We are learning that our exposure to toxic chemicals is the cause behind many illnesses, links to cancer, infertility, hormone disruption, and many other things.  So what can we do?

There are so many toxins in our daily lives that it is absolutely impossible to avoid them.   However, there are a few things you can do to lower your levels.  I have come up with my top 10 changes to help you get your toxin levels down.  Five of them are about avoidance and the other five are about how you can flush toxins out of  your body.

How To Avoid Toxins In Your Every Day Life:

1. Give Your Cleaning Products a Spring Audit:

  • Look for cleaners and laundry detergents that are “fragrance-free” or those that do not have the word fragrance listed.  Here’s a good guide to start: Detergent/Cleaner Guide 
  • Warning: “unscented” does not mean fragrance-free!
  • Discontinue use of air fresheners.
  • Candles can be good but most are not.  I found an article that breaks it down.  http://www.greenamerica.org/livinggreen/candles.cfm – Just another area of our life that needs to be changed.

THE FACTS: Synthetic “fragrance” can be made up hundreds of chemicals, all of which are kept secret from consumers. Common fragrance chemicals include phthalates (reproductive and developmental harm) and synthetic musks (break down the body’s defenses against other toxic exposures, linked to increased risk of breast cancer).

NOTE: I just bought a diffuser so I can start scenting my house with essential oils.  Can’t wait to try it out!

2. Give Your Personal Care Products a Spring Makeover

  • Read the label to avoid chemicals like parabens, sodium laureth sulfate and fragrance.  A full “Never List” from Beautycounter can be found here:  Never List

Here is a quick look card form though that you can print and put in your purse:

never list pocket size

The ingredients on this list should NEVER be in any of your personal products.

THE FACTS: Over 12,000 chemicals are used in personal care products—89% of them haven’t been reviewed for safety.  And the cosmetics industry is self regulated so companies can put anything they want in their products.  Be wary of the words “organic” and “natural”, they have no legal meaning or policy in place to standardize them.  You just have to know who you are buying from to be sure.

3. Go “BPA-Free”

  • Ditch the canned foods and opt for fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables instead.
  • Look for products packaged in glass or lined cardboard instead of cans.
  • Look for plastics labeled “BPA-free.”

THE FACTS: Bisphenol-A (BPA) is commonly found in can liners and plastic products. BPA exposure is linked to a host of hormone-related health impacts such as increased risk of cancer, infertility, obesity and diabetes.

4. Watch Out for Triclosan

  • Avoid anti-bacterial hand soap with triclosan listed on the label.
  • Reduce your use of disinfectant products.

THE FACTS: Triclosan is a hormone disruptor that builds up in our bodies, and it’s been found in blood and breast milk. Studies show that it’s actually no more effective at removing germs or preventing illness that plain soap and water.

5. Keep Chemicals Out of the House

  • Take of your shoes before entering your house to avoid tracking in oils and chemicals from the street outside.
  • Use a door mat to catch dirt at the door.
  • Dust with a micro-fiber cloth or wet cloth and vacuum your house regularly (with a HEPA-filter vaccuum if you can).

THE FACTS: Shoes can track in toxic chemicals like lawn pesticides, coal tar from a driveway, etc. Dust carries harmful chemicals that shed off of household furniture, electronics, and other household products.

To Flush Toxins Out: Try the following 5 options.

NOTE: some toxins will never flush out of your body so the less going in the BETTER!

  1. Eat Cleansing Foods, Take Cleansing Herbs & Vitamins:
  • apples, blueberries, cranberries, grapefruit, lemons, avacados, beets, cabbage, garlic, celery, kale, watercress, flaxseed, flaxseed oil, legumes seaweed and brown rice. NOTE: Be sure that your fruits and veggies are organic!
  • dandelion root, burdock and milk thistle and drink green tea are all great toxin flushers.
  • Vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathion, a liver compound that drives away toxins.
  1. Breathe!  And I mean deeply!

We all breath all day long but are we making the most of it?  Deep breathing forces oxygen into the body and through all of its system.  Conscious breathing works wonders for your body!

  1. Water, Water, Water, Water, Water. Take it in then let it out!
  • Drink at least two quarts every day.
  • Then sweat it out in a sauna.
  • Hydrotherapy by taking a very hot shower for five minutes letting the water run on your back, follow with cold water for 30 seconds.  Do this three times then get into bed for 30 minutes.
Drybrush

Drybrush

  • Dry Brush Your Skin – The Feet Too!

Kinda crazy to think that the skin you are shedding can contain toxins and they are just laying there on your good skin.  Check out how it works: Dry Brushing

  1. Exercise! To Sweat Even More Out!

Exercise is probably the most important way to detoxify.  It sweats out toxins but also clears your mind and gives you positive energy.  Negative thoughts can be toxic too so they must go!

Let me know your thoughts on these suggestions.  How do you monitor toxins in your body?