Allergies, autoimmunity, nervous system & endocrine disorders are through the roof. All these environmental elements put a completely unnecessary load on the body. It is the cumulative toxic load that leads to unnecessary illness.

1. Take your shoes off before entering your home

 A University of Houston study found that 40% of shoe soles have C. Diff bacteria present. C. Diff is the cause of potentially life threatening diarrhea and is resistant to most antibiotics.

 A Cal Berkley study found that 90% of the bacteria from your shoes ends up on the tile in your home if you don’t take them off

 Taking your shoes off also decreases dust, pesticide and herbicide residues entering your home.

 Wherever your shoes have stepped (public restrooms, grocery stores, the post office etc) is what your bringing into your home. You DO NOT want the public restroom bacteria coming into your home. Take your shoes off and ask others to do the same.

2. Dry Cleaning

 If you must take your clothes to the dry cleaners, ask them to not use plastic wrap or take the plastic wrap off. Allow the clothes to air out for 2 weeks before putting them in your closet.

 Traditional dry cleaning uses tetrachloroethylene, which is a human carcinogen that increases risk of Parkinson’s disease, lymphoma, cervical and esophageal cancer.

3. Personal Care Products

 Avoid FRAGRANCES is rule #1. Synthetic fragrances are poison to our nervous system and endocrine system.

They are the fuel for migraines, depression, anxiety, fat accumulation and brain fog.

 If you must add flavor to the scent of your home, use essential oil sprays or diffusers.

 Check out www.gurlgonegreen.com for loads of useful information on personal care products. For makeup and skin products, check out www.beautycounter.com.

4. Cleaning Products

 Tide detergent contains 1,4-Dioxane which is a known carcinogen which ends up causing massive indoor air pollution. Detergents contain endless other carcinogenic and allergy promoting chemicals that should be avoided.

 Checkout Branch Basics, EO, and Kosmatology – these are the brands I use in my home

 Check out Molly Suds or ECOS for organic laundry detergent.

5. Air Quality

 Air circulation is vital to energy, cognition, & decreased sick days. Consider getting a monitor to help assess your air quality. I use an IQ Air monitor.

 Indoor air is typically 2-5 times more polluted than outdoor air

 CO2 levels can build up in the home and drain your energy (like it did mine for about a year) if air is not circulating well.

 I use a mobile IQ Air filter in my home. However, I keep it on a very low setting unless there have been a lot of people in the home, someone is sick, outside air quality is terrible or we have a newborn.

 A HEPA air filter helps reduce the amount of small particulates in the air.

HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Arrestor and removes 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns or less. If you live near an agriculturally sprayed area, much of the dust can be coated with pesticides/herbicides. A HEPA unit in the home can remove these fine particulates as well as bacteria, mold, tobacco particulates, and dust mites. The IQ air filters will remove particulates down to 0.003 microns. These filters will eliminate most viruses and were even used in Hong Kong during the SARS outbreak.

 Check out IQ Air Filters

 Make sure you are changing the air filter in your home at least every 3 months.

 Try putting a bowl of rosemary or sage in the room if you want a more pleasant smell.

6. Water Quality

 Hopefully you are drinking 60-100 ounces of water per day. Unfortunately, if that water is loaded with chemicals known to cause cancer (as most municipal water sources are) we are doing our bodies a pretty significant disservice.

 Check out the EWG for potential hazards in your municipal water supply.

 Well water can be an excellent water source.

 Consider getting spring water delivered to your home in glass bottles.

 I use a Berkey Water Filter and I order Mountain Valley Spring water, which is delivered monthly in large glass jugs.

 If you like really hot showers then look into getting a shower filter. Check out www.rainshower.com.

7. Cooking

 Teflon contains perfluorinated chemicals (PFC’s) which have been linked to cancer and developmental problems

 Heating of Teflon creates a robust number of highly corrosive and lethal gases

 Teflon bio products have been shown to cause liver damage, thyroid dysfunction, decrease immune tolerance, cause allergies and decrease the ability to combat infections

 Check out the Original Green Pan.

8. Fertilizer

 19 of the 30 most commonly used lawn chemicals have studies pointing toward cancer and 15 are known to cause nervous system poisoning.

Excessive use of nitrogen may lead to respiratory problems, cardiac disease, and several types of cancer. They also contribute to increased pollen production which is a known allergen.

It also contributes to various diseases like West Nile, Malaria and Cholera

 Check out Dr. Earth and Espoma.