Environmental Toxicity: How to Protect Your Health in a Toxic World
Environmental toxicity is a reality. Recently, a major chemical spill made national headlines. However, this spill is just one among many incidents where toxic chemicals are accidentally released into the environment and are far more common than most people realize. In a study published by the CDC in 2015, a survey of nine states over a ten-year period from 1999 to 2008, found a total of 57,975 incidents involving “acute chemical incidents.” Remember that is just nine states, not the entire US!
If these chemicals were substances that broke down readily in the environment, there would be less concern, but many of them are persistent organic pollutants (POPs), this means they will linger in the environment for decades, if not hundreds of years.
There are currently over 350,000 chemicals registered for use in industry, agriculture, and medicine. Only a small fraction of them have been adequately tested for safety, and their safety is tested individually, not collectively. While we do enjoy many benefits from the wonderful discoveries of modern chemistry, the growing use of these chemicals is causing increasingly detrimental effects on the health of plants, animals, and human beings.
Why these Chemicals are a Concern
The chemicals putting us at risk in environmental toxicity are mostly fat-soluble. Which means these compounds are not easily flushed out of the body. They tend to lodge themselves in the fatty tissues of the body, where they accumulate. This storage could possibly be contributing to neurodegenerative diseases as well as other neurological problems.
Some of these chemicals are also endocrine disrupters, which can cause hormonal imbalances, especially in the reproductive system. They can also adversely affect the immune system, which can contribute to chronic inflammation.
The Gut Health Connection
What most people don’t realize is how directly environmental toxins affect gut health. The gut is one of the primary pathways through which toxins enter the body through the food we eat, the water we drink, and the products that come into contact with our skin. When the gut is exposed to high levels of environmental chemicals, the microbiome becomes disrupted, the gut lining becomes more permeable, and the liver becomes overburdened. There is a two-way communication between the gut and liver known as the gut-liver axis, and when one is stressed, the other feels it too.
Protecting yourself from environmental toxicity and supporting gut health are not separate goals. They work together.
Tips to Protect Yourself
It is important to reduce your exposure to these chemicals. Below are a few tips to help you protect yourself from environmental toxicity.
- Avoid chemicals in your food. Read your labels. If you can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is, think twice about eating it. Focus on whole foods, lean meats, organic or properly washed fruits and vegetables, which do not contain many of these added chemicals. Check out EWG’s Dirty Dozen list to know which fruits and vegetables to focus on for purchasing organic.
- Clean water is important. Not only should you be drinking clean, filtered water. Make sure you are showering in it as well. Add a drinking and shower water filtration system to your home.
- Use non-toxic household products and personal care products. Read what the ingredients are in them and learn what ingredients to avoid.
- Purify your indoor air since so many paints, carpets, flooring, and furniture contain chemicals. You can purchase an air filtration system or add air-purifying indoor plants.
- Be Careful With Lawn and Garden Chemicals. If you use chemicals to spray your lawn or are exposed to them, please follow their safety protocols. I see so many people outside spraying weeds with bare hands and shorts on; your skin absorbs these chemicals readily.
- Nourish Your Detoxification Systems. Support your body’s natural detoxification pathways, especially the liver. Staying hydrated, eating fiber-rich whole foods, moving daily, and managing stress all support your body’s ability to process and eliminate what it is exposed to.
For more on supporting your body’s natural detox systems, read our companion article on Cellular Detoxification.
Where to Start Cleaning Things Up
We can’t live in a bubble and avoid all chemical exposure. But focusing on small, realistic changes to your daily routine and building healthier habits over time will help your body manage them. Every label you read, every swap you make, and every filter you add reduces your cumulative toxic load and gives your body more capacity to do what it was designed to do.
The Healthy Habits Challenge is a great place to start building the daily habits that support your gut, reduce inflammation, and help your body thrive naturally. For more on environmental health, explore our articles on EMF and Negative Ions.
This article was originally published as part of the Sunshine Sharing newsletter series.
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