you put what where?
Alright ladies (and gentlemen that care about ladies)… This post is for you!
As promised, I will continue to share my journey about how I’m discovering what’s best for my health. Lately, I’ve read a lot about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and learned more and more frightening facts regarding these types of products. I know most of us have read about GMOs, and the information out there is mostly concerning the food we eat. I will write more about GMO food in another post, but today I’m going to talk about… tampons. Yep. I said it… tampons.
I have to say, I’ve never thought much about this topic, but a few months ago when I was restocking, I realized exactly that. Do I have any idea what I’m putting inside of my body? The answer was, horrifically, no. Thus, my journey on tampon research ensued. I realized that although I had done my best to avoid putting GMO food in my body, I failed in other areas. Pun intended. Here is what I found:
Most tampons and sanitary napkins in the United States contain GMO cotton. Scientists have basically genetically modified seeds with DNA that enables the plant to survive heavy doses of herbicides and insecticides. The plant then soaks up these poisons leaving YOU to contend with the outcome. There are many reasons why this is problematic… One reason being that if you are ingesting (or inserting) GMOs into your body, you are also taking in all of the toxins that the plant absorbed while it was being sprayed down with exactly the poisons it was scientifically produced to survive. You don’t need to be an expert to realize that this is harmful. No one would sprinkle poison on their tampon prior to use, right? So, why would you put poisonous GMO cotton inside of yourself? …My point exactly. A woman is estimated to use approximately 10,000 tampons in her lifetime, so this is pretty significant.
In addition to GMOs, tampons also typically contain the toxin dioxin (as a result of bleaching the cotton). Dioxins are thought to accumulate in fatty tissue, and is known as a potential carcinogen that has been implicated in several health issues. Specifically, dioxins are associated with endometriosis, developmental issues, and interfere with the immune and with hormone functioning. Call me crazy, but I don’t want to put harmful toxins (thought to cause developmental and hormonal issues) next to my ovaries (with potential future babies inside!), an important area that heavily relies upon healthy hormone functioning.
So, what options are there? Believe it or not, there are organic tampons! You can find my favorite brand linked here. My mom laughed at me when I told her about them, but quickly realized that it is a relevant issue. I’ve recently picked some of these up for myself and feel much better about using a product that I know is natural (not produced by scientists in a lab), is free of pesticides and herbicides (GMO and non-GMO products alike will contain these poisons if they’re not organic), and other toxic substances. There are other options available as well. If you are so inclined, I encourage you to go on your own journey to find products that you feel good about putting in your body… then come back and share what you’ve found!
Lauren
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