11 Easy Ways to Reduce Noxious Chemicals

Trying to make sense of all the scare-mongering news about the dangers of chemicals, I came up with a short list that is easy to follow and will avoid the most dangerous of them. It's not complete, but you won't break the bank while reducing the ones that are quite common. I wish there was a way to quantify by how much these simple steps reduce the toxic chemicals, but I have no way to tell. I hope it's a lot.

TO REDUCE/AVOID:	DO:
mercury in your body	eat low-mercury fish like tilapia & pollock, rather than eat high-mercury choices like tuna & swordfish.
perchlorate from your tap water (and other chemicals)	filter your water for drinking and cooking.
dust and other bacteria in your house	leave your shoes at the door. Clean up the indoor air which is more polluted than the outdoor air.
toxic gases by cooking in the nonstick pans	chose cast iron pans instead of nonstick.
bisphenol A and other chemicals in your food	do not use processed, canned, or fast foods and never use plastic to warm your food in a microwave. Do not use plastic bottles for feeding your baby, use instead the ones made from glass. Avoid using bottles made from polycarbonate.
pesticides	eat organic vegetables and fruits.
phthalates, parabens, and so many other chemicals found the personal care products	avoid perfumes, cologne, nail polish, and any products with fragrance on the ingredient list. Chose products that are water-based, parabens free, and 100% vegetarian.
phthalates in your home (since they are found everywhere in the environment)	avoid the plastics in the kitchen, avoid vinyl toys and any product made from vinyl (e.g., shower curtain), avoid air fresheners.
flame retardants coming in contact with your body	chose products made from natural fibers, like cotton and wool - those are naturally fire resistant.
toxic chemicals in cleaning products	chose green products like those with no fragrance, bio-degradable, non-toxic.
chemicals in your environment	avoid the use of pesticide and insecticides on your plants.