Living healthy is a lifelong process. However, most of us are inadvertently exposed to a lot of toxins in our daily life, which can negatively impact our bodies in the long run. One of the simplest ways to reduce the impact of toxins in our day to day life is through awareness and avoidance of chemicals and artificial products that have taken root in our lives.
As someone who wants to lead a healthy life, I strongly believe in the need to detox our lives. With that in mind, I have researched far and wide to find chemical-free products that can be used every day, reducing our exposure to toxins.
Below are some of the products that I use and recommended as part of the detox program.
Use A Non-fluoride Toothpaste – Desert Essence
Fluoride is a very misunderstood chemical that we encounter in our daily life. Small quantities of fluoride is essential for our teeth remineralization, keeping them healthy. Most of us get this required dosage from normal tap water provided at homes. However, in high quantities, fluoride is an extremely strong chemical that can harm our dental and general health. This is why it is best to avoid toothpastes with added fluoride. After understanding the effects of fluoride, I have switched my toothpaste to Desert Essence, a natural toothpaste devoid of harmful chemicals including fluoride. Desert Essence toothpaste can be ordered online from Amazon.ae or can be bought from Organic Food & Cafe in Dubai.
Natural Teeth Whitener – Ugly By Nature Organic Activated Charcoal
Over-the-counter teeth whiteners are quite popular all over the world due to their ease of use. However, they are loaded with bleaching chemicals, which can strip off the teeth’s natural enamel and cause sensitivity or gum irritability.
Apart from regular brushing and flossing, I prefer the use of Organic activated charcoal from Ugly By Nature for teeth whitening. You can buy this particular product online from Amazon.ae.
Skincare And Cosmetics – Katavi, Beauty Counter And Mad Hippie
You might have noticed that your skincare and cosmetic products come with an array of multi-syllabic chemicals. While most people assume that they’re safe enough to be applied, how much do we really know about these products?
A 2013 study showed that 1 in 10 consumers in the UAE spends around DH60,000 a year on their beauty products, which may have only gone up since then. With the high demand for beauty products in the country, it’s necessary to identify brands that use natural and FDA approved.
I prefer to use skincare products and cosmetics from brands like Katavi, Beauty Counter, and Mad Hippie. These brands promote the use of ‘clean’ and ‘vegan’ products that are approved by the FDA and safe to use on the skin. Katavi skincare range is available in the UAE and can be bought from their official website katavi.ae. If you are interested in Beauty counter and Mad Hippie products you can shop and ship them to the country.
Organic Deodorant – Dr. Organic
Sweating is a natural process in which the toxins in our body are expelled. However, most of us are uncomfortable with sweating and body odor, which is why we tend to use deodorants. The sole purpose of deodorants is to eliminate body odor. However, most Aerosol deodorants or antiperspirants clog up the sweat glands, thereby stopping one of our body’s natural way of expelling toxins. Aerosols antiperspirants are also known air pollutants, which is why it’s high time we say no to them and switch to a harmless alternative.
Dr. Organic roll-on deodorant is a really good product that serves the purpose without harming the body or the environment in any way. I use Dr. Organic Manuka Honey roll-on, non-spray deodorant knowing it’s helping the world around me as well. This is available online in Amazon.ae or at Holland and Barrett health shops around the UAE.
Replacing Plastic With Glass Water Bottles
Plastic is one of the most toxic materials that has invaded our everyday lives. While it has become near impossible to avoid them completely, we can reduce its use in numerous ways. For instance, replacing your drinking bottles with glass bottles will bring a lot of difference. This is especially useful for all of us who live in such a hot country. Plastic bottles heat up in hot weather, releasing chemicals into your drinking water. Imagine the amount of harmful chemicals you consume when you drink from a bottle of mineral water! The ideal way is to carry water in glass bottles as they can be reused without the worry about toxins. You can buy good quality glass bottles from any of your local hypermarkets or order them online from Amazon.ae.
Silicone Straws
Plastic drinking straws are still one of the many things that people use every day, despite knowing its environmental impact. A lot of us even use it at home or while traveling, without thinking twice about them.
If you are a person who uses a lot of drinking straws at home or your workplace, collapsible silicone straws are a good alternative to plastic straws. Personally, I have them with me whenever I am traveling as they are reusable and easy to carry. Collapsible silicone straws are available in Amazon.ae.
Reusable Bee’s Wrap, Cloth Bag & Reusable Food Storage Bag
How do you normally store your foods at home? People tend to keep their food in plastic containers or bags for long term storage. But is it really safe to do so?
Studies show that plastic containers and bottles used to store foods leach small amounts of a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA) into the items stored inside them. Long term use of these materials to store your eatables can therefore negatively impact your health through the consumption of unwanted chemicals.
A safer alternative to plastics for safe storage of edibles are reusable cloth bags, silicone bags or bee’s wrap. While cloth and silicone bags can be used to store raw foods, bees wrap can cover cooked leftovers while storing them in the refrigerator. You can buy reusable cloth bags from Amazon.ae, shop and ship Bee’s Wrap from their official website and silicone bags from Tavola.com or stasherbag.com.
