Hey Dr. Ben,

Great website! I will certainly forward it along.

I have a question for you. Benzophenone-4 is in a lot of the perfumed products, including almost all commercial perfumes. Could this be the ingredient that sets off my migraine? I don't have problems with other strong scents. I regularly use lavender and other essential oils. However, chemical commercial perfumes make me feel nausea and headaches are frequently the result of concentrated exposure.

My mother in law has chronic migraines and I noticed that every sink in her house has a bottle of benzophenone laden perfumed soap. What do you think?

Signed,
Benzo'd Out

Hi Benzo'd Out,

If you are sensitive to it - then you should avoid it. Repeat exposures only make it worse. Chemical sensitivies are typically a sign of toxic burden. We all carry pesticides, solvents, herbicides, heavy metals - mainly in our fat - but re-exposures place that chemical into your blood stream making one react. Then it gets absorbed into your fat and you don't feel as bad - then your re-expose and feel bad...nice cycle yes?

My bet is that you have surpassed your threshold of toxic burden and need to get rid of them. This is best done by one who knows exactly what they are talking about as one can get very sick and very ill as the toxins are pulled from fat and bile. One feels ill as the toxins are once again put into the bloodstream so they can be released and flushed out. So if properly done and working slowly up in intensity, the toxins, metals, solvents, etc will disappear.

We are all born with toxins in us from the get go. Momma's blood delivered her own personal solvents and chemicals right into us as we were developing. On average, a baby is born already with 200 chemicals. And we wonder why ADHD, cancers, asthma are on the rise...

So long story short - avoid the chemical completely so you do not re-expose and try to limit your exposure to other chemicals. Not easy to do on our planet - but do your best. Drink filtered water, eat organic produce [ read this post on the most toxic dirty dozen ], do not eat farmed fish [ read my post on that ] and limit your toxic load [another post on that as well.]

Information on lovely benzophenone can be found on the EWG site.

I highly highly recommend that you read this website, The Environmental Working Group - from head to toe. They are the leading organization in environmental studies and research.

Tell your mom-in-law to chuck those soaps. There are tons of healthy natural soaps on the market. Invest in your health.

Also locate an environmental medicine specialist. Where are you located? A qualified naturopathic physician is a great place to start - one who knows how to properly detox patients with environmental toxicities. I wrote a post on how to choose a good ND and locate one in your area: http://naturalhealthinformation.org/article/AA-00556

Hope you find the info useful!

In health,
Ben