Get Clean Inside and Out!

How many of us store food in plastic containers, drink bottled water from a plastic bottle? Or, buy chlorinated products such as white paper towels, white coffee filters? Or, buy farmed fish? Or, think nothing of using chemical compounds to clean your house or car?  I have to count myself in on some of these.

I truly will not buy certain foods unless I can get the organic version because I want to minimize my exposure to pesticides and other chemicals.  But what about the other things in my home that I may not consume but are harmful just the same.   I need to rethink some things.  I've listed below some of the biggest hormone offenders that could be in your home:

BPA "Bisphenol A: These are chemical compounds added to plastics to make them durable.  Most commonly found in linings of food containers, beverage cans, some baby bottles, and drinking bottles.  Side effects can include risk of breast and prostate cancer, infertility, insulin resistance to name a few.    This is an easy fix - store food in glass containers, drink from stainless steel water bottles and just say no to canned food.

PCB's "Polychlorinated biphenyls: These "endocrine disruptors" are chemicals that were used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment.  Because of evidence that they built up in the environment and caused harmful health effects, they were actually banned in the US in 1977. However, they are persistent in our environment still so certain freshwater fish and farmed salmon have PCB's in their system.  Here is a great site that lists safe fish (plus so much more).

VOC's "Volatile Organic Compounds": I posted on VOC's several weeks ago and have since found that products like vinegar, baking soda, olive oil and lemon juice are all I need to clean my house.  VOC's are chemical compounds emitted as gases by innocent everyday products such as paints, cleansers, solvents, air fresheners, dryer sheets and dry cleaned clothing.  This too is an easy fix - switch to all natural products such as baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, and lemon juice.  For example, put baking soda in a drain, follow with white vinegar and see what happens.  Try cleaning your hard wood floors with a mixture of vinegar and water followed by a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice. Check out this post, Invasion and Tidbits , they will help you shift from chemical to natural products for the home.

Chlorinated products: You know the ones I'm talking about - white paper towels, white paper napkins, white coffee filters.  They look so clean and pure.  But here is the skinny on these bad boys. The EPA found that dioxins (the by-products of the industrial processes involving chlorine are 300,000 times more carcinogenic than DDT (a synthetic pesticide now BANNED in the US).  The fix here is use cloth napkins, kitchen towels and buy a french press for your coffee. No filter required.  Look at labels and buy "chlorine-free or PCF free." Your hormones will thank you.