Body burden, or toxic load, is the buildup of harmful chemicals in our bodies. There are three primary sources of body burden: through ingestion, inhalation, and our skin. I’ll talk more about these three areas in a minute, but first I’d like to chat a bit about why the topic of body burden is so important.
Alarming Study Findings
Unfortunately, body burden is a serious (and very widespread) problem, and it starts before a baby even leaves the womb. Research has shown that, contrary to previous belief, chemicals stored in a pregnant woman’s body actually cross the placenta. Then, after birth, the baby continues to receive these chemicals through breastfeeding.
Did you know that, on average, a baby has over 200 harsh chemicals in its cord blood? 287 according to a study conducted by the EWG. Of those 287, 180 can cause cancer, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development. WHAT?! I don’t know about you, but when I first heard those statistics, I was utterly shocked and appalled.
If you think that’s concerning, just wait. A follow-up study was conducted a few years later. The initial study didn’t test for certain chemicals like BPA, which wasn’t as widely used then. However, the follow-up study did reveal BPA in nine of the ten cord blood samples tested. It also revealed substances like fire retardants, synthetic fragrances, and PFOA.
For more information on how you can protect your little ones, check out Toxic Load: the Hidden Danger to Children.
So, that's babies...what about the rest of us?!
Scientists estimate that everyone alive today carries at least 700 contaminants. 700!!!!!
When you think about it, toxic chemicals are all around us. I don’t know about you, but I got really overwhelmed when I first started trying to address some of the sources of body burden for my family and I. To make it less overwhelming for you, I have included 15 simple (AKA easily implemented!!) solutions below. They’re broken out into the three primary sources of body burden.
Body burden through ingestion
- Try to eat as clean as possible. Aim for a whole foods diet and avoid as much processed food and additives as you can. If it comes in a box, package, or wrapper, you can safely assume it has some additives or preservatives in it. But if you don’t eat anywhere close to a whole foods diet right now, start small. Pick one area to start eating cleaner and once that adjustment has become “normal”, tackle another area! This has made it feel much more manageable for our family.
- Eat organic when possible to avoid pesticides, which are a real threat to human health, especially children. I know eating organic can be expensive. If you’re on a budget, the most important produce to choose the organic option for are soft-skinned fruits & veggies. Check out this list of the dirty dozen (foods to buy organic) and the clean 15 (those that are considered safer non-organic options). Click on the image to make it bigger.
- Wash your produce well. One of my favorite products for ensuring my produce comes out truly clean is this. It’ll remove the gunk AND extend the life of your produce. Win-win!! Bonus tip: wash your produce as soon as you bring it home from the store. This will also help extend the life of your produce.
- Filter your drinking water. It’s totally worth it, trust me. Invest in a good water filter system. If you don’t have one in your refrigerator, I highly recommend this one. It goes above and beyond compared to many.
- Avoid cooking with non-stick cookware. It’s coated in a chemical that releases toxic fumes when heated to high temperatures. Instead, consider cast iron, stainless steel, oven-safe glass, or ceramic.
- Store food in non-plastic and avoid heating food in plastic. A precaution to avoid toxins from leaching into your food.
Body burden through inhalation
- Keep your home as dust-free as possible. Dust is the unexpected poison. There are 45 chemicals found in household dust! You don’t want to be breathing that in!
- Keep your floors clean. Outdoor pollutants come in on shoes and paws. Stop the contaminants at the door with a high-quality entry mat (this is my personal fave) and then clean your floors regularly. I also recommend adopting a policy of leaving shoes at the door.
- Avoid the use of spray cleaners as they put chemicals into the air for you to breathe in. Alarming fact: a recent study found that traditional cleaning products have the same impact on women’s lungs as a 20-a-day cigarette habit. Consider switching to cleaning with something safer like high quality essential oil cleaners (I recommend doTERRA’s On Guard Cleaner Concentrate or Lemon essential oil) paired with Norwex microfiber.
- Purchase purifying plants. They add to the aesthetics of your home, and greatly help improve your indoor air quality. Plus, they just make me so happy! Read How Plants Could Save Your Life for more information and for a free list of 15 plants that will help purify your air.
- Swap out those candles and air fresheners for something safer like essential oils. Check out my favorite essential oil diffuser blend recipes here.
- Throw out those vinyl shower curtains. When in a hot environment, they off-gas toxic chemicals into the air.
- Air out your dry cleaning before bringing it into the house.
Body burden through the skin
- At the risk of being redundant, stop using spray cleaners! Not only do you end up inhaling their fumes, they also get on your skin unless you’re wearing gloves and fully clothed.
- Do a review of your laundry products! More than 80% of laundry products get a “D” or “F” rating from the EWG…including the leading brand of free and clear detergent and the leading brand of baby detergent. You can check the rating for your detergent here.
- Do a review of your personal care products. Unfortunately, many are filled with toxic ingredients like triclosan, SLES/SLS, parabens, artificial colors, and artificial fragrances. Start with products that touch a large portion of your body. In addition to the link above, I also love the app, “Think Dirty”. It’ a great way to check the safety of many products on the market.
Whew. I know that’s a lot. But don’t get overwhelmed! Pick one or two of these areas that seem manageable and implement changes. Then, once you’ve done that successfully, tackle another area. Each step you take will have an impact on lessening your body burden! I promise this makes it doable instead of paralyzing and overwhelming.
Share below which step or two you plan to implement first!
Resources:
- https://norwex.biz/en_US/blog/body-burden
- https://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns#.WbrwiMaZPm0
- http://static.ewg.org/reports/2009/minority_cord_blood/2009-Minority-Cord-Blood-Report.pdf
- https://www.newsweek.com/impact-cleaning-products-lung-health-bad-20-day-cigarette-habit-study-810277
- https://www.ewg.org/research/pollution-people
- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a17859/plastic-safety-heat-food/
Great information…scary, but great. Thank you!