Last summer, the pharmaceutical giant, Johnson & Johnson, recalled several of its Aveeno and Neutrogena spray sunscreen products after detecting low levels of benzene in them. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene has been linked to leukemia and other cancers. This recall is one of many products that have been removed from the markets due to harmful toxins.
How many everyday products in your home are hiding dangerous toxins that can potentially damage your body and brain? Let’s take a look at 10 product categories in which toxins are commonly found and how they harm your brain and neuropsychiatric well-being.
How toxins pollute your brain
Your brain is the most metabolically active organ in your entire body. This puts it at a higher risk of damage from exposure to everyday toxins. You face exposure to many chemicals, fumes, pesticides, herbicides, and more each day. Toxins are in the air (automobile exhaust, air pollution, mold, cleaning fumes), the food we eat (artificial dyes, medications, excessive alcohol, pesticides, medications), and products we apply to our skin (cosmetics, personal care items, beauty products).
Our digestive system, lungs, and pores absorb these harmful substances, which can ultimately end up in your brain. This enables those substances to poison your brain by decreasing cerebral blood flow, causing imbalances in the gut microbiome, disrupting hormone production, and contributing to psychiatric symptoms. Some doctors and neuropsychiatrists call this “toxic brain.”
How toxins cause psychiatric issues
In addition to contributing to many physical issues, such as autoimmune diseases, cancer, and diabetes, toxins can cause and contribute to many mental health symptoms like:
- Brain fog
- Psychotic behavior
- Dementia
- Learning problems
- Autism
- ADD/ADHD
- Depression
- Memory problems
- Temper outbursts
- Suicide
Conventional psychiatrists often overlook exposure to toxins as a potential root cause of symptoms. This oversight can lead to misdiagnosis. And getting the wrong diagnosis means you get the wrong treatment, which doesn’t help you get better and can actually make you worse!
Functional brain imaging using SPECT offers an opportunity to see the consequences of toxic exposure in the brain. Some researchers have identified certain brain patterns that are associated with toxicity. On SPECT, scalloping or overall decreased activity is a pattern that is associated with toxic exposure. Seeing this pattern on brain scans could be a sign of abnormal brain activity caused by toxicity.
Scalloping, or overall decreased activity, can be caused by:
- Environmental toxins
- Infections (such as Lyme disease or COVID-19)
- Hypothyroidism
- Toxicity (drugs or alcohol)
- Chemotherapy
- Carbon monoxide poisoning (firefighters)
- Anoxia (near-drowning episode, heart attack where you stopped breathing)
- Severe anemia
10 common household products with hidden toxins
Here are 10 everyday household and personal care products, some of the toxins they may be hiding, and how they impact the brain.
- Sunscreen (oxybenzone): Linked to hormone disruption
- Cosmetics (parabens): Causes hormonal issues
- Haircare products (parabens): Causes hormonal issues
- Artificial nails (acrylates): Neurotoxins
- Antiperspirant (aluminum): Potential association with Alzheimer’s disease
- Paper towels (formaldehyde): Neurodegeneration
- Fragrances in cosmetics (phthalates): Decreases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a substance that helps neurons grow; and causes hormone disruption
- Lipstick (lead): Neurotoxin that damages the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
- Air fresheners (formaldehyde): Neurodegeneration
Mattresses (polybrominated diphenyl ethers): Delayed brain development
Detox your home to heal your brain
The greater your level of exposure to common toxins, the greater your risk of damage to your brain and mental health symptoms. How can you avoid toxins? In our modern world, it’s not possible to completely eliminate all toxins. However, you can lower your risk of exposure. Begin by detoxing your home first.
- Check all your personal care products and household cleaners to see if any of them contain harmful chemicals (like that recently recalled sunscreen). Get rid of anything that may be bad for your brain.
- Try using the handy app called Think Dirty that can help you identify household products you should toss. It rates products on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the most toxic. You can also visit the website for Environmental Working Group, which has the world’s largest database on toxic ingredients in personal care products.
- Eliminate cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs (including legal substances like marijuana) that contribute to brain toxicity.
- Look at what’s in your garage (such as paint, solvents, anti-freeze) and what you’re using on your lawn (such as weedkillers and pesticides).
After tossing the toxic stuff, replace it with natural products that are low in chemicals and fragrance-free. By minimizing your exposure to toxins in your home, you can put your brain on the path to healing, which can be beneficial in reducing bothersome psychiatric symptoms.
Heal your brain
To heal a brain that has been damaged by exposure to toxins, put it in a healing environment. After reducing your exposure to toxins, fuel your brain with organic foods, nourish it with nutritional supplements, and consider hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to accelerate the healing process. You may also want to detox your brain in other areas of your life to further enhance your brain health and overall well-being.