LIGHTEN YOUR (TOXIC) LOAD

Our modern lives have us (figuratively) swimming in toxins - from pesticides, herbicides, hormones, dyes and other not-so-great-for-us chemicals in our food, off-gassing home furnishings and rugs, and self care and cleaning products full of a myriad of bad-for-us chemicals. Being mindful of the toxins around us is important because a high toxic load can lead to a slew of health problems, including chronic diseases, hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, and cognitive impairments. Symptoms can range from fatigue and headaches to more serious conditions like infertility, autoimmune diseases and even cancer.

Lessening your toxic load doesn’t have to happen overnight, but can progress over time. The easiest place to start is with the most perishable - our food. Here again, eating real foods instead of highly processed food-like substances is where we can find the biggest impact for the better of our health. But, even real foods have their issues in our modern food system. This is why it is important to familiarize yourself with the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) clean fifteen and dirty dozen lists, which annually rank the foods with the least amount of pesticides and those with the most, respectively. With this list in mind, try to buy only organic versions of those identified in the dirty dozen and if organic is not in your budget, look for items on the clean 15.

Another low hanging fruit for detox is with our personal care products. Slowly rotate out the more toxic, conventional products with their cleaner counterparts upon replacement. Today, there are clean products at every price point with surprising levels of efficacy. Here again, the EWG’s website is a great resource with their Skin Deep database that provides a toxicity rating for many of these products.

Cleaning products, similar to personal care products, have many inexpensive, efficacious substitutes for their toxic counterparts.

And in more of a long game view, as you replace home furnishings, consider second hand and/or less toxic options on the market to minimize off-gassing. And consider water and air filters as healthy and life-giving upgrades to your home.

“Cleaning up” your home and food is perhaps the greatest investment you can make in yourself and your future. Happy cleaning!