There's Something Horrifying in Your Toothpaste

Image by Getty / Futurism Developments Alarming new research has found that toothpastes are often contaminated with lead and other heavy metals. In tests conducted by the lead safety activist Tamara Rubin, who runs the website Lead Safe Mama, 90 percent of the 51 examined brands were found to contain the toxic metal — in some cases at levels exceeding a state safety limit, The Guardian reports. A number of household names feature unflatteringly, including Crest Regular toothpaste, Colgate Total Whitening toothpaste, and Sensodyne Extra Whitening toothpaste. But most distressing is the over two dozen brands explicitly marketed for children that were implicated by the findings: Colgate Watermelon Burst, a "Paw Patrol" branded Orajel Kids Anticavity toothpaste, and Tom's of Maine Kid's Natural toothpaste. Other heavy metals plagued the lineup, too. 65 percent of the brands contain arsenic, according to the tests, 47 percent contain mercury, and 35 percent contain cadmium. "It's uncon ... Read full article.