
to treat tropical skin fungus or athletes foot.
This chemical is not toxic to humans in
solutions of less then 10%, but it is highly toxic to fish and aquatic
invertebrates. This is because it can break down the cell walls very easily as
it is a cationic surfactant. The chemical is not corrosive, non-staining and
safe to use on all washable surfaces, and therefore the preferred disinfectant
in hospitals.
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