Why “Chemical” is NOT a Bad Word

There. I said it. “Chemical” is NOT a bad word. Here is a simple definition of “chemicals” according to Scientific American - Chemicals are elements, or a combination of elements, with a specific composition and structure. All matter is made of chemicals!

Unfortunately in today’s world, this term is often misunderstood and misrepresented. Chemicals are considered offensive, feared, are the source of cancer and many other illnesses according to the anti-science movement. Because of this they are given a bad reputation. NEWS FLASH: We are chemicals. The air we breathe is chemicals. The food we consume is chemicals that are digested by chemicals that turn them into more chemicals.

I see so many articles circulating on social media sites suggesting that the ingredients in many sunscreens, skincare products and cosmetics could be harmful or toxic…mostly coming from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and bloggers who take extreme positions against thousands of sunscreens and skincare products that have been used safely and effectively for years. My honest advice to you is to use caution when reading recommendations from these extreme groups. I would rather trust skin experts and organizations such as the Skin Cancer Foundation any day over the opinion of some people and organizations that just profess the word "chemical" is bad. Oxygen is a "chemical" but we all need it to breathe, right?

I used to be one of those individuals who believed everything the EWG said. I thought the word “chemical” meant toxic. I only used organic anything, including sun protection and skincare. I then developed a terrible bacterial infection on my face that I had to deal with for 3 months from these so-called safe organic products recommended by the EWG. I'm thankful my dermatologist helped clear up my skin and I learned to follow advice from trusted experts and I found Rodan + Fields to help transform my skin. I would never want anyone else to get a skin bacterial infection like me.

Then, I came across this informative article from ‘The Logic of Science’ on simple chemistry facts that everyone should understand before talking about science that prompted me to write this post. I hope this information helps shed some light on “chemicals” so you don't have to PANIC when you come across another one of those anti-chemical, anti-science articles.

Everything is Made of Chemicals

When you hear the word “chemical,” do you first think “toxin?” As long as something is a chemical, that means it’s toxic and bad for you, right?

Let’s get this straight: All matter is made of chemicals (excluding subatomic particles). You consist entirely of chemicals. All food (even organic food) consists entirely of chemicals. The air we breathe consists entirely of chemicals. Herbal remedies consist entirely of chemicals. A “chemical-free lifestyle” is impossible.

‘The Logic of Science’ article I’m referring to in this post explains that “You can only survive without chemicals for 1-2 minutes, after that you will suffocate from a lack of oxygen. Right now, you are breathing in dioxide (a.k.a. oxygen) and your body is using that chemical as an electron acceptor for a process known as cellular respiration. This process takes carbohydrates such as glucose (which is a chemical) from your food and breaks those carbohydrates down in order to release carbon dioxide (a chemical), water (also a chemical) and energy stored in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules (still chemicals), and it is ATP which fuels your entire body. This process also involves numerous enzymes and electron acceptors such as acytle coenzyme A and nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NADH), all of which are chemicals.” Are you getting the picture here?

Also, the length of a chemical’s name does not indicate how toxic it is. For example, the Food Babe is famous for proclaiming that you shouldn’t eat anything you can’t pronounce or spell. This is absurd. Consider the following chemicals: retinal, cyanocobalamin, ascorbic acid and cholecalciferol. I would venture to say that a large number of people would struggle to pronounce several of these words. In reality, these are simply the chemical names for vitamins A, B, C and D. Similarly, all living things contain DNA, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. Again, it’s a long, difficult name to pronounce, it sounds bad because it’s an acid, but it is essential for life and is in nearly all foods. So the moral of this story is to not base your diet or medical practices on how difficult things are to say or pronounce.

It’s the Dose that Makes a Chemical Toxic

We’ve been eating fruits and vegetables and using parts of them in skincare products for thousands of years. Many of them contain naturally-occurring chemicals and toxins. For example, peach pits contain cyanide. Oranges have methanol in them. Amygdaline, a naturally occurring cyanide, is found in apple seeds. Almonds, cassava roots, bamboo shoots, apricot and plum stones, for instance, all contain chemical compounds which could lead to the formation of hydrogen cyanide.

It’s the dose that makes them toxic. Too much of a good thing is not so good for us. Essentially all chemicals are safe at a low enough dose, and essentially all chemicals are toxic at a high enough dose, whether natural or synthetic.

