The Dangers of Toxins and Why You Don’t Want Them in Your Home

We are all surrounded by toxins. There is no way to avoid all chemicals in this day and age. The people and pets we love will be exposed to them, it’s a guarantee. Unfortunately, toxic chemicals have the ability to wreak havoc on our bodies. The good news is, we can be proactive in protecting our families against some exposure and dangers of toxins. In this post I will discuss why and how chemicals should be avoided when possible, some common chemicals found in everyday products and better (the best, actually!) alternatives.

The Problem with Toxins

One of the main ways we can keep the dangers of toxins out of our homes and away from our families is through the products we buy. We can either buy products that contain toxic chemicals or buy ones that do not. Before I get into more specifics, it’s important to cover why it’s wise to be aware of chemicals.

Disruptors

Aside from the obvious effects of being exposed to toxins like burns, vomiting and even fatalities, toxins can create major problems that are not always immediately noticeable. There can be many long-term negative consequences to toxic exposure. Yes, even exposure to everyday products in your home. Shampoo, lotion, perfume, multi-purpose cleaner, laundry detergent (and the list goes on) can all be unhealthy for your family due to endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine disruptors are “natural or human-made chemicals that may mimic, block, or interfere with the body’s hormones, which are part of the endocrine system. These chemicals are associated with a wide array of health issues” (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences). The problem with these chemicals is summed up well by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

”Disruption of the endocrine system can occur in various ways. Some chemicals mimic a natural hormone, fooling the body into over-responding to the stimulus (e.g., a growth hormone that results in increased muscle mass), or responding at inappropriate times (e.g., producing insulin when it is not needed). Other endocrine disruptors block the effects of a hormone from certain receptors (e.g., growth hormones required for normal development). Still others directly stimulate or inhibit the endocrine system and cause overproduction or underproduction of hormones (e.g. an over or under-active thyroid).”

Needless to say these are major problems. Problems we do not want our families to deal with! As women, we can take steps to protect our kids, spouses and ourselves from products that will disrupt our endocrine systems.

The Burden

Before we move on to more information about chemicals, it’s important to look at body burden. Or, the amount/concentration of chemicals that can be measured in the body at any given time. The more exposure a person has to toxins, the higher their body burden will be. I like to use the example of a bank account to further explain this.

Imagine your body is like a bank account that has $100 dollars in it. When the account balance is $100 it represents optimal health. The lower the account balance, the higher the body burden. When you are exposed to 3 chemicals from shampooing your hair in the morning, your body loses $3 from its account. Add in 5 more chemicals from your body wash and you’re now down a total of $8. Put some foundation on your face that contains 4 more chemicals and you have already lost $12 by 7:00am. When you consider the massive amount of chemicals in laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets, your account is in rough shape. And, I hate to break it to you, but since we are wearing some type of clothing 99% of our lives, we are constantly breathing in and absorbing laundry chemicals through our skin.

Let’s say that the toxins from laundry products deduct $30 – a high number because we are in contact with them around the clock. Next, you spray yourself with your favorite high-end perfume (-$8) then lather up your arms with lotion from the mall (-$6). Throughout the day you wash your hands with chemical-laden soap (-$11) and possibly use waterless hand sanitizer as well (-$3). I could keep going with all the products you could use throughout your day, but I will stop here with an account balance of only $30. You have lost $70 before lunchtime. A low balance of $30 compared to $100 is anything but optimal. You get the picture. This is not good! And I am not even taking into account pollutants from water, the air, medicines, cleaning products and other environmental factors.

Symptoms

Some of the “minor” symptoms of an over-burdened body are fatigue, brain fog, obesity, food and environmental allergies, stomach/digestive issues and headaches, just to name a few. I call them “minor” because we all know if a person deals with these issues regularly they can be life-altering and anything but minor. A few major issues that can arise from high body burden are type II diabetes, autoimmune disease, infertility and cancer. Yikes!

There is Hope!

Now, before you think this post is all doom and gloom, I have good news for you. There are ways we can all decrease the toxic burden on our bodies and create a healthier environment where our families can thrive. Some simple ways to do this are to get fresh air, exposure to sunshine, eating nutrient-dense whole foods, drinking filtered water and exercising. These things are not too difficult for most of us! But let’s not forget about all the chemicals we put on our bodies through the products we bring into our homes. Because these are of paramount importance. I’ll discuss some practical ways to ditch your toxic products and make healthier choices in a bit. But first, let’s talk about the chemicals that can be found in our everyday products.

The Chemicals

What I share with you here very well may blow your mind if you live in the U.S. Chemicals that have the potential to cause us harm are in so many products we can find on store shelves. Just because something is legal to be sold in our country does NOT make it safe.

