Guest Post by Maya- Chemicals to Avoid in Everyday Products & How to Live Healthier

Chemicals to Avoid in Everyday Products & How to Live Healthier

Over the past few decades, the positive response to natural and organic products has risen, and with very good reason.  Due to popular demand, most companies are beginning to tailor their products to cater to an ever-growing audience of educated, eco-friendly consumers.  Unfortunately, even many of products on the market today that advertise with labels such as “all-natural” or “organic” still contain many harmful ingredients.  Believe it or not, a big portion of our household products contains potentially toxic chemicals, which can trigger anything from wheezing and headaches to much more serious conditions.  Let’s take a quick look at a few harmful chemicals you may be unknowingly harboring in your home.

Look for Artificial Ingredients in Beauty Products

Nowadays, most beauty products are touted as having “all-natural” ingredients; unfortunately, what they forget to inform you of is that they also contain a plethora of artificial ones too.  Sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS, is one of the most common ingredients in shampoos, soaps and detergents and has been known to cause skin irritation, canker sores and respiratory illness. Parabens, often found in cosmetics, deodorants, shampoos, and even toothpaste, have been extensively linked to cancer. Look for products that are SLS free or contain no artificial ingredients and harmful carcinogens. Also, when traveling, it’s best to bring your own cosmetics and beauty products instead of relying on the unlabeled sample bottles in hotels.

(I’m a huge fan of Lush and love their products)

Beware of Bottled Water

I never really understood the bottled water trend. I mean, whose idea was it to charge for bottled water anyway? The whole idea that bottled water is better for you is a misconception (except in some rare cases when your local water source may be contaminated). Bottled water is packaged in plastic, which in turn is made from petroleum distillates. This means that harmful chemicals can leach into the water you’re drinking. It’s also a misnomer that bottled water is safer than tap water, as tap water actually has more safety regulations in place, at least within the US.  

In short, I really feel that bottled water is bad: it’s bad for your wallet, it’s bad for you, and it’s bad for the environment, as the vast majority of bottles never make it to the recycling plant. Plus,the energy used in producing and transporting bottled water is the energy equivalent of fueling 1.5 million cars a year!  The bottom line?  Beware of bottled water.

(This photo even makes it look unappetizing!)

Watch What You Eat

The fight for toxic-free fruits and vegetables has been waging for decades now, and although we’ve made significant progress, we still have a long way to go.  Organic foods cost a lot more than the modified counterparts, and although all of us would probably like to only buy organic foods, our wallets won’t really let us.  That’s why it’s important to know which foods are the most susceptible to pesticides and other unwanted toxic byproducts.

According to Eatingwell.com, apples contain the most pesticides out of any other fruit.  Peaches, strawberries and celery were also in the top five.  By picking a few foods and only buying them organic, you’ll significantly reduce the amount of harmful chemicals you put into your body.

Go Green!

I bet if you were to take a look at your basement, garage or shed, you’d find cleaning and pest control products that contain anunnerving amount of toxic chemicals. Take a look at the ingredient list on some of your cleaning products—the amount of numbers and random letters is simply baffling, and worse still is that they’re just sitting in your home!  Instead of using chemical-laden pesticides and detergents, try taking the green route by making your own.  Here’s a great resource that will help point you in the right direction and help keep the toxins you store in your home to a minimum.

If you live in an apartment complex, or travel often in hotels, they may use fertilizers or pest control methods with chemicals you may not be aware of. Don’t hesitate to voice any concerns you may have with your building manager or similar authority. Feel free to request that your flat or housing community use more environmentally-friendly lawn fertilizers, or that your favorite hotel chain guard against any hotel bed bugs with healthier pest control methods.

The fight for a healthier life starts with you.  Be sure to thoroughly check labels and ingredient lists before you buy a product; if you see an ingredient you can’t pronounce, then move on. DIY methods are wonderful and worth trying, and watching what you eat is paramount. By arming yourself with the knowledge of knowing which products are healthy and which are harmful, you’ll be doing yourself—and the environment—a huge favor.

Maya Rodgers tries to live every day a little greener and healthier. When she isn’t at work, she often plays with Mindy, the best dog in the world, chauffeurs her children between activities, and tries to give her husband any left-over attention.She can be found writing on her own site at http://www.petsandpests.com