| August 29, 2018 | 0 |
Toxin Free Home
6 Ways to Keep Your Home Toxin Free
No one likes the idea of living in a house that is riddled with toxins. Toxins are obviously bad for your health and your family’s health. And that includes your four-legged family members as well.
But beyond exacerbating allergies and asthma, environmental toxins are the 3rd main cause of cellular inflammation and what many (myself included) believe may be the number one hidden contributor to diabetes and other hormone problems.
Did a lightbulb just go off for you? I’ve spoken to many people who, once diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, immediately clean up their diet and exercise regularly, and yet they are STILL not able to control their blood sugar without the aid of medication.
If, no matter what you are doing or how hard you are working, you are unable to lose weight, get your energy back and control your glucose levels, it could be from environmental toxins. 1 In fact, in one specific study, pesticides were found to be a factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. 2
Finally, more and more health professionals are looking to toxins as the answer to why so many people are not seeing the results they should despite doing everything they are told to do to control or reverse their diabetes.
In a proverbial nutshell, toxins attach to cell membranes and cause inflammation and as a result, the hormone receptors on those cells are blocked. These cells can then no longer hear the messages being sent by hormones, which ultimately leads to an epidemic of hormone conditions including diabetes. Remember, insulin is a hormone responsible for regulating blood glucose levels.
What Epigenetics Has to Say About Being Diabetic
Epigenetics has taught us a lot in the last decade. Just because a family member had a disease, like diabetes, does not mean you have to get it.
While you may have the gene yourself, as long as the gene does not get turned on, by poor lifestyle choices or TOXINS, your gene will not be triggered.
Let me say that again:
If you currently have type 2 diabetes, and you have tried to control or reverse the disease by making better lifestyle choices, but it hasn’t seemed to help, DO NOT ASSUME YOUR HEALTH IS SET IN STONE. You DO NOT have to throw in the towel and assume you have diabetes because your mother or grandfather or aunt is/was a diabetic. There are other factors that play into how and why the problem develops. And exposure to toxins is a BIG factor.
With this in mind, here are some ways you can protect your health and the health of your family by reducing the amount of toxins present in your home.
1. Opt for Non-Toxic Household Cleaning Products
Take some of your household cleaning products and detergents and turn the bottles around. You most likely see a list of chemicals you can’t pronounce. Many of these chemicals may actually be petrochemicals – particularly bad for you.
Step one – throw them all out. Step two – buy and use only non-toxic cleaning and washing products. This means not only choosing products without weird unpronounceable chemicals but also without chlorine and fragrance-free.
2. Watch Those Paint and Finishes
You have probably heard that many paints and finishes release something called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air – and they can do so for years after. Don’t let that word “organic” fool you – these chemicals are not your friend, hence the word volatile.
For your next home renovation project, choose low- or zero-VOC paints and finishes. Also be sure to use non-chlorinated solvents such as turpentine, ethanol and acetone, if solvents are needed.
3. Watch That Furniture
Unfortunately, most furniture is constructed from either plywood, pressed wood, particle board and medium density fiberboard that have all been treated with formaldehyde, which is a suspected carcinogen. Oh, and like VOCs, formaldehyde can emit toxic fumes for up to five years.
You most likely don’t have the budget to throw out all of your furniture and get new non-toxic furniture made from whole wood, glass, metal or chrome. But you can switch out pieces here and there when your budget allows. Also, since furniture that is over five years old and has NOT been refinished or reupholstered usually does not continue to off gas toxins, you could get affordable second-hand, thrift, or antique furniture for perhaps less.
4. Go with Filtered Water, Not Bottled
Tap water in and of itself may not be great in your town or city. But before you go spending money on bottled water from the grocery store, understand that water sitting in plastic bottles for God-knows-how-long, especially in the heat (who knows what those bottles went through on their way from a factory somewhere to the store) can become contaminated with dangerous chemicals emitted from the plastic. These chemicals have been shown to be hormonal and endocrine disruptors.
It’s a much better and healthier idea to buy a quality water filtration system for your home. Just be sure to store that water in glass or stainless steel containers.
5. Leave Your Shoes Outside
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t give much thought to what your shoes step on or in on a daily basis. Well think about it for a second right now. Do you really want car grease, pesticides, lead, oil, or bacteria to be tracked throughout your home? Probably not. So leave those shoes outside or in your garage and have a nice cozy pair of slippers or flip-flops ready to be slipped into once you get home and only wear these inside your home.
6. Use a HEPA Filter
No matter how hard you try to remove the majority of toxins from your home, there will be some that linger. Your shower curtain, your mattress, something coming in from outside can pollute the air inside your home. To clean up as much as possible, use a HEPA filter in your HVAC system. One study found that installing high-efficiency filters in the HAVC system cut expose to pollutants by up to 27% – which is pretty great. 3
Final Thoughts
There is mounting evidence that environmental toxins are a primary cause of the development of diseases, including diabetes. Therefor I highly recommend to my patients and readers to do whatever you can to clean up your home as much as possible. You don’t have to do everything in one weekend. But make small changes each week to remove as many toxins as possible. This will do a world of good for your health.
Resources:
[1] Joseph Pizzorno, ND. Is the Diabetes Epidemic Primarily Due to Toxins? Integr Med (Encinitas). 2016 Aug; 15(4): 8–17.
[2] Chudchawal Juntarawijit, Yuwayong Juntarawijit. Association between diabetes and pesticides: a case-control study among Thai farmers. Environ Health Prev Med. 2018; 23: 3.
[3] Hänninen OO, Palonen J, Tuomisto JT, Yli-Tuomi T, Seppänen O, Jantunen MJ. Reduction potential of urban PM2.5 mortality risk using modern ventilation systems in buildings. Indoor Air. 2005 Aug;15(4):246-56.
