Environmental toxins play a huge part in degrading your health over time and when you look around it’s surprising to find how toxic a typical home can be. Fortunately there’s plenty of simple steps you can take to drastically decrease the amount of toxins that absorb into your body
Heavy Metals
I don't know much about detoxing from heavy metals but in alternative medicine it’s a big deal. I honestly don't know if I believe it all or not. The little that I know is that heavy metals tend to accumulate in the body and the body will tend to sequester them away from metabolically active areas and put them in mainly fat. Since fat tends to just be a reserve of energy and doesn't have much blood flow the metals can sit there and be relatively harmless to the body. One hypothesis as to why some people will lose a large amount of weight but then will plateau and stop losing all of a sudden is that the body can't mobilize the rest of the fat stores because it is so toxic. People will go on chelation therapy and once they pull that stuff out they can lose the rest of the weight. The brain is high in fat as well and practitioners say the problem is when it accumulates in the brain. When people try to get it out of their body they use chelation agents which bind with the metal and pulls it into your blood and then you urinate it out. You can look up chelation therapy and you'll find a lot. I never got into it cause I never completely bought into it. The guys that I saw advertising it generally would just use it as a one size fits all thing, no matter what you came in with they'd say it was heavy metal toxicity and sell you the chelating agents. I do remember though that at a seminar a guy that I really respect told us that chelation therapy really works but it can really mess you up as well if you don't know what you're doing. If your pulling all these heavy metals into your bloodstream it can get redeposited somewhere else in the body before you urinate it out.
That all being said, it’s smart to stay away from this stuff. The main sources off the top of my head are the mercury amalgams from dental fillings, aluminum and mercury in the flu shot, aluminum in antiperspirants, nanoparticles of titanium in some sunscreens that can easily slip through your skin, and aluminum as an anticaking agent in food. I saw it in baking powder the other day. If you think of more post them to the comments and I’ll add them in.
Nonstick Cookware
Teflon cookware is particularly nasty. If you get a teflon pan too hot the fumes will actually kill pet birds. If it can literally kill the “canary in the coal mine” why would you heat it up and put your food on it? Cast iron or ceramic coated cookware seems to be the best alternative. It takes a little practice but a properly seasoned and cared for cast iron pan will last forever and will be more nonstick than teflon.
Cleaning Agents and Artificial Scents
For cleaning floors, counters or the bathroom white vinegar and baking soda will work for pretty much everything. I also like water, a rag, and elbow grease. The antiseptic cleaners are mainly just a marketing ploy. Living in a completely sterile environment is not a good way to build an immune system. For laundry detergent we use a mixture of castile soap, borax and washing soda. For air fresheners you can use a couple drops of an essential oil and a $20 diffuser off of Amazon. ( https://www.amazon.com/URPOWER-Essential-Humidifier-Adjustable-Waterless/dp/B00Y2CQRZY/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1468081905&sr=8-1&keywords=urpower+diffuser) We make beeswax candles as well that give off a nice smell. Once you give up the artificially scented candles and air fresheners it's crazy how you get more sensitized to smells. When you're in the grocery store you walk down the laundry soap aisle and it's overpowering. The same for scented candles and air fresheners, when I get in someone’s car with the air freshener it's almost nauseating. We also use house plants for detoxifying the air. NASA actually studied which indoor plants were best for pulling volatile organic compounds out of the air for use in the space station. When we moved into our apartment there were some fumes from cigarette smoke as well as fresh paint. We packed the apartment with ferns and other plants to help with cleaning the air.
Deodorants and Soaps
You want to stay away from antiperspirants. They actually block your sweat pores from excreting sweat. You’re body is trying to eliminate that sweat for a reason and keeping it inside your body is asking for trouble. I’ve never had much luck with natural deodorants except for one. That was a homemade recipe where you use coconut oil, baking soda, and cornstarch or arrowroot powder with a few drops of essential oil. It works great. Deodorants are better than antiperspirants but avoid the ones with aluminum in them.
For soaps I’m a big fan of Dr Bronner’s Castile soap. When I read the ingredients label I recognize everything. They don’t use foaming agents etc.
Fluoride
Fluoride is great for avoiding cavities when used topically on your teeth. Ingesting fluoride however is another story. On most fluoridated toothpastes you’ll see a warning that reads, “: “Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately.” Yet, we ingest fluoride in our drinking water daily and in a totally uncontrolled dose. There is a lot of information on the negative effects of ingesting fluoride. We bought a filter for $130(https://purewaterfreedom.com/fluoride-filters/countertop/white/countertop-replaceable-double-fluoride-water-filter-system.html) that attaches easily to the faucet and pulls out the majority of fluoride and other contaminants from tap water.
Plastic Tupperware
BPA is well-known now as being a bad chemical that is present in plastic. Unfortunately, a great deal of BPA free plastics now have other compounds that are just as detrimental to health. I avoid mixing plastic and food as much as possible. We slowly transitioned out of our plastic Tupperware to Pyrex glass as we found deals on it here and there. The glass lasts forever and doesn’t leach chemicals into your food. We still have a few pieces of plasticware but we never place hot food in it as heat seems to cause the leeching. For water bottles we use glass or stainless steel.
Go Organic
This is pretty straight-forward. Pesticide residues are all over food and when you ingest those foods you are putting those pesticides into your body. Monsanto, the maker of Roundup will tell you that it’s so safe that you can drink it. There’s actually a funny video where a reporter asks a Monsanto rep to do this on camera and he quickly back pedals
There’s another article where a highly regarded pediatrician stated that having a little Roundup in a breast milk wouldn’t do any harm to a newborn. (https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/05/06/mass-general-pediatrics-chief-says-glyphosate-poses-no-danger-in-breast-milk/ )This was after an organic group tested the milk from new mothers and found Roundup in it. I don’t care what the experts say on this one. I’m not eating Roundup or any other pesticide if I can help it.
It’s a lot of stuff to consider but if you just do it over time one by one it really isn’t that hard. One of the best parts of the whole process is that you actually save a ton of money in the long run. Your pans and glassware never wear out. Your detergent, cleaning products, deodorants etc costs go down. Organic food costs more but ideally if you buy less processed boxed food the costs equal out. All those little costs add up. Most importantly though you’re healthy, you have energy, your kids aren’t sick and you can enjoy all that life has to offer.