Ladies, That Period of the Month – Some Things to Consider for Your Menstrual Days

What does feminine hygiene products mean in our time? Better absorption, longer lasting, delicate fragrance to enhance your day. Well wake up ladies…. today you are inserting toxins into your body which is being slowly released in your body. Tampons are filled with dioxins and other bleaching agents and wait for it…yes glyphosate (RoundUp herbicide) which leave us with the smooth pearl white softness of Tampax/Tampons, pads, Feminine wash, Feminine deodorants. (Cotton gauzes, bandages, and earbuds and wipes can go on the list too.)

There was a study done by the University of La Plata in Argentina in 2015 that found out that the vast majority of these products contain glyphosate, the main ingredient used today as a herbicide and sprayed on Genetically modified crops (GMO) and the same chemical that is considered a “probable carcinogen” by the World health organization. It is also associated with IQ loss/intellectual disability, autism, autism, obesity,  diabetes, infertility and cardiovascular disease.

“85% of all samples tested positive for glyphosate and 62% for AMPA, which is the environmental  metabolite, but in the case of cotton and sterile cotton gauze the figure was 100%.”

Laura Strausfeld – co-founder of Period Equity, an organization focused on the affordability, safety, and availability of menstrual products said there’s been more focus on what harm the hygiene products may be causing as we’ve come to realize in the last decade or so that the vagina and genitalia are very effective at absorbing toxics. So is using a GMO tampon several times every month any different to ingesting GMO food. Well, considering the vaginal wall is highly permeable, allowing toxins like pesticide residue and GMO proteins direct access into the bloodstream, you have your own answer. Strausfeld stated that one of the main issues is the lack of disclosure of ingredients. The lack of research and conversation around these issues, she states, is the historical and cultural taboo in talking about the vagina.

Another issue that needs to be looked at is the rampant pollution caused by used sanitary pads and tampons found on the shores. The amount of plastic in a pad equals to almost four carrier bags states Sophie Hellyer, an Irish environmentalist, and TEDx speaker and a former British surfer. “In the U.K. alone, 3.4 million tampons and 2.4 million pads get flushed down every day,” continues Heyller. “I saw tampon applicators littered on the beach in the Maldives. I have been conscious of my plastic consumption for years, and almost three years ago I switched to moon cups”.

So ladies, what products are out there that are safe to our bodies and mind and to our environment…

1. Reusable menstrual cups which are an alternative to tampons that catches your flow while the cup is inserted. It’s not absorbent like a tampon so needs to be emptied, cleaned properly and reinserted.
2. Period Underwear such as THINX and Lunapads are the most discussed. Essentially these are absorbent underwear that catches your flow.
3. Reusable pads. Made from cloth and washable.
4. Organic tampons