Chemical-Free Living: Why It’s Important And How to Get Started

With all the chemicals present in most of the products around us it can be very difficult for us to live a chemical-free lifestyle. However, it is not unachievable as all we have to do is to make a few changes in our home and lifestyle to make it safe for us and the planet. Although living a chemical-free life is on the list of everyone, the common dialogue we hear from everyone is that a non-toxic lifestyle is so much expensive. However, there are many ways we can introduce our families to the organic lifestyle without breaking our budget.

Here are our top ten suggestions for a chemical-free life:

1. Avoid processed food

This should be your first step towards chemical-free living and your health. Packaged or processed foods are literally loaded with chemicals and preservatives, which are harmful to your health. These can lead you to various health diseases such as obesity, blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Instead of buying packaged food, try to eat roasted fox nuts (makhana), dry fruits, and banana chips which are great for your health and great in taste.

2. Buy fresh and organic food

Food not only nurtures our body but also our soul. Hence it is necessary to eat good food. In case of living chemical free lifestyle it is best to try to avoid packaged food and vegetables as they are laden with pesticides, which are bad for your health. You can go to the local market to get fresh fruits and chemical-free vegetables, or you can go to the stores to buy organic food products. However, it can burn a little hole in your pocket but it is great for your health.

3. Use natural cleaners

We all are guilty of this as we buy those chemical-laden cleaning products. You might have noticed that when you mop with these products it makes your lung constrict and you have to let open your windows or fan to breathe. These cleaning products can have a serious effect on kids or elderly people suffering from asthma. You can use baking soda or vinegar to clean your tiles. You can also clean your fruits or vegetables with baking soda such as apples, cucumbers, oranges, squash, etc as baking soda helps in removing the wax coating present over them. This will be a significant step towards a toxic free living.

4. Change your cooking oils

When it comes to organic lifestyle, the first thing you need to do is to swap your kitchen oil. Swap your kitchen oil with less processed oil options such as cold-pressed mustard oil, and coconut oil. Kitchen oil such as vegetable oil, peanut oil, or canola oil is highly processed in nature and leads to inflammation in the body, and is bad for our heart health. Coconut oil or cold-pressed oil has a very high smoke point and these are also great for our health.

5. Take out your shoes at the door

One cannot stress this enough; our shoes travel many places with us such as buses, outdoor not mention public toilets. You don’t want all that dirt and germs to travel with you inside your home. Hence it is better to keep your shoes out of your home for non toxic lifestyle. Keep a shoe rack near your door so that you can immediately put it there and use a different pair of sleepers inside your house. It will save your home from a lot of dirt.

6. Change your non-stick pan

Okay, we know that you might not like this, but your non-stick cookware is coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which is commonly known as Teflon. When these non-stick cook wares are scratched, these chemicals start released into our food. The use of non-stick cookware needs to be minimized or avoided altogether for eco friendly living. You can either use a ceramic pot or cast iron and stainless steel pans; we know that you love your non-stick pans, but this little step is better for your health.

7. Change your Tupperware

Plastic food containers are filled with all sorts of chemicals such as Bisphenol-A plastic (BPA) and Bisphenol S-plastic (BPS). These Tupperware are extremely harmful to you if you put hot food in them or heat food in them. As heat allows those chemicals to release into the food. You can use glass containers instead of plastic ones to store your food. These are good for your health and the environment, and they are a significant step towards living a chemical-free lifestyle.

8. Wash your hands

We know that covid has made sanitizers an essential thing for us and it is needed when you are traveling somewhere where you cannot get access to soap. However, it is best to wash your hands as the first thing instead of rubbing sanitizers. Also, it helps in preventing germs from passing around. Especially for kids, it is essential to pick up the habit of handwashing as you don’t know what your kid’s hand will pick when he is playing outside. You can use normal soap and water instead of antibacterial ones and it will do its job.

9. Use non-toxic cosmetics

The cosmetic industry today is highly unregulated and you might not be aware that there are so many toxins that are present in cosmetic products. Our skin is the largest organ of the human body. From moisturizers, sunscreens, deodorants, perfumes, and makeup and hair care products- we are literally bathing ourselves in chemicals that can be harmful to our body. These products contain parabens and phthalates which can disrupt your endocrine system. Try to use minimal makeup or go for natural toxin-free products.

10. Remove artificial fragrances

We all keep things like Room fresheners, scented candles, and plug-in scents in our homes as we want our homes to be fresh all the time. But these products are full of chemicals such as phthalates, and formaldehyde, which can be carcinogenic. These are really harmful to kids as their immune system is not developed fully. You can buy indoor plants and flowers to make your home fresh all day. Also, you will notice a massive change in the air quality of your home.

Bottom Line

Living a Chemical-free life is not difficult, but it needs some effort. We are not asking you to apply these changes immediately; just take one step at a time to not feel overwhelmed. To live a chemical free lifestyle include these simple tips in your lifestyle.

References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10569476/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28913736

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3751835