Replace plastic containers with glass or stainless steel, swap personal care products for fragrance-free options, choose BPA-free canned foods like sardines, and avoid thermal paper receipts. These four swaps cut exposure to BPA, phthalates, and other chemicals that stress your immune system.
Reducing exposure to environmental pollutants. This is a huge topic. To be clear, I'm not trying to be comprehensive here, but here are some high-yield tips. Okay, avoid plastic used for food and drink, especially when it's hot. Plastics often contain BPA, phthalates, and other endocrine disruptors, hormone disruptors, that leach out when heated or degraded. Instead, try to use glass, stainless steel, or ceramic containers for storage and heating. Audit and clean up your personal care products. Many conventional cosmetics and toiletries contain phthalates, parabens, triclosan, and synthetic fragrances, all of which can act as endocrine disruptors—again, hormone disruptors. So look for fragrance-free or no synthetic fragrance labels, and choose products with short and transparent ingredient lists. Okay, moving on. Avoid canned foods with BPA. This is simple. Simply look for labels that say BPA-free. For me personally, this is critical in my tinned sardine selection, which is quite important and a staple in my diet. Next, try not to touch thermal paper receipts. Receipts are often coated with BPA, which absorbs easily through the skin. So ask for a digital receipt instead, or no receipt. It's also better for the planet. Less paper, right?
