Natural is healthy. Chemicals make you ill. This is the simple denominator that has become stubbornly anchored in our social consciousness, reflected thousands of times by marketing and half-knowledge. This view completely disregards the dose, as ETH researcher Michael Siegrist says. «The idea that something can be contaminated and harmless at the same time goes completely against the grain for laypeople.» In the western world, a view has become established that nature poses no danger, that everything natural is healthy. This is due to the fact that nature has been pushed back further and further over the last 150 years. «150 years ago, people died from food because they had to eat spoilt food», says Siegrist.

Chemophobia is widespread

As Siegrist's research shows, people who understand chemical relationships better are less afraid of chemicals. In fact, laypeople often believe that whether a substance is of synthetic or natural origin is decisive for its toxicity. However, this is not the case. Synthetic is not a synonym for «toxic». The dose is decisive for the toxicity to humans of both natural and synthetic substances. Paracelsus already knew this: «The quantity makes the poison». If you know these connections, you are better armed against chemophobia. The best remedy against the panic fear of chemicals is knowledge.

Combating chemophobia

Chemophobia can be combated with chemical knowledge: the greater the dose of chemical knowledge, the smaller the panic fear of chemicals. In this respect, chemophobia is the reverse of toxicology. The larger the dose, the more toxic.