Easy Swaps: From Toxic to Low-Tox Living
You're not broken. Your environment is just working against you.
Most people think they're doing everything right from eating clean, exercising, taking vitamins but they're still exhausted, brain-fogged, and feeling off.
Here's what they're missing: Your toxic load.
What you eat, drink, breathe, absorb, and use daily adds up. Your liver is working overtime trying to filter out endocrine disruptors, heavy metals, and chemicals your body was never designed to handle.
And eventually? It can't keep up.
The good news? Small swaps make a massive difference.
You don't have to overhaul your entire life overnight. Start here.
Water Bottles: Ditch the Plastic
Swap to: Glass or stainless steel
Plastic leaches chemicals especially when exposed to heat or left in your car. BPA, phthalates, and other endocrine disruptors seep into your water and mess with your hormones. The average human consumes a credit card sized amount of plastic per week.
Your body doesn't need more synthetic estrogen. It's already overloaded.
Glass and stainless steel are inert. They don't leach. They don't degrade. They just hold your water.
Simple.
Shampoo & Conditioner: Read the Label
Swap to: Low-tox or no-tox formulas
Your scalp absorbs everything you put on it. And most conventional shampoos are loaded with sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, and other hormone disruptors.
Look for products with:
No sulfates (SLS/SLES)
No parabens
No synthetic fragrance (if it says "fragrance," that's a red flag—it's a loophole for hundreds of undisclosed chemicals)
No phthalates
Brands matter less than ingredients. Learn to read labels. Your endocrine system will thank you.
Bedding & Towels: 100% Cotton or Linen Only
Swap to: 100% cotton or linen (not cotton blends)
Cotton blends contain polyester. Polyester is plastic.
When you sleep on polyester sheets or dry off with synthetic towels, you're exposing your skin to microplastics, chemicals used in manufacturing, and flame retardants.
Your skin is your largest organ. It absorbs everything.
Pure linen or 100% cotton is breathable, natural, and doesn't off-gas chemicals while you sleep.
You spend a third of your life in bed. Make it count.
Water Filter: Stop Drinking Tap Water As-Is
Swap to: ZeroWater filter (then add minerals back in)
Most people think their Brita pitcher is doing the job. It's not.
Here's what Brita filters remove:
Chlorine (improves taste and odor)
Some heavy metals like copper and mercury
Some pesticides
Here's what Brita filters DON'T remove:
Fluoride
Most pharmaceuticals (birth control, antibiotics, antidepressants that end up in water supplies)
PFAS (forever chemicals)
Nitrates and nitrites
Most dissolved solids
Industrial chemicals
Agricultural runoff beyond basic pesticides
Brita is designed to make your water taste better, not to purify it.
Your tap water contains a lot more than just chlorine. And your body is trying to filter all of it.
ZeroWater filters down to 0 TDS (total dissolved solids). That means it removes the stuff your Brita leaves behind like fluoride, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants.
But here's the catch: It also removes beneficial minerals like magnesium and calcium.
Solution: Add them back in.
Use trace mineral drops or a pinch of high-quality sea salt in your water. Your body needs those minerals for energy, sleep, muscle function, and detoxification.
Clean water + minerals = optimal hydration.
Lotion: Ditch the Fragrance
Swap to: Pure oils (argan, jojoba, coconut, castor)
Conventional lotions are packed with synthetic fragrances, parabens, petroleum derivatives, and preservatives. Your skin absorbs all of it.
"Fragrance" is an unregulated ingredient. It can contain dozens of hidden chemicals including phthalates, which are known hormone disruptors.
If you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your skin.
Pure oils work better anyway. They're bioavailable, nutrient-dense, and actually nourish your skin instead of just sitting on top of it.
Try:
Argan oil for face and body
Jojoba oil for all skin types
Coconut oil for dry areas
Castor oil for deeper hydration
Simple. Effective. No lab-created chemicals required.
Chapstick: Keep It Simple
Swap to: Coconut oil, pure lanolin, tallow balm or Aquaphor
Most chapsticks contain synthetic fragrances, parabens and dyes. Some even contain ingredients that dry out your lips so you keep reapplying.
You're literally eating whatever you put on your lips. Make it count.
