7 Ways to Eliminate Toxins from your Lifestyle

With the increasing demand for perfect, blemish free food, products that can make our skin look perfect and spot free houses, dishes and appliances like we see on the TV commercials, it can be easy to fall prey to filling our house with heaps of toxins without even realizing. 

And while it may help get us what we want – the perfectly red apple, or the perfect color of hair dye – it comes with a price, and long term exposure to toxins can have a cumulative affect on our body, with negative health consequences showing up later in life. 

Avoid these issues by eliminating toxins from your lifestyle with these 7 tips:

1. Choose organic make ups – There are loads of companies showing up on the market that are creating natural make ups without animal testing or animal products, and without any ingredients that could be harmful to your skin or the environment.  This is an especially important area to focus on if you are prone to regular breakouts or have issues with acne, as many of these ingredients are at the root of the cause of acne and skin problems. Check out 10 easy steps to get perfect skin! 
2. Make your own cleaning products – The market is saturated with fancy cleaning products that promise to do lots of things, and leave everything shiny and sparkling.  And while they probably work, you also probably don’t need them.  Simple, homemade cleaning options such as baking soda and vinegar can be just as effective (and cheaper) than any you find on the store shelves, and at the same time, they are less harmful to you and the earth. 
3. Choose alternate shampoos – There is an increasing shift toward natural, organic and chemical free shampoos, and with good reason.  Many typical shampoos are loaded with parabens, which are a form of chemical, with long term negative affects on your hair. 
4. Eliminate chemicals from your cooking – When it comes to cooking, opt for only natural options for ingredients.  Eliminate aerosol cans of cooking spray; stop flavouring your food with the powdered form of ingredients, and stop using fake thickening or flavoring agents.  The best option is to use fresh food for flavor and cold pressed, extra virgin oils for the non-stick option.
5. Use natural toothpaste – Whether you make your own, or find a natural option at your health food store, there is increasing research indicating that fluoride in toothpaste may not be the best option.  Natural toothpastes, typically don’t have fluoride, and instead use baking soda or activated charcoal to detoxify and clean your teeth. Check out 5 ways to naturally whiten your teeth. 
6. Buy organic products – It is well known that many of the chemicals and toxins we are exposed to come from pesticides on fruit and vegetables.  Most of our food is sprayed with pesticides to give the appearance and quality that society has come to demand.  If you want to avoid this, buy organic produce.
7. Shop in season – Local, in season food is much less likely to contain excessive chemicals or pesticides than that which is shipped in from far away.   When food is imported, it is often picked under ripe and then chemically ripened or under the influence of pesticides, which act to make it look more like the version, we expect to see.  Ever notice how when tomatoes are out of season, the red color of them isn’t really that red?

By: Laura Peill – (Check out her blog Viand Nutrition & Facebook)