You may be doing everything you can to live a healthy and fulfilling life – getting plenty of exercise, practicing yoga, eating well – but if you’re still feeling a bit run down, you may want to think about ways to remove toxins from your life! Toxins seem to pervade every aspect of our lives – from the cookware we use, to the products we clean with, to the foods we eat. Toxins seem to be unavoidable.
Our bodies were not designed to deal with these disruptors, and their effects manifest in several disturbing ways. Toxins have been linked to everything from thyroid issues, to fertility problems, to allergies and respiratory diseases. Most autoimmune diseases, and even diabetes and heart disease, have been linked partly to toxins.
If you want to improve your health and the health of the environment at the same time, follow these 10 tips to remove toxins from your life now.
Drink Filtered Water
We all know that drinking water is good for our bodies, but not just any kind will do. Make sure you install a filter on your tap to remove pollutants and chemicals from your drinking water. And be sure to drink lots of it – water is essential to flushing toxins from your body.
Be a Natural Beauty
Be aware of the types of beauty products that you use. Your skin can absorb toxins from the shampoos, moisturizers and makeup that you use. Switch to all-natural cosmetic brands and avoid lipsticks with lead. You will look and feel beautiful.
Avoid Teflon
You may love that nonstick coating on your Teflon cookware, but the chemicals used to make it can leach into your food and body and can be very hard to eliminate. Try ceramic cookware or good old-fashioned cast iron instead.
Eat Organic
If you aren’t already, try to eat organic foods whenever possible. This way you can avoid pesticides and herbicides that were sprayed onto your produce. Organic or not, always thoroughly wash all produce before eating it.
Use Healthy Cooking Oils
The oils that you cook with have various smoking points, which means the temperature at which these oils oxidize and then become toxic. Limit yourself to oils that have a low smoking point, such as coconut oil, to keep your foods healthier.
Green Your Cleaning Supplies
Conventional household cleaners are loaded with chemicals that harm both your body and the environment. Lose them in favor of all-natural cleaning products, or use household items such as baking soda and vinegar.
Get More Sleep
Too many of don’t get enough sleep, which not only leaves us feeling groggy, but also weakens our immune system. Getting about eight hours of sleep per night allows your body to repair any damage it sustained during the day and keeps it functioning properly.
Try Probiotics
Probiotics have gotten a lot of press lately, and for good reason – they can naturally and effectively eliminate bad bacteria in your body and help improve your health. Try them in foods like yogurt or in supplement form.
Avoid Plastic Bottles
Don’t drink any beverage out of a plastic bottle, including water, tea or juices. Like metal cans, these bottles contain BPA, which produces free radicals and depletes your body’s reserves of antioxidants.
Lose Excess Weight
Not only can excess fat weigh you down, it can also store toxins. Make losing weight a priority, and you will not only look and feel better, you will be helping your body fight the seemingly constant bombardment and storage of toxins.
By removing toxins from your life, you will feel better about yourself and the world around you. Added plus:Â the environment will thank you, too.
Contributing Author: Kate Wilson is a freelance health and wellness writer for several green lifestyle organizations. In her free time she enjoys camping (the good old-fashioned way!) and trail running. Basically, if you’re ever looking for her, head to the nearest patch of woods and you’re sure to find her soon enough. Kate is also an organic foodie evangelist, constantly sharing her food facts and wisdom with all within earshot. For more, follow her at @kateowilson or JetFeeds.com.
Good article! Just recently went to a natural shampoo, soap, deodorant and toothpaste and it was way overdue.
Good stuff! I just use a natural hemp soap bar for my hair and body. Don’t use deodorant because I no longer smell (cleaner diet = less smell) and toothpaste I use desert essence, which is devoid of pretty much everything bad! 🙂
Thanks for reading and commenting! (And thanks for your quick response, Carly!) I recently switched to natural toothpaste (the tea tree from Desert Essence, actually!) and can’t believe I went so long without it. Unfortunately I’m still on the hunt for a natural deodorant that I like, though!