Whilst avoiding toxins entirely is virtually impossible in this day and age, there are certainly numerous things that you can do to reduce the amount you come into contact with on a daily basis. From eating organic food and drinking filtered water, to switching to natural skincare and beauty products – below we have devised our top 10 tips for reducing your toxic-load.
- Buy Organic
Whilst we know it’s not always cheap, eating organic food when possible can significantly reduce your daily intake of pesticides. When referring to the pesticides sprayed onto non-organic crops, we are referring to a whole host of chemicals used to eliminate agricultural pests and prolong the life of these foods. The most commonly used are insecticides (to kill insects), herbicides (to kill weeds), rodenticides (to kill rodents), and fungicides (to control fungi, mold, and mildew). In addition to pesticides used to ‘protect’ non organic fruit and veg, if you eat meat and dairy, ensuring these food products are organic is even more important. Non-organic animals are pumped full of hormones as to grow them at a rapid rate. To avoid your intake of these harmful chemicals, try to buy organic as much as financially possible. The cheapest way to do this is to head to your local farmers market, or check out the natural method we use to wash our non-organic fruit and veg here.
Whilst buying organic food is all well and good, the quality of the water you’re drinking and adding to your cooking is almost as important. With all the toxic chemicals that can be present in tap water (most notably chlorine, fluoride and heavy metals – all toxic in high doses), the easiest way to ensure your water is pure and free of chemicals is to have a water filteration system installed into your home like this one. If that’s not an option, a filtered water jug or drink bottle is just as effective!
More: Why You Should Be Drinking 2 Liters Of Water Per Day
- Ditch The Plastic
Whilst after reading the point above, store bottled water may seem like the easiest way of avoiding any nasties lurking in our water supply, the ‘pure’ water cased inside store bought varieties is not always as pure as it may seem. Unfortunately, much of the water you buy out and about is most readably available in a plastic bottle. Unfortunately, plastic materials contain a toxic compound known as BPA (bisphenol-A), an estrogen mimicking substance used in plastic production that has been linked to the onset of breast cancer, early puberty and infertility. Stick to BPA free water bottles such as this one or this one.
More: Need A New Water Bottle? Here’s The Brand We’re Loving Now
- Buy Your Cosmetics Consciously
Here at Hip & Healthy, we take a holistic approach to wellbeing, meaning that the same way we look at food labels, we do our beauty products. The skin, being our largest organ, absorbs what we apply to the surface into our bloodstream. Using products that contain parabens, fragrances and synthetic ingredients results in a toxic-load that could otherwise be avoided if natural and organic products were favoured over mainstream varieties. According to a recent study, the average woman’s daily grooming and makeup routine consists of a whopping 515 different synthetic chemicals, applied to her body every single day! Go natural, go organic and you’ve already minimized your exposure to over 500 chemicals each day!
More: Our Favourite Natural Beauty Products
Yet another reason to love your greens – upping your dose of leafy greens is a great way to combat the effects of heavy metals and chlorine our body is exposed to through the foods we eat, the water we drink, the cosmetics we use and even the air we breathe. Eating leafy greens has a cleansing effect on the body, detoxing our systems on a cellular level and helping the body to flush out those unwanted toxins that we come into contact with on a daily basis. Put it simply – the more greens you eat, the less toxic you become! Whilst leafy greens are great – for something a little more potent and extra detoxifying, try adding Spirulina and Chlorella to you morning green juice or smoothie.
More: Find Your Perfect Green Powder
Words by Zsa Zsa Vella
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