It is easy to avoid harmful things that you can see with your eyes. But what can you do in case the elements are not visible to the naked eye?
Environmental toxins are everywhere around us! You may be unknowingly exposed to many harmful elements daily. Over time, these can have a detrimental impact on your health and may cause grave health problems. It is, hence, important to understand environmental toxins. This way, you can take steps to ensure you stay safe from these toxins. Continue reading to find out more!
Understanding Environmental Toxins and their Impacts
Environmental toxins come in many forms and are present in many items you may use in your everyday life. Different processes like agriculture or industrial activities can lead to harmful toxins that pollute the environment and pose health risks.
Take agricultural produce, for instance. The pesticides or herbicides used contain chemicals that are harmful to health. Similarly, the plastics used in everyday products like BPA or phthalates that are present in plastic products, shampoos, cosmetics, and other such products are also harmful to health.
Moreover, contaminants in water like lead, arsenic, or mercury that are produced from industrial waste can lead to various health concerns, including cancer and neurological disorders.
Exposure to environmental toxins can lead to a number of other health concerns including a disruption in your endocrine functions. These toxins can also affect your reproductive health and cause grave issues like heart or lung diseases, diabetes, etc.
Assessing Toxic Load
The impact of environmental toxins can manifest in many forms. In most cases, the symptoms are similar to other illnesses, and you may not be able to connect the dots. However, it is important to understand the symptoms so you can manage your health.
For instance, if you have been eating healthy and are active but feel unwell generally, it is a tell-tale sign. If you have difficulty losing weight or feel tired for no reason, this could be a strong symptom of toxins load.
Other common symptoms include headaches, pain in muscles, fatigue, sinus issues, mood swings, skin rashness, feeling numb in the limbs, shortness of breath, or even depression. While these symptoms can be associated with other conditions, if you have multiple symptoms and are unable to determine any other cause, you can get environmental toxin testing done to confirm if you have an environmental toxin overload.
Steps to Ensure Safety from Environmental Toxins
Given their concerning impact, it is important to take corrective measures and reduce your exposure to these toxins in your daily life. Once you determine you have been feeling unwell due to the presence of toxins in your body, you can take steps accordingly. It is important to eliminate them from your surroundings and curtail the usage of products that may expose you to such toxins. Here are a few ideas.
Changing your diet
It will be significantly beneficial to go organic! Avoid food that has been sprayed with pesticides. Reduce the use of processed and canned food as much as possible. If you really must, buy food stored in glass jars instead.
Similarly, try to switch to poultry and meat that has been raised without the use of hormones and medicines. Also, use filtered water to reduce the intake of contaminants that may otherwise be present in your regular water.
Change your ways of storing food
If you have been storing your food in plastic BPA containers, it is time to go BPA-free or opt for glass or steel containers instead. Also, replace your kids’ sippy cups or plastic mugs with BPA-free zones or even glass ones.
Cleaning your house
When it comes to cleaning your house, try using natural products more. Since conventional products are packed with harmful chemicals, it is better to curtail their usage. Vacuum and mop your floors and carpets regularly and ask everyone to remove their shoes when entering the house so they do not bring any contaminants inside.
Change your self-care routine
You will be surprised to know the amount of toxins present in the shampoos or cosmetics you use on a daily basis. Opt for products that are made from plant-based elements. Also, try using products without fragrance. Products with artificial fragrances contain phthalates that affect your endocrine system. It is important to always read the labels before buying such products.
Conclusion
Being aware of how or where the toxins in your surroundings come from can help reduce your exposure. The suggestions mentioned in this post to ensure your safety from environmental toxins may seem like a lot of work initially. This is especially true if the use of toxin-loaded products is quite common in your daily routine.
However, for the sake of your health and that of others around you, it is important to incorporate these changes in your life. Take one step at a time and make changes slowly. Eventually, you will get used to the new way of doing things, and your body’s toxin overload will also be reduced over time.
