12 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to Toxins

Triclosan (as with other active antibacterial ingredients) is a chemical that is found in many consumer products. Its intent is to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination and therefore spread.  It’s usually found an antibacterial soap, conventional toothpaste, some body washes and cosmetics. Fortunately, it is one of the chemicals that is regulated by the US FDA. On September 6, 2016 The FDA issued the final rule establishing that these active ingredients (used in over the counter antiseptic products) are not safe and that they are branded incorrectly. For years prior to this, the FDA suggested that regular soap and water proved just as effective as antibacterial soap’s and vice versa but now we know (as we had suspected) that the use of all these chemicals is actually worse for us.

I hate animal studies but I suppose we wouldn’t know this next part without them. Triclosan was tested on animals and it was found that consistent or high exposure caused a decrease in some thyroid hormones. From a previous blog post you know how important thyroid hormones are and what domino affects low thyroid hormones can have on the body. The endocrine system is a delicately balanced, intricately arranged and interwoven mechanism in your body. Simplified, it’s like a plate of spaghetti. One piece of spaghetti touches another piece of spaghetti that touches another piece etc. Every hormone is affected by another.

Hormonal imbalances have wide ranging health effects … and not good ones. Anything that acts as an endocrine disruptor is bad. Endocrine disruptors are compounds that act like estrogen – attaching to estrogen receptors and fooling the body into thinking it’s real estrogen. Really they are just thugs & thieves and they throw off hormonal balances. The biggest sources of these endocrine disruptors are the chemicals all around us. They’re in our food supply, our soaps, cosmetics, plastics, paint, carpeting, they’re everywhere.

The finding also reported exposure to triclosan contributes to antibiotic resistant bacteria. This is a problem because the more we expose these germs to these forms of antibiotics the more they become immune to them. They grow stronger against these germ fighting substances. It’s a little like trying to run the American Ninja Warrior obstacle course. The first time you’re exposed to it you fall at every obstacle but as your daily workouts become weeks that run into months … You find yourself stronger and more capable and 6 months down the road your daily exposure has taught you how to effectively master these obstacles. Suddenly you’re running through stage one and stage two. This is great if it’s a work out …not so much if it’s a germ that’s becoming antibiotic resistant.

Manufacturers have a year to comply with the FDA’s rule to remove these products in the market or reformulate their consumer products removing the antibacterial active ingredients. The bad news is this applies to hand soaps and body washes. It doesn’t address your Colgate toothpaste, sanitizers or wipes.

So now that you have all this information what do you do with it? Let’s be real, it’s not as if you can run away and go live in a log cabin to prevent exposure to toxins that cause hormone unbalance. If you have an autoimmune disease the tax on your body is enough without adding endocrine inhibiting substances to it. You can however limit your exposure. This will maximally reduce your chances of succumbing to one (or more) life-quality threatening diseases.

Here’s how to reduce your toxic load:

1.)  Stop using antibacterial soaps and lotions. I think I said enough about that above.

2.)  Avoid plastics. Plastics contain chemicals that leach into food and water. This is even more prone to happen when you heat plastic in the microwave. Think of the water bottles. They leach Bisphenol A (BPA). Virtually all plastic water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This ingredient is also found in the interlinings of canned foods. Try to buy food that’s not packaged in plastic. Don’t store your food in zip lock bags. Use glass containers.

I’m guilty of this one. Well, I never drink water from a plastic bottle that’s known to have been heated up, but I have frequently found it easier to measure my water intake with the empty water bottles.

3.)  Drink water. Sure, you’ve heard this advice before but optimal daily detoxification requires drinking 8 to 10 glasses of clean pure water. This doesn’t mean coffee, or sweet tea or lemonade. Hydrating well helps dilute and flush out toxins.

4.)  Eat clean meat & dairy (if you must eat these two food groups). This means organically raised animals because they are not given antibiotics or growth hormones. Besides being healthier for that reason this meat & dairy are also richer in nutrients. Studies have shown that these two food groups are high are in omega three fatty acids (which is really important when you have an autoimmune disease).