'The Logic of Science’ article goes on to state that “Everyone reading this currently has mercury, arsenic, cyanide, formaldehyde, aluminum, lead and a host of other “toxic” chemicals in your body right now. Further, you would have those chemicals even if you had spent your entire life hundreds of miles from anyone else, ate only organic food that you grew yourself, never used pharmaceuticals or vaccines, etc. These are chemicals that are normally in our environment and we acquire them through our food, water, etc. Some of these (such as formaldehyde) are even produced by our bodies. Even radioactive chemicals like uranium are often present. So clearly there are safe levels of “toxic” chemicals since all of us normally have them in our bodies. Inversely, “safe” chemicals such as water are toxic in high enough doses. People have, in fact, overdosed on water. To be clear, they did not drown, they overdosed. Water is actually dangerous to your body at high enough levels.”

The importance of this cannot be overstated. No chemical is inherently safe or inherently dangerous. So, the next time that someone tries to scare you about the “toxic chemicals” in your food, skincare, cosmetics, vaccines, detergents, etc. ask them for two pieces of information:

1. What is the toxic dose in humans?

2. What is the dose in the product in question?

You have to look at the numbers. It was Paracelsus who said, “All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison.” Common sense tells us that everything in moderation is what works. Too much of a good thing can end up being bad for you, synthetic or natural.

Natural vs. Synthetic Chemicals

Nearly every product today is made of natural and synthetic ingredients. Some natural ingredients can be very harmful and toxic to us while some synthetic ingredients are very beneficial to us. Remember again that essentially all chemicals are dangerous at a high enough dose and safe at a low enough dose. This holds true for synthetic and natural chemicals. Nature is full of chemicals such as cyanide and arsenic that are dangerous at anything but a very low dose, so there is no reason to think that the “naturalness” of a chemical is an indicator of its healthiness.

A lot of chemicals, both synthetic AND natural, are what we call endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that at certain doses can interfere with the endocrine system or hormones in mammals. These disruptors can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects and other developmental disorders. Any system in the body controlled by hormones can be derailed by hormone disruptors. The disruptors can produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune effects in both humans and wild life. Again, you have to measure the risk against the hazard and if the chemicals have been clinically tested for safety.

Take for example, in skincare and cosmetics, parabens are used at a very low concentration – less than 1%. In toxicity studies, chemicals are tested at very high concentrations. The goal of these studies is to administer a high enough dose of a substance to cause death or harm to the test subject. At an extremely high dose, nearly all chemicals are toxic. You cannot conclude that the same substance at a much lower dose that you would find in a skincare or cosmetic product would be just as toxic. You’d need to repeat the study at the same dose used in the actual skincare and cosmetic products themselves. You would have to compare apples to apples instead of apples to oranges in order to get a true study result. In the ideal scenario, you would also repeat the study in human beings, not lab mice. Additionally, the manner of application matters (topical, injection or oral) as well as the contact time (how long was the subject exposed?).

The concern about parabens is over their potential to be endocrine disruptors by mimicking human estrogens. In comparison, parabens are 100,000 times weaker than human estrogens. In order for parabens to have an estrogenic effect, the dosage would have to be at least 25,000 times the dosage used in skincare and cosmetics.

Chemical Properties

Chemical compound combinations are important when it pertains to chemical properties. ‘The Logic of Science’ articles states this:

“Chemical compounds are made by combining different elements or even molecules, and the final product may not behave the same way as all of its individual parts. Sodium chloride is a classic example of this concept. Sodium is extremely reactive and will literally explode if it contacts water, and chlorine is very toxic at anything but an extremely low dose. Nevertheless, when we combine them we get sodium chloride, which is better known as table salt. Notice that table salt does not have the properties of either sodium or chlorine. It does not explode when it contacts water and you cannot get chlorine poisoning from it no matter how much of it you eat. The combination of those two elements changed their properties and it would be absurd to say that “salt is dangerous because it contains sodium.” The sodium in salt no longer behaves like sodium because it is bound to the chlorine. Therefore, when you hear a claim that something contains a dangerous chemical, make sure that the chemical isn’t bound to something that makes it safe.”

Think Safe and Effective

Yes, it’s true that not all chemicals are good for us. Even those that are, such as water or fluoride, can be harmful if we are exposed to too much or in the wrong way. All matter is made of chemicals, so it’s important to be more explicit.

I agree that whenever possible, use ingredients that are organic or natural...when that means they are both safe and effective. Safe and effective are key! Natural isn't always safe. Bacterial contamination is natural but you don't want that on your face! Poison ivy is natural, but would you rub it on your face? Bananas are natural, but they're not effective on your wrinkles, sun damage or other concerns.

When it comes to chemicals, it’s better to do your own research and investigate specific ingredients instead. Study up on the most common ingredients, where they’re derived from and how they’re processed. Be in the know before you start to PANIC when coming across an article on the internet saying that “chemicals” are bad.

SOURCES:

https://thelogicofscience.com/2015/05/27/5-simple-chemistry-facts-that-everyone-should-understand-before-talking-about-science/

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/chemical-is-not-a-bad-word/