Detoxing Your Home
Not only will making cleaner choices help you take charge of your metabolism, lose weight, and feel amazing, but you'll also be helping the environment. Get started by removing these toxins from your living space.
In today's world, our bodies are under assault every day. All the toxic chemicals in our environment wreak havoc on our biochemistry and cellular health. And the more of these poisons we have in our lives — combined with bad habits like overworking, overeating, and missing sleep — the greater our "bioburden," or the total impact of these endocrine disruptors.
After cleaning up your diet, your next mission is to clean up everything else — and the best place to start is your home. I know that may sound a little overwhelming, but I've made it easy for you. Below are three major product categories you should focus on. With each change you make, you'll have that much more impact on your own metabolism, vitality, longevity, health, and happiness. And hey — even if you make use of only half these suggestions, you'll be in better shape. Let's get to work.
Household Products Beauty and Personal Care Products Plastics
Household Products
Your kitchen and bathroom cabinets are probably stuffed with everyday products that seem harmless but actually contain hormone-disrupting ingredients. It's time to protect yourself! Here's what you need to steer clear of — and a few safer alternatives.
Avoid these products:
· Chlorinated white paper towels — The EPA found that dioxins, by-products certain chemical processes involving chlorine, are 300 times more carcinogenic than the banned pesticide DDT; they're also very estrogenic.
· Bleached coffee filters — These can leach chlorine into your coffee and release dioxins with every drip.
· Antibacterial dish-washing soap — The antibacterial agent triclosan mixes with chlorinated tap water and creates the carcinogenic gas chloroform as well as chlorinated dioxin, a highly toxic form of dioxin. (And this is added to the fact that antibacterial products promote resistance to antibiotics.)
· Teflon pans — A chemical in Teflon may damage the liver and thyroid and impair the immune system.
· Chemical home cleaners — Most incidents of poison exposure occur at home and involve items like cleaning supplies. The worst offenders are drain, oven, and toilet bowl cleaners, and products containing chlorine and ammonia. (Get this: The combination of chlorine and ammonia produces chloramine, which was used as a chemical weapon in World War I.)
· Artificial room deodorizers — These products are little factories of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs (gases or vapors that have adverse health effects). In other words, they’re just pumping toxins into the air.
· Stain-resistant upholstery — One compound used to make stain-resistant fabrics is believed to cause birth defects and cancer.
Stock up on these instead:
· Chlorine-free paper products — Look for items (including toilet paper) whose labels sa they are processed chlorine-free, or PCF.
· Unbleached or oxygen-bleached coffee filters — These use chlorine dioxide, a type of bleach that doesn't produce dioxin residues.
· Natural soaps — Choose dish-washing soaps without chlorine or phosphates.
· Iron, porcelain-coated, stainless steel, or glass pans — These kinds of cookware will help you avoid immune-system damage.
· Natural cleaning products — Instead of chemical cleaners, stick with products made from 100 percent natural ingredients to clean your house; they're just as effective and they're cheap too! White vinegar mixed with water can make floors, windows, and mirrors shine. Baking soda can be used to deodorize your fridge, freezer, and carpets; clean cutlery; and scrub toilets and tubs. Lemon juice is a great substitute for bleach.
· Safe store-bought cleansers — Check the labels, and look for the following words: ammonia-free, biodegradable, free of dyes and perfumes, noncarcinogenic, non-petroleum-based, and nontoxic.
· Plants — One potted plant placed every 100 square feet in your home can remove many harmful contaminants from the air. The best varieties are bamboo palm, English ivy, gerbera daisy, and green spider.
· HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter — A study found that using a HEPA filter for two days improved the cardiovascular function of healthy nonsmokers. Get one with a VOC (volatile organic compound) filter.
Beauty and Personal Care Products
Cosmetics and personal care products are a huge source of chemical poisoning and hormone disruption. When choosing alternatives to these products, buy from companies that have signed the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics compact, established by a consortium of environmental and consumer health groups. Go to http://www.safecosmetics.org/ to see which companies have signed on. And avoid the following ingredients, which are all suspected of sending hormones into a tailspin:
· Mercury (often labeled as thimerosal) — A known human reproductive and developmental toxin and a suspected endocrine disruptor, mercury is found in some lip liners, lip glosses, facial moisturizers, mascaras, eyedrops, and deodorants.
