Reducing The Daily Chemical Load

We live in a busy world, an ever-growing nonstop world. Where technology and science are forever evolving to make our lives easier, more efficient.
With the evolution of science, we also got to experience the chemical revolution! Apples now have wax, lipstick stays on for days at a time and those kitchen windows never looked so clean.

While it may be nice to have glossy shiny apples, what is this doing to our health? The modern women can use an average of 168 chemicals in/onto our bodies each day – and that is mostly from beauty products, sanitary products (such as pads and tampons) and makeup. When we add in cleaning products, air fresheners,  Research has shown us (and continues to show us) that long-term chemical/fragrance/pesticide/etc use can impede on our endocrine health and ultimately our general wellbeing.

So what does our endocrine system do? the short answer –  a lot. The more detailed answer; it is responsible for our hormone metabolism and production, our stress response, our fertility and monthly cycle, our metabolism, cellular development, moods, sleep, sexual response… yep, a lot and I’m only touching on a few things. When we experience long-term exposure to chemicals, additives, pesticides etc all of these functions can be impaired.

I know what you are thinking “Thanks Alyce, these chemicals are everywhere so what’s the point”. The answer is, even the smallest of change can improve wellbeing and our health outcomes. Reducing daily exposure, supporting elimination and diluting the toxic load is simple and achievable. so here are my top tips to reducing your daily load.

1. Remove plastic where ever possible.
   Plastics (soft plastics in particular) boast a range of health concerns. We often hear of BPA, however, BPA isn’t the only chemical found in plastic. Avoid using plastic wrap and plastic bottles in your home, never reheat food in plastic and store food in glass or stainless steel containers. I personally use old glass jars to store things in and only have glass containers for our lunches.
2. Make a swap to green cleaning products.
   I recently had a conversation with someone about cleaning products. They were saying that it doesn’t matter what they use, as its only for a short time – naturally, I couldn’t help my self. The products we use on our kitchen bench, on our knives and forks – they end up in our food; in our mouth. The products in our washing machine, they remain on our clothes and sit on our skin for hours on end – same with our bed sheets. Whatever you clean your floors with, walk around barefoot and it gets direct access to your skin.I was in a conference recently, the lecturer mentioned that using Windex can change the microbiome for 5 hours afterward. It returns but it is altered – and that is only one product, imagine what multiple are doing.

   For all my preconception clients and fertility clients, this is one we speak about. Removing as much of the chemical load as possible.

3. Open a window.
   In my opinion, there is nothing worse than garden scented air fresheners. Spraying a cocktail of chemicals to have a perception of ‘fresh air’ doesn’t make very much sense to me. Allowing fresh air to circulate around the home, car, and workplace reduces the spread of illness, encourages workplace productivity and alertness, and it naturally freshens a room.One thing to be mindful of here is candles, not all are created equally.
4. Take your shoes off.  
   Its something we are taught as children – come home, take off your school bag, take your shoes off and wash your hands. however, its something we don’t do very well as adults. All the pollution from the roads, any pesticides sprayed in public parks, waste and yuckiness is on the bottom of our shoes. Its a simple step, leave it at the door.
5. Makeup + beauty.
   As a female, the morning skincare routine is enough to send our endocrine system into overdrive. Shampoo, condition, face wash, toner, moisturiser, perfume, toothpaste, body moisturiser, hand cream – and that’s a tiny list. Each one of those products as a combination of additives and chemicals and the total number of chemicals grows very very quickly.Start by making a switch where ever possible, go for natural makeup and a chemical-free deodorant, pick organic tampons over conventional brands and see how you feel.

Health and Happiness,
Alyce x