a new study found that common household chemicals known as phthalates contribute
to more than one hundred thousand deaths a year in adults aged 55 to 64. these premature
deaths have known reasons especially with heart disease but this peer-reviewed study published
in the journal environmental pollution also estimates an approximate 40 to 47 billion
lost annually in economic productivity due to these deaths what are these phthalate
chemicals aka plasticizers why are they toxic and how can you minimize your exposure to them
in this video i'm going to cover the main things that you need to know about these plasticizers
including what are the types of plasticizers or phthalates and where are they found in the
united states phthalates are found pretty much everywhere take a walk in a store for example
and chances are you'll see tons of products with these toxins in them these include certain
children's toys clothing food storage containers shampoos lotions soaps hair spray and much more
these chemicals are so common that they're known as everywhere chemicals globally we consume more
than 3 million tons of phthalates a year and some of them have been banned or restricted
in children's toys but are pretty common in food packaging makeup and other household items there
are two high-level categories of phthalates they're the low molecular weight phthalates
and the high molecular weight phthalates so with the low molecular weight phthalates they're often
found in shampoos lotions personal care products they act as binding agents and help to preserve
the fragrance in these products now the high molecular weight phthalates are ingredients in
manufacturing plastics like for flooring also food wrap in other applications they help to
soften the plastic so why are these phthalates dangerous well this new study is the first to link
phthalates directly to death the researchers used a nationally representative sample of 5 300 adults
age 20 and older the lead author leonardo trasand he said until now we have understood
that the chemicals connect to heart disease and heart disease in turn is a leading cause of death
but we've not yet tied the chemicals themselves to death phthalates interfere with their body's
hormones so these chemicals have been known to lower testosterone levels which low testosterone
means many things but one of those things is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease
people with a higher concentration of phthalates in their urine had a greater probability of dying
from heart disease now daily exposure to these chemicals causes a buildup of toxins
and can induce oxidative stress now this oxidative stress can lead to various
issues like cell and tissue damage premature aging and chronic conditions such as obesity
both in children and adults not just obesity but also diabetes breast cancer and thyroid
cancer lab studies have also linked phthalates to endometriosis and even possibly infertility
it's important to note that this study did not find a higher risk of dying from cancer
due to greater concentrations of phthalates for this study the researchers analyzed data collected
from the u.s national health and nutrition examination survey from 2001 to 2010. this
survey was administered by the national center for health statistics at the cdc now during the
survey participants had provided urine samples to measure phthalate metabolite concentrations how do
we accumulate phthalates in our bodies phthalates can get into our bodies through our skin when we
inhale them or when we eat them food is the main source of phthalate exposure it can also
happen when children crawl around and put their hands in their mouths after they touch things
so that's another way once phthalates enter our body they're ultimately processed into
metabolites and those metabolites get excreted in our urine and our feces
previously researchers believe that phthalates cleared rapidly from our body by the means of
making urine and then the urine gets excreted and these chemicals did not accumulate in our
bodies for a very large amount of time but further research has shown that this is not entirely true
while many phthalates do have short half-lifes and can be eliminated from our bodies within 12
to 24 hours by means of urine and feces some undergo further metabolism within our bodies
before being expelled and studies have found that certain metabolites of these phthalates
they end up in our sweat so they are found in the sweat of participants
even if the chemicals were not detected in their urine so this discovery means that
there's a definite accumulation of phthalate metabolites in our tissues so how do we avoid
or prevent exposure to these phthalates how do we prevent them from getting into our body
unfortunately it's currently impossible to completely avoid exposure to phthalates
they're used in hundreds if not thousands of products also manufacturers are not required
to list them on labels but there are ways to reduce your exposure to phthalates including avoid
storing food in plastic containers use stainless steel glass or ceramic instead don't heat food in
plastic containers use fragrance free body lotions soaps laundry detergents and household cleaners
avoid air fresheners and reduce your intake of processed foods of course this is easier said than
done processed foods include any food that's been washed cleaned milled chopped heated pasteurized
cooked preserved mixed or packaged basically this means anything that's not purchased in its natural
state this even includes spices flavoring salts sugars and added fats so of course it's going to
be more practical to try and switch to minimally processed or whole foods like vegetables and fruit
and avoiding fast food avoiding deli meat avoiding crackers chips breakfast cereal
frozen pizza microwave dishes and so forth the other thing that you can do is wash your hands
frequently with unscented soap so your best bet is to try and eat more fresh food cooked at home
and studies have shown that people who dine out or order in had nearly 35 percent higher phthalate
levels compared to people who ate at home when they cooked their own food now apart from food
itself recycled cardboard used as food packaging has higher concentrations of phthalates than
virgin cardboard if phthalates are harmful why are they still so common well phthalate is a term that
refers to a wide variety of chemicals so while certain countries have banned a few phthalates
there's a lot more that can be done to protect our health when it comes to phthalate use the issue
is more complex than just avoiding plastic containers even if you buy milk in a glass
bottle it may contain phthalates because the milk may have passed through phthalate containing tubes
at the processing plant even gloves that are part of the standard food handling and safety protocols
have phthalates dehp or dep is a prime example dep is the most common class of phthalates and
is found in almost everything because it helps make plastic softer and more flexible
depth can leach into liquids and foods that are packaged in plastic particularly foods
like milk cream cheese seafood and oils it's also found in bottled water it's also frequently used
in medical devices like intravenous catheters dialysis equipment blood bags transfusion tubes
and much more while it's not absorbed through the skin it can be absorbed in your mouth so if you
have contaminated hands and then you put things in your mouth that's how it gets in so as a result
hand washing with soap is an excellent way to get that depth residue off your hands as long as it's
a scent free soap without a doubt we need more research and regulations surrounding how these
phthalates are used in plastics and identified on product labels many regulatory bodies worldwide
have started to take action against the use of certain phthalates and toys still though
food packaging makeup shampoos body lotions and other cosmetics are not as regulated for
example deaf has been banned in toys in the united states europe canada israel australia and china
while europe banned depp and another phthalate dbp from cosmetics the us fda is yet to restrict them
and there's another huge hurdle when trying to regulate dalates while research is important
it can take many years before there's significant data linking a particular thoroughly to potential
health issues that it may impact when dep had been found to be toxic it was quickly replaced by dinp
and didp these chemicals were considered safe at the time but years later studies showed that
these chemicals can also have a negative impact on health the american chemistry council a group
that represents chemicals plastics and chlorine in the united states they responded that they
believe the study holds several inaccuracies and that didp dinp and other high molecular weight
phthalates have lower toxicity regardless we need not only more research but also stricter and
clearer guidelines around how the overall class of phthalates is used and labeled otherwise we'll
continue to be exposed to a daily dose of toxicity from these toxins the disease and death burden
from this will only be known several years into the future are there safer alternatives to using
phthalates one of the main issues with phthalates is that they leach from their products into food
into water and the environment as we saw with regular exposure they can accumulate in our bodies
and lead to premature death from heart disease or other reasons the biggest way to reduce the use of
phthalates in various products is for consumers to drastically reduce our use of plastics
apart from this there are chemicals that work as plasticizers but don't leach out there are
phthalate-free inks and adhesives that can be used for printing and labeling polyethylene
glycol is considered safer for use in cling wrap and food service gloves also plastic gaskets on
the underside of metal bottle caps and lids even for glass jars have safer plasticizer alternatives
you