Healthy Habits- Reducing your toxic load

Mar 26

I am not sure of the exact moment when I thought “ boy, have I gone a little cuckoo with all this natural stuff.” It all started quite slowly for me and the next thing you know I am telling my kids, “don’t drink out of plastic”, “eat organic foods”, “stop using perfume”, “don’t sleep with the phone near your head (and put it on airplane mode at night)” and the list goes on and on.”. Just the other day, my husband was looking at me lying in bed with a castor oil pack on my liver, blue light blocking glasses on my eyes and then before he could say anything to me, I asked him if he remembered to take his dose of apple cider vinegar before bed. It’s been an eye-opening journey and I want to share some ways to start ditching the toxins in your life and live a cleaner, more natural, healthy life.

Removing Toxins

I know I will be giving you a lot of advice here today, so just remember “One step at a time”. Rome wasn’t built in a day nor will transforming your life to a non-toxic lifestyle be a quick process. It will take time and patience. The important thing is that you are here and willing to learn and make changes for a healthier you.

I want to give you steps that you can start making right away. Some of these habits are completely free and some of them are just a matter of you swapping out products each time you run out of something. When you do your next shopping, opt for a cleaner, less toxic option and using the YUKA app is very helpful. You can scan bar codes at the supermarket and see the positives and negatives for each product.

How I start my day:

Wake up, take a few moments to breathe in and out slowly.

I try not to check my phone, until after I workout, I allow my mind to be clear for the morning and not worry about the day ahead.

I then take time to thank God for the new day and all that he has given me in my life. I pray for my family, for strength, wisdom and good health.

Drink some lemon water.

I then get moving, usually with some pilates, weights, a walk or stretching.

Then I do my coconut oil pulling for 10-15 minutes. You can read more about this in my other blog post.

I then crush a clove of garlic, let it sit for 10 minutes and then eat it. By crushing the clove you release the allicin, which is a key immune-boosting compound. Garlic helps keep you healthy.

I try to get out and get some morning light to help set my circadian rhythm. It’s important to get that early morning sun because the light cue’s your body’s sleep cycles. Also the early morning light and the light before sunset(the redder the better) signals the production of hormones (ex. vit d-and it is actually more of a hormone, not a vitamin ) which helps regulate our circadian rhythm process.

When the weather warms up, I like to take off my shoes and do some grounding. I’m sure you all have heard this by now, but if not, grounding is just getting in touch with the vibrations of the earth. It’s meant to give health benefits by connecting us to the Earth’s natural electrical charge. God made dirt and dirt don’t hurt. I believe it is very important to get outside each day. Spend some time in the sun, yes I said it. I am not advocating 3 hours in the middle of the hot sun, but some sun is very beneficial for getting some vitamin D. My daughter, who is quite pale, rarely gets burnt and she seldomly use sunscreen. Instead, as the warmer weather approaches, we all go out in the sun, at first 15 minutes, the next day maybe 20 and slowly increase the sun exposure time. By doing this your body slowly acclimates to the sun and you should not burn. The key is slow and steady. Of course, if I know I must be out for a longtime, I will use a hat, longer sleeves or use some homemade sunscreen with ingredients like zinc, cocoa butter, peppermint oil and red raspberry seed oil. I would also warn against wearing sunglasses and harmful sunscreens. Sunglasses block out important rays of the light spectrum which signal to the body and trigger the regulation of vitamin d.

In the meantime, I brew coffee in my french press, which has no plastic in the device, no filters made from who knows what, and definitely never use coffee pods. Now coffee itself is a whole topic on its own. Some say it’s good for you, some say it’s bad for you. I’ll stick with it and drink it in moderation. I make sure to buy organic coffee that is mold free. Over 97% of coffee is covered in pesticides and most are contaminated with mold.

I then check emails, do some reading of the Torah and get a look at the day ahead.

I eat a nutritious, clean breakfast that includes fiber, protein and healthy fats. Fats like avocados, nuts, grass fed butter and coconut oil provide a long-lasting source of energy, which can contribute to you feeling full and satieted. Protein helps keep you full by reducing hunger hormones and it is important to help repair muscles after exercise and supports growth. Fiber fuels healthy gut bacteria and keeps your digestion running smoothly. High fiber foods like berries, broccoli, Quinoa, flax and chickpeas help slow the absorption of sugar in the bloodstream, which can prevent spikes and crashes in blood sugar, helping to maintain steady energy levels throughout the day.

Always try to eat a rainbow of foods each day and opt for organic and non-GMO foods as much as possible. I always try to buy organic foods that are on the dirty dozen list.

That is a typical morning.

Now let’s talk about removing some toxic products from our lives.

