As small a gland as your thyroid may be, it is a vital to your survival and overall health. It controls your metabolism and hormonal balance. It’s a very delicate organ and there are numerous things that can cause damage to its functioning. One of those things is non-stick chemicals such as the coating on your pots and pans, the inside lining of water bottles, your rain coat (!) and even fast food containers and the inner lining of microwave popcorn bags. One other little thing you may not even think of is…. dental floss.
Yes you read that correct – dental floss is often coated with non-stick chemicals to make it glide between your teeth more easily.
In a recent study of over 30,000 people, published in the journal Epidemology, researchers discovered that more than 10 percent of people exposed to drinking water contaminated with perfluoroctanoic acid (or PFOA, made by DOW Chemical) reported having some sort of thyroid problem.
PFOA is part of a group of problematic nonstick chemicals that fall into the perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) class, a family of fluoride-containing chemicals with unique properties that make things stick- and stain-resistant. The problem is, these compounds don’t break down easily and can readily be found inside of our bodies. Along with thyroid disease, different PFCs have also been linked to cancer, infertility, birth defects, and weaker immune systems.
[Source: http://www.rodalenews.com/thyroid-disease-and-nonstick-chemicals]
So what can you do about your Dental Floss?
Certainly don’t stop or avoid flossing! It’s much too important to your overall health to give up! But, you definitely need to consider alternatives which are natural or, like the Gummy Floss, made of a material that is smooth enough to glide between your teeth without having to coat it with nasty chemicals!
