It’s no surprise that there are a lot of chemicals, ingredients and products that we don't need in our lives. We like to talk about them with those who are looking for ways to change their monthly budgets to fit a greater health care routine into their daily lives. We find that cleaning out our list of things to buy makes room for the things in our life that will help us focus on our health’s longevity, while helping us detox from unnecessary substances that find their way onto our shelves.
Some of our patients have even seen double the change in their health, as they get rid of what was causing increased sensitivity or unknown imbalances, and partnering their detoxing with increased recovery and care!
Our top suggestions of what you should kick to the curb & detox from:
Skincare with Microbeads– We are all about exfoliation, but not at the expense of your skin and our water systems. Microbeads do not break down and tend to be plastic based. With how absorptive your skin is, pushing plastic up against it isn’t quite what we’d call the healthiest skin routine. Not to mention, these microbeads are impossible to break down, making it hard to properly clean them out of our water infrastructure and giving them a greater chance to find their way back to our water supply.
Azodicarbonamide– Used as a whitening agent in cereal, a softening agent in bread, and a leading spongy material for items like yoga mats. This bad boy of the chemical world is linked to respiratory and skin problems (check out WHO for more information about this item). We encourage you to consider swapping out typical cereal brands that carry this, with more natural granola that you can get in the bulk section & to take the opportunity to consider your need for the amount of gluten in your diet as you switch to a cleaner bread brand. And don’t forget to check with your Mat retailer; yoga is supposed to help strengthen your body, your mat should be there to help too – not knock on your immune system.
Flame Retardants – How comfy is your couch? What about your bed? Did you know foams and cushions tend to be soaked in flame retardants that then off gas once they get to your home? California Prop 65 certification on your items is one of the first ways you can know your furniture is as safe as it is relaxing, offering stricter mandates for furniture to claim the chemicals utilized in the construction of products. Keep an eye out for chemical names like “Polybrominated diphenyl ethers” and consider investing in items that will last 2-3 times what you normally buy. Like the Avocado Mattress – not only is it great for supporting your rest, but its extra-clean list of contents and superior quality allows you to use this mattress for years beyond your average purchase from bulk-mattress stores.
The Trend of Teflon – While some Marketing gurus hide behind impossible to pronounce lists of chemicals, here’s one you should learn! Polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as Teflon, has been running the kitchen market for years, offering great opportunities for non-stick surfaces during quick kitchen clean up’s. But after the American Cancer Society linked the overheating of this material with flu-like symptoms, we discovered that switching to pots and pans made of cast iron kept us healthier and supported our wallets as we didn’t need to purchase new cookware so often.
Red Dyes! This one is tough to tackle as it has a wide variety of names on ingredient lists. See the list of names below that Red Dye can hide behind, but first, let’s talk about what we should get rid of. Soda and sugary juices are our first and foremost. The health benefits of quitting unnecessary drinks are a long list (especially when you are able to spend more time drinking water); the surprise amount of money saved from these sugary drinks. Red Dyes are in plenty of cosmetics and processed foods, skimming this single ingredient type out will help you pull a lot of items off your shelves. - Red 40 - Red No. 40 - Red #40 - Allura Red - Allura Red AC - FD&C Red No. 40 - FD and C Red No. 40 - C. I. 16035 - C.I. Food Red 17