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Creating a Toxin-Free Environment for You and Your Family

September 16th, 2025

8 min read

By Dr. Vasco Valov

Every day, you come into contact with a wide variety of chemicals and environmental stressors. This is called toxic exposure. From the air you breathe to the food on your plate, chemical exposures are woven into modern life. Some people seem unaffected, while others experience fatigue, brain fog, or chronic illness after years of buildup. 

Toxic exposure happens when harmful substances enter your body through air, food, water, skin, or even light and sound. Toxic stressors may not show immediate symptoms but can quietly erode energy, immunity, and long-term health. Whether those exposures affect your health depends on five key factors:

  • The type of chemical or substance
  • How much of it you’re exposed to
  • How often and how long exposure continues
  • How it enters your body (air, food, water, skin, or other pathways)
  • Your overall health and resilience

Toxins may be all around you, but it's important to remember that your body is designed to heal, adapt, and detoxify—if you create the right conditions.

The Three Principles of Minimizing Toxins

If you want to reduce toxins, it’s helpful to focus on three essential principles:

  1. Identify and reduce toxins in your environment. Becoming aware of the toxins you are surrounded by is the first step. Over time, making small changes to replace toxic products with healthy options will have a significant positive impact on your health.

  2. Support your body’s natural detox pathways. Your body is innately equipped to detoxify itself, relying on organs such as the liver, kidneys, skin, lungs, and lymphatic system. You can support these natural processes with simple steps like staying hydrated, eating nutritious foods, moving your body, and getting quality rest.

  3. Actively remove toxins from your body. If the toxic burden becomes too great, it can lead to symptoms or chronic illness. When toxicity testing reveals high levels of pollutants, heavy metals, or mycotoxins, it’s important to take practical steps to bind and eliminate these harmful substances using advanced detox protocols.

Our focus in this article will be on the first principle—identifying and reducing toxins in your environment. This means learning where exposures occur so you can make practical changes in your daily life, and minimizing contact with sources of hidden chemicals or pollutants. By taking small but consistent steps to limit your exposure, you support your body's natural ability to recover, boost your energy and mood, and lay a healthier foundation for yourself and your family.

Identifying Toxins in Your Environment

If you haven’t seen it yet, the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) 10 Americans video is an eye-opening look at just how early toxic exposure begins in life. 


Our modern lifestyles continually expose us to a variety of toxins that place stress on our bodies. Some of these exposures are obvious, like the food you eat or the medications you take, while others—like the light in your home or the invisible signals from electronic devices—may be impossible to notice. Over time, these hidden stressors can accumulate and impact your energy, immunity, sleep, mood, and overall health. By learning where toxins come from, you gain the power to understand how they might be affecting you and to take steps that protect your well-being and your family’s health.

Air

Air is our most constant need, yet it is also one of the most common ways toxins enter our bodies. Unlike spoiled food or visibly dirty water, polluted air often goes unnoticed. Outdoor air pollution is the fifth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide. Exposure to air pollutants has been linked to:

  • Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes

  • Chronic respiratory conditions, including asthma and COPD

  • Cancers of the respiratory system

  • Compromised immune function

  • Increased risk of type 2 diabetes

Indoor air quality can be just as concerning, especially with chemicals released from household products, building materials, and poor ventilation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air, sometimes even higher. Children, whose lungs are still developing, are particularly vulnerable.

Food

The food supply has become one of the most significant sources of chemical exposure in modern life. More than 10,000 additives and chemicals are allowed in U.S. food and food packaging, yet about 3,000 of them have never been reviewed for safety by the FDA. Many are linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and neurological problems.

Some concerning facts about our food:

  • The average person consumes 140–150 pounds of food additives every year.

  • “Artificial flavorings” is a catch-all term that can include 700 different synthetic chemicals, many of which are poorly studied.

  • Contaminants such as arsenic, lead, and mercury often enter food unintentionally, either from the environment, soil, or during processing.

  • Food packaging chemicals like BPA and phthalates can leach into food.

