There are 3 things that cause subluxations in the spine. We call them the 3 T’s: thoughts, traumas, and toxins!
The first way to help protect our body from subluxations due to toxins is to increase our body’s adaptability to toxins through principled chiropractic care & chiropractic adjustments.
The second is to reduce our exposure to toxins by making conscious lifestyle changes.
Today we are going to discuss the latter and talk about how to decrease our exposure to toxins in our AIR!
The EPA came out with a study saying that the average American spends 93% of their life inside.
Being inside is great and all, but did you know that because of mold, fire retardants, phthalates, VOCs, pet dander, bacteria, viruses, dust, and other factors, indoor air can be anywhere from 2 to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air?!
YIKES!
Increased exposure to air pollution contributes to or worsens conditions like asthma, respiratory issues, cancer, and heart disease.
With these facts in mind, here are some things that you can do to make sure you are putting your family’s health first!
We will stay away from the huge expensive changes and focus on the free or almost free tips you can implement with any budget!
Below are 6 steps you can take to improve your air quality.
1. Get outside more: Given that outdoor air has been proven to be 100x cleaner than indoor air, the more we can get outside the better!
2. Open up your windows and let the outdoor air circulate whenever possible: As mentioned above, outdoor air is up to 100x cleaner than indoor air. Opening our windows is a great way to cut down on indoor air pollution.
3. Houseplants can help purify air so consider becoming a plant parent: Putting houseplants in your bedroom is a great way to purify the air while you’re sleeping! They are also beautiful to look at! Snake plants need little to no light, are very low maintenance, and are great for spaces where natural light is scarce or newbie plant parents.
4. Stop using personal products, cleaning products, candles, air fresheners, and perfumes with the ingredient “fragrance” or “parfum”: A recent study showed the effects of regular use of standard cleaning products and our health. It found that women that clean their own homes (about once a week) experienced lung damage at the same rate of someone who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, compared to women who do not clean their own homes. The products that we use to clean our homes, however infrequent, MATTER. Many natural cleaning products have vinegar or baking soda as base, try using those for a sub for some of the stronger cleaning products which can contain VOCs, bleach, or fragrance.
A great place to start is with the “Think Dirty” App which allows you to scan the products you use in your home. Think Dirty rates each product on a scale from 1 to 10 on how non toxic they are, breaks down the ingredients for you, and takes the guesswork out of it!
5. Swap your vinyl shower curtain for a cloth one and avoid vinyl whenever possible: Vinyl and plastics like it let off VOCs and phthalates which are hormone disruptors and damaging to our health. Try swapping them for cloth or more natural options whenever possible! Phthalates are often the flexible clear plastics that stink when you first open the package! If ever you open a new product and it STINKS, protect your indoor air by swapping it out and returning it or let it air out outside before bringing it in. What you are smelling are VOCs and phthalates and we promise you do NOT want those in your home!
6. See a nervous system focused chiropractic to help your body function optimally, increasing your resistance to toxic overload: Chiropractic adjustments can help prevent injury from the toxins we encounter every day. They also help our body release the tension of these stressors before they can negatively impacting our health.
While we cannot avoid every exposure to toxins or reduce our toxic load to zero, (it’s just not possible) we can make conscious changes when it comes to the things in our own home and that we use every day.
When we know better, we can do better! Know that wherever you are in your health journey, our team at Higher Health is here to support you!
Reach out to us via email, call us, or talk with us at your next appointment! We’d love to chat about how we can help you reduce your toxic load and help your body heal from the inside out!