If a company is claiming an unnatural ingredient is natural,
what else are they being untruthful about?
One of the ingredients to make sodium benzoate does comes from natural plants, benzoic acid. Benzoic acid must be intentionally combined by humans with sodium hydroxide to create sodium benzoate. Per the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) own definition and explanation, sodium benzoate does not naturally occur in nature.
Sodium benzoate is generally safe as sodium benzoate. However, sodium benzoate converts easily to benzene, a known carcinogen, in a variety of ways. What is a carcinogen? It is any substance or agent that promotes the formation of cancer.
Sodium benzoate is linked to a list of medical concerns such as ADHD, but for today, we are only going to discuss how it converts to a carcinogen. Some of the references listed at the end of this document do include links to the medical concerns of sodium benzoate.
Most make-up, skin care, including “natural” skin care, food and drink manufacturers use sodium benzoate as their main preservative claiming it is natural and safe. In reality, it is anything but either of those! In a moment we will discuss how it becomes harmful.
What is most concerning is many brands then tell their consumers sodium benzoate is natural. We do not think they are intentionally lying, we believe they simply trusted what they were told by the manufacturer that created their products. Almost every natural skin care brand out there, big and small, has an independent lab formulate their “natural” products for them.
Nature’sRepair does not hire labs to formulate their products. Summer, owner of Nature’sRepair, personally researches and formulates each healing product herself without the assistance of a manufacturing lab. This out of the box thinking is one of the many reasons Nature’sRepair is extraordinarily healthy for you and your children.
Nature’sRepair believes in purity, safety and quality.
We will never use an ingredient that has any potential of causing harm.
Nature’sRepair’s mission is to help foster a toxin free world because the health of the population and our planet matters.
Here is a list of the ways sodium benzoate converts to benzene:
When combined with vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, citric acid, and many, many other chemical names, it forms benzene. What is all the rage in skin care right now? Vitamin C. Read your labels ladies and gentlemen. Does the ingredient label contain any ingredients that are high in vitamin C, have vitamin C added or include ascorbic acid or citric acid? I bet it does.
Vitamin C does not have to be specifically added as a separate ingredient for the sodium benzoate to convert, it can be found in any ingredient that is high in vitamin C.
Increased exposure to heat and light (UV rays) increase benzene levels significantly. Many scientific studies have proven this. Links to some studies can be found at the bottom of this page. This means when you apply that product to your skin then go outside or even drive in your car, the sunlight is actively converting the sodium benzoate to benzene which is being absorbed into your body.
Long storage periods also increases benzene levels as sodium benzoate naturally begins to deteriorate into benzene. Ask yourself:
How long ago did the manufacturer make the sodium benzoate?
How long did that sodium benzoate sit in the warehouse before the food/drink/cosmetic manufacturer purchased it?
Did it have to get shipped overseas to the manufacturer?
How long was it in the manufacturing warehouse before mixing it to create the skin care product?
How long was the finished skin care product sitting in the manufacturers warehouse waiting for its turn to be ordered?
Did it go direct to a store, or most likely a distribution warehouse, a wholesale warehouse first?
How did it get there? Boat, truck, train?
How long has that product been on the store shelf before you bought it?
How long was it in the warehouse before that?
How long has it been on your shelf?
Did you stock up during a sale?
Just because you bought it yesterday, does not mean it was manufactured a few days before. It could be a year or more.
Oxidative Stress or the creation of free radicals, which damage cells. The higher the concentration of sodium benzoate, the more free radicals created.
How many of those cosmetic products and sunscreens you are consistently layering on your skin have sodium benzoate as an ingredient? You are helping to age and damage your skin faster.
Not to mention what you eat and drink. Think about it!
Sodium benzoate can activate inflammatory pathways in direct proportion to the amount ingested or absorbed. This type of inflammation includes inflammation that promotes cancer and obesity. Don’t forget benzene is a known carcinogen, how long has your stuff been on the shelf again? Not only could you be putting carcinogens on your skin, but now you are opening pathways that encourage those carcinogens to cause cancer.
The FDA limits how much sodium benzoate can be added to food and beverages. The exposure to one product being consumed i limited, but that does not address eating multiple foods containing sodium benzoate as well as coupling it with absorption through skin care products. Our exposure to many of the chemicals the FDA puts limits on are single item foods or cosmetics and do not take into account the total amount consumed through multiple foods and absorbed through multiple skin products in one day because it would be impossible to determine based on an infinite number of variable factors.
If the FDA is limiting an ingredient, you should steer clear of it as much as possible.
We encourage you to write down every product you use on your body or consume throughout the day that has sodium benzoate as an ingredient. You will probably be shocked at how much you are consuming/absoring. With cancer running so wildly these days, it’s worth paying attention to every detail. We can’t feasibly avoid every toxin, but we can limit our exposure. Yes, our bodies can process toxins, but they were never designed to process the amount we expose ourselves to.
At Nature’sRepair, we never use preservatives.
Our unique manufacturing process and our healthy food grade ingredients create a natural long lasting shelf life without any adverse effects.
Our skin conditioners/moisturizers are high in vitamin E, which naturally protects the quality and integrity of our products.
Use code SAFESKINCARE to receive
Nature’sRepair Young and Defense for $49.
Both Young and Defense must be in your cart.
References
https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=aa8062bd980ff3bc9bf5b8f9d5e9590e&mc=true&node=se21.3.184_11733&rgn=div8
(FDA Code of Federal Regulations stating Sodium Benzoate does not occur naturally.)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4745501/
https://www.fda.gov/food/chemicals/questions-and-answers-occurrence-benzene-soft-drinks-and-other-beverages#q2
(only refers to isolated drinking sources and makes no reference to accumulated benzene through numerous products throughout the day)
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-sodium-benzoate-harmful/
https://www.med-health.net/Sodium-Benzoate.html
http://www.foodadditivesworld.com/articles/sodium-benzoate.html
https://www.organicfacts.net/sodium-benzoate.html
https://www.100percentpure.com/pages/ingredient-glossary
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/leptin-supplements#definition-and-function
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29243862/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006291X18312488
https://www.naturalnews.com/033726_sodium_benzoate_cancer.html
Thanks for educating me on benzoate. I’m a cancer survivor & safe products is very important to me as well as cost.
Keep on working, great job!
I recently read an article stating one of the Tocopherols is possibly causing cancer. a few years back I saw something claiming it may not be so good for the skin. do your own digging rather than look to the fda for answers. I became aware nearly 30 years ago that the fda is controlled by the Rockefeller foundation. I knew nearly 40 years ago that the Rockefeller’s would like to rule the world and depopulate it down to around 200 million..,.., no wonder there’s no decent regulation or cures!!
I would look into who funded the article stating tocopherols are causing cancer unless they are referring strictly to synthetic tocopherols or tocopherols mixed with other man made preservatives. In which case, it’s not the tocopherols causing cancer. They will say anything to mislead people into believing anything natural is harmful. Our naturally occurring Tocotrienols are mechanically derived from rice bran and are not causing cancer.
Yes, the FDA and every other 3 letter agency is controlled by the money that funds them and the politicians. The regulations are not written to protect the consumer. They are written solely to protect big business profits.