TSCA

Have you ever heard of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976? Possibly not. But this Act has had a significant impact on your life and health. Why? Because this Act gave legal grandfather status to around 80,000 chemicals. This means THAT MANY chemicals can legally be sold in current products nationwide. They received grandfather status because they had not been tested for safety and not much is known about them. Of the chemicals that have been tested, a toxic label (not banning) is required by law only if greater than 50% of the animals tested with the chemicals DIED. So, even if 49% of the animals died during or after testing, no toxic label is require by law. Many of these chemicals can be found in the products you have in your home right now.

Fragrance

A concerning chemical found in many personal care and cleaning products is simply labeled as “fragrance.” The ingredients in “fragrance” do not have to be listed on packaging because they are protected as trade secrets. The problem with this is that, in the vast majority of cases, the fragrances you smell in products are simply just chemical cocktails. In other words, they are synthetic fragrances. Even when you see “natural fragrance” listed, there is no way to know if it is safe for our bodies. For instance, formaldehyde is a naturally occurring compound but we do not want it on or in our bodies!

Indoor air quality can be negatively impacted by the use of fragrance. According to the National Library of Medicine –

“Fragrance molecules may trigger various acute and chronic pathological conditions because of repetitive human exposure to indoor environments at home and workplaces. The negative impact of fragrance chemicals on human health includes cutaneous, respiratory, and systemic effects (e.g., headaches, asthma attacks, breathing difficulties, cardiovascular and neurological problems) and distress. Pathologies related to synthetic perfumes are associated with allergic reactions (e.g., cutaneous and pulmonary hypersensitivity) and potentially with the perturbation of the endocrine-immune-neural axis.”

In other words, avoid exposure to fragrances both synthetic (harmful) and those listed as natural (if you can’t verify their safety).

Greenwashing

Natural products have gained major popularity in the last couple decades. It is easy to walk into a store and find products donning nice green leaves on their bottles or the word “clean” in their slogan. Unfortunately, most of the “natural” brands out there use catch phrases and clever packaging to trick you into thinking you’re buying a natural product. This practice is called greenwashing and it is everywhere! Do some digging into the ingredients these companies use and you will be shocked by the amount of chemicals in their products. There are so many companies out there that you just can’t trust to bring you truly natural solutions. So, how do you know where to buy your natural products? Who can you actually trust?

A Better Alternative

In a world where it can be difficult and confusing to know which products won’t contain harmful chemicals, we must be diligent consumers. It’s our jobs to protect our homes and families from things that could cause them harm. We must know which ingredients to avoid and take responsibility for our own health and that of those we love. The good news is that Young Living makes it incredibly easy to fill your home with plant-based, chemical-free products!

A One-Time Decision

Is your head spinning with all the information I just gave you about the dangers of toxins and their hazards? Yeah, it’s a lot! And finding products that don’t contain harmful ingredients may seem like a huge time-consuming task. But, it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to do tons of your own research or read hundreds of labels to find quality products.

Choosing to buy your essential oils, household and body products from Young Living (YL) is a one-time decision. Have you ever heard of decision fatigue? It’s the idea that the more decisions a person has to make, the more emotionally and physically fatigued they will feel. As a mom, I can definitely relate to this! I personally do not want to spend hours of my time reading labels in a store. That’s why I choose YL for ALL my family’s products. We get the luxury of purchasing our essential oils, bath and body, cleaning, health and personal care products in one convenient monthly order. And, you can too!

Young Living for the Win!

Young Living is the world’s leading essential oils company with hundreds of oil-infused products on their site. With a single purchase from YL you can start filling your home with the benefits of oils and plant-powered products. Then you can say good-bye to your toxin-filled products and in turn lessen exposure to hormone disruptors. This means you will begin to lower the toxic body burden of everyone in your home! Yay! Go, you!

The best thing about YL is that I thoroughly researched the company and their standards, and I love what I discovered. I know I can completely trust that their products are safe and free from chemicals. And you can trust them, too! They have the highest purity and potency standards in the essential oil industry. Their quality is top-of-the line. I never have to question if I am making a purchase that is healthy for my family. YL’s Seed to Seal practices guarantee they only ever sell the purest of essential oils and oil-infused products. Read more about Seed to Seal on their micro site here and about what makes Young Living different here.

Now What?

You have the info you need to make the switch from toxic products to healthy, plant-based ones. Now what do you do? Well, I would love to help you make your first purchase with Young Living! You can find my recommendations for which products to start with here. Or you can visit the YL website here, fill your cart and checkout! Since you’re using my link I will be your sponsor, which means I am here to help you every step of the way! Just be sure that the number 3437812 appears in the sponsor and enroller boxes when setting up your account. Once your products arrive you will be well on your way to creating a truly clean home where your family can thrive!

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