Yes, Aquaphor's main ingredient is petroleum jelly. And yes, that's derived from crude oil. Not ideal.
But here's the difference: Aquaphor is refined, purified, and free from synthetic fragrances, dyes, and hormone disruptors.
Most chapsticks contain:
Synthetic fragrances (hidden phthalates - hormone disruptors)
Dyes and colorants (unnecessary chemicals you're absorbing through your lips)
Phenol, menthol, and salicylic acid (drying agents that make you reapply constantly - it's a business model)
Parabens (preservatives linked to endocrine disruption)
Aquaphor doesn't have any of that. It's just petrolatum, lanolin, glycerin, and panthenol. Simple, occlusive, effective.
Better alternatives:
Pure lanolin (from wool—highly occlusive, healing)
Coconut oil (antimicrobial, hydrating)
Shea butter (nutrient-dense, healing)
Tallow balm (bioavailable, skin-identical fats)
If you're choosing between Aquaphor and a conventional chapstick loaded with fragrance, dyes, and drying agents? Aquaphor wins.
It's not perfect. But it's a massive step up from what most people are using.
Soda & Juice: You Don't Need It
Swap to: Water, herbal tea, or water with lemon
Soda is liquid sugar and chemicals. It spikes your blood sugar, crashes your energy, feeds inflammation, and messes with your gut microbiome.
Diet soda? Even worse. Artificial sweeteners disrupt your metabolism, increase cravings, and have been linked to insulin resistance.
Juice isn't much better. Even "100% juice" is concentrated sugar without the fiber. Your liver processes it the same way it processes soda.
If you want flavor, add lemon, lime, or cucumber to your water. Drink herbal tea. But ditch the liquid sugar.
Your body doesn't need it. Your energy will be more stable without it.
Microwave: Stop Nuking Your Food
Swap to: Stovetop, oven, or toaster oven
Microwaves heat food unevenly and break down nutrients faster than conventional heating methods. More importantly, most people microwave food in plastic containers which leaches chemicals directly into your food.
Even "microwave-safe" plastic isn't truly safe. Heat accelerates chemical leaching.
Reheating food on the stove or in the oven takes a few extra minutes, but it preserves nutrients and eliminates plastic exposure.
Worth it.
Food Storage: Glass Only
Swap to: Glass containers (not plastic)
Plastic food storage containers leach chemicals especially when exposed to heat, acidic foods, or repeated use.
Even BPA-free plastic isn't safe. They just replaced BPA with other bisphenols (BPS, BPF) that do the same thing.
Glass is inert, safe, and lasts forever. Invest once and never worry about it again.
Grocery Store Tactics: Stop Falling for Marketing
Swap to: Reading ingredient labels (not front labels)
"Fat-free!" "Sugar-free!" "Heart-healthy!" "Natural!"
These are marketing terms designed to make you buy processed garbage.
Fat-free usually means loaded with sugar and artificial fillers to make up for lost flavor.
Sugar-free means artificial sweeteners that mess with your metabolism.
"Healthy" and "natural" are unregulated terms. They mean nothing.
Most grocery store "health foods" are greenwashed garbage. Just because it's marketed as healthy doesn't mean it is.
The rule: If it has more than 5 ingredients, if you can't pronounce the ingredients, or if it needs a marketing claim to convince you it's healthy, skip it.
Real food doesn't need a label telling you it's good for you.
The Bottom Line
Your body is designed to heal, optimize, and thrive.
But it can't do that when it's drowning in synthetic chemicals, endocrine disruptors, and toxic overload.
These swaps aren't about perfection. They're about reducing your body's burden so it can actually function the way it's supposed to.
Start with one. Then another. Then another.
Your energy, focus, and overall health will improve more than you think.
And if you want help optimizing everything from nutrition, environment, habits, sleep, and strategic interventions like peptide therapy, that's exactly what I do.
Book a free clarity call. Let's figure out what's actually draining you and fix it.
Ancient Wisdom. Modern Optimization.
The Astarte Company
theastartecompany@gmail.com
Medical Disclaimer:
The Astarte Company and Kaitlyn Auger are not licensed medical providers and do not diagnose, treat, prescribe, or provide medical advice. All information provided is for educational purposes only. Always consult with a qualified, licensed healthcare professional before making changes to your health regimen.
