3 Tools To Making Better Decisions For Your Health
So, you want to start making better choices in your home, but don’t know where to start? I’m here to remind you that it doesn’t have to be complicated, and I’m coming in with ways to help keep it that way for you. The key to the process, in my opinion, is to tackle one thing at a time. When you run out of your shampoo, use that as an opportunity to get a non-toxic shampoo… and rise and repeat that process with everything else (pun very much intended). When you are meal planning, opt for some better brands that don’t have the additives (more on that later). Have to order a new laundry detergent, get a cleaner brand… You get the point! By doing it this way, you’re able to finish using what you already have (and save some money in the process), but it also keeps the process stress-free. If you don’t know where to start on making these better choices one at a time, here are some tools that will help keep it simple.
PS. Before we begin, if you’re looking for more references on why it would be a good idea to make more intentional decisions in purchasing your home products, here are some resources on ways some common ingredients disrupt our bodies: endocrine disruption (and part two on this topic), breast cancer, the 3,059 materials reported to be used under the umbrella term “Fragrance” in products, carcinogenic nitrosamines, cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, and more. Also, the documentary “Not So Pretty” on HBO is another great reference, specifically about the makeup industry.
Okay, now that we got that out of the way…
Scan Your Household Products
If you want to get an idea on what products to consider replacing with non-toxic ones, the EWG database is THE place to go! You can either scan or search your products, or while you’re searching for new products to replace yours while on a shopping trip, and it will instantly give you a score on how “dirty” a product is. On the flip side, you can search for a product, for example, toothpaste, and it will show you the top-verified options that won’t reek havoc on your health. They have an app, that I would highly recommend so you can use the scan feature. It’s the holy grail of clean product information!
When in doubt, it will have a break down of the ingredients to look out for in each product. The reason I mention this is because if there is a product you believe to be a healthier option and are surprised when you search it, sometimes it can count an ingredient that can be sensitive to skin. For example, we use a product that has cinnamon in it, and so when you search it in EWG, it shows a small flag on cinnamon since some people are sensitive to that on their skin. I saw that, realized it was no biggie, and felt good on what I’ve been using! That’s a very specific scenario though, I would say most of my old products had a good bit of ingredients that are better to ditch. This makes it SO simple to do so!
If you want an easy place to start your non-toxic switching, I would personally start with a household cleaner. The one we use is a concentrate, so it lasts forever, works SUPER well, and most importantly on the topic, is multi-purposed to be the only cleaner in our entire house, so it does the job for SO many products you’ll want to switch! It will check multiple items off the list at once, and help start your switching process with a win, right out of the gate.
Simplify Your Ingredient List
It can be SO daunting to know what is making a better food choices for yourself, but it doesn’t have to be (are you seeing a theme with the way I see healthy living?). There are countless resources out there now a days, but here are my few that truly helped me keep it simple. There’s something to be said about avoiding dyes, artificial flavors, etc., but I also know it can get pretty time consuming to have to label check everything when you go shopping. Enter: The Fig App.
This company is fairly new and I am SO happy I found them (thank you, TikTok). When you make your account, it’ll ask you what kind of ingredients you like, or need, to avoid. You can put allergies and things like artificial flavors/dyes, high fructose corn syrup, etc. After that, it will tell you if the food you scan is green-light or red-light to your diet needs/preferences. This is especially useful if you have ingredients you like, or need, to avoid!
For the times when you’re in the store trying to decide which set of chips doesn’t have as many bad ingredients, that’s where I pull out the Yuka App. I believe I paid for this one for the year (maybe $7? If I’m remembering correctly), but it’s worth every penny. It’s similar to EWG, but for food, in a sense that you can just scan food at the store and it will rate how clean or dirty it is. It is incredibly useful for when you’re grocery shopping.
Get Organic (Where It Counts)
I know there’s a lot of talk about getting all of your food organic. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that although it would be nice to get everything organic in my shopping list…. but in this economy? I have to be more strategic than that. If that’s you, I would focus on getting the “Dirty Dozen” foods, organic. The “Dirty Dozen” are the fresh produce items that are most likely to have pesticides (that you want to avoid consuming). On the other side, here’s the “Clean 15” of produce that are generally safer to get non-organic!
I hope all of that made you feel like you have more answers at your fingertips — literally! I’m telling you that these apps have made it so much more tangible to keep up with clean living/eating habits. I am rooting for you along the way!
Love, your new wellness bestie, kiersten <3
