Living in a Chemical Soup

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It’s a dangerous world out there! In our modern world, we are unfortunately surrounded by hazardous substances. Certain chemicals eaten in foods or drinks, applied to your skin or inhaled from the air can be absorbed by your body and may cause harm to your cells and organ systems. They can cause inflammation and increase the body’s production of free radicals, thus increasing your likelihood of developing chronic health problems. They can also mimic the body’s hormones and cause major imbalances.

Check out these fascinating toxin facts:

  • Of the more than 40,000 chemicals used in consumer products in the US, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, less than 1% have been rigorously tested for human safety (source).

  • The European Union has banned over 1,300 chemicals found in cosmetics that are linked to cancer, genetic mutation, reproductive harm or birth defects. The FDA has only banned 8 and restricted 3. In the US it's a free market and you don't have to do anything -- no safety testing required -- until there is a problem (source)

  • The average woman puts 515 synthetic chemicals on her body every day without even knowing it (source).  And 60 percent of what we put onto our skin is absorbed into our bodies. 

  •  A surprising (or not so surprising) 300 man-made chemicals have been reportedly found in humans. These are hazardous chemicals, found on nearly every person on our planet, and some of these toxins have been linked to several cancers, and a variety of reproductive problems. In fact, a study done by the British Medical Journal concludes that 75% of all cancers are caused by environmental and lifestyle factors. It really makes you wonder what chemicals you are using daily, without even knowing it! (source)

  • The average newborn has 287 chemicals in the umbilical cord blood, 217 of which are neurotoxic. They include pesticides, phthalates, bisphenol A, flame retardants and heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic. These chemicals have a broad range of negative effects on adults, so just think how badly they affect babies (source)

  • Environmental toxins can feed cancer, interfere with glucose and cholesterol metabolism and induce insulin resistance and obesity through multiple mechanisms including inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial injury, altered thyroid metabolism and impaired central appetite regulation (Source)

“The average woman applies 15 personal care products every day and up to 168 different chemicals”
— Environmental Working Group

Just think of your morning routine.  If you're an average woman, you apply about 15 personal care products every single day: shampoo, toothpaste, soap/body wash, deodorant, hair conditioner, lip balm, sunscreen, body lotion, makeup, perfume, shaving products, hair styling creams and gels, anti-aging products—amounting to an average of 168 different chemicals. Many of the ingredients in these products are harmless, but some are carcinogens, neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors. 


This isn’t including the every day exposures in your home that you use to clean your home with, toxins on your furniture, your clothing, your food, behind the walls of your house (mold), and air pollution.

“ Your skin is a giant mouth. What you put on it goes directly into your blood stream. There is no filter - wherever your blood flows, the toxins go.”
— Heather Tesch

 

But our focus today are the home care and hygiene products.  Your skin is a giant mouth. What you put on it goes directly into your blood stream. There is no filter - wherever your blood flows, the toxins go. Unlike the GI tract which has the liver, the kidneys to filter out toxins, the skin only has you. 



This information isn’t meant to scare you, rather it’s meant to do the opposite. To empower you with knowledge so you can create a more greener and clean life! Because let’s face it, you can’t eliminate toxins completely, but you can definitely reduce exposure to these endocrine disruptors. It simply involves investigative work, switching to safer products and working with a health practitioner or healer to create a life and bodily detox. Once you get the hang of it, you can live clean and green without much effort

 

SO HOW DO WE FIND SAFER PRODUCTS?

The Environmental Working Group has this Skin Deep database where they've studied thousands of products and you can type in a product that you use and it will rate it and break down the ingredients. And the Think Dirty app is also pretty good. And these are two wonderful resources: https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/, https://static.ewg.org/ewg-tip-sheets/EWG-Cleaners-WalletGuide.pdf. However, The best thing that you can do is expose yourself to ingredients that you can pronounce -- ingredients that are food-grade, organic, that you would feel comfortable eating


SOME OF MY FAVORITES

After trial and error over the course of a decade, here are a few of my favorite cleaning and hygiene products, most of which are available on Amazon, except Norwex..

CLEANING PRODUCTS:

HYGIENE PRODUCTS

  • Acure shampoos and conditioners

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Toxins are ubiquitous in our modern world so we can’t avoid them completely. But we can do our best to help our bodies out by minimizing our toxin exposure as much as possible. Some of the products I mentioned aren’t as clean as I could get (Seventh Generation), but it’s BETTER and aiming for better is a good place to aim.

I recommend slowly beginning to swap out your products over time. Take your time and enjoy the journey!

If you’re interested in any Norwex products send me an email to heather@heather-tesch.com and I’ll share recommendations and how to purchase.

💜 Heather