The Toxins In, On, & Around Us - And What To Do About Them

When you put a product in your shopping cart, you trust that it’s safe. But is it?

Because here’s the thing: Over 90,000 commercial and industrial chemicals are approved for use in products in the United States, yet many of them haven’t been tested (either individually or in combination) for potential human toxicity.

That’s concerning as we use dozens of products daily—from the mouthwash we gargle, to the orange juice we sip, to the perfume we spritz. In fact, the average American inhales, absorbs, and consumes around 5 pounds (!) of chemical additives from products in a single year.

Fortunately, Dr. Aly Cohen is here to do something about it.

Meet Dr. Aly Cohen

Dr. Aly Cohen is a board-certified rheumatologist, integrative medicine physician, and one of the country’s leading medical and legal experts on environmental health with over 22 years of experience.  

I recently met Aly when we were both speakers at SXSW in Austin, Texas. I told her I am now obsessed with the issue of microplastics, and that’s when she gave me an advanced copy of her book. I immediately wanted to share what I learned with you.

In her new book, Detoxify, Dr. Cohen combines her knowledge and experience to provide a clear, science-based plan to rid yourself of the toxic chemicals lurking in our food, water, personal care products, and everything in between.

I asked Aly if I could interview her for Today’s Ajenda to learn what we can do today to detoxify our environment—and how we can protect ourselves from our increasingly chemical-saturated world. Here’s what I asked her:

I believe drinking water contaminants are one of the most underrated and under-recognized contributors to human health issues…so I would rate it a 9!

One of the best ways to detoxify your drinking water is to filter your water when it comes into your kitchen sink, no matter whether it’s from a well or municipal tap water.

Any water filter is better than no filter (pitcher, faucet, refrigerator door are carbon block filters), and they vary by mechanism, efficiency, and costs.

The most aggressive way possible to remove contaminants is filters that incorporate reverse osmosis filtration. They’re around $300 and can be used on a countertop or installed under your kitchen sink in an hour by a plumber.

I would rate this exposure a 7 given that we absorb many immune disrupting chemicals (IDCs) through our skin and vaginal canal (feminine care). The best way to detox is by not purchasing toxic products in the first place. There are a lot of free websites and apps (such as ewg.org) that can help you check.

This is why I use coconut oil on my body as a moisturizer rather than any product with dozens of chemical ingredients!

I would say environment and lifestyle (sleep, exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol use) play a key role.

After two decades of managing patients with autoimmune and immune diseases, one thing is clear—reducing toxic chemical exposure, improving lifestyle, and incorporating key nutrients in our diets are critical for disease prevention and management.

To be clear, modern-day humans (like you and me!) are loaded with environmental chemicals since they’re in many of the products we use. We don’t need a lab test to confirm that.

However, my recommendation is to test if you’re really curious, or if you have severe symptoms that are clinically warranted, since exposures (and lab results) change on a day-to-day basis.