General Suggestions for Decreasing Toxicity

Certain chemicals that are applied to your skin or that are in the air can get into your body. These chemicals may cause harm to your cells and orgran systems. In addition they can cause inflammation, free radicals, and increase your likelihood of developing chronic health problems.

Food:

• Shift your food purchases and consumption to organic when possible. It is most important to use organic dairy products (mild cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.). Free range meats and eggs are desirable to purchase as organic. Minimize the use of large fish (swordfish, tuna, etc.) as they are higher in mercury.
• Purchase strawberries and apples as organic and refer to the Environmental Working Group or Consumer Reports websites to stay current about which fruits and vegetables are best to use as organic.

Products:

• Try to purchase your cleaning and other household products at a health food store.
• Avoid spraying pesticides or herbicides in your home or property.
• Hair products including shampoo and colors: Try to choose products that do not have: alcohol, sodium lauryl sulfate, paraben, phthalate or other petrochemicals. Consider an environmentally sensitive hair salon. Check your local yellow pages and magazines to see if there is an environmentally oriented hair salon in your area.
  
• Avoid using hair sprays.
  
• Avoid perfumes or other skin or hair care products that use synthetic fragrances.
  

Skin Care and Make-Up:

• Use low toxin make-up and skin creams (avoid products with: pthalates, parabens, propylene glycol, alcohols and fragrances). In general, skin care products from health food stores without the above ingredients are a safe bet.
  
• Consider using antioxidant creams on your skin: low solvent products with CoQ10, Vitamin C, alpha-Lipoic acid, possibly DMAE and botanical squaline.

Antiperspirants and Deoderant

• Avoid aluminum containing antiperspirants and antacids. In general virtually all antiperspirants contain aluminum so it is best to avoid it.
  

Water

• Water can have many toxins and thus regular consumption of unfiltered water can significantly contribute to the toxic load of your body.
  
• Water quality will vary from city to city but in general it is better to filter tap water with a multi-stage carbon filter or reverse osmosis.
• Try to avoid bottled water in soft plastic containers as the plastics often leak into the water. Minimize the use of plastic water bottles that are in a hot car and never freeze or reuse your water bottles.
• Minimize the use of camel back type plastic water containers.
• Mineral waters in a glass bottle are generally safe unless there is a question of the quality of the source.
• Have approximately half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. Use glass or ceramic bottles when possible.
• Try to obtain and install a shower head water filter as this can filter shower water and limit your exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Plastics

• Plastics can disrupt hormones in your body.
  
• Avoid plastic bottles and containers with the number 3, 6, and 7 on the bottom. These are most likely to leach plastics into the food, juice, or water they contain.
• Buy juices and water in glass containers when possible.
• Minimize washing plastic containers in the dishwasher under high heat.
• Minimize the use of cling wraps and try to use paper wraps.
• Never microwave food or anything else in plastic containers.

Dental Care

• Avoid mercury amalgam fillings.
• Get second opinion on root canals.
• If possible, avoid having two different metals in adjacent teeth.
• Pick a dentist who is aware of healthy choices for the mouth (who does not place new mercury fillings in), a more holistic or biologically oriented dentist.

Home

• Use only green and low VOC products in a remodel or new home.
• Avoid furniture with particle board or buy used furniture that has had a chance to off gas.
• Let a new car off gas by keeing the windows open.
• Use an air filter such as a Hepa filter with a charcoal filter to clean the debris in the air.
• Minimize the amount of regular carpet in your home, or use natural carpets.
• Avoid using pesticides in your home.

Home or Office Remodel

• Use a low or no VOC paint and carpet or rug.
• Minimize carpet and choose hardwoods but not laminates (avoid Pergo, etc.).
• Take off shoes at the door to decrease indoor chemicals and pesticides.
• Avoid Urea Formaldehyde in building products.
• Change the filter on your furnace/AC every 3 months with the best allergy filter you can find.

Electromagnetic Fields

• For people with headaches or regional pain, decrease the exposure to low level electromagnetic fields:
• Minimize cell phone use
• Minimize the use of portable phones at home and shift to corded phones.
• Take the clock radio away from your head and bed.
• Get the fields measured in a potential new car before you purchase it.