Non-Toxic Living For Optimized Hormones and Health
At some point you’ve probably heard some chatter about non-toxic living, lowering your toxic load, or avoiding endocrine disruptors. This can be a bit of a loaded topic and can be overwhelming to digest so I’m going to do my best to break it down very simply and will share some of my quick tips for eliminating exposure to harmful chemicals without breaking the bank.
Have you ever read the label on a bottle of household cleaner? You probably couldn’t pronounce much of it, let alone know what the ingredients were and whether or not they are harmful. The same applies to our bath and body products, and sadly even to a lot of our packaged and processed foods. I’ve covered whole foods and making healthier food choices in earlier newsletters. (BTW, if you’re newer to our newsletters you can view many of the old ones on our blog here https://spreadwhealth.com/whealth-blog
The reasons for avoiding toxic chemicals and endocrine disruptors come down to our overall health. For some they may contribute to allergic reactions and exacerbation of symptoms with things like mast cell activation disorders. For others they may make autoimmune issues or skin issues worse. Some toxic chemicals are linked to cancer or other disease processes.
Let’s go through some common places people are exposed and talk about some alternatives…
WATER
While our water supply is tested for major chemicals and bacteria, the standards that they have in place aren’t exactly optimal. You can enter your zip code here to see your water report: https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/
Bottled water isn’t really the best alternative as it generally comes in plastic bottles which are transported and stored in warm temperatures that can degrade the plastic and leech micro and nano plastics into the drinking water. Now it’s fine from time to time but when it comes to daily consumption a water filter will be a better option. The cheapest option would be something like a brita filter https://amzn.to/3Lt7JEA either as a pitcher or as a point of use filter on the water faucet itself. They can run around $40 and they are better than nothing, but they aren’t the best. The most expensive option would be a whole house filter installed by a plumber. If you can afford that option it’s wonderful. Having all your water filtered including the water you use to bathe, do laundry, etc is awesome but this option can cost thousands of dollars. There’s the option to take a jug to somewhere like Whole Foods and fill it at their filling station for a few dollars each time but that can get tedious. Some places have water delivery options as well. We opted for an in-between solution which is a Berkey water filter. The berkey filter design filters a MASSIVE list of stuff out of the water and is pretty amazing. The filters also last a very long time. https://amzn.to/3L8qsUG This is an investment but we’ve had it for years and we love it. We drink several gallons of water per day in our house so this solution works well for us.
LAUNDRY
When it comes to laundry you can start by transitioning away from heavily scented laundry detergents. Opt for “sensitive” skin options or fragrance-free choices. You can use some essential oils to add a scent that isn’t an endocrine disruptor (ie it will not mess with your hormones). Just make sure it’s 100% essential oil and has no added fragrance. There are some brands of laundry detergents that are non-toxic, but they can be a bit costly. https://amzn.to/3ArmFNu
We add distilled vinegar to our loads of laundry in the bleach dispenser on the washing machine. This can help with removing build-up from towels, gym clothes, and dirty little boy clothes. Distilled vinegar is cheap- a few dollars will get you a huge jug. You can also use castile soap as a laundry detergent. Here’s a recipe for that:
1 Cup liquid castile soap https://amzn.to/43THEpH
¾ cup baking soda
¼ cup sea salt
Dissolve in 2 ¼ cups of warm water. Then fill a one-gallon container with the mixture and add warm water to fill the rest of the way up. Gently mix it and use ¼ cup of the mixture with every load of laundry. You can find castile soap that is scented with essential oils, or you can add your own.
Avoiding dryer sheets and fabric softener is good also. They are known as endocrine disruptors. Instead, get a set of wool dryer balls. https://amzn.to/43YfBW4 They will save you a lot of money in the long run. I like to add some drops of essential oils to the dryer balls to give the clothing a nice smell. I keep a basket of oils on top of the dryer for this.
CLEANING PRODUCTS
There are some good brands of non-toxic home cleaning products, but there are also a lot of brands that are jumping on the marketing bandwagon and selling themselves as “non-toxic” while still including some nasty ingredients. So you will want to do some research on this. I use Dr. Bronner’s concentrate for cleaning a lot of our house, including our floors. https://amzn.to/3ozBc6R It has a nice smell to it. I use this and water to dilute it in a spray bottle for cleaning the floors, counters, etc.
Distilled vinegar is an excellent cleaning agent, as is baking soda. There are many recipes online that you can use to make your own cleaning products with simple ingredients like this if you invest in a few spray bottles and label them, it works great.
You can search online for recipes to make your own dish detergent with castile soap and a few simple ingredients as well.
HYGIENE
You will start to notice a theme with Castile soap. It’s very versatile. You can buy refillable foaming hand soap dispensers and add a bit of castile soap, water, and essential oil and make your own hand-soap to avoid chemicals and fragrances there. I use a ratio of about ¼ castile and ¾ water but you can play around with your dispenser to find the right consistency. I promise it’s easy to do.
We also use castile soap as body wash in the shower. Pro tip- pass on the peppermint scented one for body wash. That tingle is… real. We use the peppermint castile soap for handwash.
There are many brands coming into the market now with cleaner options for shampoos, conditioners, lotions, make-up, etc. I will list just a few of my favorites here, but there are a lot of options.
Hair Care https://amzn.to/43Ze2ak
Toothpaste https://amzn.to/3n3yaaA
Shaving cream: Castile soap :)
Body lotion https://amzn.to/41Zpy3T
Body soap, face oil https://mysweetolive.net/beauty-products/ We’ve been purchasing from this woman for years. You have to call to order it and it’s handmade by her. It’s amazing stuff.
Makeup: Ilia, W3LL people, westman atelier, OGEE
Take things slowly. This is a marathon, not a sprint. The idea is to make simple, sustainable lifestyle changes that you can maintain. Don’t feel like you need to toss everything in your house and start over. Just start with replacing things here and there as you run out by choosing better options.
Keep in mind that these changes are like a long-term investment. You aren’t likely to see immediate returns. Many of the options may save you money in the long run, some will cost more. It depends how much you value convenience versus saving money. While some individuals may notice immediate changes in how they feel as they begin to clean up exposure in their lives most may not notice immediate changes or may only see subtle differences.
Let me know if you have any questions or if there are product recommendations you need that I didn’t include in this list. Or if you have favorite brands, recipes, or hacks please share them with me!