When you hear the word toxin, you might think of things like chemical cleaners, lead, smog, or smoke. You probably know these are bad for your health, but are you aware of all of the other toxins that inhabit your daily life? Did you know that seemingly innocent items like lotion, laundry detergent, or coffee can be harboring toxins that contribute to daily health problems like fatigue, weight gain, skin irritations, hormone imbalances and a poor digestive system?

Your health and the well-being of your family is important to you, so of course you want to reduce as many toxins as possible in your daily environment to keep everyone safe and thriving. In this blog you will find 10 ways to reduce your toxic load that will help you to achieve that goal. Most of these are toxins that we either use or consume on a daily or weekly basis, and they are fairly easy to swap out for safer options. You will find some of these simple swaps below.

What is Toxic Load?

The above-mentioned products we use daily as well as the environments we surround ourselves with make up our “toxic load”. Many of us may not be smoking daily or ingesting lead on a regular basis, but we may still load our systems with tiny amounts of toxins each day which add up over time. Smog in the air, co-workers who smoke around us, the cleaning products we use at home, even those lovely scented candles and the food in our cupboards all contribute to our toxic load.

10 Ways to Reduce Your Toxic Load

You have the ability to reduce toxins in your body and improve your health every day by the choices you make and products you purchase. Read on to learn what toxins to watch out for and easy ways to reduce them.

1.Fragrances

Synthetic fragrances are masked as various ingredient names in products, and are often hidden beneath a “catch all” term that allows companies to put a plethora of mysterious chemicals into a products and simply call the melting pot of toxins. For instance, parfum, fragrance, perfume, aroma, or even essential oil blend. Generally essential oils are the safer way to go, but these can be synthically created as well, so they should only be used from a reputable company. Fragrances have been linked to reproductive problems, cancer, and allergies such as skin rashes or sneezing. You or someone you know may also experience headaches from various fragrances.

When I see any product that looks fairly safe and natural, I always scan the label for “parfum” or “fragrance” to determine how clean it truly is. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find genuinely quality products that don’t include fake fragrances. For this reason I like to stick with 100% pure and trusted essential oil products from doTERRA. They are the top essential oil company and the only one I know of that truly produces pure, consistent oils 100% of the time without any contamination.

Tips to Reduce Fragrances: Limit your use of scented body wash/soaps, hair care, lotions, body sprays, skin care, after shave, perfumes, candles, etc. Look for products that are unscented. If you have a perfume you love, save it for date nights or special occasions and use unscented products and essential oils the rest of the time.  Use up what you have of other scented items if you can’t stand the idea of throwing them out, then make the switch to clean, pure products.

2. Plastics

Plastics have been associated with metabolic disorders, reduced fertility, hormone imbalance, cancer and obesity. Plastics are especially dangerous when heated, such as microwaving food in plastic, or drinking out of a water bottle that was left in your car on a hot day. Plastics are in everything from food storage containers to water bottles to baby bottles, personal care products and more.

Tips to Reduce Toxins: Stop using plastic water bottles and switch to a stainless steel reusable container, which is also better for the environment. Use glass containers to store and re-heat food. Buy  personal care products from companies who use glass or other recyclable, safe materials such as BeautyCounter (see more in tip #5).

3. Clear the Air

While staying inside our homes might feel safer than being outside in polluted, smog-filled air, our homes can actually be incredibly polluted as well! We bring dust, dirt, bacteria and germs inside on our shoes and clothes. Similar toxins linger on old air filters, food contains pesticides, appliances put out “dirty electricity”, and chemicals fill our air due to common items like candles, hairspray and more. The air inside your home should be “cleaned up” to remove as many toxins as possible. Regular cleaning and dusting can help with this as long as you’re actually removing dirt and not just brushing it somewhere else.

Tips to Reduce Toxins: Another simple tip to help “tidy up” the air is to open up your windows on a regular basis to let some fresh air circulate and help to reduce the pollution inside your home. There is mixed research on whether this truly makes a difference or not, but it won’t hurt to let some fresh air in once in a while, even if just for 20 minutes a few times per week. You can also keep plants in your house to help absorb toxins and increase oxygen. Diffusing essential oils like lemon, lemon eucalyptus, or doTERRA Abode a few times a week also help with fighting bacteria and reducing odors.

4. Eat Organic When Possible

Many of our foods are, unfortunately, loaded with chemicals, pesticides, additives, hormones and antibiotics. You would hope that when you eat a bunch of strawberries you’re doing a good thing, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. The toxins we ingest can harm our health from rashes, nausea, and diarrhea to contributing to cancers, birth defects and reproductive harm, neurological problems, and hormone disruption. These are found in everything from fruits and vegetables to eggs and meat products.

Tips to Reduce Toxins: Download the “Dirty Dozen” list each year and keep it on your refrigerator to remind you which produce to prioritize purchasing organic. These are the worst offenders with chemicals and pesticides. When purchasing meat, look for organic, antibiotic and hormone-free. You can also reduce your animal product intake and try to eat more plant-based. Start with something like “meatless Mondays” and opt for organic tofu, beans and rice, tempeh, or salads with nuts and avocado. Even snacks like popcorn can have toxins from bioengineering processes, so look for non-GMO and organic labels on foods you eat regularly.

5. Don’t Wear Shoes Inside

As stated above, wearing shoes inside your home can bring germs, dirt, dust, bugs, particles of dog feces, and pesticides into your home. Even if toxins aren’t your main concern, simply leaving shoes at the door will certainly help keep your house cleaner. This is especially important if you have babies at home who are crawling around on the floor, touching everything, and then putting their hands in their mouth.

