- and reduce your plastic waste as a side benefit
A few years ago, some time before getting into the field of nutrition, I decided to make an effort to reduce my waste, in particular plastic waste. I had just all of a sudden realised how much packaging I was throwing away every day, after using it only once.
I was a materials engineer, and I was working with reinforced plastics in structural applications (in fields such as aeronautics and automotive). I saw reinforced plastics as a lighter, recyclable and therefore ecologically friendlier alternative to other materials. And yet I was throwing so much lower-grade plastic in the bin every day, which for the most part would end up incinerated! In many other countries it would have ended up in landfill or even in water streams. I just couldn’t reconcile the dichotomy.
I declared a war on single-use plastic, and possibly single-use items in general, in my house. And took a number of steps.
It wasn't until much later that I only l realised that on top of actually significantly reducing my plastic waste, I had also reduced my exposure to potentially toxic chemicals and that such efforts had also played a role in regaining my health.
Here I’d like to share some of the easy tips that will benefit both your health and the environment.
Food and drinks
Buy unpacked veggies and real, whole foods - no hidden sugars, bad fats, unknown ingredients, preservatives etc for you and less packaging for our planet!
If and when possible, shop in bulk - real, whole foods and no single-use packaging.
Drink (filtered) tap water, depending on the water quality where you are of course, and ditch sodas, sugary drinks and even fruit juices – less sugar, artificial sweeteners, colourants, components from plastic leaching into the water* etc for you; no single-use plastic bottles and no pollution coming from non-sense transport of water for the environment. If really you can’t drink your tap water, buy water in glass bottles. You will at least reduce your potential exposure to components from plastic leaching into the water.
Pack your leftovers in glass-containers, avoiding plastic (and aluminium) ones as well as plastic wraps – no components from plastics leaching into your food* and no single-use or unrecyclable plastic.
*Most plastic products, including plastic bottles for mineral water, have been found to release chemicals that have estrogenic activity [1,2,3]. This means they mimic the effect of estrogens in our bodies thus disrupting our endocrine system by blocking or binding hormone receptors. Examples of consequences are those related to estrogen dominance, certain types of cancer, obesity, diabetes type II, alterations to the male and female general tract upon exposure in the perinatal period and more [3].
Personal care
Ditch the antiperspirant! - among its other functions, sweating is one of our built-in detox systems and blocking it you will prevent the potential release of toxins from your body! Furthermore your skin is highly absorbent and antiperspirants usually contain a number of controversial ingredients. The main one is aluminum. While the relation between underarm application of aluminum (which is also a known neurotoxin) containing antiperspirants and breast cancer is not supported by consistent scientific data [4,5], the need for large epidemiological studies is recognised. Among the other ingredients in antiperspirants that are potentially linked to adverse health outcomes are parabens, which are a cause of concern due to their estrogenic nature [6]. Keep in mind that our skin is a large organ of absorption, and what is absorbed gets directly from our skin into the blood stream, before being filtered out by our liver! Even if there is not enough evidence (yet) of the link between the ingredients in antiperspirants and negative health outcomes, why take the risk? Especially if you consider that using alternatives is so easy! Furthermore, most deodorants/antiperspirants come in a single-use plastic packaging. When making the switch, you can go for a DIY solution or pick wisely, also taking packaging into account. Help yourself, and the environment!
Use a soap bar made of high quality ingredients instead of liquid soap, or make your own liquid soap starting from a soap bar! – remember that your skin is absorbing many of the ingredients you expose it to. By using a product made of high quality ingredients, maybe ones that you’d feel comfortable even eating, you are possibly relieving your liver and body of a toxic burden. At the same time, using a soap bar, you are avoiding single-use plastic bottles and unnecessary transport of liquids.
Use a high quality shampoo bar – same story! Furthermore, shampoos, as well as other personal care products, might contain microplastic in the form of microbeads [7].
Use reusable sanitary products such as reusable pads or a menstrual cup – avoid potentially absorbing chemicals leaching from single-use menstrual products [8] (remember that all mucosal tissues are highly absorbent), reduce the burden on the planet of unrecyclable menstrual products and applicators and save some money too. Win win win!
Household cleaning products
Use a selected, high quality solid laundry detergent, make your own or use washing soap nuts! - Common allergens are present in laundry detergents, i.e. fragrances, dyes and enzyme, and can cause symptoms such as skin irritation, eczema and asthma in sensitive individuals. You also probably wouldn’t guess that though many chemical ingredients are used in cleaning products, including laundry detergents, empirical toxicology information for such chemicals is often limited [9]. By selecting your laundry detergent more carefully, you can reduce your exposure to such allergens and potential toxins. Furthermore, why transport so much water with a tiny amount of actual product? In addition, laundry detergents have consistently been found to contain microplastics [10]. These materials cannot be filtered and end up in our water streams, oceans and then back in the food chain.
Ditch store-bought cleaning products and DIY them! - It’s super easy, you can use everyday ingredients such as vinegar and baking soda and you will reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals (same as above), which could happen through inhalation, skin contact, accidental contact with eyes etc. Hazardous ingredients include ammonia, chlorine, ethylene glycol monobutyl acetate, lye and more [11]. In addition, by ditching them, you won’t be throwing away a plastic spray bottle or container (or more) each week!
And finally two general pieces of advice for reducing your plastic waste. Think twice before:
buying or using any single-use plastic product, or any single-use product for the matter
buying anything that mainly consists of water (except fruits and vegetables of course!), i.e. all types of liquid soaps, cleaning products and detergents: not only will you avoid the plastic packaging, but also reduce emissions related to transportation.
Do you have more tis of your owns to share? Or would you like to have some simple DIY recipes for body and household care? Let me know in the comments below!
References
[1] Frye C.A., Bo E. et al, Endocrine disrupters: a review of some sources, effects, and mechanisms of actions on behaviour and neuroendocrine systems, J Neuroendocrinol. 2012 Jan;24(1):144-59
[2] Wagner M., Oehlmann J., Endocrine disruptors in bottled mineral water: total estrogenic burden and migration from plastic bottles, Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2009 May;16(3):278-86. doi: 10.1007/s11356-009-0107-7. Epub 2009 Mar 10.
[3] Maffini M.V., Rubin B.S. et al, Endocrine disruptors and reproductive health: the case of bisphenol-A, Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2006 Jul 25;254-255:179-86
[4] Klotz K, Weistenhöfer et al, The Health Effects of Aluminum Exposure, Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2017;114(39):653-659 doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0653.
[5] Allam MF, Breast Cancer and Deodorants/Antiperspirants: a Systematic Review, Cent Eur J Public Health. 2016 Sep;24(3):245-247. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a4475.
[6] Crinnion WJ, Toxic effects of the easily avoidable phthalates and parabens, Altern Med Rev. 2010 Sep;15(3):190-6.
[9] Wang Z, Dinh D et al, Critical review and probabilistic health hazard assessment of cleaning product ingredients in all-purpose cleaners, dish care products, and laundry care products, Environment International, Volume 125, April 2019, Pages 399-417
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