Tag: clean eating
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Reducing toxins in food Rule #1. Choose a primarily plant-based diet.
Why is switching to a more plant-focused diet important? Because animals accumulate fat-soluble pollutants like dioxins, PCBs, and organic mercury compounds at much higher levels than plants. And it takes a long time to clear these chemicals from your body so it’s important to reduce your exposure to them in the first place. Bioaccumulation is a process…
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Ah, summer. Time to cook over a fire…
Summer is grilling season and a central part of many outdoor gatherings. However, cooking food, especially meat, over a hot grill creates smoke and other toxic substances. Similarly, cooking s’mores and other goodies over a campfire can also expose you to toxic smoke and char. Charred food contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are considered…
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Gardening part 2. Organic is not always “organic”
Once you’re sure the garden where you’ll be planting produce is as free of toxic chemicals as possible (see prior post), the next step is to make sure products you use in the garden are also free of added pesticides or other potentially harmful materials. First, I need to clarify what the term “organic” means…
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Gardening, part 1. Avoiding toxic chemicals in your garden.
Whether it’s an acre of greenery or a collection of pots on your balcony or windowsill, having a garden can provide you with your own slice of nature. And growing your own food is a pleasure that even access to a great Farmer’s Market can’t beat. A ripe strawberry or tomato freshly harvested and still…
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Resources for Finding Less Contaminated Food
The amount of information online about toxic chemicals in food can be overwhelming. However, there are resources that make it easier for you navigate finding safer food. There are apps you can download to your phone, as well as guides you can take with you shopping. I’d recommend trying each of them to see which…
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A Day in the Life, Toxins for Breakfast
We are exposed to toxic chemicals in our food and beverages from many, everyday sources. Most of these exposures occur at low levels but can accumulate over time and increase your risk for diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproductive impairment, and neurological disease. Taking small steps to lower your overall exposure can help you reduce…
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Quick Tips for Reducing Exposure to Toxic Chemicals in Your Diet
I just heard from someone that waiting a couple of years for advice while I write this book would be difficult for them since they’d be worried about what they were being exposed to in the meantime. I truly understand that concern so I decided to post my bottom line advice here while I work…
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Avoiding Toxic Chemicals in Our Diet
I am currently writing a book about where toxic chemicals in our diet come from and how you can reduce your exposure to them. Join me over the next couple of years as I blog about this subject.
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Nice Cream on a Sunny, Spring Day
Earlier this month, I posted about how processed foods can become contaminated by things like plasticizers from packaging and other sources. Not only are those chemicals bad for your health, a new study (1) shows that participants who ate the heavily processed diet gained weight, whereas those given un- or minimally-processed foods actually lost weight.…
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Recipe Hacks to Reduce Phthalates
With plastics, and the chemicals associated with them, so prevalent in our world, it’s not surprising that much of our food is contaminated by plasticizers (see previous post). So what do you do to reduce these chemicals in your diet? The best approach is to eliminate all processed food. But that’s not always possible. A…
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Got Organic: Cereal & Beer?
When you’re looking to avoid pesticides in your diet, it’s important to go beyond organic produce. A good place to start is grains, such as cereal, bread, pasta, etc. These crops are also treated with pesticides, especially grains engineered (GMOs) to be resistant to herbicides like glyphosate, which is now considered a probable carcinogen to…
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A Toxic-free New Year
Join me in 2019 for tips on creating a cleaner diet, free of many of the toxic chemicals that come from the use of pesticides, processing, packaging, and environmental contamination. There are numerous sources of problematic chemicals in our diets and many ways that they find their way into our food and water. It can…
Dr. Laurel Standley 