Effects of triclosan on our health
We recently learned that Colgate Total toothpaste contains a supposedly carcinogenic chemical, which would be under study by the company. Food and Medicine Administration American, after the competent authorities issued at the beginning of the year a series of reports that would question the process by which in 1997 was admitted the sale of this toothpaste with triclosan (at 0.3%, according to the section in which the Colgate company itself indicates the components of its toothpastes).
It is characterized for being a chemical, which acts as a bacterial and fungicidal agent. It is a biocide that has been widely used for more than 40 years, acting as a disinfectant, preservative or antiseptic.
However, for some years the scientific community has been warning about the assumptions effects of triclosan on our health, that far from being beneficial to act as a disinfectant and antiseptic, could be very dangerous, not only at high doses but at low doses.
Recently some investigations were published, which collected Bone and fetal malformations in mice and rats that had been exposed to this chemical. What would seem to be a sign that triclosan would alter the endocrine system and hormonal functioning.
As published in "PNAS" in 2012, different researchers from the University of California at Davis and the University of Colorado (in the United States), triclosan hinders muscle contractions at the cellular level of both the heart muscle and muscle fibers. That is, the use of triclosan would affect the muscular and cardiac function, acting as a powerful heart depressant. In fact, the mice anesthetized in the study showed a reduction of up to 25% in the measurements of cardiac function, just 20 minutes after having been exposed to the chemical.
In regard to the difficulty of muscle contractions, the mice experienced an 18% reduction in grip strength, for 1 hour, after receiving a single dose of triclosan.
On the other hand, other scientific studies have found that triclosan would interrupt the activity of the reproductive hormone, negatively affecting testosterone and estrogen, altering the normal development of the reproductive system. It would also affect the metabolism, affecting the thyroid.
Due mainly to the fact that the chemical structure of triclosan resembles other toxic chemicals, which persist in the environment, both the Environmental Protection Agency and the US FDA are conducting new risk assessments on this chemical. .
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