Did you know that minimising your toxic load at home is vital in maintaining a healthy gut?
Your home and indoor air are filled with toxins, pollutants, and chemicals that are breathed in and absorbed through the skin. These all have to be dealt with by your gut's immune system. By taking the load off the "good guys", this will free them up to do all of the health promoting duties on their to-do-list.
This means eliminating toxins and harmful chemicals where you can. If you want to lead a truly detoxed life, it's time to start swapping out household products with ingredients lists you can't understand for simple, homemade or chemical-free options.
As you take steps to reduce your toxic load, you'll also decrease the burden placed on your liver and detoxification system. Removing conventional personal care and house products from your life is a great place to start.
Three simple steps to get you closer to the healthy home you desire
Scan every product you use
Seriously, scan everything: from shampoo and body wash to dishwashing liquid and makeup. Don't forget, chemicals in household cleaning products have been linked to a range of illnesses. Triclosan, a common ingredient in antibacterial hand soap, has been linked to endocrine disruption and is a known carcinogen.
Download the ThinkDirty App and EWG's Healthy Living App (which includes Skin Deep) and scan your personal care products and cosmetics. You'll get a score for your products, plus information on how toxic they are in terms of cancer-causing chemicals and hormone-disrupting chemicals.
If a product isn't rated, search the first few ingredients on the EWG's Skin Deep website. If several ingredients are toxic, it's worth replacing.
Avoid anything with: coal tar, formaldehyde, lead acetate, DEA, MEW or TEA compounds, petroleum (including mineral oil), phenylenediamine, alpha hydroxy acids and silica.
Prioritise based on which products you use most
It might seem overwhelming to replace all your products (especially if you discover most of them are toxic like I did!). Take it one product at a time and enjoy the process, knowing that each clean product you choose significantly reduces your daily exposure to unnecessary toxins.
Don't stress about finding all new products at once. Replace one toxic product each week or month, or simply replace products one at a time as you need them. This makes the process more affordable and enjoyable.
Introduce new routines
When your clothes are dry-cleaned they emit toxic chemicals. Instead, buy clothes that don't need dry cleaning, or save this for special occasions.
Cook food on the stove or in the oven, instead of using the EMF radiating microwave.
Don't leave thermal receipts in your shopping bags as they leach BPA. Always put them in your handbag or wallet.
Take steps to change your chemical-laden routines, one by one. Before you know it your house will be a lot greener and cleaner.
If you do this, you'd be going a long way to reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals. But if it all seems overwhelming, start with one and go from there.
Now over to you: tell me your best tip for detoxing your life, or the number one thing holding you back from going "non-toxic".
Living Mojo's Autumn/Winter automated detox is ready for you in my online store (Spring/Summer option too). You are supported throughout and you will be motivated and inspired to reduce the toxic load in your environment, your lifestyle and your relationships.
A detox doesn't have to be expensive or inconvenient. With my 30-day online program (Autumn/Winter or Spring/Summer options) you can do a cost effective and low pressure program that is professional and well supported.
"Your health will benefit tremendously from a fully supported, scientifically sound process to clean up and optimise all your systems of elimination...from your lymphatic system, to your kidneys and gall bladder, to your liver, to your colon."
- Amy, Living Mojo
