How to Avoid Environmental Toxins

Environmental toxins are everywhere…. in our food, soil, water, skin care creams and cleaning products. It is tough to avoid everything, but we must do our best as these products can lead to chronic health problems.

How to decrease the amount of toxins you consume

Where should you start? As a health coach, I think the easiest place to start is with our food. A common and very dangerous herbicide is called glysophate, which is used in both animal and plant products. Glysophate has been linked to female cancers. This article further emphasizes all the reasons you must avoid this herbicide and choose local, organic, non GMO foods as much as possible.

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2017-01-06/glyphosate-unsafe-on-any-plate/.

Factory farmed animals never see the light of day and are fed corn and grains, rather then grass. They are injected with antibiotics and hormones so that they can grow bigger at a faster pace. Sadly, if this is what they are being fed, you are eating it as well. You are what you eat!! Women beware, as consuming these toxins can contribute to estrogen dominance.

Tap water is another big area of concern. When we think of water here in America, we know that we are not going to get typhoid or dysentery, as in third world countries. This is because our water is disinfected with chemicals like chlorine fluoride, etc. These chemicals are not safe however. In the United States, the environmental protection agency regulates approximately 91 chemicals in the drinking water, but there are hundreds of other chemicals in the drinking water that are not regulated. Regulation does not necessarily mean that they are safe either. For example, there is chronic exposure to low dose synthetic estrogens coming from birth control pills, pharmaceuticals, and pain medications that are not regulated. These exposures influence our health in many ways as they show up in our tap water. Most people think that tap water is safe to drink, but I feel that it is a contributing factor to all the auto immune diseases we hear so much about lately. People living in rural areas may suffer with more pesticides and nitrates in their water, where others living in the city may have to deal with more industrial chemicals .

Can water filters help? Yes, it is very important to look into a system that can filter out all these chemicals from your tap water, but there is not one perfect answer as to which one. It is essential that you have your water tested by a professional in your area to help make the best decision. Everyone’s water is different. I have had a reverse osmosis system for years and I love it. Some experts are not in favor of reverse osmosis as they fear that it filters out all the minerals, but it is my belief that we should get our minerals from raw vegetables, not rock!

What about travelling? Yes, it can be challenging to always do the right thing. Plastic water bottles are not the easy answer. We need to be conscious of the BPA and phthalates in the plastic water bottles that leach into the water. I always bring my empty stainless steel bottle with me to transfer the water from plastic, which makes a bit of a difference. There are also travel water filters out there that can be explored if you are an avid traveler.

Detox your home

There are other plastics to avoid in our homes and be aware of that also contain BPA’s and phthalates. Try swapping plastic food storage containers for glass, and replace plastic baggies with paper or reusable lunch bags. Change your plastic cutting board to wood. Remember that these amounts of synthetic hormones are tiny, but if we are exposed to them all day and everywhere, they can eventually be very disruptive to our hormonal balance.

Be aware of those home fragrance plug ins, candles and cleaning products. They are loaded with synthetic chemicals! Air fresheners in cars can be deadly. Take note of the skull and crossbones symbol on cleaning products that indicate hazard and danger!! Avoid those completely! We do not need to use these products. Do not pollute the air in your home with these strong scents any more. They are also endocrine disrupting as they leach into our skin. There are numerous better choices that you can clean with that are loaded with organic ingredients that contain essential oils, coconut, lemon, etc.

To conclude, the key is to minimize toxins in your environment as much as you can especially when it comes into contact with food and the air you breathe.