You’re probably here because you are newer to the “non-toxic living” lifestyle and looking for ways to know if what you are buying is good for your health or not.
Whether you are new to this non-tox living world or not. We welcome you! Below you will find my top resources to help you make smarter and healthier choices for you and your families health.
We live in a world that is full of toxic chemicals so why not have a resource that help you understand exactly what you’re buying and how it can negatively impact your health.
Let’s dive in.
#1 EWG Tap Water Database
The first thing we always need to look into when we are becoming more conscious about what we are putting into our body is our tap water. You might be wondering, “What is in your tap water?” There are many toxic chemicals that can be found in tap water. These chemicals can be things such as, PFAS, Heavy Metals, Fluoride, Medications, Chlorine and Pesticides to just name a few. If you want to learn more about how your tap water could be hurting your health through the chemicals found in tap water, Click here.
The Ewg Tap Water Database is a great resource to learn about what toxins are found within your tap water by searching your zip code. This is an eye opening way to see how the water your drinking, showering and bathing in can be contributing to your health issues.
The Ewg Tap Water Database will show you how many contaminates are found within your tap water and what potential health effects those chemicals have on our body.
Another great thing about this resource is that it will guide you to a water filtration system based on the contaminates found within your tap water. All you have to do is scroll down to where you see the contaminates listed out and click “details”. Then you will scroll down until you see the “filtering options” listed. This takes the guess work out of what filters will filter out these potential contaminates that are causing further health issues.
It is always important to filter out the water you drink but don’t forget that the water and its contaminates are also absorbed through the skin. While looking for tap water filters be sure to look into shower and bath filters as well.
#2 Clearya App
As an online shopper, Clearya is one of my favorite resources to vet products. Clearya was made specifically for online shopping and can be added as an extension to your google chrome to make it easy for you to know what products are safe when shopping online. Clearya also has mobile applications for both Iphones and Androids.
Clearya is a great tool but it will only work when you are online shopping at Amazon, Target, Sephora, Iherb and Walmart. Now, before you go feeling like you can’t utilize that app when online shopping because you don’t always shop at those sites. You certainly can. The good thing about them to being connected to those specific stores is that those stores have a very wide range of inventory. And 9 times outta 10 will carry the product you are wanting to vet.
I have used Clearya to gain knowledge on supposedly clean beauty products that we wanted to check out. I found that using this app helped me understand the ingredients and to make smarter choices across all different kinds of products.
Clearya uses a their system to scan the ‘ingredients’ listed on the site. It will then list out any banned or toxic ingredients, potentially toxic ingredients and potential allergens.The app also gives you information on each ingredient so you can learn why it is bad for you and sites all of their sources.
#3 EWG Healthy Living App
Ewg’s Healthy Living App is similar to Clearya but it is made to help you vet products right from your phone. They have a mobile application for iPhone and Androids.
How the Healthy Living App differs is the ability to scan items right from your grocery store to see if the ingredients are clean or not. Another great feature is the ability to search their database based off category of product (beauty, hair care, bathroom, laundry, etc). They give you access to their “EWG approved products” to make shopping easier and more efficient.
They rate products on a numbering system ranging from 1 (low hazard) to 10 (high hazard). They come up with the product score by averaging out the hazardous ingredient score within the product. They apply this same rating system to the individual ingredients making it easier to average out a product score.
You have the ability to learn more about each ingredient and what potential health issues can come from using that ingredient. The thing we love about this resources is that they list out all ingredient concerns as it relates to specific systems within the body (reproductive, cellular level, cancer, and more). I haven’t seen any other app be this specific to help educate the user on how a specific ingredient effects a certain organ system.
This is my top recommendation for those who are shopping in stores and not online. It is also a great way to browse cleaner options to help clear out the guesswork.
#4 DetoxMe App
This resouce is a little different than the ones listed above. This app and website is dedicated to educating their users on living a low toxic lifestyle. They have categories to choose from such as, Food & Drink, Children, Personal Care, Home, Cleaning and more. Each category gives you a list of tips and things to look out for when purchasing items from those categories. Each category also has a “Top 10 Tips and Buying Guide” for you to easily reference when you’re on the go.
The Mobile App also has an ability to scan barcodes to see if those products are good for you or not. DetoxMe is a great resource for those who are just starting out on their journey and are wanting an easy resource to learn from.
