What is important to note, is that not only are many of us consuming toxins daily in our food and our beverages, but we also experience toxins in our environment. So, you have to find a balance. This is really important. When you purchase products of any kind to use in your household either for cleaning purposes or to consume, look at the labels. What are you actually putting on or in your body. Start paying attention and make some changes. Start slow, but work on replacing all of these toxic chemicals from your home.
The question really is, how much can your body handle? No matter how any toxins we remove from our lives, we will always come in contact with toxins, pesticides, and chemicals because we can't expect the whole world to make these changes overnight. Your neighbor may continue using pesticides on their lawn, and your family members might clean their house with strong chemicals right before you come over. You can't control that. So what CAN you control?
Cleaning Products
You might think that all that clorox bleach and your dryer sheets are 100% safe, but the truth is that these products are extremely toxic to us and over use of them can cause problems in the body. Have you ever noticed that after you clean your house with bleach or other strong chemicals that you get a bad headache? There's a reason for that. These chemicals are not good for you to inhale. And when it comes to laundry detergents and dryer sheets, those are covered with all sorts of toxins and chemicals as well and those clothes go directly on your skin. And Yes, toxins can enter through your skin. There are many alternative products out there now that you can replace these things with. My favorite brands are Next Generation, Puracy, and Better Life! I love Better Life best because the products were created by a cancer survivor! Start looking for alternatives to your cleaning products! I highly recommend investing in some good microfiber cloths and using those with water for most of your cleaning. If you have a tougher mess, use baking soda and vinegar.
Makeup and Lotion
This one was a shocker for me! I had no idea that makeup would be bad for you in any way. It turns out that most of the make up and even the lotions that you buy have tons of not so nice things in them. However, if you watch ingredients, you can still find products that have little to no irritants in them and you can even find products that are 100% organic. For makeup I like 100% Pure brand and for lotions I like the Honest brand, but feel free to research and find ones that work for you. For a while I refused to use makeup or lotion because I learned of all the toxins in them, but then I started to find products that had real ingredients and left out the bad stuff.
Lawn Chemicals/Pesticides
These hurt us all. Including children and pets. They don't just stay in your yard, the rain and water moves them to our drinking water, our rivers, our lakes, our swimming pools, and all surrounding lawns. I refuse to use chemicals on my lawn after cancer and you should too! There are many ways to treat your lawn without harmful pesticides. For example, if you are worried about weeds, which you shouldn't be because most are edible and medicinal and are food for our bee friends, you can spray them with vinegar and it works just as well without the danger of poisoning yourself and your neighbors. For pest control you can use certain plants, or even water with cayenne pepper and spray your plants so bunnies and deer don't eat them. There are so many options, please research and stop poisoning yourself and those around you!
Food!
Food is a sensitive topic for people because they don't want to give up their favorite foods! I totally get that! So think of it this way. If you fill most of your menu with whole foods like fruit and vegetables and grains and beans, your body will be able to detox all of these chemicals so much better and easier. And you know what that means? It means if you want to have that vegan burger at a restaurant that is chock full of chemicals, salt, and such along with a big basket of greasy fries, your body can handle it! This is where you just have to limit yourself. Not necessarily give it up. For me, I eat whole food plant-based foods most of the time with small amounts of salt, sugar, and no oil. When I eat this way I feel so much better, and on those days that I decide to have my vegan burger or vegan brat, I know my body can handle it without making me ill.
Listen to your body! If a food makes you feel sick at all, you should NOT be consuming it. I grew up thinking that it was normal to feel sick after eating eggs or a big ice cream sundae! Apparently, my body does not feel good eating those things. And at this point, even the thought of meat makes me want to gag. But each body will be different, so you listen. If you have acid reflux after you eat greasy fried foods, then don't eat them or make it an occasional treat!
I love you all and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out! I want you all to be happy and healthy!