5.)  Eat non GMO food. Genetically modified organisms or GMO’s are genetically engineered. These foods are plants who’s DNA have been altered in ways that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. It’s almost fake food. GMO’s are most commonly found in the US in items like zucchini, papaya, soy beans, and they are processed into foods like cereals and other packaged foods. If the ingredients on the package include corn syrup or soy lecithin there’s a pretty good chance it contains GMO’s.

6.)  Switch to “green” cleaning products. Replace Ajax and bleach and other cleaning chemicals with vinegar; baking soda; hydrogen peroxide and essential oils.

If you have help to clean your house, this can drive your cleaning ladies crazy because they don’t know what to look for when cleaning. They still ask me where the “Windex” is while looking at a clear bottle of of vinegar based solution. They are just so used to looking for the blue liquid. I buy the “green” product and refill it with all natural ingredients as needed. They don’t know the difference. One time I was even asked “where is the bottle of that magic bathroom stuff? It works better then anything I use at home!” that made me feel great.  I still have some conventional cleaning product bottles but I’ve refilled most of them with natural products or all natural ingredients Ive made from scratch.. One note of caution, if you have granite counter tops, don’t use citrus essential oils. When I had my granite installed they cautioned against using citrus flavored anything on them ….. so I keep those essential oils away from my granite.  The others are fair game.

7.)  Clean your air. Add houseplants to each room. Get an air purifier, use salt lamps.

8.)  Use only natural lotions, oils toothpaste etc. Your skin absorbs nutrients. However, if the lotions you apply to your body are laden with chemicals this is what your body is absorbing.

9.)  Eat organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. This will help you to avoid pesticides and genetically modified organisms. If cost is a concern then at least look at EWG’s dirty dozen plus list and by those as organic

Here’s the difference between organic and non-organic produce: the organic vegetables are grown with natural fertilizers (meaning manure and compost) and no pesticides. Weeds are controlled naturally with hand weeding, mulching, tilling and crop rotation. Insects are kept at bay using natural methods such as planting certain flowers by that vegetable or using birds etc.  In contrast, the conventionally grown vegetable grows in soil in which synthetic or chemical fertilizers are used along with pesticides. Weeds are controlled with chemical herbicides and insects are kept away with strong insecticides.

10.)  Eliminate processed food from your diet. I know some of us are addicted to chips (ok, maybe I’m just talking about me here?) but “processed foods” are the worst when it comes to chemicals. What I mean when I say processed food is anything that’s got flour, sugar, and ingredient you can’t read or pronounce in them. I get my husband Cheese crackers which I used to love before becoming gluten free… but did you ever try to pronounce those ingredients!!??  I realize, we all live busy lives and for some it’s unrealistic to have every meal be homemade so if you’re going to eat this stuff purchase non-GMO organic products.

11.)  Look at your make up. Those of us that are gluten-free especially have no idea what some of these chemicals are that are in our cosmetics. I hate to say it but switching to all gluten-free and/or natural cosmetics & shampoos just might be the shift that changes your life.

12.)  Reduce your stress. I have talked about this one before and I could probably talk about it all day long. This is so vitally important to your life. Go play and engage in stress reduction activities such as meditation, breathing exercises, Pilates and yoga (if that’s your thing) but get your body in a relaxed state so it can start the restorative process.

The sad truth is, there’s practically no way to really avoid exposure to toxins in today’s age unless we go live like the boy in the plastic bubble. Toxins have made their way into our food supply, gardening nutrients, body lotions, household cleaners, skincare, cosmetics, air fresheners, the paint we use on our walls …you name it. The way you win at this game is to give your body a fighting chance. Take care of you (after all you are married to you till death do you part) so take care of you – your true best friend and reduce your toxin load!

September 8, 2016

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