How to Live a Natural and Non-Toxic Lifestyle
Live a Natural and Non-Toxic Lifestyle
In today’s day and age just about everything you can think of is toxic in some way. Although it is almost impossible to totally live a natural and toxic-free lifestyle, there are some things you can do to cut down on the amount of toxicity you subject yourself to on a daily basis. Everything from environmental toxins to food toxins can be tricky to avoid. But with a little mindful living you can lower your toxic exposure. Here are some tips for living a natural and non-toxic lifestyle.
Personal Care Products
Choose your personal care products carefully. Think lotions, makeup, toilet tissue, deodorant, body washes, shampoo, baby wipes, sunscreens, and more! And, yes, I said toilet tissue. Did you know you can buy unbleached toilet paper? Why anyone would want to use bleached toilet paper is beyond me except for the fact that many do not know bleach may be an ingredient in it.
In fact, you may not even know what to look for when it comes to these products. Look for words such as parabens, synthetic fragrance, sulfates, fluoride, and aluminum. If any of these words are listed as ingredients in the products you are buying, then you can bet it’s not good for you as this means there’s a toxin in it.
You may even consider making your own products at some point. There’s nothing more satisfying then creating your own products and knowing exactly what is in it.
Comment below if you’re interested in an eBook with DIY recipes in it to create your own beauty products.
Here are two great websites for checking to see what your personal care products have in them and how safe they are:
Cleaning Products
Another tip for living a natural and non-toxic lifestyle is to change your cleaning products. Replace cleaning sprays, floor cleaners, bathroom scrubs, dishwashing liquid, washing detergent, and disinfectant sprays and wipes with natural and non-toxic cleaning supplies.
Some products that are natural and non-toxic that can be used in place of toxic cleaning supplies include baking soda (for scrubbing and getting rid of odors), cornstarch (for absorbing grease), hydrogen peroxide (as a disinfectant), salt (for scrubbing and helping with rush and mildew), borax (as a substitution for bleach), castille soap (for an all-purpose cleaner), and essential oils (for a nice pick me up and smell good spray).
For laundry, use soap nuts. They are an all-natural product, super affordable, and can be used several times.
Organic Produce and Meats
It’s best to look for meats that are organic, wild-caught, grass-fed, and nitrate fee.
Buy organic fruits and veggies if possible. If you’re not able to purchase all of your veggies and fruits in organic form, then at the very least buy organic the veggies and fruits you consumer the most. To help reduce exposure to pesticide check out this information on the produce with the least and most pesticides.
Fragrances
Consider replacing perfumes, deodorizers, fresheners, plug-ins, and candles with essentials oils, diffusers, herbs, spaces, and soy candles. Some essential oils are not safe for babies or while pregnant so be sure to check before use. Fill the air in your home with subtle scents of spices, herbs, and fruits and enjoy! These scents are much better anyway as well as natural and non-toxic! All it takes is simmering some sweet smelling ingredients in water.
Citrus, herbs, spices (such as cinnamon), extracts (like vanilla), pine, and cedar are great for naturally scenting your home.
Cooking
It’s hard to get away from sugar and flour sometimes when it comes to cooking and baking.
If it says cane sugar, cane syrup, cane juice, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, enriched white flour, or enriched wheat flour guess what? It’s still sugar! Some mistakenly think if they use cane sugar that they are somehow getting a “better”, less harmful sugar.
Instead try these alternatives: dates, raw honey, pure maple syrup, stevia, buckwheat flour, and oat flour.
Something you may not think about but that is just as important when it comes to cooking is the type of cookware you use.
Chances are, you probably own at least one piece of Teflon or other type of toxic non-stick cookware. Toxic fumes from the Teflon chemical released from pots and pans at high temperatures are toxic.
Cookware with finishes made of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) that leach toxins remain the mainstay in many homes across the country. Slowly start replacing your toxic cookware with non-toxic cookware. Do it one step at a time by taking inventory of the Teflon and non-stick items in your kitchen and replace each item with a nontoxic version throughout the year.
Use these instead: Stainless Steel, glass, ceramic, and green non-stick cookware.
Some brands I love for their non-toxic, non-stick, and safe qualities include: GreenPan, EarthPan, Ecolution, Calphalon hard anodized aluminum, Lodge cast iron pans, Enamel cast iron from Le Creuset, Pyrex glass dishes, Mauviel M’150s copper and stainless, and Ceramcor-Xtrema ceramic cookware. There are lots of good options to choose from when it comes to toxic free baking and cookware.
If you really want to practice a natural, non-toxic lifestyle then you should get rid of your microwave oven as well! I know, I know-microwaves are incredibly convenient especially when it comes to defrosting and reheating leftovers.
But is it worth it to use them when basically they are exposing your food to radiation and depleting your food of good nutrition? Constantly being exposed to your microwave and the harmful radiation it puts out can cancel out all your hard work of creating a natural and non-toxic lifestyle. Therefore, standing close to the microwave is also discouraged.
Anyone who has ever used a microwave knows that food cooked this way doesn’t look or taste like food cooked on the stove top or in a conventional oven. Sometimes the texture is even changed, and let’s face it-it certainly doesn’t taste the same. We won’t even talk about the nutritional value zapped away in a matter of minutes.
Another problem with microwaving is the containers in which most people microwave foods — plastic, or coated paper. These can contain BPA and other chemicals that, when heated, leach into the food. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that really messes up your hormones in case you were wondering.
Gardening
What better way to know that you’re eating safe, non-gmo food then to grow it yourself right?
Start with organic heirloom seeds and never use pesticides. There are several organic alternatives to choose from when growing food that are much safer for you and our environment.
Plastics
Try using glass and stainless steel as much as possible. Other suggestions for going plastic free include using metal silverware, glass baby bottles, cloth bags for your groceries, glass containers for storing good, glass water bottles, glass straws, and stainless-steel cups.
Whenever possible if you must buy plastic, look to see if the plastic container says (BPA free. Same goes for canned goods.
So, there you have it. If you want to practice a natural and non-toxic lifestyle you now have some solid tips to help you on your journey. It’s a great start and can really help you with your health. I mean we can’t all live on a homestead and practice total natural living although that would be nice. The main thing to remember is to purchase healthy green products and organic foods.
What are some things you do to practice living naturally? What practices do you find harder to implement than others? Share here and let’s help and motivate each other to be natural and toxic-free.
