How to Live a Toxic-Free, Healthier Life

If you suffer from a serious health problem with no known cause, perhaps you haven’t looked at the chemicals used in your environment. With little regulation of the ingredients used in products for personal care and house cleaning, in building materials, and in home and lawn pesticides, you have to be vigilant about what you buy and know how to detoxify the chemicals stored in your body.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a known hormone disruptor that is contained both in the plastic bottles you may carry with you every day, and also in the plastic lining of your favorite canned food. Rather than purchase bottled water, buy a reusable glass or stainless steel bottle to fill with filtered tap water from home. When purchasing canned food, look for the BPA-free icon. Brands like Vital Choice Tuna and all Eden canned foods are BPA-free.

Genetically-modified high fructose corn syrup is in question by medical experts as to its long-term effects on your health and your weight. Unfortunately, it’s found in most packaged foods and bottled sodas. Your diet will be most healthful if you prepare your meals from fresh, organic produce and whole grains. Try making old-fashioned lemonade or iced tea instead of drinking chemical-laden sodas.

If you spray your home for ants or your lawn for weeds, you may be adding to the chance that your child will develop ADD or that you or someone you love may come down with cancer. Many independent lab findings have linked pesticides, even the most common weed killing chemicals, with these health problems.

If you want to benefit from eating fish rather than red meat, you need to learn which types have less mercury in them – especially if you are pregnant. Choose small fish (rather than large ahi tuna and swordfish) that typically have less mercury buildup.

If you plan to remodel your home, choose hardwood or tile over new carpets that may contain toxic glue and choose one of the new zero-VOC paints that don’t emit formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds.

Instead of the noxious fumes emitted from oven and bathroom cleaners, simply use baking soda to deodorize and scrub. There are also many new environmentally-friendly cleaners on the market that use natural ingredients like vinegar and citrus to cut through grease and grime.

The current Toxic Substances Control Act does not give the EPA the tools to monitor products for dangerous chemicals. Watchdog consumer groups have taken up the flag and can offer guides to those products, such as sunscreens, that are safest to use (see ).

Ask your medical practitioner for advice on detoxification aids. A hair analysis can show if your body is polluted with chemicals such as mercury or arsenic. And there are many detoxification regimens available ranging from I.V. chelation of heavy metals, to herbal pills containing chlorella and cilantro, to drops of liquid zeolite.

Most importantly, color your world “green,” not only to save the planet, but to safeguard your health.