Is Our Environment Making Us Sick?
Could your home, office, or products you use every day be making you sick?
More than 85,000 chemicals are known to be circulating in everyday products in the US alone—in cosmetics, clothing, furniture, electronics, cleaning products, construction materials, and more.
These chemicals have potential health effects that range from irritating the lungs to interacting with the immune system or disrupting hormones. Exposures to environmental chemicals can be drivers of many chronic health concerns:
✅ Headaches
✅ Breathing Struggles
✅ Bone Thinning
✅ Mood Changes
✅ Cognitive Difficulties
✅ Attention Problems
✅ Hormonal Imbalance
✅ Immune Dysregulation
✅ Blood Pressure Changes
✅ Difficulty Getting Pregnant
This is not to say that environmental exposures are ALWAYS to blame for these issues. Chronic illness is complex.
When I work with patients, my approach is to consider all possibilities. Through your story and testing, we unravel the root cause.
If we discover that environmental exposures are driving your health concerns, the first step is to eliminate the exposure (or minimize it as much as possible). Then we use targeted therapies to support your body in detoxification so that you can heal.
Where environmental toxins hide
Raise your hand if you think that minimizing your risk of developing a chronic illness sounds like a really great idea.
When it comes to disease prevention, most people know they need to eat healthy foods and exercise. You know you should drink lots of water and not lots of alcohol. Right?
But what about environmental toxins?
Environmental toxins lurk all around us and in products we use every day. If these exposures overwhelm our detoxification systems, they can drive disease.
So, if avoiding environmental toxins is not yet part of your wellness routine, I suggest you start now.
Here are some common places where environmental toxins hide:
☠️ Carpet, upholstery, and manufactured wood can off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOCs like formaldehyde), which can be irritants or cause headaches.
☠️ Furniture, carpets, and bedding that contain flame retardants can release hormone-disrupting polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDPEs) into the air and house dust.
☠️ Cleaning products commonly contain ammonia, synthetic fragrances, and other chemicals that can act either as irritants or health disruptors.
☠️ Personal care products (rubbed directly into your skin!!) commonly contain hormone-disrupting parabens and phthalates.
☠️ Plastics and food containers often contain hormone-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA).
So, what can we do?
✅ Dust & vacuum regularly
✅ Minimize plastics as much as possible
✅ Choose non-toxic personal care products and cleaning supplies
✅ Place air purifiers in key areas of the house, especially in bedrooms
Minimizing our exposure is key, but we can also support our body in detoxifying these chemicals every day. Next up I’ll be sharing some of my favorite foods to support detoxification. Stay tuned!
Foods for Everyday Detox
🤔 I’ve been thinking a lot recently about environmentally-driven illnesses—the chronic conditions that either come about or become worse as a result of exposures to toxins in our air, water, food, homes, and workplaces.
One big part of prevention is minimizing our exposure to environmental chemicals and toxins.
But 100% avoidance of toxins is never possible. That’s why the other big part of prevention is supporting our body’s inherent ability to metabolize, detoxify, and eliminate toxins EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
🧩One of my favorite way to do that?
With foods 🥑🫐🍅🥕🥦
Here are 5 delicious foods to support everyday detoxification.
🥬 Green Leafy Vegetables
Leafy greens are rich in minerals and antioxidants. Some of the best to support detoxification include kale, watercress, rocket, and coriander.
🥦 Cruciferous Veggies
Broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are rich in a compound called Sulforaphane that has powerful antioxidant actions.
🧄Onions and Garlic
Onions, garlic, and leeks are good sources of sulfur, helping to support liver detoxification pathways.
🍋 Lemons
Lemons are rich in vitamin C and can be easily added to warm or cool water for detox support.
Berries
The deep blue and purple colors of berries are a result of powerful antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins.
Habits for Everyday Detox
Nobody can completely avoid exposure to environmental toxins. But everybody can support their body’s ability to deal with them!
Let’s look at 3 simple habits to support everyday detoxification:
1️⃣Sweat
Even though sweat is 99% water, small amounts of heavy metals and bisphenol A (BPA) have been detected in sweat. You can promote sweating either by exercising vigorously or sitting in a sauna or Ozone - even better. Both will support detoxification.
2️⃣Cold Showers
Bursts of cold water stimulate circulation and a cascade of chemical messengers in the body to support immune function and detoxification. Make it a goal to end your shower with 30 seconds of cold and then work up to adding 30-second bursts 3 times during your shower.
3️⃣Fiber
Fiber and water work synergistically to support gut function and healthy bowel movements—which are absolutely essential for daily detoxification! Fiber-rich foods include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Your body was designed to detoxify. That means that even if you can’t entirely avoid the synthetic chemicals in our air, water, and foods, you CAN support your body in staying healthy despite all odds.
If you have any concerns about your personal environmental exposures, we are here to help! All you need to do is call my cell or book through our website to get started.
News Recaps
99% of the world is breathing polluted air.
99% of the global population is breathing air that exceeds the limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards—and threatens health.
This statistic is based on an April 2022 report from WHO. It comes from the largest pool of air quality data to date—from over 6000 cities worldwide. Here are some key points:
➡️ Most cities monitoring air quality exceeded WHO safety thresholds.
➡️ Low and middle-income countries had worse air quality than high-income countries.
➡️ Even low levels of exposure to air pollutants can cause serious harm to human health.
And the health concerns?
Cardiovascular Health
Particulate matter (microscopic particles or droplets) are so tiny they can be inhaled, penetrate deep into the lungs, pass into the bloodstream, and contribute to serious respiratory or cardiovascular problems—including stroke.
Respiratory Health
Nitric oxide (a greenhouse gas) is also inhaled and can lead to asthma or other respiratory illnesses.
Mental Health
A 5-year study at a Cincinnati hospital found an association between children’s mental health (more psychiatric visits) and air pollution.
The next logical question is—what can we do?
Particulate matter pollution comes from burning fossil fuels for energy. It’s released from power plants, manufacturing, building, agriculture, and transportation. While we have little control over the air quality outside our homes, we can take steps to keep our indoor air as clean as possible:
✅ Air Purifiers
✅ House Plants
✅ Frequent Vacuuming with a HEPA Filter
✅ Non-Toxic Cleaners
✅ Organic Household Products
Sometimes the greatest threats to our health are hidden. I encourage you to be proactive today so that you can continue to feel your best over time.
Do you have questions about how your environment might be affecting your health? Send us a message to learn how we can help!
Reference: World Health Organization (WHO) News Release. Billions of People Still Breathe Unhealthy Air: New WHO Data. Published April 4, 2022. [link]