When it comes to toxin-free products, Jessica Alba can be seen as a pioneer for rallying an army of women together to support her cause when she launched The Honest Company.
Not only does an all-natural home environment make that much better of a place to be for your children and family, but it prevents harm to your health in the long-term.
Experts report that some environmental toxins may lead to serious long-term health consequences if exposure is not reduced.
Researchers have estimated that 95% of cancers are either linked to environmental toxicity or diet. In short, we may be taking in toxins without realizing it!
To avoid putting your home in a bad place, when it comes to wiping off the dust on your favorite marble table from Z Gallerie or wooden coffee table from Wayfair, you want to be using the best of products to maintain your furniture while being toxin-free.
As you’re shopping, make sure to avoid these toxins as you’re looking at the ingredients.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Environmental toxins can be hard to pinpoint, especially when their names sound like some technical term from your Chemistry class in the 10th grade. To avoid the embarrassment of asking your kids, be sure to avoid polychlorinated biphenyls, or better known as PCB’s. This is a chemical that’s been banned in the United States, but is still present in our environment and can cause brain damage or cancer as a result of cancer.
Don’t just look for this on the ingredient on the labels of your household products, but as you’re strolling through the Whole Foods aisle too! While most of Whole Foods’ products and foods are all-natural, you do want to take a look to be sure that PCB’s aren’t in your cleaning products or in your salmon, either.
To avoid bringing an almost contaminated fish home to your family and unknowingly exposing them to deadly chemicals, try to avoid farm-raised salmon completely.
Try a plant-based diet (our vegan meal plan delivery service will make it easier to adopt a vegan diet) to err on the side of caution when it comes to your family meals.
Heavy Metals
Here are some other toxins that may be lurking in our environment without our realization: lead, mercury, and aluminum. Avoid these like the plague as you’re checking labels because they can lead to neurological problems among other physical bodily harm.
Invest in a trendy Brita water filter to make sure that your water does not contain traces of lead. We want to avoid another Flint water crisis while we’re at it.
Bisphenol A (BPA)
Bisphenol A has been banned in many countries, but the United States still allows this endocrine disruptor chemical to be added to some hard plastics and containers. Spend a few extra minutes and search for BPA-free materials as you’re adding items to your Amazon Prime cart.
Asbestos
Your newly-remodeled home with a driveway and full-on jacuzzi may not be infected with asbestos, but older homes and building may. If you live in a place that creaks when you take a step or feels adjacent to walking in a haunted house, asbestos insulation may be present. They release toxins in the air and may contaminate homeowners or building occupants.
Protect yourself by checking when your house was made to double check that no asbestos insulation was used.
Pesticides
To toxin-proof your home, don’t just choose all-natural cleaning products but choose organic foods. Maybe those $1.99 dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets from the market may look tempting to your 5-year old son, but may not be as good for his body as they are for his taste buds.
Don’t be afraid to pull out your stern card to put those $1.99 chicken nuggets back. The Environmental Working Group suggests that most herbicides, fungicides, insecticides (all of which are pesticides) can cause harm even in small doses. They cause cancers, Parkinson’s among other problems like malabsorption of nutrients in food. You’ll thank yourself later by avoiding these entirely.
Safe to say — from what’s found in your meats, the pesticides sprayed on your lawn to chemicals found in popular household products, make it your duty to be informed and take precautionary measures in order to protect your home and family.
Do you have a favorite all-natural household cleaning product? Share below in the comments!
