Trade It Tuesday

Today's topic:  Toothpaste!!  You might never think of toothpaste as a food, but anyone with a child under the age of at least seven, knows that a considerable amount of toothpaste is ingested in every brushing.  So, ever stop to consider what's in that toothpaste your kids are using? 

I had a few kids spend the night this weekend and they happened to leave their toothpaste out on the counter.  Naturally curious (alright, I'm obsessed, I admit it!) I checked the ingredients label.  Of course, no ingredients listed on the tube other than the active ingredient.  So I went to the website.  This particular toothpaste was Crest Pro-Health.  Crest did not have any information on their website about the ingredients in their toothpaste products.  Luckily, I have Google.  Here is what I finally (after quite a bit of searching, I actually found it here) found the ingredients to be in the Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste (artificial ingredients highlighted in yellow, but you should wikipedia some of the other ingredients - reads like a chemistry experiment!):

Active Ingredients:  Stannous Flouride

Inactive Ingredients:  Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Propylene Glycol, PEG 6, Water, Zinc Lactate, Trisodium Phosphate, Flavor, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Gluconate, Carrageenan (Red Seeweed), Sodium Saccharin, Polyethylene, Xanthan Gum, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 1 Lake

What about the Crest Kid's Toothpaste?  Check out these ingredients:

Active Ingredients:  Sodium Flouride

Inactive Ingredients:  Sorbitol, Water, Hydrated Silica, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Trisodium Phosphate, Sodium Phosphate, Cellulose Gum, Flavor, Sodium Saccharin, Carbomer 956, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 1 Lake

And don't think that the use of artificial ingredients is unique to Crest.  Here is Colgate's version of a kid's toothpaste:

Active Ingredients:  Sodium Flouride

Inactive Ingredients:  Sorbitol, Water, Hydrated Silica, PEG 12, Cellulose Gum, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Flavor, Sodium Saccharin, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, FD&C Red 40 Aluminim Lake, D&C Red 33

There is never any knowing what is actually in "Flavor".  So if a product does not say "Natural" or "All Natural" you should assume "Flavor" is something created in a lab. 

So, what should you buy?  Well, there are many choices of all natural toothpaste in mainstream grocery stores.  Toms of Maine is our preferred brand, with many different flavors to choose from (including strawberry or mango for kids).  Burt's Bees has a toothpaste on the market, as does Nature's Gate. 

These brands use ingredients like this:

Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Sorbitol, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Natural Flavor, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Xylitol, Quillaja Saponaria (Soap Bark) Root Extract, Camellia Sinesis (White Tea) Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape Seed) Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Cellulose Gum, Calcium Glycerophosphate, Bisabolol, Benzoic Acid

These brands all carry adult versions such as wintergreen, mint, fennel (this is the one my kids actually like the best), and cinnamon.  They can come with or without fluoride.  It may take a bit of trying, but find a flavor that your kids like and you will have removed one more source of toxins from their daily intake.