One of the first things I learned about when I started researching about thyroid health is that toxic chemicals have a very profound negative affect on your thyroid.
Chemicals wreck all kinds of havoc on the body and YOUR HORMONES but thyroid function is reduced by them specifically as well as liver function which further effects your thyroid because the liver regulates the conversion of thyroid hormones.
When trying to get your thyroid working the way it should so that you feel good and have a metabolism again, you have to remove as many toxic chemicals as much as possible from your life so that it helps to lift the burden off of the gland.
You can’t avoid every toxin out in the world but you CAN control what you are exposed to in your home. YOU ARE THE GATEKEEPER THERE!!
Chemicals come in the form of:
toxic cleaners (household cleaners, laundry soap, hand soap, etc…)
candles
perfume (sprayed on your thyroid too, soooooo BAD) AND toxic room sprays
personal care products (like deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, fabric refresher sprays etc…)
makeup and skincare
pesticides in food
preservatives in food
chemicals in non stick cookware
plastic
unfiltered water
antibacterial products
So I decided to DITCH ALL of those and SWITCH to better non toxic clean versions to improve my overall health and to reduce the toxic load on my body, thyroid and liver and it has definitely paid off for my health. If you’re reading this you found me somewhere online and you have seen how I am overcoming thyroid disease. You can read more about my progress HERE and get on my Thyroid Overcomers email list too to get thyroid tips delivered to your inbox. Getting rid of as many chemicals as possible in my home has been an important factor in healing my body from hypothyroidism, Hashimotos and even Celiac disease.
Many products contain endocrine disruptors.
Endocrine Disruptors are chemicals that interfere with the body’s normal hormonal functions by increasing production of certain hormones while decreasing production of others. In 2010, a report by the President’s Cancer Panel mentions chemicals such as synthetic fragrance and phthalates as two of the most potent endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) commonly found in our everyday beauty products.
Even though the FDA requires brands to name ingredients that on the label, this federal loophole still allows manufacturers to sneak chemicals under one blanket term known as– “fragrance”. As a result, toxins make their way into our bodies without us even knowing it, which most likely explains why more than half of the population with thyroid problems remain undiagnosed.
Because ingredients in “fragrance” are considered trade secret, chemicals like benzene, styrene, phthalates, and petroleum often find their way into beauty products. These are known hormone disruptors that mimic the body’s hormones and disrupt our normal body functions, causing thyroid problems and various health issues. Benzene and styrene, components usually present in gasoline and cigarette smoke, have also been found to be human carcinogens. Individuals who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer were found to have been exposed to both these chemicals.
And what about what you clean with?
Did you know that if you use conventional cleaning products, you may as well smoke. A new study shows the lung decline over 20 years caused by using conventional cleaning products, which have no federal regulations for health or safety, equals that of smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
READ THAT AGAIN!!
The toxic chemicals used in cleaning products damage the lungs a little at a time, adding up over time to a significant impact that rivals a pack-a-day smoking habit.
If you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, exposing yourself to these toxins regularly can hinder your progress in managing your autoimmune thyroid condition. So it is important to get them out of your home!
The Norwegian study tracked 6,000 women over two decades , women responsible for keeping the home clean, women who cleaned as a profession, and women not regularly engaged in cleaning. Compared to the women who didn’t clean house, the regular home cleaners and occupational cleaners who used cleaning sprays and other products showed an accelerated decline in lung function.
Our lungs are like our gut in that it’s a mucosal immune barrier that is a first line of immune defense and vulnerable to damage from toxins.
With autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, it’s important to safeguard our immune barrier to manage and prevent flare ups.
The lungs aren’t the only part of the body conventional cleaning products damage. They also impact the brain, the immune system, the hormonal system, and the liver. When you have Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism these are extremely important areas to get and keep healthy.
For instance, phthalates are used in the perfumed scents many cleaning products have. Phthalates lower sperm counts, cause early puberty in girls, and raise the risk of cancer and lung problems.
Although hundreds, if not thousands, of studies have repeatedly demonstrated the toxicity of chemicals in common household ingredients, their use in manufacturing is largely unregulated.
Our over exposure to toxic chemicals has been linked to skyrocketing rates of autoimmunity such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism!
So that means that we have to pay attention to what is in our products.
We are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of toxic chemicals on a daily basis as you can see, that accumulate in our bodies so if I can reduce those in my home, I can make a huge impact on my health and I am going to show you how to do the same because it’s important to recover your thyroid function too.
AGAIN I WILL REMIND YOU…You can’t avoid every toxin in the world BUT…You are the gatekeeper of your home, so it’s up to you to make better decisions there AND by doing that you can significantly decrease your toxic load!!
I know this can sound expensive and overwhelming but you don’t have to ditch it all at once. You can start by switching one product at time and slowly work your way through it so that you can budget for it and not feel like it’s a daunting task.
Please note that ALL products that I recommend are tested by me personally and my family or I would not recommend them. Plain and simple. I have researched and found the best options as far as quality and price.
Many of the products I recommend can be found on Amazon which you can see below.
But, I also recommend Young Living’s plant based products because I have vast experience with them (8 years in fact) and they are a company that I completely trust for a number of reasons so I am going to address that first.
Young Living products can be purchased through me which means I will help you through the ditch and switch process personally with much more guidance AND you get access to all of my resources to learn more about the products. Learn how to do that by clicking below.
That being said, I always suggest starting the ditch and switch method with the Thieves starter kit from Young Living for many reasons. You can read more about why this kit makes the most sense as a starting point for us thyroid overcomers to get off to the BEST start kicking toxic chemicals in our homes to the curb because it alone with eliminate a great deal of them in one fell swoop in by clicking below. And if you feel like you want to learn more before purchasing you can join my wellness community to take a look.
