Just because you don’t eat something, doesn’t mean you’re not ingesting it. Many things are ingested through other routes besides the mouth.

We women, especially, ingest a lot of toxins through our skin. The average woman uses twelve beauty products a day, which adds up to 168 different ingredients.
And our teenage girls are most at risk, using seventeen different personal care products, putting them at even higher risk!
No wonder so many girls have all kinds of hormonal problems nowadays.

The above mentioned numbers only reflect beauty and skin products.

Think then about dish-washers, cleaning products, laundry products, air fresheners, Teflon-coated frying pans, plastic bottles, BPA’s and a long etc.
All these products are endocrine-disruptors, i.e. they interfere with your hormonal system. Even low doses of these products can be unsafe for your health*. It has been scientifically proven they mess up your hormones, cause neurological damage or even cancer and also cause bone loss.

Some toxins to look out for:
1. Triclosan
2. BPA’s
3. Parabens
4. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
5. PEG (poly-ethylene glycol)

Now this seems all doom and gloom, but you can actually do a lot about this yourself.

• • Choose your beauty and cleansing products wisely. Read labels and see what kind of ingredients they have used. Then buy cleaner options.
  • Don’t buy anything antibacterial. Although it may seem like a good thing in this day and age with the virus around, these products are just too heavy on chemical compounds. If you’re afraid of the virus, washing your hands with soap will do.
  • Forget about your daily fragrances (which are completely chemical) and turn to essential oils instead (think perfume and air-fresheners)
  • Clean your clothes with natural detergents. The same goes for you, opt for ‘healthier’ toothpaste, shampoos, conditioners and body-creams for example. It’s truly amazing how many bad ingredients are put in these products.
  • Replace all your plastic tupperware (contain BPA) with glass containers. And please, please, don’t heat anything in plastic in the microwave. This is the worst you can do!
  • Ditch Teflon and Gore-Tex. These products contain PFC’s (Perfluorinated compounds) which have been linked to the early onset of menopause, which in turn can lead to decreased estrogen levels and bone decline.

You see, there is a lot you can do yourself. Now, don’t go crazy and overwhelm yourself by changing all at once. Just try to replace as much as you can over time. All of this is about a change in mindset and replacement of your products, bit by bit.

What I also have on my phone is an app called Yuka. You can scan the barcode of the product you want to buy, and then you get a rating; good, mediocre and bad. Very handy for guidance.
Now, this is a Spanish app but I’m sure it will exist in other countries as well. Go to the app-store or Itunes and you’ll probably find options for your country.

You need to be aware that WE have the power with our money. Nowadays, healthier products are still a bit more expensive, but in the long run when we stop buying bad and unhealthy options, companies will notice and will change.
I already see this happening in the regular supermarkets over here, where we have more and more healthier choices every day.

So be wise, choose good stuff over bad products.
Give your body a break and supply it with healthy, non-toxic products, and you’ll see you will get so much in return!

Not sure how to go about this and do you want to brainstorm a little bit with me?
Click on this link and book a slot. Let’s keep the conversation going <3

With love and health,
Monique

*NIH, for more information