Are "Natural" Products Really Better? Plus: The Truth About Toxic Mold
Are "Natural" Products Really Better? Plus: The Truth About Toxic Mold
Wellness culture paints "chemicals" and "toxins" as the root of all ills, but the truth is much more complicated.
It’s Q&A day! You can ask your own question here for a chance to have it answered in an upcoming edition.
Just a reminder that these answers are for educational and informational purposes only, and aren’t a substitute for medical or mental-health advice. Although I am a registered dietitian, I’m not your dietitian (unless you happen to be one of my 1:1 clients—hi!—but even then, this email isn’t a session).
The first question today is available to all subscribers (about “natural” products), and there’s a bonus one for paid subscribers (about toxic mold).
I am curious your thoughts on other “wellness” items. To be more specific, the products on the market that claim “natural is better” such as body wash, dish soap, detergents, fragrances, etc. You name it and I’m sure there’s a natural version of it out there. I had switched out all of my products at one time to try to use as many “natural” or “free & clear” items as I could because of the argument that the chemicals in these products can cause cancer or other health conditions, which as you may know, can become quite expensive since these products cost quite a bit more than their counterparts. Is the “all natural” craze of beauty and home products all it’s cracked up to be? Should we be steering clear of anything with chemicals as much as possible? Or is this another tactic used to scare us into spending more money?
Thank you for shedding some light, Christy!
—Katie
Thanks so much for this question! I know how you feel, as someone who once switched out all my products for similar reasons.
This issue can be complicated, as we’ll discuss. But in general, I think the “natural” products trend definitely is not all it’s cracked up to be. And I say that having worked as an editor at an eco-friendly lifestyle magazine back in the early aughts, where in some ways I helped fan the flames of this then-burgeoning trend.
There are many problems with the natural-products industry (including that the term “natural” isn’t regulated and is essentially just marketing), but one of my pet peeves is how it makes people fear chemicals. In reality, everything is made up of chemicals. So-called natural products, “whole” foods, plants and animals and every other being on the planet—all of it is 100% chemicals. Avoiding chemicals would be impossible.
When people in wellness culture say chemicals, they’re often referring to synthetic chemicals as opposed to naturally occurring ones, or potentially toxic chemicals as opposed to “safe” ones. But these distinctions can be slippery and don’t always fit into neat binaries.
Take the synthetic/natural divide, for example. Synthetic or “man-made” chemicals might sound scary to some people, but they’re often more stable, which can help ensure that you’re actually getting the correct amount (or any amount) of the active ingredient in every bottle of a product. This is true for fragrances, antioxidants, and many other compounds in personal-care products.
Synthetic chemicals can also make for better medications, like the synthetic thyroid hormone I take for my Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (levothyroxine). There is still a “natural” form of thyroid replacement on the market, which I often see recommended in wellness culture and which consists of thyroid extract from pigs. But numerous studies over the years have found that thyroid extracts have variable contents and aren’t as effective as the synthetic version, which is now recommended as the first-line treatment. The “natural” version, meanwhile, is not FDA approved.
I sometimes hear the argument that “natural” products are helpful—even essential—for people with allergic skin issues like contact dermatitis and eczema, which can be aggravated by some synthetic chemicals like fragrances. And I understand that some people might find “clean” products helpful in that situation.
But as someone with both of those conditions myself, I’ve done a fair amount of research on this issue and have found that products with the National Eczema Association’s seal of acceptance or a 100 rating in the SkinSafe database are more effective for me and many others—and those products are mostly from conventional brands, made largely from synthetic ingredients rather than “natural” ones. Yes, those products are free from synthetic fragrances, but they’re also generally free from essential oils and other potentially irritating “natural” ingredients, too.
In fact, many people have allergies to ingredients like the lavender, goat’s milk, chamomile, and other herbs and essential oils found in “clean” personal-care and household products. Even products promoted as healing sensitive skin can provoke reactions. Just because something is “plant-based” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better—and in fact, that’s a phrase I’ve personally come to view as a red flag for possible skin irritation.
As for the idea that products made from “natural” chemicals are safer: that’s not always the case. This is where things get a bit complicated, because I don’t want to make you fear everything—I think a lot of people would do well to be less obsessive about what’s in their products, as I discuss in The Wellness Trap. But many “natural” ingredients in personal-care products have been found to have toxic properties, especially in certain contexts and dosages. It turns out that when chemicals from plants are concentrated and applied to skin or other parts of the body, they’re not always as benign as they might seem.