Let’s start with our personal care products. I remember when I learned about the dangers of aluminum in deodorant and I started using deodorants made of crystal (come to think of it, you don’t see anymore). I heard many stories about how aluminum could possibly be linked to breast cancer due to the proximity of the application. Aluminum can be absorbed through the skin and may accumulate in your tissues like bone, brain, liver and heart. All the companies and health gurus said there was no harm in aluminum. Fast forward 25 years and now deodorants are all boasting about the fact that they don’t include this ingredient. Due to lack of human studies the consensus is still not clear about the harms of aluminum. There was one study done on those poor mice that supports this theory of breast cancer from aluminum. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijc.30393

EWG has a good post about this as well.

Until there is more evidence I will err on the side of caution.

Another concern for me are mammograms. Mammograms emit radiation and this, we know, causes cancer. Mammograms give many overdiagnosis, false-positive results and radiation exposure.

Here is a study showing the harms of Mammograms:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4582264/

In my opinion there is a safer alternative called a thermogram. Thermograms use an infrared light to detect and measure any temperature changes, heat patterns and blood flow in your breast and other body parts, which can help detect any abnormalities. A high breast temperature has been shown to influence the growth of cancers. Thermograms can detect early danger signs in the body years before other tools. There is no radiation, no compression to your breast, no scary false positives and it has been used for over 50 years.

Another unpopular opinion is not wearing underwire bras. The doctor I visited for my thermogram explained to me that the metal in the underwire bra is like an antenna that can attract and magnify electromagnetic fields (EMF’s). The metal is drawing more radiation from wireless exposures and this can stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. The radiation can also interfere with hormone production of melatonin, which helps repair DNA damage. And if using a metal underwire bra, please don’t place that cell phone anywhere near your breasts. It drives me crazy when I see women at the gym with their phones tucked into their sports bras, metal or no metal, that is radiation to your breasts!

Bras also have been known to block the drainage of lymph nodes, which can lead to toxins being trapped in the body. Yet another reason to go wireless, bra wireless, that is.

If going wireless seems like a hard task, swap it out with some plastic pieces found here.

Home Cleaning Products

Let's talk about cleaning products. Most emit hazardous chemicals that can lead to so many health issues. Just because a product says it is “green” or “natural”, doesn’t make it completely safe. Remember, these manufacturers are not always the most honest when it comes to their “natural” ingredients. Most products release hundreds of volatile organic compounds or VOC’s. VOC’s release a variety of chemicals that have short and long term health effects. The toxins that are included in most cleaning products pose a threat to so many facets of our health. They can cause hormonal imbalances, increased risk of cancers, respiratory issues, liver damage, developmental issues and wreak havoc on our immune systems to name a few.

Over the years I have slowly replaced all cleaning products with either homemade cleaners or ones that have been deemed safe on the EWG website. I also have a great blog post about the EWG and the amazing work that they do.

Making your own, or finding ones that are safer can have a huge impact on your health. You may not notice it now, but you are possibly preventing disease by making these swaps. You can google tons of easy to make homemade cleaners. I find vinegar, baking soda and some essential oils can clean just about everything in the house. Essential oils not only smell great but also have a host of beneficial elements.

These are some cleaners I would advise you replacing:

Detergents-many contain cancer causing agents

Fabric softeners-use wool balls and add a few drops of your favorite essential oil

Dish soap/hand soap- can leave behind toxic chemical residues

Dishwasher pods (anything in a pod=more exposure to plastic)

Ajax- baking soda and lemon oil do a great job here instead

Carpet fresheners- use a few drops of essential oils in your vacuum

Air fresheners/candles- can cause respiratory issues from VOC’s

Spray cleaner/glass cleaner- vinegar works great

Clorox wipes- again vinegar and lemon oil work great here

The EWG website is an excellent place to find replacements for your favorite products and also you can see how your current products score.

Then I would look at beauty products. Many again contain something called endocrine disruptors which disrupt and interfere with the body’s hormone system, like phthalates. Please read your labels and start recognizing some of the worst offenders.

Here is a good list to start with:

Parabens
Sodium Laureth Sulfate(SLS)
Formaldehyde
Paraformaldehyde
Methylene glycol
Polyethylene (PEGs) anything that says PEG and a # ,
Ethylene oxide and 1,4 dioxane
Isobutyl and isopropyl parabens
Propylene glycol
Triethanolamine
Triclosan
Phthalates

These are some beauty products to start swapping out:

Deodorants-some ingredients can cause hormonal imbalances

Shampoo/conditioners- many include dangerous fragrances

Make-up- A clean organic company to try is Piper Blue-link

Hair products-again many contain endocrine disruptors and harmful fragrances

Perfumes- opt for essential oils

Toothpaste/mouthwash-flouride has now shown to lower IQ

Dental floss-use only plain, no flavorings, many of those leach toxic chemicals

Other areas of concern to look at replacing are toxic cookware, like Teflon coated pans, plastic containers, plastic, using clean water, ditching water bottles, synthetic clothing, water filters even on showerheads and air filters.

But hey, who’s got time to keep track of all this stuff? You’re right, that is why you need a health coach. Contact me for more information.

Book a free consult