How to identify toxic products and find better alternatives
My guide to identifying toxic products and ingredients and finding better, more sustainable alternatives.
Identifying toxic ingredients in our products can be difficult, especially here in America as we don’t have the proper regulations in place to monitor these things. Manufacturers are often not required to disclose all ingredients on a product’s label, which is extremely concerning and frustrating for us as consumers. For example, the term “fragrance” is often used to cover up a long list of chemicals that have been used in a product as a loophole around federal regulations.
Not only is it unethical for these companies to be hiding what’s truly in our products from us, but it’s also extremely alarming in terms of how these toxic ingredients can affect our physical and mental health as well as the health of our planet. Negative effects of toxic ingredients in our products include but aren’t limited to higher cancer rates, reproductive issues, developmental problems, weakened immune systems, allergic reactions, respiratory problems, endocrine disruption, auto-immune diseases, skin irritation, organ damage, and neurological damage. There’s a reason why America has higher rates of auto-immune diseases, obesity, and other health issues than other countries, and it all leads back to the harmful ingredients in our products and food.
The lack of regulations in our products also applies to our food, such as what’s sold in grocery stores, fast-food, or other restaurants. The “Western diet” has higher amounts of processed foods that can lead to higher sugar intake and more exposure to toxins. Seed oils, such as canola, corn, soy, sunflower, and other oils are highly processed and can be harmful as well. One of many alarming examples that display the lack of regulations is that Kellogg’s cereal sold in America contained far more chemicals than the same cereal sold in European countries. Our government isn’t taking action to improve these issues or further moderate what’s going into our products, so it’s time we take matters into our own hands.
One of the main ways I identify toxic ingredients in my products and learn more about what’s exactly in the things I’m buying is by using the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Healthy Living App. This app has tons of product ratings on personal care, cleaning, and food products that make it quick and easy to learn about the ingredients and their effects. I like to use this when shopping to see the toxicity levels of the product I’m considering buying to help me determine whether or not it’s safe for both me and the environment to use. I highly recommend this for everyone to have on their phone so it’s easily accessible!
References & Resources
Global Impacts of Western Diet and Its Effects on Metabolism and Health: A Narrative Review
EWG’s Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Chemicals: The top 12 to avoid
Many Personal Care Products Contain Harmful Chemicals. Here’s What to do About it.
The issues with consuming vegetable and seed oils with Dr. Catherine Shanahan (podcast episode)
Avoiding Forever Chemicals and Other Toxins with Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook (podcast episode)
How PFAS get in Our Food Supply and Water and How to Avoid Them. (podcast episode)
