We know by now to avoid foods that have been laden with chemicals, yet we continue to lather on products that are filled with them. Maybe we think this way because food is directly ingested into our bodies, while we tend to think of skin care as external. How toxic are you? Take our Quiz and find out.
Just because you use them on the outside doesn’t mean they don’t affect your insides.
Our skin is the largest organ in our body. According to the Environmental Working Group, women use an average of 12 products a day, containing 168 different chemicals. This is mind blowing to me. Men use fewer products, but still put 85 chemicals on their bodies.
Teens on average use 17 personal care products a day, according to the group, which tested 20 teens' blood and urine seven years ago to find out which chemicals from these products were ending up in their bodies. They said they found 16 hormone-altering chemicals, including parabens and phthalates.
Hormone altering chemicals are known as Endocrine Disruptors. Their affect on us may not be seen in real time. Rather, chronic use of these chemicals, found in our favorite products, build up over time and can begin to cause significant distress and abnormality in your endocrine system.
Your endocrine system, responsible for hormone release and regulation, is what maintains your normal levels of some crucial bodily balances: happiness, hunger, desire, and fat storage. Abnormal hormones are linked to a large number of unsavory side effects from the offshoot of those wavering imbalances, ranging from weight gain and acne to insomnia and chronic depression. This is in part due to something called, Xenoestrogens.
Xenoestrogens are a group of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that mimic our body’s natural hormone, estrogen. This leads to higher levels of circulating estrogen in our bloodstream, known as estrogen dominance.
You may be asking, how did we get from the topic of skincare to estrogen dominance? Well, simply stated, the chemicals found in skincare products affect your hormones. So, what can you do about it? Just like how we lower our toxic load through choosing clean food options, we likewise need to be on the look out to avoid chemicals in our daily skincare products as well.
We have an exercise in our Reboot Program where we go through our most common day products and do a SWITCH & DITCH exercise. If you are one of the average women who use upwards to 12 products a day - we recommend looking for healthy alternatives to switch to. For example: shampoo, lotions, body wash, perfumes and nail polish. Simply starting with these would be a great start.
It takes time for our toxic load to lower within our bodies, so continue to support the detox process by supporting your liver, drink a lot of water and maybe even try skin-brushing.
Check out this list from the Environmental Working Groups list of The Dirty Dozen Endocrine Disruptors. This can help guide you in which chemical ingredients to be on the look out for. They even have an area where they rate products in terms of their chemical load.
How Toxic Are You? Take our Quiz and find out
Work with Us: We utilize functional testing to look beyond symptoms. We take a holistic approach and create a personalized roadmap to address your health challenges.
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