How Environmental Toxins Affect Your Health
I’ve been working with a client who has been doing all the right stuff. She is eating well, drinking lots of water, getting quality sleep, finding ways to actively rest, and moving her body daily. She has been getting frustrated because she feels like she is doing everything right and yet she is still noticing that she is fatigued and is experiencing brain fog.
Whether you are working with autoimmune disease or are just trying to create healthier patterns in your life, there is often one area that people forget to address; environmental toxins. Environmental toxins can be found in the supplies you use to clean your house, your skin and hair care products, your dental fillings, preservatives, the pans you use to cook your food, the water you drink, the air you breathe, and pesticides on the food you eat, just to name a few.
These environmental toxins can cause havoc on the biological systems of the human body. They are a burden on your body, create chronic inflammation, and stress out your immune system.
Our bodies are designed to detoxify themselves. But, if your toxic load becomes too much then your body will be unable to keep up. If you are able to reduce your body’s toxic burden you can free your body up to build new cells, get rid of old cells, and repair cellular damage. This will increase your body’s ability to detoxify which will help anyone feel better but especially people suffering from autoimmune disease.
So, what can you do to help lower your body’s toxic load? Here are some 4 simple and effective tips:
Use non-toxic personal care and home cleaning products. My general rule of thumb is if I don’t know what it is then I don't use it. I have also been told if I wouldn’t eat it I shouldn’t put it on my body. Your skin is the largest organ of your body, and since it is porous, it absorbs whatever you put on it. You can check out the Environmental Working Group (EWG) database for information on anything from cleaning products, to personal products, diapers, and so much more. You can also make your own cleaning products at home using simple ingredients you probably already have.
Eat organic when you can. We all do the best we can. If organic food is hard for you to find or it is too expensive you can still reduce your toxic exposure. Try to eat seasonally. Foods that are in season will be less expensive because there will be more available. Also, check out the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen. This is a list of the he twelve crops that farmers typically use the most pesticides on, versus, the15 fruits and vegetables that have the lowest amount of pesticide residue.
Avoid plastic containers and try to use stainless steel or glass instead. This will help reduce your exposure to phthalate toxins and BPA. Paper cups are often lined with plastic so try to avoid these as well.
Filter your water. This will limit the amount of fluoride, lead, chlorine, aluminum, arsenic, and herbicides you are taking in. My favorite water filter is my Berkey! I don’t think I could live without it.
These are just a few tips to get you started. Remember, you don’t have to change everything at once. Just take a few small steps to lower your body’s toxic load. Not only will you start to feel better but you will be making changes that will also help the environment.