· Lead — I’m sure you’ve heard of the developmental and learning problems that lead causes in children; it’s also been linked to other central nervous system damage, miscarriage, reduced fertility, hormonal changes, and menstrual irregularities. Though you'll never see “lead” on a label, it has been found in 61 percent of brand-name lipsticks.
· Toluene — A chemical found in nail polish and other cuticle and nail treatments, toluene is a possible reproductive and developmental toxin.
· Formaldehyde — You'll find this chemical in many products, including foundations, eye shadows, facial cleansers, styling gels, hair sprays, moisturizers, sunscreens, acne treatments, and baby wipes. It’s a known human carcinogen.
· Parabens — Preservative chemicals found in shampoos, conditioners, body washes, tooth whiteners, toothpastes, toners/astringents, and other personal care products, parabens have estrogenic effects and are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
· Placenta — Yep, you read that right. This estrogen-producing ingredient can be found in some hair relaxers, moisturizers, and toners. Exposure may raise the risk of breast cancer and other problems.
· Phthalates — Found in some nail polishes, fragrances, bath oils, moisturizers, and hair sprays, these chemicals may be toxic to the reproductive system, causing infertility and birth defects. Because they’re not listed on product labels (they’re sometimes hidden as “fragrance”), they can be hard to track down.
· Triclosan — An antibacterial agent added to moisturizers, hand creams, shampoos, conditioners, facial cleansers, exfoliants, body washes, antiperspirants, and toothpastes, triclosan is believed to interfere with thyroid hormone metabolism, to cause antiobiotic resistance, and to create carcinogenic compounds when combined with chlorinated water.
So what should you use? Well, your best bet is to choose natural cosmetics and personal care products. This can be tricky, though, because while some products claim to be "organic," no firm governmental guidelines currently exist for the beauty industry. For now, check out Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group's cosmetics database, to learn how toxic some of your favorite products may be and to find healthier alternatives.
Plastics
Manufacturers use plastics more than any other material, and some of them are more likely to leach endocrine disruptors and other dangerous chemicals. Distinguishing among plastics can become confusing, but fortunately, the numbers printed on the bottoms of most containers will clue you in as to how toxic they are. Here's a full list of the plastics you should avoid at all costs (and some suggestions for good substitutes), and the ones that have a better track record.
Don't use these plastics:
#3: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) — Found in clear wrap used to package cheese, deli meats, and other foods; cooking-oil bottles; plumbing pipes; and toys. Use safer food-storage alternatives, like Glad wrap, Saran Premium wrap, and Saran Cling Plus wrap (which contain neither PVC nor bisphenol A), or store leftovers in glass. Buy cooking oil in glass bottles. And never microwave food in plastic — use parchment paper or wax paper instead.
#6: Polystyrene (PS; Styrofoam is one form) — The extruded type is found in disposable coffee cups, take-out containers, foam egg cartons, meat trays, packing peanuts, and foam insulation. The nonextruded type is found in CD cases, disposable cutlery, and transparent take-out containers. To protect yourself, buy eggs packaged in cardboard containers, transfer foods packed in polystyrene to glass or ceramic containers ASAP, and go to restaurants that use paper-based take-out containers.
#7: Polycarbonate (PC) — Found in baby bottles, microwave ovenware, stain-resistant food-storage containers, eating utensils, the plastic liners of most food and soft-drink cans, hard-plastic drinking bottles, and 5-gallon water jugs. Protect yourself by rinsing your canned food thoroughly before eating it, using glass baby bottles, and switching to stainless steel or ceramic-lined drinking bottles. If you ever smell a plasticky odor in any water or liquid, don't drink it!
These plastics are okay:
#1: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) — Found in bottles used for cough syrup, ketchup, salad dressing, soft drinks, sports drinks, and water. Also found in plastic pickle, jelly, mustard, mayonnaise, and peanut butter jars.
#2: High-density polyethylene (HDPE) — Found in milk jugs, yogurt containers, margarine tubs, recyclable grocery bags, trash bags, shampoo bottles, sanitary products, laundry detergent bottles, and some Tupperware products.
#4: Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) — Found in bowls, lids, bottle caps, six-pack rings, trays, liners, sandwich bags, and squeezable bottles.
#5: Polypropylene (PP) — Found in plastic utensils, cups, some condiment bottles, safe baby bottles, diapers, and thermal underwear.
The only good kind of plastic is #7 polylactide (PLA) — it’s made from plant-based starches and is fully compostable. Just remember to avoid any other #7 (PC) plastic. Ultimately, though, the fewer plastics in your life, the better!
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