17 Easy Steps to Reduce Endocrine Disruptors in your Life

17 Easy Steps to Reduce Endocrine Disruptors in your Life.

Last week I posted about 4 types of endocrine disruptors. You can read that blog post here. To give a quick recap, endocrine disruptors are environmental toxins found in products we use in everyday life. They disrupt our endocrine system by blocking or mimicking normal processes resulting in hormonal imbalances and poor egg and sperm quality which can impair fertility.

Let’s have a look at 17 easy steps to reduce endocrine disruptors from your life. This is by no means an exhaustive list and just reading it through may bring others to mind. This list will help you to make a start on removing and reducing toxins from your life.

17 Easy Steps

• Discard plastic food storage containers, replace them with glass containers.
• Drink from stainless steel or glass bottles, not plastic.
• Switch out your plastic cooking utensils for bamboo or wooden ones.
• Don’t microwave food in plastic containers, transfer it to a glass container.
• Swap microwavable popcorn bags for loose popcorn kernels popped on the stove.
• Limit takeaway that comes in grease proof packing and plastic containers, ask if you can provide your own containers.
• Switch out Teflon coated pots and pans with cast iron, stainless steel or ceramic pots and pans.
• Remove processed and preservative laden foods, drinks and alcohol from your diet. Ultra-processed foods are particularly important to avoid as they contain high does fructose and processed vegetable oils, ultra processed foods include boxed breakfast cereals, packaged chips, ready meals, hot dogs and energy drinks.
• Switch canned foods for fresh, frozen or dried foods.
• Eat fresh fruit and vegetables, choose organic if you can afford it. Wash fruit and vegetables well before use.
• Remove all chemical cleaning products and replace with natural brands such as EcoStore or Koh, both of which are available at Woolworths and regularly go on sale.
• Choose natural options for your soap, hand wash, shampoo and laundry detergents. There are an increasing number of natural options at the supermarket including Thankyou. nourishelife.com.au is a good source of natural products.
• Check if your dental floss is PFAS coated and discard if it is.
• Pay close attention to what is in your cosmetics. Choose cosmetics that are free from parabens and fragrances. You can shop online at nourishedlife.com.au or if you prefer to shop in store the Yuka app is helpful in determining the ingredients of cosmetics and providing suggestions for alternative products.
• Ask for an electronic receipt rather than a paper one.
• Wash your hands frequently, especially before eating (ensure you use natural and fragrance free soap).
• Remove air borne toxins in your home by dusting and vacuuming regularly, if you can afford it consider using a HEPA air purifier.

I recognise that following all of these 17 steps is going to be an expensive process. That said some of the steps listed are free and easy to implement immediately. Others clearly are not. You don’t have to make all of the changes at once.

You can make a commitment to start looking at the products you are using and slowly replace things as you can afford to do so. Look at what is on special at the local supermarkets and buy laundry detergent, soaps and shampoos when they are on sale. You could even try making your own cleaning products with pantry staples including vinegar, bicarb soda and essential oils. Pots and pans, glass containers and cooking utensils go on sale at Department stores throughout the year. Eat fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season as these should be in abundance and therefore cheaper to buy.

If you would like more information on endocrine disruptors and how they may be affecting your fertility please contact us at Sydney Natural Fertility.