That said, fears about personal-care and household products causing health problems are often overblown in wellness culture. A lot of these fears are fomented by people who want to sell you “natural” beauty and household products.
Again, it’s also complicated: Some products do contain chemicals that are potentially linked to cancer—though in many cases the evidence is mixed, and it’s usually a case of correlation and not causation. I can understand being worried about cancer and wanting to avoid anything with even a potential link to it. But also: Dose matters, which is lost in a lot of wellness-culture discussions about toxins.
In fact, there are limits on what kinds of chemicals can be used in conventional household and beauty products for precisely this reason: to avoid dosages that are toxic to humans. The FDA regulates cosmetics, and it’s illegal for these products to contain ingredients that make them harmful when used as directed or expected.
Granted, cosmetics, like supplements, are not subject to pre-market regulations, which means they don’t have to be independently tested for safety or efficacy before going to market. Perhaps that should change, although in my opinion the level of potential harm from supplements is probably greater, given that they’re ingested (often in very high doses) instead of just being applied to the outside of the body.
Similarly, the Consumer Product Safety Commission regulates household cleaners (and thousands of other products), but that regulation doesn’t prevent all sources of harm. Products can be toxic if ingested by children or pets. Some people may be more sensitive to cleaning products, such as those with asthma. And people who are occupationally exposed for hours a day (who also tend to be more marginalized) are at higher risk of certain conditions like respiratory issues.
What’s more, some chemicals from household products, like so-called forever chemicals, can build up in the environment and potentially cause harm to humans as well as other species. I can definitely understand wanting to avoid those, although at this point it’s very difficult given their ubiquity.
So what does all of this mean for you as a consumer?
I think in most cases, there probably isn’t a compelling reason to switch to “natural” products for personal health. Claims that these products are safer and better for you are often just marketing and aren’t based on sound science. In cases where there is a potential environmental issue that affects human and ecological well-being, it’s far more effective to address that at the policy level, rather than through individual choices (which are ultimately a drop in the bucket compared to how widespread these products are).
If you want to choose some “natural” products because of environmental concerns—or even just for aesthetic reasons—and it’s easy to switch and economically accessible, maybe that feels worthwhile to you (or maybe not). I’d just recommend trying to make sure this stays a minor concern, proportionate to the minor role that household and personal-care products should play in our lives.
And if it ever starts to feel like your relationship with these products is interfering with your life, breaking the bank, bleeding over into an orthorexic relationship with food, or leading down a slippery slope to other harmful wellness trends, it’s probably time to reconsider. You aren’t personally responsible for making changes that really should be systemic, and the concept of “voting with your dollar” is a convenient way for large corporations to pass the buck to consumers—sometimes at great cost to us, in terms of both our bottom line and our overall well-being.
Thanks, Katie, for the great question, and thanks to all the free subscribers for reading! Paid subscribers can stick around for the bonus Q&A, and everyone can ask their own questions for a chance to have them answered in an upcoming newsletter.
Fyi, the question below mentions a specific protocol that promises healing from “toxic” mold exposure.
Hi Christy! Your work and books have changed my life. Thank you! I am wondering if you could share your opinion and insight into Dr. Shoemaker’s protocol for healing from toxic mold exposure? I spent 3 years and a TON of money working with a naturopathic doctor who diagnosed me with CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome)—apparently caused by mold exposure from water-damaged buildings. After reading your newest book, The Wellness Trap, I was alarmed with how many red flags and similarities popped up with my experience trying to “heal” from CIRS. My naturopath had me taking so many supplements, removing dairy, gluten and eggs (based on blood tests), and a host of other things that made my life very hard and ridden with anxiety.
I now can see that the symptoms that were diagnosed as CIRS are just lingering effects of anorexia that I hadn’t fully let go of. However, I’m very keen to get your thoughts on Dr. Shoemaker’s work. How much of it is legit (if any)? There are many people who claim to have made it through the Shoemaker protocol and feel better, and it’s interesting to me that Dr. Shoemaker is not your typical “wellness” type doctor. Thanks so much for all you do!
—Jessie