At ilumina Healing Sanctuary our specialty is treating our patients with acupuncture and herbs from a Chinese Medicine lens. In our modern day setting we also take into consideration toxins that maybe weren’t a problem or around 1,000+ years ago. Our job is to guide you down a road of information and solution without creating overwhelm. Here are a few easy and affordable ways you can reduce your daily toxin load and create a healthy environment for fertility, prenatal and overall health.
1) Stop using Nail Polish and Gel Polish - Most nails salons use toxic products from beginning to end of a mani/pedi. It’s best to avoid nail salons and nail polish as the ingredients are human carcinogens and can cause DNA damage and mutations, reproductive and developmental issues. Additionally, chronic use of UV nail dryers can damage DNA and cause mutations in the human cells as well.
Less Toxic Option: If you must paint your nails for a special occasion purchase a nail polish that advertises “10 Free” meaning its free of the 10 most harmful nail polish ingredients. Brands like Green, Ella & Mila, Cote or Kure Bazar and Pacifical have “7 free” and above options.
2) Stop using fabric softener & dryer sheets - These two products are essentially the same and are intended to prevent static, reduce wrinkles and make garments feel softer. Unfortunately softeners don’t soften your clothes, instead they leave a thin waxy coating on the fibers to make them feel soft and reduce friction.
Most softeners contain fragrance compounds that are allergenic and endocrine-disrupting. Synthetic fragrance compounds have a similar chemical make-up to estrogen creating estrogen dominance in the body and reproductive issues.
Less Toxic Option: Wool dryers balls with with a few drops of essential oils. Wool is great for reducing static and the essential oil is a great natural way to add a light refreshing scent to your laundry.
3) Stop wearing perfume - Most popular perfumes contain an ingredient called Phthalates. In fragrance and cosmetics phthalates are used as a carrier for fragrance helping it adhere to skin, hair and clothing fibers.
Phthalates have been linked to many health concerns including hormone disruption, reproductive issues, fetal development effects and cancer.
Less Toxic Option: If you don’t want to stop using perfume completely Dime Beauty Co offers several clean, ewg certified perfume options for both women and men. dimebeautyco.com
4) Stop using scented candles, air fresheners, room sprays and incense - Much like perfume, candles and any room freshener contains Phthalates, which are endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to a list of chronic health issues including reproductive issues.
Phthalates are SVOC’s (semi-volatile organic compounds). SVOC’s accumulate in the home, settle in house dust, furniture and fabric. Candles and incense both release polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that have been identified as being carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic.
Start your indoor “air quality edit” at home by removing all candles, plug-ins, room sprays and incense from the home. You many need to do periodic sweeps of the home especially after the holidays when gifts like candles and rooms sprays make their way into the home.
Less Toxic Option: Invest in some high quality essential oils and room diffusers. Essential oils don’t contain phthalates and are derived from plants themselves.
5) Stop drinking plastic bottled water - Plastic bottled water contains BPA’s and BPA is nota friend to anyone struggling with infertility.
Higher levels of BPA’s in the body have been associated with miscarriage, fewer oocytes during IVF, lower birth weight/head circumference, altered gene expression factoring fetal growth and metabolism.
The good thing is BPA’s tend to exit the body via urination and other detox pathways.
Less Toxic Option: Start drinking all water and beverages from metal or glass bottles or glasses. Avoid the crackly cheap bottled water at all cost.
6) Stop handling store receipts - Yup that’s correct. Store receipts contain fertility compromising BPA’s as well. It’s best to avoid them at all costs, and its getting easier to avoid them with email receipts.
Less Toxic Option: Have your receipts sent to your email. Don’t take a paper receipt if you don’t truly need it. Have the person checking you out put the receipt in your shopping bag.
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