How to Live Non-Toxic
In our day and age, it is hard as H, E, double hockey sticks to live a more healthy, natural lifestyle. To put it quite frankly, our food system sucks, our medical system loves to give us pharmaceuticals instead of addressing root causes, and our developing technological advancements probably aren’t making us feel great either (hello, EMF). How is anyone supposed to live more naturally in their lifestyle?
Growing up, I did not care about living a more natural, holistic lifestyle. In fact, looking back, I realize that I was the epitome of unhealthy. For instance, I ate junk food constantly. Mini pizzas? Hell yeah. Strudels with icing? On deck! Fruit punch and sweet tea? Couldn’t get enough of that sugar buzz. Candy? Just call me Mr. Wonka.
I had severe anxiety, was sick pretty frequently, and probably never drank an ounce of water- no joke. Fast forward to college and I only elevated my unhealthy behaviors by binging on alcohol and eating an entire pizza while walking home from the bar (no idea how I wasn’t morbidly obese, honestly)- the American dream. The only liquid I did drink while in college (other than the booze) was diet soda.
By then, I was on antidepressants for my anxiety, felt gross constantly, couldn’t lose excess fat no matter how hard I exercised and was just overall a really unhappy person. Thankfully, all of that is in the past and I live a completely different lifestyle now.
However, I hate to say that the transition isn’t always super easy- especially if you’re living a lifestyle like I was. So, here’s 5 easy ways to hop on the health and wellness train that I utilized myself in the beginning.
[DISCLAIMER]: Keep in mind I am not a doctor and this is NOT medical advice. This post may contain affiliate links meaning I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using these links. I only recommend products I love and trust. To see our full disclosure, click here.
1. Water Intake
You saw that one coming from a mile away, right? Hydrating our bodies is essential for us to function optimally. I am honestly shocked at how many people I know that really don’t drink any water throughout the day, but I used to be one of them! I try to shoot for at least half of my body weight in ounces of water a day (for example, I weigh 122 lbs, so I try to get at least 60 ounces a day, if not more).
It’s important that you’re ingesting quality water. The greatest investment I have ever made for my health is purchasing a hydrogen water machine. Not only does it produce quality water that is rich in antioxidants, it has multiple functions that are useful throughout my day (cleaning our produce, washing my face, disinfecting cuts and so much more!).
TIP: If you really love sodas and find it hard to kick the habit, I recommend trying to complete a “challenge.” I did a 30 day challenge a few years ago where I was only allowed to drink water, black coffee and unsweet tea. The idea behind it lasting 30 days is that it creates a habit for us and that is definitely what happened for me. Now, if I go to a restaurant, I either order a water or an unsweet tea. I don’t crave the sugar of a soda or a sweet tea.
2. Ditch the Fragrances
Artificial fragrance has a slew of health concerns linked to it- asthma, hormone disruption, and skin irritations to name a few. There are a few household items that are loaded with artificial fragrances that are pretty easy to find more natural replacements for. Disclaimer: This will involve reading labels on all of your household items. When switching, look for anything that doesn’t have the word “fragrance” in the ingredients list. If a scent is actually "natural", it will tell you the source of the scent (such as “lemon essential oil”) and not just say "Natural Fragrance"! That is a gimmick to trick ya!
Laundry detergent: the first thing I changed was my laundry detergent. Ya know that really strong scent that you smell right when you freshly launder your clothes? Yep, that is artificial fragrance most likely. Personally, I use the Rosey brand from Thrive Market currently. You can get a Thrive Market subscription by clicking here. It also gives you some $$$ off your first box!
Dryer sheets: I am not going to lie to you- I do not use dryer sheets. Instead, I use wool dryer balls that I put a few drops of essential oil on, if anything at all.
Perfume: Currently, I am unaware of a perfume that doesn’t use artificial fragrance other than Dime brand. I tried their little sample pack to find the scent I like (I am a "Core Memory" girly) and now I probably wear it once a week. I never really wore perfume religiously anyways.
Household cleaners: We talk about that below, too!
3. Swap Deodorants
Most deodorants have aluminum in them, which is linked to certain cancers. However, there does seem to be a trend of big brands switching their formulas to “aluminum free”. I applaud that. However, there’s still a bunch of junk in those deodorants that I don’t love, with or without the aluminum- fragrance being one of them. If you’re just wanting to switch to an aluminum free deodorant, that is a great place to start! If you want aluminum free and with fragrance, I recommend Attitude brand. It’s EWG verified, so it uses quality, safe ingredients! You can get 15% off your order by clicking the button below.
Another disclaimer: YOU ARE GOING TO STINK WHEN YOU SWITCH! It sucks, but it is true. You're going to be smelling ripe. It's your body's way of detoxifying. It'll subside after a few weeks.
4. Reduce Plastic Use
Have you ever noticed we are swimming in a sea of plastic every.where.we.turn? It’s true. Our water comes in plastic, our food is wrapped in plastic (even our meat and produce), our clothes are made out of plastic (athleticwear especially), we store our food in plastic containers (Tupperware), and we eat and drink off of plastic. Love your morning K-cup coffee? Yeah, that is plastic that we are heating up to nearly boiling temperature and pouring into our cup and then drinking. Hello microplastics in the blood stream!
Obviously, some of this plastic exposure is unavoidable. We have to eat our meat and veggies, after all. BUT there are still a few ways you can reduce your plastic exposure:
5. Change Your Cleaners
I could go on and on about the side effects/risks involved with using your everyday, run of the mill cleaners that are marketed to us everywhere we turn. They’re loaded with unnecessary chemicals and fragrance galore. A great way to learn about what is in your cleaning agents is to check out one of two apps called Think Dirty and HealthyLiving (the EWG app). These apps give you a rating on how safe the ingredients in the cleaning agents you’re using are. This is pretty eye opening! Not only are our traditional cleaning agents loaded with yucky stuff, we are normally using them wrong! Fun side note: have you ever read how you’re actually supposed to use those spray disinfectant cleaning agents? You’re supposed to completely saturate the surface for minutes before it is effective. Go ahead, take a look at the bottle you probably have stored under your sink!I bet you've been using it wrong like I was!
Are you thinking, Okay Christina, then how the heck do you clean your stanky house, then?
What if I told you that there is a cleaner out there that is made mostly of water but just as effective as those traditional cleaners we have grown up using? However, it has no harsh artificial fragrance or dangerous, cancerous chemicals. It’s called Force of Nature and it works incredible! It comes with a small appliance that converts salt, water and vinegar into a cleaning powerhouse. Those are literally the cleanest ingredients you can get, by the way! You can purchase any of the starter kits to get started! It’s that simple!
So, there you have it!
5 ways to help get you started on a more natural path! Like I said before, it may not always be easy and it can definitely get overwhelming sometimes, but trust me: YOUR BODY WILL THANK YOU! If you’re interested in more product recommendations that are toxin free, check out the posts below!