Children take in more toxins for their size than adults, making them more vulnerable to learning challenges and behavioral issues. When expectant mothers are exposed to contaminants like lead or arsenic in food, there can be risks to both pregnancy and child development. Because families often share meals, these toxic exposures can affect everyone at the table—helping explain why many health problems are more related to lifestyle than genetics.

Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)

Electromagnetic fields are ubiquitous, invisible energy waves that surround us every day—often all day long. They come from cell phones, Wi-Fi networks, smart devices, power lines, appliances, and even the wiring inside our homes. Research has identified four main types of EMFs with potential health impacts:

  • Dirty Electricity (DE) – fluctuations in electrical wiring

  • Electric Fields (EF) – generated by household appliances and devices

  • Magnetic Fields (MF) – from power lines, motors, and transformers

  • Radio Frequency (RF) – from cell phones, Wi-Fi, and towers

EMF exposure may contribute to sleep disturbances, neurological symptoms, oxidative stress, and an increased risk of cancer.

Powerwatch, an independent non-profit organization, has played a central role in the discussion on EMF radiation for more than 35 years. The Powerwatch website provides access to hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies, helping individuals better understand these complex issues and encouraging the implementation of safer health policies.

Powerwatch

Light

Light is a natural regulator of health, controlling circadian rhythms—the internal 24-hour clock that influences sleep, hormone cycles, appetite, and metabolism. But modern environments have altered how and when we’re exposed to light.

Some key considerations:

  • Bright, natural light in the morning signals the body to wake up by lowering melatonin and raising cortisol. Without it, energy and mood can drop. 

  • Over 90% of Americans use screens before bed, exposing themselves to artificial blue light that delays melatonin release and disrupts sleep.

  • Chronic circadian rhythm disruption has been linked to obesity, diabetes, depression, and cancer.

  • Shift workers, with irregular light exposure, show higher rates of chronic disease compared to the general population.

Medications

The United States makes up just 3.5% of the global population but accounts for almost half (48.5%) of worldwide pharmaceutical market. More than 66% of adults take at least one prescription medication, and nearly half take two or more. While medications may help people, they are also a major source of toxic exposure:

  • Drug toxicity can occur when doses are too high or when a person’s metabolism changes, making them more sensitive.

  • Polypharmacy, or taking multiple medications at once, increases the risk of harmful interactions, poor treatment effectiveness, and side effects that outweigh potential benefits.

  • Prescription drugs are responsible for over 1.3 million emergency room visits, 350,000 hospitalizations, and over 100,000 deaths annually in the U.S. due to adverse drug reactions.

Drug toxicity is often an overlooked cause of symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, mood shifts, and more. Any medication can lead to side effects, and using multiple prescriptions increases the risk of interactions. You deserve to be fully informed about your health. Clearly communicate your current symptoms and health goals with your prescribing provider so you can work together on a plan to improve your wellbeing and, when appropriate, reduce medications safely.

Sounds

Noise is one of the most underestimated environmental toxins. It is present everywhere—traffic, construction, loud music, constant background chatter, and even household appliances.

Some facts about sound pollution:

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 1 million healthy life years are lost annually in Western Europe alone due to noise pollution.

  • Long-term exposure to high noise levels is linked to increased risk of hypertension, heart disease, and stroke.

  • Nighttime noise disrupts deep, restorative sleep. Even if you don’t wake up fully, your brain registers the disturbance, leading to fragmented sleep cycles and daytime fatigue.

  • In children, chronic noise exposure has been shown to impair reading comprehension, memory, and cognitive development.

Water

Water quality is another source of toxic exposure. Contaminants enter from agricultural runoff, industrial waste, decaying infrastructure, and the treatment process itself. According to EWG's Tap Water Database, tap water in all 50 states has been found to contain detectable levels of the following:

  • Heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury, which are linked to developmental delays, kidney disease, and cardiovascular problems.

  • Industrial chemicals such as PFAS (“forever chemicals”), which accumulate in the body and are associated with cancer, thyroid disruption, and immune suppression.

  • Disinfection byproducts (from chlorine and chloramine used to treat water), which are linked to bladder cancer and reproductive issues.

