WORDS: Alyce Cimino | Lead Naturopath
I am a very big believer in the quote “small changes make big impact”, and when it comes to our wellbeing, this quote is where it holds a massive impact! We can make small changes to improve our overall wellbeing – the extra handful of spinach added into your dinner, or walking up the stairs rather than taking the lift – in the moment it’s nothing, but it’s a small change that brings change. On the flip side of that, is that small acts in our daily routine could also be worsening our general health, these are things that I am seeing clients do in their day to day that we are trying to adjust for big impact.
AIR FRAGRANCES + CANDLES
I know it’s nice to have the home smelling of vanilla, ocean mist, or English countryside; however, all those wonderful fragrances are known endocrine disrupters. In their singularity, they have been deemed as “not toxic”; however, they haven’t been researched for their role in conjunction with each other. What we do know is that these fragrances and perfumes can interfere with how your hormones communicate with each other. Fun Fact! IVF and embryologists are not allowed to wear perfumes around the growing embryos as it can interfere with normal growth patterns. If you have any hormonal issues, are trying to conceive, are pregnant, have young children around, troubles with weight management, any autoimmune conditions or endocrine conditions, then it’s really important that you don’t have these fragrances at home.
Common Culprits: fragrance sticks, candles, plug-in fragrance, automatic fragrance sprays, room sprays, linen sprays, dryer sheets (as well as on body items such as body perfumes and aerosol body sprays).
The Cleaner Option: open the windows and allow for fresh airflow, add aromatic spices and herbs to water and simmer on a low heat (coffee beans, vanilla, orange, cloves, rosemary are all great!)
CLOTHING FRAGRANCES:
You know that saying ” smells like fresh laundry,” yeah nah, we don’t want that! You know that aisle at the supermarket.. the one packed full of brightly coloured boxes and bottles each with their own overpowering fragrance, I will walk around the whole other side of the shop than walk down that aisle if i can avoid it. Each one of those products have a chemical blend of fragrances. When used on our clothes those chemicals not only go into the air but also sit on our skin 24/7! They are with us when we sleep on the sheets and touch intimate areas as well. This is the same for dryer sheets, fabric softeners (also something we really really don’t need to be using).
If you aren’t ready to make the full swap to natural washing powder (because I get it, they don’t always work AS well – choose the sensitive or zero fragrance option. you can always add a few drops of essential oils if you are really missing the smells.
The Cleaner option: eco store, abode, dirt, koala stain spray, dr bronners
NOT WASHING OFF THE DISHWASHING SOAP
To be honest, I actually didn’t know people did this until I saw a friend do it! When doing the washing up, be sure to always rinse the soap off your cookware, cups, bowls, cutlery, etc. The soap is the ideal formulation to cut through the fat/grease that is stuck onto the plate. When ingested, it can actually alter the way we digest fats and oils, as well, and that’s without considering that you are eating the soap. I have a rule in our home: if it touches or holds food it must be plastic free and low tox, or touches skin it needs to be low tox.
Another thing to be mindful of is using the dishwasher. We recently purcahsed a new machine and the salesperson noted that short cycles are no longer 30-40 minutes – because when tested, there was still dishwasher powder/cleaning agents on the cookware. It is usually a better idea to run the full long cycle, or add an extra rinse cycle to your routine.
The Cleaner Option: if hand washing be sure to wash all soap off thoroughly, choose brands that are low tox: Dirt, Koala Organics, Abode, Eco Store and ALWAYS run the long dishwasher cycle.
CHOOSING A GENERAL SURFACE SPRAY
This one follows on from the one above, here is the scenario – you are cleaning your kitchen bench, so you spray everything down and wipe it over so its clean – but that spray (and the chemicals) are still sitting on the bench so when you lean on it, its on your hand or you place an apple onto the bench its also hitting the spray. Not to mention the air particles you are also breathing in with each spray.
The Cleaner Option: choose low-toxic cleaning products, or if you want to get extra fancy, you can make your own with lemon rinds, vinegar, dish soap. HERE are a few great recipes from Alexx Stewart, the Low Tox Queen!
CHOOSING PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES + CONTAINERS
If you are coming to see me for hormonal, endocrine, thyroid or fertility support, you can bet that we will also be talking about plastic use and the long-term health concerns. Reserach has found that if you use a plastic water bottle for one week – you are literally consuimg a credit card worth of microplatics as well!
Plastic bottles and plastic wear (aka tupperware, cling wrap, take away containers etc), especially when exposed to heat or reused, can leach chemicals like BPA and phthalates into the water. These chemicals can disrupt the endocrine system and have been linked to various health issues, including developmental problems and reproductive issues. I know what you are thinking, but I don’t heat up my water bottle – however it can be the heat changes of being in and out of a car, in and out of a spots bag.
The cleaner choice: choose glass or stainless steel over plastic. While we cant avoid plastics 100% we can reduce our overall usage.
While all these changes can sound daunting, and that’s because they are! The trick is to make small changes as you go. if you run out of dishwater tablets, next shop pick a more low tox option.
Alyce x