Are you experiencing hormonal imbalance of some sorts? What if I told you that some of your household items, everyday personal care products, and the food you eat may be the culprit behind some of your issues? Learn what products you want to have and which ones you should stay far away from.

It wasn’t until I was pregnant we decided to “green-ify” our home. We had already changed how we ate and replaced our medicine cabinet with natural solutions like essential oils. But we had no idea how much toxic exposure happens inside the home or that indoor pollution could be greater than outdoor pollution?! Say what!!? That type of exposure can have major health implications. Low energy, poor sleep (don’t you know we mamas need all the sleep we can get), weight gain, and fertility issues can all be caused by hormonal imbalances from endocrine (hormone) disruptors found in our home!

But good news, there’s something we can do about it! Below you’ll find out who the biggest offenders are and what you can do about it!

But first…

What Are Hormone/Endocrine Disruptors and How Do They Cause Imbalances In Your Body?

Endocrine disruptors are toxic chemicals that disturb the normal functioning of your body’s endocrine (hormonal) system.

They’re known to mess with healthy development including the ability to conceive and can compromise the body’s neurological and immune system. These harmful chemicals mimic hormones such as estrogen, androgen, and thyroid hormones. Your hormones are all about communication and are linked to countless processes in the body and hormonal disruptors can block hormones from communicating or doing what they’re created to do.

What Are Hormones and Why Is It Important To Nurture Them?

Your body produces over one hundred hormones! I know it’s a lot, right? They transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another, work 24/7 and are responsible for hundreds of tasks on a daily basis. Think of the endocrine system as a family of complex relationships. For harmonious communication and connection to occur it’s important to consider the interconnectedness between all the moving parts (all the systems of the body). Many things can impact your hormones such as nutrition, stress, toxic exposure, and medications such as birth control.

Children and pregnant moms are most at risk. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping moms replace these chemicals in their home with easy, budget-friendly alternatives that work!

Here’s the 9 Products Consider Replacing In Your Home

1. Anything with Synthetic Fragrances: Air Fresheners, Candles, and Your Perfume or Cologne

Unfortunately, there’s no industry standard for quality and safety in the fragrance industry. Many scented products are either synthetic (copies of the real thing) or full of harmful additives.  Synthetic fragrances have been linked with respiratory issues, cancer, kidney damage, and hormonal imbalance.

Instead, try this:

• Purify the air in your home with plants. Many plants naturally filter and purify the air in your home.

• Get a diffuser and some essential oils. Make sure you use therapeutic grade essential oils. Otherwise, it’s likely you’ll still be using synthetics. An added benefit of using therapeutic grade essential oils is that they can actually help balance your hormones (read all about it in this book)! Win! I personally recommend doTERRA, here’s why.

• Wanna fun DIY that’ll leave your bathroom smelling oh so good?!? Click here to learn how to make your own reed diffuser with essential oils.

2. Store-Bought Cleaners

Most of us know that cleaning products are somewhat harmful, otherwise, we wouldn’t lock up our cabinets or move chemicals out of our kiddos’ reach.

Instead, make your own cleaning products. It’s easy, cheap and is a safer option for your family. Cleaning with baking soda, hot water, vinegar, and quality essential oils can do wonders.

Here are some of my favorite go-to natural cleaning recipes:

• All-Purpose Spray

• Streak-Free Natural Window Cleaner

• Stainless Steel Cleaner

3. Laundry Detergent, Dryer Sheets and Fabric Softener

I recommend your laundry room is the first place you give a green + clean upgrade. These products are some of the most toxic items in our home!

Try this:

• Use a synthetic-free laundry detergent (I like this one) or make your own.

• Replace fabric sheets and softener with wool dryer balls and essential oils.

Learn all my tips for upgrading your laundry room here. 

4. Standard Mattresses & Bedding

Have you ever bought a new mattress and it stank really bad? Like chemicals? We have. When we first got married we had bought a popular foam mattress and it was only 8 months ago or so that I learned that brand is known for containing high levels of formaldehyde! Yuck!

