We may think we’re doing right by our health by keeping our surfaces, our clothes, and our bodies clean. But often, the products we use to maintain this cleanliness are full of ingredients that are toxic to our systems, or counterproductive to our healthy microbiota.
So, instead of maintaining ourselves and our households with harsh chemicals, we’re opting to toss the toxins, choosing clean, safe products for our lives and wellbeing.
Let’s start with the kitchen; the food we store in our fridges and put into our bodies.
We can toss the products that are filled with herbicides, pesticides, and antibiotics by shopping organically and locally when possible. By keeping our food source small and trusted, we can ensure we’re fueling our bodies with quality ingredients that contribute to our health, and not the other way around.
Additionally in the kitchen, we can swap out plastic containers, products, and Tupperware with long lasting, durable, and eco-friendly glass products, and opt to warm our food in a cast iron skillet or toaster oven instead of a non-stick pan or microwave.
Next, moving to our houses, apartments, and living spaces, we can toss the toxins we use to over-sterilize and clean our homes. We can forgo the use of products aimed at eliminating all of the bacteria on our surfaces. As we learned in my previous Genius of Wellness article, Gut Bacteria and Your Health,
“not all bacteria are created equally . . . with a good balance of bacteria being responsible for effective digestion, strong immune systems, protection against inflammatory diseases, and overall metabolic prosperity.”
Instead of antibacterial agents, the simple use of soap and water is just as effective, saves you money, and keeps the hospital-grade cleaners where they belong- at the hospital. Because when we over-expose ourselves to sterile spaces, we are lessening the effectiveness of the antibiotics and antibacterials that are sometimes necessary for medical use.
Fortunately, using soap and water or antibacterial agent-free products has never been easier with mainstream alternatives like Norwex, Thieves Cleaner, and Seventh Generation found in your major department stores.
Finally, moving into the bathroom and into our makeup bags, we can toss the toxins and opt for health-friendly alternatives to our beauty and skincare products. Because, many of the products we incorporate into our daily self-care routines are doing very little to care for us at all.
With creams, soaps, and lotions hiding chemicals and compounds like formaldehyde, phthalates, harmful fragrance agents, we’re putting toxic substances right onto our skin, every day.
But there are safer products to use. We can choose natural products that do their job well, without being toxic to our bodies. Product lines like 100% Pure, W3ll People, Ilia, and Kosas offer better beauty products that are full of beneficial ingredients for skin, and natural artisan soaps can be found in local shops everywhere.
Additionally regarding daily self-care, swapping out antiperspirant and aluminum-based products for natural deodorants is a great way to eliminate toxins from our routines.
Finally, regarding the toxic wireless technology pollution permeating our living spaces, we can opt to reduce our exposure to electromagnetic radiation by switching off our devices’ unused antennas and hardwiring our systems, whenever possible.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the harmful agents all around us, but by tossing the toxins from one area of our lives and spaces at a time, we’re taking steps to control what we can and improve our health overall.