Natural Alternatives I Use

(in regards to food, healthcare, clothes and kitchenware)

2023/12/27

Updated: 2024/02/21

Endeavouring to cut down on plastic consumption or usage and to opt for natural, organic alternatives can seem overwhelming at first, but I've slowly been finding ways to adapt to this change in lifestyle. I have chosen to do so for the sake of my health, especially due to the disruptive nature so many heavy metals, microplastics and general toxins play in human hormone health.

Everything I use definitely isn't all-natural, but over the past couple of years I've been doing my best to swap out many of the products I use in my everyday life with more 'natural' alternatives, for the sake of my health and also because I find it incredibly disturbing that it is so difficult to find products made using simple ingredients in most stores. Listed below are some of the swaps I have made. I buy most of these from a local health store.

I prefer to know exactly what is going into or being used on my body, and exactly what the purpose of each ingredient is.

Basically, I just check ingredient labels and don't put stuff I can't pronounce into my body. I try to avoid microplastics by checking resin codes and opting for glass, steel or ceramic containers, and I avoid synthetic materials by checking labels.

Healthcare

• Scented body wash, facial cleansers, scented liquid hand soaps —> pure olive oil bar soap: Contains three ingredients, and one of them is water. Brilliant for my eczema and psoriasis, which never bother me anymore now that I use it and haven't flared up in years. Prevents acne. Overall, doesn't irritate my skin or any part of my body.
• Plastic electric toothbrush —> bamboo manual toothbrush: I imagine it's better for the environment, although I mainly made this swap because I find that it's much less hassle, cheaper, and the bristles are far less aggravating to my gums.
• Fluoride mint toothpaste —> fluoride-free fennel toothpaste: Standard mint toothpaste always leaves me with an upsetting flavour in my mouth afterwards, and so many of the ingredients seem unnecessary. Making the swap to a fluoride-free toothpaste was more seamless than I imagined; my teeth stayed just as healthy and strong.
• Fluoride mint-flavoured plastic floss —> bamboo interdental sticks or fluoride-free compostable corn floss: Pretty much for the same reasons listed above. Better for the environment, less faff, no mint flavour, no plastic.
• Plastic tongue scraper —> metal tongue scraper: Easier to clean, less gross, more durable. Self-explanatory. If you don't scrape your tongue already, you should.
• Additive-filled shampoo —> no shampoo: I found that I didn't need to use shampoo anymore after I stopped using it for a while. I wash with water and brush my hair thoroughly and have no issues with dandruff, or dirt and grease in general.
• Toxin-filled beauty products —> no makeup: I never wore much to begin with, but after becoming more vigilant of what is actually in the products I use, giving up on makeup seemed like the wisest option. There are a few decent brands, but they're expensive and still not likely to do your skin or overall health any good.
• Perfumes and deodorants —> nothing: Because I live in a cooler climate I don't really find these necessary, although there are 'natural' deodorants available if you so desire. I'm sure some natural perfumes are fine, but again: they don't seem necessary.
• Standard feminine hygiene products —> organic pads: They're probably not perfect, but they're better. People don't talk about this enough. Endocrine disruptors in feminine hygiene products pose a huge risk to hormonal health, and are shown to contribute to the development of endometriosis and various cancers.

Food

• Hydrogenated plant oil spreads —> organic, grass-fed local butter: Self-explanatory, if you know anything about nutrition. Trans fats are bad. Happy cows: happy butter. >:D
• Caged hen eggs —> organic, free-range local eggs: You can usually tell quality of eggs by the colour of their yolks; the darker, the better. You can look up studies on your own on the difference in nutritional density. It's all fairly self-explanatory. Animal welfare is human/dietary welfare.
• Processed sugary snacks —> raw local honeycomb and fruit: Provides sugar in my diet without a bunch of unnecessary, highly processed additives. Tastes better and makes me feel better after.
• Pre-cooked meats or low-fat cuts > whole-fat uncooked local (largely grass-fed) nose-to-tail animal produce: To utilise all of an animal after butchering it is to show both it and yourself respect. Organ meat is incredibly nutrient-dense, and where I live it's laughably cheap (usually just given to you for free). Meat that is 'pre-cooked' almost always has various unnecessary additives and stabilisers. Saturated fat isn't the devil, and darker meat or fattier cuts are invariably cheaper where I live. They also taste far better.
• Sweet carbonated beverages —> organic herbal or fruit loose leaf teas: Aside from often providing natural remedies for various ailments (e.g. I take peppermint to aid digestion), herbal/fruit teas are just pleasant to drink. Carbonated sugary beverages wreak havoc on your teeth, even aside from everything else, and tea is a wonderful alternative. I don't take caffeine, so my favourite is fruit tea, which I usually source from Sostrene Grene (very cheaply) or Brew Tea. I brew loose-leaf varieties to avoid plastic teabags, which release an obscene amount of microplastics; also, they taste better.
• Farmed fish —> locally-caught wild fish: This is mainly an animal welfare point, but I'm sure that translates to nutritional value, as it always does. I decided to try to make this switch after learning how to catch, kill, and gut my own fish. It is important to know where your food comes from, how it gets to your plate, what it's been eating, and so on.

Clothes

• Synthetic fibres (polyester, acrylic) —> natural fibres (organic cotton, wool, linen, silk): More breathable, and thus more comfortable. Better for the environment and your hormones, more durable, better temperature regulation, prevents odour and bacterial buildup, et cetera. You get the drill. Also, silk pillowcases are amazing at preventing hair breakage for curly hair.

Kitchenware

• Plastic bottles, food storage containers or tupperware —> glass, steel, ceramic or wood containers: It is incredibly difficult to avoid all sources of plastic, and some food will inevitably come packaged in it, but at the very least you can use glass storage containers whenever heating up or storing food. As a bonus, it makes your fridge and freezer a lot cleaner and more organised.
• Non-stick cookware —> cast iron or stainless steel cookware: Prevents the release and subsequent consumption of toxic chemicals. You can find cast iron, steel or even ceramic cookware fairly easily at most kitchenware stores.
• Synthetic dish soap —> pure olive oil bar soap: More natural. Standard stuff. Use a stainless steel soap cage and run the soap under your water to turn it into suds for washing your dishes.
• Artifical sponges —> Natural loofah: Biodegradable, better for the environment, and better for you.
• Microfibre cloths —> organic Egyptian cotton clothes: Plastic-free, and replaces microfibre seamlessly. You could use these for dishes if you like. I use them for surfaces and to clean my glasses.