All of the toxic chemicals which are festering and roaming around in our homes is making you and your family sick. But completely removing, eliminating, or avoiding these household toxins is impossible.
So what you should be aware of are the most harmful one’s since they’ll attack our immunity system without we knowing. These toxins that are forever lurking in our homes can pose fertility issues in women, risk to certain cancers, and a list of other serious health related issues.
So what needs to be known is finding out what the most common and dangerous of these household toxins are, by name, where they’re found and the ways to rid or avoid them.
Your Home Can Be A Breeding Ground
It can be a little scary to think that what appears to be safe, such as the foods that we eat, or the everyday products that we use in our homes can actually increase the risk of getting sick, or worse, contribute towards permanent health related problems.
These toxins are capable of turning our clean homes into becoming harmful to the unsuspecting, such as our kids, the elderly, and our pets. It’s never recommended to take for granted the ill effects that the environment can pose when it comes to our health.
So know of the common everyday foods which are sprayed with pesticides, or the harmful airborne health diminishing chemicals which are used in everything from hair spray to air fresheners.
Dangerous Common Household Toxins To Avoid
Pesticides In Our Food
There’s a variety of industrial grade pesticides which are continuously used in our food supply, as they can be found in anything from health foods, such as, seeds, nuts, beans, and grains, to fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Issues: The pesticides which are applied to these foods that we eat and serve to our families are known to cause a variety of known health problems. The most alarming being delayed motor reflex and memory deficits, this especially in children with developing brains.
Some Better Alternates: It’s impossible to completely avoid all of these pesticides since some are airborne. The only way of controlling this is by being selective in the foods that you consume, as well as eliminating the chemicals sprays which are applied to your outdoor gardens or indoor plants.
Take the steps to go organic by eliminating the use of harsh chemical pesticides in your backyard vegetable garden. What’s also suggested is buying certified organic fruits, vegetables, and meat.
Just performing these small actions can go a long way in lowering these toxins, which results in improved health for your family.
Say No To Preservatives
The majority of beauty and body care products, such as serums, lotions, and shampoos all contain dangerous chemical preservatives, just for the purpose of extending their shelf life.
The Issues: What the effects of these preservatives does is it completely counter effects the bettering or the beautifying of our appearance, as they pose a risk to the integrity of the skin cells by destroying them.
Once these preservatives enter and are then absorbed into the bloodstream, they can then become hazardous to our entire body.
Some Better Alternates: Begin by deciding to cut down on all of the toxic preservatives which are found in these products by removing or replacing them. Search and find moisturizers and cremes which are natural and preservative free.
Avoiding Heavy Toxic Metals
There are toxic metals such as mercury and lead which will accumulate in the fatty tissues of our bodies over time. These areas usually include the reproductive organs, the heart, and the brain.
The most common sources of these heavy metals found in the home include, processed food, certain seafood, personal care products, paint, and tap water.
Why They’re Dangerous: Some of the most lethal known symptoms of toxic buildup in the body includes: excessive sweating, chronic headaches, nausea, and severe or sudden cramping.
Some Better Alternates: There are a number of steps which you can take that will reduce the exposure to these heavy metals in your home.
Begin by watching the purity of your fatty fish intake, such as farmed fish as they generally have high mercury content, this especially if you’re pregnant.
Have your home tested for levels of lead paint, this especially if your house is older, such as it being built before 1978. If there is heavy lead content, then make sure you get it removed.
Consider installing a water purification system, such as a reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration system which can be hooked up directly to your exterior tap water supply. Although your current tap water may not make you sick, that doesn’t mean that the water isn’t pure.
What the reverse osmosis does is it will eliminate all of the heavy metal content while also ridding of pesticides, chlorination byproducts, and a huge list of other contaminants that’s lurking in your city tap water.
Phthalates In Plastic
What phthalates are is a group of chemicals which are found most commonly in household products throughout the home. They’re primarily used to make plastic products more flexible, as well as keeping personal products such as nail polish, for instance, from getting hard.
Why They’re Dangerous: Recent research found that certain phthalates can cause a variety of health issues, such as, organ damage, developmental and reproductive harm, suppression of the immune system, and endocrine disruption.
Some Better Alternates: The most obvious and easiest way is to just minimize the use and exposure of phthalates by reducing the use of personal care products which contain these chemicals.
You can find the list of phthalates used on the product labels, the most dangerous being: diethyl phthalate (DEP), Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).
These chemicals are also commonly found in anything from fragrances, perfumes, to air fresheners. What phthalates are used for is to fix or alter these scents.