The 3 Most Toxic Things In Your HomeHow they are harming your body + solutions to remove them

The most toxic things in your home aren’t what you expect them to be. You might be thinking it’s some kind of cleaning product or maybe food coloring, pesticides, or something labeled: “keep out of reach of children” but sadly these 3 things below are within children’s reach every day and used in most households throughout the day.

These 3 toxic things contain endocrine disruptors (EDCs) & are found in many products at home. From the kitchen to bathroom, to the food that you eat, beauty products you use and even toys that your kids play with, they are everywhere! Chances are you are exposing yourself to them everyday.

What are Endocrine disruptors? They are chemicals that can interfere with your body’s endocrine system. They can mess with your reproductive, immune & neurological systems. EWG says, “Endocrine disruptors are natural or synthetic chemicals that can disrupt the hormone system in many ways – increasing the production of some hormones, decreasing the production of others and interfering with their signaling, which can result in health problems. These harms include reproductive issues like changes to fertility, early puberty and risk of low birth weight, obesity, diabetes, immune system impacts, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, some types of cancer, and neurological and behavioral problems. The developing fetus, infants and children are especially vulnerable, since their physiological systems are still developing.”

Let’s about the top 3 most toxic things in your home:

1) Fragrance is an EDC that can be found in so many household items: candles, makeup, perfume, skincare, body products, baby products, cleaning supplies, air fresheners, hair care, deodorant, toilet paper, diapers, wipes, feminine hygiene products & much more! Think about cleaning supplies: you clean the entire house so the whole house is coated in it. Laundry detergent is on your clothes, you wear clothes against your body’s largest organ (your skin) & sleep on your clean sheets at night. Fragrance is everywhere. If something is labeled “fragrance” don’t buy it or use it. There are over 3000 chemicals that can hide behind the word “fragrance” and many of them have never been tested for safety.

Solution: change the laundry soap you use, candles hand soaps, bath products, cleaning supplies ditch your perfumes and anything that has fragrance or perfume or parfum listed on the ingredient list. For all cleaning supples and laundry detergent we use Branch Basics (order with this LINK with code KRYSTENSKITCHEN at checkout to save $ on your starter kit - we have the glass bottle set have have used it for years).

2) Plastic is all around us. You put HOT FOOD right into plastic containers, put it in the microwave, use reusable plastic cups/bottles & it’s in our kids toys - most of this plastic has BPA, BPS & phthalates & is not meant to be reused. These plastics can leach neurotoxins & even lead! No.2 (the number on the bottom) is prob the best one to use but NO PLASTIC IS SAFE TO HEAT — even if it’s labeled as microwave safe it’s not. If it doesn’t have a number throw it away!

Solution: swap plastic bags for reusable ones. We like the Stasher brand. Use glass containers for food storage and stainless steel for lids lunch boxes. Stop buying plastic toys for your kids — mainly when they are of age where everything goes in their mouth. Instead choose wooden toys (that aren’t painted) or silicone. Use stainless steel cups or silicone for baby plates, eating utensils and cups/ straws… And never put anything hot into or onto plastic!

3) Non-Stick Pans are coated in harmful hormone disrupting chemicals. These chemicals leach into your food & are tied to compromising the immune system, a higher risk of cancer, can affect developments in children & can even hinder a woman’s chance of getting pregnant! If you are using SCRATCHED nonstick pans, (YIKES) that’s even worse as the chemical coatings have flaked off into your food & you’re basically adding more & more of those hormone disrupting chemicals to your meal with each use.

Solution: We use Lodge Cast Iron & Allclad to cook with. The brand Ourplace does not contain really bad contaminants like heavy metals, PFAS or nanomaterial, Our Place makes for a good option.

You need to start reading labels & making little changes here & there. You don’t have to toss everything out all at once unless you’re like me and tossed pretty much everything in the kitchen once I found all this out. Do research & soon enough a little change here & there adds up to BIG CHANGES for you & your loved ones!