Some of my very favorite memories have been made in the kitchen. 

Not even at the kitchen table, or having anything to do with food.

Just the space itself is so conducive to gathering.

Although if chocolate chip cookies are baking in the oven, that makes it even better! Smell = memory. 

And don’t know about you, but in my house, it doesn’t matter how many people are over, or how comfortable the couches are, we somehow always end up crammed together in the kitchen. 

Even when it means we’re standing for hours on end, or sitting cross legged on the counter because there’s no more space. I guess that’s why it’s referred to as the “heart of a home.” 

And despite having plenty of cutting boards, it’s inevitable that someone at some point is going to make a sandwich right there on the countertop. 

“Someone” is usually me, but that’s beside the point.

The actual point is that making a few simple swaps in the kitchen can have a big impact on the health of your home and everyone in it. 

Because Lysol is not exactly the secret ingredient I’m looking for in my sandwich. 

TOXINS + HORMONE HEALTH 

Avoiding toxins altogether just isn’t realistic, and you’d drive yourself absolutely bonkers trying. 

A better approach is to decrease exposure where and when you can and support your body’s resilience by eating lot’s of colorful fruits and veggies, sleeping well, staying hydrated and managing your stress.   

But when you’ve dialed in exercise and nutrition and sleep and stress and you’re doing “all the right things,” creating a low-tox living space can be the next area to focus on. 

In our fast-paced modern lives, we are over-stimulated and undernourished so the constant influx of environmental exposures can be really impactful and even impair your body’s natural ability to detox properly. 

Speaking of detox. The word itself has a really bad rap, but it’s not so bad! 

Just the word ‘detox’ conjures up images of cayenne spiked lemonade and feelings of deprivation. But it doesn’t have to mean starving yourself or drinking gallons of cayenne spiked lemonade. 

I like to think of detoxing as a tool that allows you to explore and implement nutrition and lifestyle strategies and mindset shifts that work for you and help you to feel happier and healthier everyday.  

And your body has its own built-in mechanisms for detoxification. 

Your liver is your body’s detox champ.  

And you know what’s even more powerful than a once in while juice cleanse or detox? Supporting your liver daily! 

THE EXPOSOME 

Your exposome = All the things you’re made up of and how they interface with all the things you’re exposed to (your gut microbiome, your diet, your ability to manage stress, your metabolism. . . all of these factors play into your exposome). 

Too many processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle, toxins in our environment, certain medications, and even stress all add up to equal a pretty heavy load for one little organ. High levels of toxins impair your gut microbiome, absorption of nutrients and important enzymatic processes that affect your body’s ability to properly detox. 

While your liver may be small, it's hugely underrated in terms of how much it does for your body. It helps with everything from converting the nutrients from your food into energy, storing sugars and producing essential proteins to neutralizing toxins like alcohol and aiding in your digestion. 

And it plays a really big role in hormone health. An overburdened liver has a decreased ability to break down excess hormones such as estrogen, leading to all sorts of imbalances from heavy bleeding and fibroids to conditions like PCOS and endometriosis. 

So cleaning up the products you use in your home and decreasing your daily exposures make a difference!

Here are 5 simple (but effective) ways to Create a ‘Low-Tox’ kitchen:

Choose Organic

For most of us, it’s not feasible to buy everything organic. Sounds like a cool idea, but cool ideas and my budget don’t always match up.

Fortunately, every year the Environmental Working Group releases their “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” list that ranks produce by the highest and lowest concentrations of pesticides. Which makes it a little easier to know where to focus our efforts. 

In general, I worry less about things like avocados and bananas that are going to be peeled and a little more about things like strawberries and spinach that are notorious for being high in pesticides. Choosing wild-caught fish, grass-fed meats, and pastured poultry are also good ways to decrease exposure to exogenous estrogens and environmental toxins.

But it’s not about perfection. We would all go crazy if we tried to avoid environmental exposures entirely. Instead, I think it’s helpful to do what you can, when you can. Focusing on eating lots of nutrient dense, colorful fruits and veggies helps support our bodies natural detoxification systems, so we can better handle whatever comes our way.

Swap out your plastic storage containers for glass or metal. 

BPA is a major trigger for inflammation that’s commonly found in plastics. It’s a known endocrine disruptor and can leach harmful chemicals into your food. And unfortunately containers labeled “BPA free” probably aren't any better. Not that you need to obsess over it. I don’t stress out when the cashier hands me my receipt or constantly stress about toxins, but I do use glass containers for food prep when I can and use reusable metal bottles. 

And I try to replace plastic wrap with non-plastic alternatives. Paper sandwich bags, beeswax coated cloth wraps and reusable silicone storage bags are all great ways to store food without all the extra plastic. Better for us and better for the environment. But I confess, I’m still a sucker for ziplock bags. I’m a work in progress.

Clean up your cookware. 

When you care about the food you're putting in your body, it makes sense to care about the cookware you're using too. 

Cookware can leach out things like plastic, lead, teflon, and other materials that contribute to your body’s toxic burden. PFAs (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) have been found to cause health problems and they’re pretty common in our food supply.

These “forever” chemicals can be found in  everything from the wrappers of fast food to takeout containers, and the non-stick coatings on certain kinds of cookware, like teflon.  

While The FDA has determined that there is a reasonable certainty of safety with normal use of nonstick cookware, there are plenty of non-toxic alternatives available. Try swapping out the non-stick stuff for safer options like cast iron, ceramic or steel. I’ve tried a few other non-toxic cookware brands and was close to going up, but my brother got me this pan for Christmas and I don’t think I’ve used any other pan since!

Reduce the amount of “stuff” you bring in your home. 

Not exactly a toxin, but clutter in your space often means clutter in your mind. And it’s HEAVY. So taking a few minutes each day to tidy things up, and being more mindful about the things we bring into our homes can help.

The kitchen is a place where clutter builds quickly. Between appliances, mismatched coffee cups, storage containers with missing lids, and all the random forks and spoons that somehow find their way into the drawers, it adds up.

I try to only buy appliances that are multipurpose, like a food processor instead of a Yonanas machine, so I can make nut butters, bars, sauces, etc instead of only banana ice cream. Although full disclosure I recently bought a donut pan and I’m kinda obsessed with it. But in general, the less “stuff” we have, the less complicated our life often feels.

And when you are doing a deep clean and come across things you no longer use or need, give yourself permission to get rid of them. Donate appliances and other things you’re no longer using and actively look for opportunities to simplify.  

Clean up your cleaning supplies. 

Most commercial cleaning solutions are full of synthetic chemicals that can cause lots of unpleasant side effects, especially for those with asthma, allergies or skin sensitivities. The smell alone gives me a headache.

Today there are lot’s of great alternatives that are better for our health, and better for the environment. Unfortunately, they can be pricey. But it’s just as easy to make your own! This DIY multi-purpose spray is one of y favorites. It takes all of 5 minutes to make and uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. I use it for floors, countertops and fingerprint covered walls (just my house?!). It’s great to use outside too, as it won’t harm plants, pets or waterways.

Here’s the recipe: 

• 10-20 drops of your favorite essential oils

• Tea tree, peppermint, bergamot and lavender are great for

• cleaning, and I never get tired of lemon

• 1/2 cup vinegar per 1/2 cup water

Combine all the ingredients in a reusable spray bottle to make a great multipurpose cleaning solution. You can easily double or triple the recipe as needed. 

The Takeaway

Keep it simple!

Resist the urge to try to overhaul everything at once and just choose one thing at a time. Poco a poco my friend.