How a Health Scare Got Me to Switch to Non-Toxic Products
January 13, 2019
While I’ve always been interested in natural living it wasn’t until a health scare I had four years ago that I decided to detox my home and ditch toxic products! I went into see a doctor for some routine gastrointestinal blood tests since I have celiac disease. I didn’t even plan on checking the results or following up because my tests are always normal since going on a gluten free diet. This time I got a call from the doctor saying I had elevated liver enzymes which he was concerned about. After redoing the test the levels stayed elevated and even continued to rise over the new few weeks. The doctor had me do a special liver test (non-invasive) to see the state of my liver- He was convinced I must be a heavy drinker due to the levels. While I wish I could have some wine I actually do not drink due to the effect it has on my body as someone with an autoimmune disease. Of course that test came back normal! In fact they said it was the cleanest liver they had ever seen in the liver unit (hello I told them I didn’t drink!)
This went on for two months with weekly blood tests that wouldn’t decrease- Eventually with some hesitation I did a liver biopsy to try to get the root of this. Note that liver biopsies are not fun as you are awake for the procedure- yes awake! This test along with a scan and a million other blood tests came back completely normal. After much investigation it turns out the elevated liver enzymes where a response to being exposed to chemicals. The doctor said it could have been anything toxic in my environment I had come across and we narrowed it down to the hard wood floors we had just redone.
As we prepared to sell our house our intention was to get water based treatment on the floors. Somehow this didn’t get communicated and we got polyurethane oil based which is very toxic smelling and full of harmful toxins. While we did stay out of the house for a few nights the smell continued to bother me and make me feel sick. I had bad headaches and difficulty sleeping from the smell despite it not being bothersome to others. The doctor believed it was the toxins in the flooring that caused my liver enzymes to elevate! WOW- this really led me to re-evaluate what other chemicals and toxins were in our house. Once we moved to our new house a month later I tossed ALL our cleaning products, even the ones we thought were “green”. Today I make all my cleaning products from three simple ingredients water, white vinegar and a variety of essential oils from dōTERRA. It literally cost me pennies to make each item and i know my kids and pets will be safe if they get into them. My liver enzymes are completely normal and I’m grateful for that experience to let me know my body needed me to be more mindful of my environment!
Have you been wanting to detox your home but not sure where to start? Join my free seven day Clean Green Challenge on Facebook! You can also read about my favorite toss the toxins kit here. Feel free to grab my free book on how to use essential oils to replace toxic items in your home here!
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW