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Contaminates & Toxins

There are a shocking and significant amount of contaminates and toxins present in the everyday products we use, both at home and work. A lot of these are hidden and we're unaware of them or their effects, whilst some we actively choose to consume, such as alcohol, nicotine and other recreational drugs.

I've tried to place all the articles here in the most appropriate section based on their primary effect but quite often a particular contaminate will fit into multiple sections - I've tagged these appropriately.

Reducing Your Exposure

  • for cosmetic, hair, skin and personal care products we highly recommend you use Yuka - an app which allows you to quickly scan products and provides an analysis of any endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, allergens or irritants they contain. Products are given a score out of 100 (with appropriate colour coding) and a detailed data sheet is provided if you'd like to know more. Recommendations for higher scoring and safer alternatives are provided for poor scoring products
  • see our article on sunscreen/sun lotion for specific recommendations
  • for food Yuka is also a great choice
  • avoid storing, preparing and most importantly cooking food in plastic containers
  • glass storage containers (with plastic lids) are a great alternative, albeit somewhat bulkier
  • metal and glass bowls, dishes, jugs and trays are usually reasonably priced and typically last fast longer than plastics (I personally love PYREX* glassware for which you can usually find good deals on Amazon)
  • avoid using plastic kitchen utensils; metal utensils often scratch so use wood or silicon instead
  • avoid using non-stick coated pots and pans, use uncoated steel instead - check carefully as often steel products are still non-stick coated
  • wear suitable gloves when using household cleaning products
  • avoid heavily fragranced household products such as scented candles and air fresheners
  • avoid fragranced hygiene products (unless from a natural source)

* You should note that US-made pyrex is made from soda-lime glass, whilst French-made PYREX is made from borosilicate. The former is more resistance to shattering (and will break into duller shards) when dropped or knocked, whilst the latter is more resistant to thermal shock (being taken from a fridge and put in the over for instance).

Detoxification

  • Sauna bathing (and the sweating it causes) is often claimed to be an effective detoxification treatment but is not, or at least there is no scientific evidence that it is
  • Niacin (flush)
  • Giving blood
  • Activated charcoal

Others

Air purifier - cheap