Mattresses are filled with flame-retardant and foam that is a waste product from the petroleum industry. We spend ⅓ of our lives sleeping and the quality of the mattress matters because you inhale whatever chemicals are in it all night long. We absorb these toxins through our airways and skin and they make their way into our bloodstream. Hormonal imbalances in girls have been found to link back to the mattress they’ve been on since birth.

Instead, buy an all-natural mattress and get organic bedding.

Personally, we sleep on an Avocado mattress and LOVE it!

We can’t even begin to tell you how much we’ve loved our Sage Sleep Pillows and New Castle Adult Blanket. Next on our wish list is a On our wishlist is Sage Sleep Mattress.

**USE my code at check out: KELLYP2020 to get 10% off pillows & baby blanket and free shipping!

Can’t get a new mattress? Then swap out your pillows for these, replace your bedding and get an all-natural pillow topper.

5. Teflon and Non-Stick Cookware

Non-stick cookware might be an easy go-to in the kitchen but they contain a carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Instead, use cookware that is cast iron (make sure it’s truly cast iron and not just “coated”), ceramic, stainless steel or glass.

6. Plastics

Replacing plastics isn’t just beneficial for your health, but it cuts down on waste products that are filling landfills and our oceans. Use glass whenever possible. It’s easy to find glass food storage containers and water bottles.  Additionally, you can replace plastic with ceramics or stainless steel. You can also buy reusable grocery and produce bags which will help you to eliminate the ever-growing pile of plastic bags under the kitchen sink. If you must use plastic (yes, we still have some plastic in our home) check and see if it’s BPA and Phthalate-free. This is especially true of anything that goes into ours or our kiddos’ mouth. If possible get toys that are from natural materials.

7. Skincare With Fragrance, Parabens, Lead and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

The personal care industry does is unregulated. What does that mean? It means that in the USA things like our skincare, sunscreen, personal hygiene products, perfumes, and cosmetics are totally unregulated and can have ingredients that are harmful, bad for the environment and sourced unethically. There are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market today and many don’t have safety data! That’s crazy sauce!! There are decades of studies indicating that ongoing exposure to such chemicals can have serious health implications such as cancer, infertility, hormonal imbalances, asthma and more.

Three ingredients to avoid at all costs are parabens, lead, and sodium lauryl sulfate.

I personally recommend doTERRA’s Verage Skincare line and Beautycounter (My friend Rachelle is a great resource on the Beautycounter front!) for your skincare and cosmetic needs!

8. Your Water

Hydration is incredibly important for our overall health. We need to drink have our body weight in ounces. However, a lot of city water is full of toxins, contaminants, pharmaceuticals and more. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors or can impact a healthy ratio of vitamins and minerals in our bodies. The EWG has a resource where we can actually look up what’s in our local tap water. Check it out here. You might be surprised.

To learn more, here is an article specifically about kids and endocrine disruptors.

The good news is that we can easily get water filters for both drinking water and shower-heads. Here are a few I recommend are the Berkey Water Filter and Shower Filter.

9. Processed Foods

“You are what you eat.” That phrase is SO true. Unfortunately in America and trending across the globe is the daily consumption of processed foods. There are many toxins and chemicals that make their way into the soil and in turn the food we eat. And oftentimes food that’s processed in our industrial food system is either loaded with toxic chemicals, fillers and or synthetic agents. This results in our bodies being inundated with these harmful substances. Additionally, when we food that isn’t real or is pumped full of additives, it creates confusion in the body because it doesn’t recognize the nonnatural chemical components.

It’s hard to not eat processed foods, especially with the fast-pace of life so many of us live with, but I believe being intentional in this area of our lives can have one of the biggest impacts on our long term health.

Instead of eating processed foods, try this: As much as possible shop local, organic and non-GMO. Buying organic doesn’t guarantee you’ll be eating chemical-free foods, but it’s a lot more likely you’ll be getting fewer chemicals and more nutrients. Can’t go all organic? Check out the EWG’s Dirty 12, Clean 15. Make sure you prioritize buying the “dirty dozen” from an organic source as well as your dairy and meat products. And try to take one afternoon or evening each week to meal plan and prep for the week ahead. This is a great way to save money, eat less processed foods and plan in success for the week.