Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins

Every day, we’re exposed to a huge range of environmental toxins as we go about our lives — whether that’s at home, work or out and about.

These toxins can take the form of toxic ‘heavy’ metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and aluminium, as well as herbicides, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Plus, a whole range of ‘endocrine disrupting chemicals’ or EDCs, including phthalates, parabens and bisphenol A (BPA) are now identified as having a significant impact on our health.

As these toxins have made their way into water supplies and soils (and are unfortunately resistant to degradation), exposure to these environmental toxins is now virtually impossible to avoid.

So what can you do to reduce your exposure in your own home? The good news is there are lots of easy ways to reduce your exposure right away:

• Drink filtered water — find out why filtered is best!

• Choose organic foods — particularly for the dirty dozen!

• Check your personal products for toxins — there are so many great alternatives, see our store for our favourites!

• Leave your shoes at the door — it’s easy to walk bacteria, toxins and dirt into your home.

• Use essential oils instead of fragrances or incense — many fragrances contain a long list of harmful chemicals while burning incense creates fine particles that can damage your lungs.

• Trade in your plastic containers — when heating and storing food, it’s best to invest in durable and safe stainless steel or glass containers.

• Chuck out the non-stick frypans — cooking with Teflon can release toxins into your home, including PFOA or perfluorooctanoic acid. Try ceramic or stainless steel instead.

• Get rid of your microwave — read why I think it doesn’t belong in your kitchen.

• Say goodbye to your plastic shower curtain — many shower curtains are made with polyvinyl chloride, which contains a number of toxic chemicals. Try cotton instead, or go without!

These are a little harder, but can have a significant impact on your toxic load:

• Get yourself an indoor air purifier — there are lots on the market now at affordable prices.

• Get cleaning — it’s really important for your health to remove and remediate all mould from your home. It’s also great to be proactive when it comes to maintaining your bathroom cleanliness to prevent mould.

• Avoid front-loading washing machines — if not cleaned, these can house toxic mould spores which are released into the air every time you open and close the door. If you have one, make sure to clean the seals regularly and leave it open to dry out.

• Consider your flooring — new carpet contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are released into your home’s air, while the top layer of laminate flooring can continue to emit harmful chemicals. Vinyl can also contain harmful toxic phthalates, lead, cadmium and more. Instead, try timber, bamboo, or polished concrete.

• Get a good night’s sleep, but not on memory foam — some mattresses contain toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene and naphthalene. It’s best to check your mattress is non-toxic before you buy!

How to eliminate EDCs naturally

Reducing your exposure to EDCs is great, but how can you combat the effects of these on your body? Supportive herbs and nutrients can be a potent way to do this. We recommend the following as part of a comprehensive clinical detoxification program:

• Milk thistle — protects the liver from toxin exposure and enhances its detoxification capacity. It also prevents the reabsorption of oestrogenic compounds that have been sent to the large intestine for elimination, ensuring EDCs are correctly eliminated from your body.

• Turmeric — increases the detoxification of EDCs through the liver, reducing their levels within the body. This potent anti-inflammatory spice also reduces the inflammation and tissue damage that environmental toxins can cause in your body.

• Spirulina — stimulates the production of your body’s primary antioxidant, glutathione, which is required to neutralise cell damage EDCs can create, and also detoxify them from your body. This algae also has the ability to bind to many toxic metals, helping protect against the effects of heavy metal toxicity.

• Probiotics — strain-specific probiotics support the health of your intestinal microbiome (gut bacteria), where a healthy balance of microorganisms is required for optimal elimination of environmental chemicals via the intestine.

Whether we like it or not, toxins like EDCs are all around us, so it’s beneficial to find ways to reduce your toxic load particularly within your own home. If you’re interested in our clinical detoxification program, you can call us to book a FREE 15 minute chat with one of our Naturopaths to see how we can help you. Call now on (02) 4961 4075.

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