So you’ve started to learn about the toxicity of the modern world? And you’re wondering what you can do to keep your body, and therefore, your mind and emotional wellbeing safe?
Perhaps you’re brand new to all this information and are feeling a little overwhelmed by how bad everything in your life is for you? Perhaps you’ve known about this for ages and haven’t used deodorant with aluminum in it since the 90s. Perhaps you’ve kept a healthy balance for a while now, only the necessary and extreme use of hand-sanitizer lately have you worried about your triclosan levels. Wherever you are in your clean-living journey, there are simple things you can do to prevent toxic overload in your body and minimize the long-term damage of toxins you did manage to absorb.
First and foremost, you need to remind yourself that your body is designed to filter out toxins. This can be especially helpful if you feel a little bewildered by all the new toxicity information available to you.
The best thing you can do to help your body with this process is to minimize the absorption of new toxins. This will give your body the time it needs to focus on what it wants to purify. There are several broad categories you need to keep in mind when trying to limit exposure to toxins.
Household Product Quality
Things that you clean with, things that you wash with, and things that you rub on your skin all can have a drastic impact on your toxin levels. This is likely the easiest one to handle financially as switching to cleaning with vinegar and baking soda is way cheaper than buying name brand products full of chemicals. Going without some of those extra beauty products can help your skin, health, and save you money.
If you’re one of those people who goes to the dry cleaner a lot, you might want to rethink this. The chemicals used in dry cleaning are extremely toxic. Studies have shown that just living next to a dry cleaning service can increase your risk of kidney cancer. For some people, who like to buy clothing made of certain fabrics, this can be a tough habit to break. But it is absolutely essential for your wellbeing.
Your skin absorbs whatever is pressed against it or rubbed into it. The hard and fast rule is: if you wouldn’t eat something, don’t rub it on your skin. Would you drink perfume? Mascara? Would you eat that expensive moisturizer? Your deodorant?
Do your research when shopping. Countless apps allow you to learn about ingredients and toxin levels in household products. Some applications let you know what these products have been linked to. Spoiler alert: some dishwashing soaps cause asthma.
After limiting the toxins coming into your body, you can begin to work on removing the ones that were already there. This means first, drinking more water. Your body uses water to flush out toxins. Secondly, limit alcohol because, again, your liver has so much to do already, give him a break.
Additionally, working up a sweat is beneficial because our body pushes toxins out through the skin when this happens. Nutritional cleansing can also help. According to the experts at nutritionalcleanse.com, high amounts of nutrient-dense foods can boost your body’s natural ability to remove toxins from several different systems. Finally, don’t neglect to get enough sleep. Your body heals and repairs and removes toxins during this precious time.
Air Quality
If you live in the city or a heavily polluted area you might want to consider a high-quality air purifier or some gorgeous house plants. You may want to spend a few hours a week in a forest to get some super clean air into your lungs. As a bonus, this also boosts your immune system.
One thing that drastically affects the toxicity of the air in your home is the common “air-freshener” products. Anything that is releasing a smell in the air, could be releasing toxins as well. Do your research and find natural, healthy alternatives whenever you can. Of course, sometimes these things cannot be avoided. When using heavy-duty chemicals like paint or wood varnish, make sure you properly ventilate the area and wear a mask.
Water Quality
This is one that requires a lot more specific research on your part. Cities and townships all over the world have different standards and different levels of particles within their water, as well as different filtering systems.
You may want to look into a water filter depending on the quality of water in your area. Many people jump to bottled water as a solution, but you need to research that as well as constantly drinking out of a plastic can, in many cases, be just as bad.
Food Quality
This is where things get pricey and the guilt sets in for a lot of people. Organic is better, yes, but sometimes it’s not feasible. Do your best, but don’t beat yourself up. (Cortisol, the stress hormone, is also filtered by the liver, which is doing most of your detoxing work already. Love your liver, he’s got enough on his plate without you adding stress.)
Start with the dirty dozen if you are able, and learn about properly cleaning produce. The dirty dozen is a list of the twelve fruits and vegetables that are most heavily sprayed with pesticides that are updated and released each year.
Conventional meat and dairy products can be filled with hormones and antibiotics. Do your research and do your best to limit toxins in your food. (Don’t forget about the quality of pots and pans and please, don’t ever, under any circumstances microwave food in plastic. Ever.)
Wherever you are in your clean-living journey, these simple tips will help keep you moving forward. Again, it’s important to emphasize that over-stressing about the countless chemicals and toxins floating around you at all times can be counterproductive. Keeping your mind toxin-free is an important part of this process. Meditation, yoga, time in nature, and journaling can help keep that part of the struggle calm and comfortable.
