My Non-Toxic Kitchen and Body Care Swaps

My Non-Toxic Kitchen and Body Care Swaps


Recently I have been aiming to avoid potentially toxic items in my life that can impact hormones. You may have seen or heard about things like this before and brushed it off thinking non of this will matter for you or your body.

However I want to encourage you to not just shrug your shoulders and think, this stuff won’t impact my health.

Having recently struggled with an irregular cycle, I want to make sure I am doing all that I can to manage the factors that can affect hormones and fertility health.

I first learned about the harmful potential effects of products on the female body when I worked for an organic mattress company as a social media coordinator. I was horrified at what I learned. The company that I worked for actually oepned my eyes at how many flammable chemicals and toxins are in beds, and many of the products we use every single day. I made a lot of changes in 2018, but slowly over the years dropped some of the habits and products I had been using.

After WWII more and more chemicals have ended up in our products, and have changed over the years. Don’t believe me? There is data to prove harmful chemicals and products we use are ending up in our bodies! 

These potentially harmful chemicals are called xenoestorgens. Basically they are parts of products that end up in our body, and come from PCB’s, BPA, phthalates, etc. They are natural or chemical compounds and imitate estrogen in the body. It is believed that by limiting products that can potentially expose you to these to you, you can have better hormone health...hence why I have been making a lot of changes. We know that these things can and do end up in the system based on studies (check the quick facts below, or scroll right now to the product recommendations!)

Quick Facts: (click for study)

-Based on a recent study 93% of all adults tested in the US had known carcinogenic chemical bisphenol A in their urine

-Scientists have tested 21 types of table salt and found plastic in all of the salts tested,  polyethylene terephthalate was the most common plastic found.

- Plastic has even shown up in Mother’s Breast milk -  plastic found as Bisphenol in Mothers’ Breast Milk and Infant Urine Samples according to researchers in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Boston’s Simmons College who tested the breast milk of 27 women and the urine of 31 infants between three months and 15 months old, who were screened for environmental exposure to BPA sources. (If plastic is showing up in breast milk, we can conclude plastic is entering the body!)

With some of my own recent hormone imbalances, I want to navigate possible external factors that could lead to changes in my body, and prevent what I can. We can’t be perfect but we can start somewhere!

Before I dive into the list, I recommend that you start this process slowly, it can be overwhelming to switch every little thing, but if you find it easier you can also do everything all at once too.

Non toxic Product app: If you’re considering buying a beauty or home product you can also look it up and check out it’s toxicity via the Think Dirty App (linked here). https://apps.apple.com/us/app/think-dirty-shop-clean/id687176839

When looking for items to swap out consider things that contain plastics or go directly on your skin. You will want things made out of glass or wood, or that do not contain plastic. Stainless steel products, and products made from natural oils etc are the best for the body, which you will see many of these types of products below. I have not dove into all beauty and makeup yet, however I do use bareminerals which is fairly safe, other brands I have read are non toxic are: Beauty Counter, Arbonne, Jane Iredale Cosmetics to name a few,].


Here is my list of products that I have swapped out- most items can be purchased via the amazon link: 

Kitchen Items:

Glass containers

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Wood spatulas

Stainless Steel Water bottle

Swevel Stainless steel straws

Cast Iron skillet (without toxic chemical laden products in non stick pans)-  https://amzn.to/2SA7Zcq

Bamboo Cutting Board (get rid of the plastic! Ever notice cut marks? That plastic ends up somewhere)- https://amzn.to/3hgjxdm

Glass bakeware

Glass water bottle

Glass Drinking Pitcher (instead of plastic)



Cleaning: 

Dr Bronners -  I like the citrus scent    https://amzn.to/3jnyRYd

Homemade laundry soap - “Recipe” down below

Kitchen Counter cleaner - 3:1 ratio of water & Dr. Bronners. So simple, add to a spray bottle & wa-la, you don’t have to worry about harsh chemicals.


Beauty:

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Mud Soap (can be used as body wash or hand soap)

Body Wash - Nature brand, can be bought at Target or most stores

 Rocky Mountain Soap Company

Body Lotion

Coconut oil

Nature Deodorant - purchase from target or walmart- not including link due to many claims one on Amazon aren’t the real deal! 

Chapstick




Recipe for Homemade Laundry Soap: 
Detergent:

 

I hope you found this helpful, and informative, I want to be my healthiest self, and am looking for ways to make this transition and take care of my hormone health as best as I can, and sharing what I learn in the journey to help you make informed decisions for your body! 

Madalyn Hawthorn