Environmental Toxins

As a functional medicine doctor, I understand how keeping healthy could be a challenge at these times when environmental toxins are everywhere – in your home, car, or office. They are present in many of the products that you use every day!

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 including Cognitive Difficulties, Immune Dysregulation, and Blood Pressure Changes.

Where environmental toxins hide

When it comes to disease prevention, most people know they need to eat healthy foods, exercise, drink lots of water, and reduce alcohol intake. 

Another helpful thing to consider is to avoid exposure to 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).

Functional Medicine Doctor advice on what to do with environmental toxins

To avoid exposure to environmental toxins, here are some easy things you can 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. 

If you need guidance on how to live a healthier lifestyle, speak to a professional functional medicine doctor. 

Book an appointment with Dr. Adam Sandford now.