Question from Michelle
My husband and I have been taking 15 drops of grapefruit seed extract diluted in juice or water for several years now as an immune system booster. In fact, when we’ve been ill, the amount we’ve ingested has been much higher.
Now, in my research to find non-toxic cosmetics, I found a study that grapefruit seed extract contains toxic chemicals, including benzothonium chloride and parabens. I’ve also read studies that it is not safe to ingest grapefruit seed extract. But, I’ve found no information on the adverse side effects/disease that may be caused by such ingestion. Do you have any information on the bodily harm we may have done by such frequent use of grapefruit seed extract, or natural remedies we can use to detoxify our systems and remove any harmful, residual chemicals?
Thank you!
Debra’s Answer
The two chemicals you mention are both common preservatives, and are not extremely toxic, relatively speaking. I’m much less concerned about your ingesting these than pesticides, for example.
I haven’t done a lot of research on grapefruit seed extract, or used it myself. Grapefruit seed extract is derived from the seeds, pulp, and white membranes of grapefruit. Some natural products use it as a preservative. Recently, studies have identified synthetic preservatives in some commercial grapefruit seed extracts. Laboratory tests found the natural extracts that did not contain the synthetic preservatives to had little or no natural antimicrobial attributes of their own.
The confusing part of this is we don’t know if companies using grapefruit seed extract as an ingredient in another product are using grapefruit seed extract with or without preservatives, or if the companies using this as an ingredient even knew the chemicals were in the grapefruit seed extract.
If you are using grapefruit seed extract, or a product that contains it as an ingredient, I think it’s worth checking with the company on this.
