10 Toxic Products to Ditch Today

In July, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily recalled 5 of its Neutrogena and Aveeno spray sunscreen products due to a cancer-causing chemical. The personal care products giant acknowledged detecting low levels of benzene in the sunscreen. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene has been linked to leukemia and other cancers. This latest recall joins a laundry list of other products that have been pulled from shelves because they contain harmful toxins. How many everyday products in your home are hiding dangerous toxins that can potentially damage your body and brain? This blog highlights 10 product categories where toxins commonly lurk and how they can harm your brain and neuropsychiatric well-being. How many everyday products in your home are hiding dangerous toxins that can potentially damage your body and brain?

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How Toxins Pollute the Brain

What is the most metabolically active organ in the human body? The brain. Because of this, your brain is at risk for damage from everyday toxins. On a daily basis, you’re exposed to a host of chemicals, pesticides, fumes, and products. Everyday toxins can be found in the air we breathe (air pollution, automobile exhaust, cleaning fumes, mold), the substances we ingest (pesticides, artificial dyes and preservatives, medications, excessive alcohol), and the products we spray or rub on our skin (personal care items, cosmetics, beauty products). Our lungs, digestive system, and pores absorb these harmful agents, which can eventually make their way to the brain. And that’s where these sneaky toxins can poison the brain by decreasing cerebral blood flow, disrupting hormone production, causing imbalances in the gut microbiome, and even contributing to psychiatric symptoms. It can create something the neuropsychiatrists at Amen Clinics call “Toxic Brain.”

How Toxins Cause Psychiatric Issues

In addition to contributing to a host of physical issues—such as autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and cancer—toxins are a hidden cause of many mental health symptoms. For example, exposure to toxins can increase the risk of:

• ADD/ADHD
• Depression
• Memory problems
• Brain fog
• Psychotic behavior
• Dementia
• Learning problems
• Autism
• Temper outbursts
• Suicide

Traditional psychiatrists often overlook exposure to toxins as a potential root cause of symptoms. This common 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!

Brain SPECT Imaging: Seeing Toxic Exposure in the Brain

Functional brain imaging using SPECT offers an opportunity to see the consequences of toxic exposure in the brain. Based on the world’s largest database of over 300,000 brain scans related to behavior, Amen Clinics has 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 prompts Amen Clinics physicians to dive deeper to investigate what could be causing the abnormal activity. Scalloping, or overall decreased activity, can be caused by:

• Toxicity (drugs or alcohol)
• Environmental toxins
• Infections (such as Lyme disease or COVID-19)
• Hypothyroidism
• Chemotherapy
• Carbon monoxide poisoning (firefighters)
• Anoxia (near-drowning episode, heart attack where you stopped breathing)
• Severe anemia

To determine what’s causing the abnormal brain activity, it’s important to examine your history and do appropriate blood tests and lab work. With a complete evaluation, a clearer picture comes into view.

10 Common 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.

1. Artificial nails (acrylates): Neurotoxins
2. Antiperspirant (aluminum): Potential association with Alzheimer’s disease
3. Paper towels (formaldehyde): Neurodegeneration
4. Sunscreen (oxybenzone): Linked to hormone disruption
5. Cosmetics (parabens): Causes hormonal issues
6. Haircare products (parabens): Causes hormonal issues
7. Fragrances in cosmetics (phthalates): Decreases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a substance that helps neurons grow; and causes hormone disruption
8. Lipstick (lead): Neurotoxin that damages the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
9. Air fresheners (formaldehyde): Neurodegeneration
10. Mattresses (polybrominated diphenyl ethers): Delayed brain development

Want to find out more about harmful products? Check out 23 everyday toxins that destroy thinking.

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 world, it’s impossible to eliminate all offenders, however, you can reduce your risk. Considering how much time we spend in our homes, doing a thorough detox of your residence is a good place to start.

• 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.
• Don’t forget to 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).
• Rid your home of any cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs (including legal substances like marijuana) that contribute to brain toxicity.

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.

Start a Brain Rehab Program

To rehab 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. A toxic brain can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.