The deeper you get into your fertility journey – the more familiar you will be with words like EDC’s, phthalates, BPA, and parables. You may know a little about BPA’s and water bottles – but if you’re anything like me, your world may open up even wider to all things toxic. The reality is – there are many chemicals in our everyday products that have proven to directly affect fertility and the rate of success for IVF pregnancies.
Where To Start
EDC’s is an acronym for endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Not only are they terrible for everyone’s health – they are especially detrimental to our hormones, reproductive health, AND prenatal health.
It certainly can be overwhelming to dive into this world of non-toxic living if it’s all new to you. My recommendation is to do a little at a time & focus on the biggest offenders first. The book It Starts With An Egg will help you with this info – and Google has countless articles to help you get started.
I slowly started to make these changes back in 2015 with the start of my fertility journey. I focused on swapping out products that I knew I couldn’t use anymore with a good conscience. To be honest, I feel like, in our current year, it’s easier than ever to find cleaner versions of these products & food choices.
I’ll share my fav swaps for some of my most important everyday items below. Do a little research on these EDC’s and your fertility though to learn for yourself!
Main Things To Avoid
I avoid anything with fragrance in it, most mainstream makeup, and body wash products. We only use paper bags OR canvas reusable bags for grocery shopping. I always pass on paper receipts [there’s BPA in the receipt paper] and we never heat anything up in plastic. We try to only use glass containers or stainless steel. We slowly got rid of all our non-stick cookware and only use non-toxic pots/pans. I try to stay very aware of all plastics and minimize whenever possible.
I know there are so many wonderful companies that offer great non-toxic products like Beautycounter etc!! But this is what I actually use every single day! I would LOVE to hear any of your fav non-toxic brands!!!
And then there are countless recommendations for nutrition and food choices. My advice is to just do your best! For me personally, I stick to a whole-food focus and tend to eat more Mediterranean style! Low sugar, high nutrients, very low or no caffeine.