Non-Stick The Original Green Pan & Stainless Steel
A lot of people depend upon Aluminium vessels for cooking their daily meals. However, cooking in Aluminium can negatively impact the users in the long run. According to Health Canada, cooking your meal in an aluminum saucepan can add approximately 1 to 2 mg of aluminum to your food, which can be highly toxic for your body.
Instead of this highly dangerous material, I have personally opted to use Green pan from The Original. This non-stick pan can resist heat, flaking and leaching harmful chemicals and thereby not react with your food in any way. Unlike stainless steel, which is also a safe option, green pan from The Original is non-sticky, which prevents the food from sticking to the pan while cooking. You can buy The Original Green Pan from Amazon.ae.
I also have quality stainless steel pots and vessels for more general uses in the kitchen. Similar to Green Pan, steel cooking surface also resists heat and flaking. Stainless steel products are ideal for heating water and cooking liquid foods like soups and gravy. With a wide range of stainless steel vessels available in the market, switching your cooking utensils has become a lot easier. Good quality steel vessels are now available online in Amazon.ae.
Eat Organic To Stay Healthy
The food we eat plays one of the most important roles in our health and fitness. This is why many people have consciously shifted to organic foods. However, with the increased cost of these products, many of us find it hard to sustain this lifestyle in the UAE.
If you have access to cheaper organic food in the country, always opt for the same. If you are looking to choose which foods to buy organic and which can be bought non-organic, here is a list of the ‘dirty dozen’ that you should remember. The 12 products with the highest levels of pesticides such as peaches, apples, cucumbers, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, potatoes, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and snap peas must be bought from an organic marketplace. By doing so, you can easily avoid consuming dangerous toxins along with your food daily. You can buy organic products from Organic Foods and Cafe.
Use Sea Salt Instead Of Table Salt
Although sea salt and table salt contain the same amount of sodium, the former undergoes very minimal processing, making it a much safer choice for consumption. Sea salt retains traces of minerals like potassium, calcium, and magnesium, which is essential for the body in small quantities. On the other hand, table salt is highly processed, which removes these minerals and instead uses additives to make the grains stop from sticking together. You can start buying sea salt from your local grocery store and use the same for cooking your foods.
Reduce The Use Of Processed Foods
Although our busy lifestyles force us to consume processed foods or eating out in restaurants more often than we should, it is important to consciously make an effort to reduce the consumption of such food. Ready-made foods are unhealthy and can harm your body in the long run, leading to diseases and conditions that may or may not be treatable.
The best way to look at this situation is to learn from our forefathers. Our parents and grandparents made everything from scratch as processed foods were not available during their times. By living off organic produce and home-cooked meals, they lived a much healthier life than what we have now; which is something we should look up to and follow.
Use Natural Products For Cleaning Your Home
To maintain a clean and healthy home, regular cleaning is very essential. However, I personally advise against the use of toxic chemicals to keep your home clean. For instance, the presence of bleach and acids in cleaning products like Clorox releases chemical fumes, which is very harmful to your body, paving the way to lung diseases through continued exposure.
At my home, I use vinegar, baking soda or tea tree oil mixed with water to clean various surfaces.
Baking soda and water can remove the dirt from your bathroom tiles, white vinegar is great for floors, windows, and mirrors. Tea tree oil, on the other hand, has antibacterial properties which makes it a great alternative to Dettol and helps disinfect your home on a daily basis. These products are not only safe for your home, but will also help save some money!
Choose Your Fabric Softener Carefully – Seventh Generation
Most fabric softeners are loaded with chemicals that are harmful to us. The vapors from the softeners can irritate the eyes and the respiratory passages and can be absorbed through the skin as well. As our clothes have already been cleaned with soap or detergent, softeners are not exactly a necessary product.
However, if you want to use softeners occasionally to maintain the feel of the fabric, Seventh Generation Natural Fabric Softener is a good choice. This particular product reduces static without the use of animal-derived ingredients, dyes, and synthetic fragrances and uses a biodegradable softener formula that doesn’t harm the environment. You can buy this product from Momzworld.com.
You can also choose natural methods like spraying diluted essential oil or baby cologne on your clothes before ironing to help your clothes smell great and feel fresh.
Laundry Ball
While there are a number of detergents available, both perfumed and otherwise, they are generally considered harmful to the environment. As an alternative to conventional detergents, I switched to laundry balls for washing my clothes. Contrary to popular beliefs and arguments, I personally find them quite useful. At the most basic Eco Balls are an alternative to washing detergent and are supposed to make the Laundry clean without the addition of fabric softeners, fabric conditioners and anything else you normally add to the Laundry to get it fresh and clean.
Laundry Balls contain no detergents at al and work on the principle of Ionic cleaning. The ions released during washing will penetrate deep into the cloth fibers, cleaning them without fading them. They lift the dirt via without the need for any detergents or any of the other normal additions that most of use to get clothes clean and smelling nice.
So there you have it – 14 ways to detox your life from harmful chemicals and its long-time side effects. The products mentioned here are some of the personal recommendations that I use at my home. If you are really interested in detoxing your life the way I do, try switching to these greener alternatives and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.