Toxic exposures touch nearly every part of modern life—our air, food, water, environment, and even the devices we use daily. While some effects appear quickly, most build slowly over time, often showing up as fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep, or recurring health issues that don’t seem to have a clear cause.  When it comes to reducing your exposure, knowing what to look for on labels is half the battle. Below are some of the most common harmful ingredients found in everyday products — and why you’ll want to avoid them.

  1. Aluminum. Mimics estrogen in the body and disrupts healthy hormone function.
  2. Benzophenone. A UV blocker used in food packaging, sunscreen, lip balm, and nail polish. Recognized as both a carcinogen and an endocrine disruptor.
  3. DMDM Hydantoin & Urea. Preservatives that release formaldehyde, which can contribute to joint pain, skin allergies, headaches, and sleep disruption.
  4. Ethanolamines (DEA, MEA, TEA). Found in foaming cleansers and personal care products. Linked to liver cancer, organ toxicity, and environmental bioaccumulation.
  5. Fluoride (anything with “fluoro-”). A neurotoxin connected to developmental problems, cancer, thyroid disruption, and immune system effects.
  6. Hydroquinone. Common in skin-lightening products; may cause cancer, eye and respiratory irritation, and ochronosis (skin thickening and discoloration).
  7. Methylisothiazolinone. A preservative found in soaps, detergents, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions, known for its allergenic potential.
  8. Mineral Oil. A petroleum byproduct that coats the skin like plastic, interfering with the body’s natural detoxification through the skin.
  9. Octinoxate (OMC). A sunscreen chemical that mimics hormones and may contribute to cancer and thyroid dysfunction.
  10. Oxybenzone. Another sunscreen ingredient that disrupts hormones and can trigger allergic reactions.
  11. Parabens. Widely used preservatives that mimic estrogen, potentially impacting reproductive health, development, and weight gain.
  12. “Fragrance” or Perfume. A catch-all term that can mask hundreds of chemicals, many linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and respiratory or reproductive harm.
  13. Phthalates. Associated with ADHD, obesity, diabetes, breast cancer, infertility, and hormone disruption.
  14. Polyethylene Glycol (PEG). A petroleum-based ingredient often contaminated with carcinogens. Acts as a penetration enhancer, allowing toxins to be absorbed more easily through the skin. PEG is found in many vaccines.
  15. Propylene Glycol. A strong skin irritant found in antifreeze and personal care products. Can damage cell membranes and affect the central nervous system in children.
  16. Siloxanes. Linked to reproductive toxicity and developmental defects in wildlife.
  17. Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate (SLS/SLES). Foaming agents found in over 90% of personal care products; known irritants to skin, eyes, and lungs.
  18. Synthetic Fragrances. Estrogen-mimicking chemicals associated with asthma, reduced sperm count, reproductive malformations, cancer, diabetes, obesity, ADHD, and autism.
  19. Triclosan. An antibacterial chemical linked to thyroid disruption and cancer. Banned in soaps by the FDA in 2016, but still found in other products.
  20. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) & Flame Retardants. Harm respiratory health, disrupt hormones, weaken the immune system, and impair reproductive function.

Many harmful chemicals lurk in everyday items—personal care products, cleaning supplies, food packaging, and cosmetics. By learning to recognize these ingredients on labels, you can significantly cut down your daily exposure and help safeguard your long-term health. For a deep dive into safer options, check out the Environmental Working Group’s EWG Verified®—a comprehensive guide to healthier personal care products. 


Reducing Toxins in Your Environment

Now that you understand the different types of toxic exposure, the next step is to make your environment safer for you and your family. While you can’t eliminate every toxin, you can lighten your overall load. The following resources are grouped by type of exposure—most are simple to adopt and can have a meaningful impact with small changes.

This concludes our article on Creating a Toxin-Free Environment for You and Your Family. In the next article on minimizing toxins, we'll do a deep dive on the remaining two principles: supporting your body's natural detox pathways and actively removing toxins from your body. Until then, prioritize making as many changes as possible to create a toxin-free environment—and reach out if you’d like guidance or support along the way.

Dr. Vasco Valov

Topics:

Minimizing Toxins