Tip to Reduce Toxins: Leave your shoes at the door when you come in, ideally in the garage if you have one. If you do need to wear them in the house for some reason, sweep or mop as soon as you get a chance.

6. Switch to Clean Beauty Products

Beauty products like skin care, makeup and nail polish are full of toxic chemicals. You might think that if products are sold in stores they’re safe, but that isn’t the case. The FDA only bans about 30 ingredients from beauty products. In comparison, the EU bans about 1,300! These include fragrances, parabens, phthalates, isothiazolinone, preservatives, heavy metals, BHA, BHT and more. These types of ingredients are linked to hormone imbalance, cancer, allergic reactions and more.

What we put on our skin gets absorbed into our body, so it’s crucial to be cautious about what you put on your body. I started using BeautyCounter years ago because they rigorously test and screen their ingredients and have banned 1,800 from being used in any of their products because of their potential to do harm. They also work to chane legislation so that all companies will have to use safer ingredients. It doesn’t hurt that the products also work really well!

Tip to Reduce Toxins: Switch to clean beauty like BeautyCounter. I also get some of my skin care and lotions from doTERRA, another company that focuses on non-toxic products. The Honest Company, Ilia and Goop are other companies that offer products. If you’re not ready to toss out everything just yet, then I would recommend slowly swapping out a few pieces at a time. Start with items like body and face moisturizer that you use daily and that cover large areas of skin, as well as lip products since we use them frequently and easily ingest them. Over time you can add things you don’t use as often or that touch less of your skin like eyeliner or mascara.

7. Switch to Clean Personal Hygiene Products

For the same reasons listed above, you should also swap out your personal care products to “cleaner”, safer options. This includes things like lotion, sunscreen, after shave, deodorant, body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Again, I get almost all of these from doTERRA and BeautyCounter, but some other companies make safer products as well. Be aware of “green washing”, a marketing trick to make a product look like it’s safe while still having toxic ingredients in it.

Tips to Reduce Toxins: Download the EWG Healthy Living app to help determine which products are safest. You can use the app to scan products at the store and see their rating (EWG verified is best, followed by 1. The higher the number, the worse the product). You can also lookup products, ingredients, brands and research topics on their website and learn much more about ingredient safety and health. Like #5 above, start swapping out old products with cleaner options as you run out of your current products.

8. Ditch Toxic Cleaners

Like beauty and personal care products, cleaning products are loaded with toxic ingredients. Ditch the typical cleaners like Windex, Clorox, and other common brands on store shelves for more natural versions. Luckily, companies are starting to jump on board the “green cleaning” band wagon and you can now find more unscented cleaners and natural options, but beware of marketing once again. You can also use the EWG app to research and shop for these products. The good news is you can often make effective cleaning products at home with basics like white vinegar, baking soda and/or essential oils.

Tips to Reduce Toxins: Make your own cleaning products or buy safer versions from trusted companies. From time to time you might need to use a more heavy duty cleaner for tough stains or mildew, but save those cleaners for rare occasions and use simple ingredients for daily cleaning. You can watch a free class I did on ways to “Ditch and Switch” below. It includes several simple DIY recipes for cleaning as well as swaps for personal care products.

9. Ditch Scented Laundry Products

One of the biggest and sneakiest sources of chemicals are laundry products, such as detergent, softener and dryer sheets. These products generally follow the same principles as #7 above. They’re loaded with scents and leave a film on clothes that helps the scent to linger for days and days. Quite often these products are the source of skin irritations and other general allergies, and swapping out to more natural versions help to clear up symptoms.

Tips to Reduce Toxins: Swap your laundry detergent and softeners with unscented options with more natural ingredients. doTERRA has two laundry detergent options that work great, and you can find more on EWG. Most popular companies like Tide as also coming out with unscented detergents. In place of dryer sheets, use wool dryer balls. You can add a few drops of essential oil to each ball near the end of the drying cycle to leave a nice, temporary scent on your clothes and linens. If you find there is more static using the wool balls, try putting a few safety pins into the balls to help reduce static.

10. Consider Your Coffee

Did you know that your daily coffee likely contains mold, heavy metals and other contaminants? That includes your $5 cup from your favorite coffee shop. This problem doesn’t get talked about much, but if you’re drinking it daily, even micro amounts of these will add up in your system. If your favorite brand doesn’t specifically state that they are organic AND test for molds and toxins, then they don’t.

Tips to Reduce Toxins: Trade your daily dose for a safer brand to avoid drinking junk. I like Cardiology Coffee, an organic brand that ensures no contaminants and also happens to taste really great. I prefer decaf to avoid overdoing caffeine which can contribute stress in the body, feelings of anxiety, and unstable energy levels. You can watch a video review I did on Cardiology Coffee here.

Final Thoughts and Tips

I hope this list helps you to better understand common toxins that could be affecting your health. It can feel overwhelming at first, but don’t feel like you have to overhaul your entire life. Start with one or two areas, make some safer swaps, then add more once you feel confident about those. The goal is to reduce toxic load, not perfectly eliminate every possible toxin you come across.

Here are some ways you could get started:

Week 1: Don’t wear shoes inside the house, and purchase a toxin-free coffee you can make at home. Open up your windows once this week for about 30-60 minutes to help circulate some fresh air.

Week 2: Running low on one of your beauty or skin care products? Find a clean replacement for that item and continue to add more as you run out of other products. Make or buy a new natural, daily surface cleaner for your home.

Week 3: During your grocery trip, purchase organic fruits and vegetables. Research essential oils and purchase a diffuser and a few oils you can start to diffuse in your home and use to replace various products (if you need help with this, contact me or check out some of the videos on my YouTube channel).

Continue along these same lines, gradually making manageable changes until it becomes a natural way of life!