#49: Everything is toxic!

Hey friends,

I’ve been seeing an increasing amount of noise online about products or foods that are toxic for you.

There’s an overwhelming amount of information about how so many different things could be toxic.

This week, I’m going to try and simplify some of that info for you.

I’ll talk through some of the claims I’ve heard, which ones have some validity, and how you should go about minimizing exposure to toxins in the products and foods you surround yourself with.

Weekly Action Point

💧Make a point of increasing your water consumption 💧 

The insane heat recently has reminded me that it’s probably time to have a hydration-focused weekly action point again.

Hydration is key to all health-related matters. Muscle building, fat loss, sleep quality, mental health, and injury prevention are all improved with proper hydration.

There’s a bunch of debate around how much water you should be drinking per day, which I won’t get into today, but generally speaking, most people could probably benefit from drinking more water than they currently are.

So, just be intentional about it this week. Always have a filled water bottle by you throughout the day, and make a point of actually drinking it.

The World is Toxic

There has been an increasing number of claims surrounding various products and foods that are toxic for you.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like I have seen claims about essentially everything I use or consume in my daily life.

Just to list a few of the things I’ve heard:

• Microplastics are toxic

• The air we breathe is toxic and polluted

• The water we drink could be toxic

• Food is toxic

• Microplastics are toxic

• The clothes that I wear are toxic (because they shed microplastics)

• There are forever chemicals in non-stick pans

• Shampoos and soaps are toxic because they have parabens and phthalates

• Deodorant containing aluminum is toxic

• Sunscreen with oxybenzone is toxic

• Scented candles are toxic

• Going beyond scented candles, anything scented is toxic

• Fruits and vegetables are toxic because of pesticides

• Microplastics are toxic

• Food dyes

• Artificial sweeteners

• Seed oils

• Toxins in household cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and dishwasher detergent

• Heavy metals in our foods

• Did I mention microplastics? People tell me they are toxic.

I could continue going with this list forever, but hopefully, you are starting to get my point: the media makes claims about essentially everything and anything being toxic.

So if everything is toxic, how do you win?

Intuitively, we should try to avoid toxins, but it’s impossible to avoid everything.

I believe that, generally speaking, things probably aren’t as scary as the media makes them out to be.

I think there is probably some level of truth to almost all of these claims; however, how much should you care?

To answer that question, I’d like to refer you back to newsletter #29: The Alligator Closest to Your Boat. 

In that newsletter, I talk about worrying about the things that are going to have the biggest impact on your health.

If you are eating a bunch of junk, skipping all your workouts, drinking like a fish on the weekends, and averaging 6 hours of sleep, these toxins probably don’t make that much of a difference on your health and fitness goals.

Instead of stressing about the media telling you everything is toxic, worry about the most important things first.

Personally, I’m mindful about trying to avoid microwaving plastic, using glass containers, and I got a stainless steel pan to cut down on some of my exposure to these so-called “forever chemicals” in non-stick cookware.

I bought a non-toxic, mineral-based sunscreen and deodorant.

But, am I panicked or stressed about any of the toxins I listed above?

No. I just live my life, minimize things where I can, and don’t worry about trying to avoid all the toxins ever.

It’s impossible to avoid them all, so why get stressed about it? If the scented Bath and Body Works candles that I love are toxic, oh well. Can’t win ‘em all. Take the easy wins.

And what about how pretty much all athletic/activewear clothing uses polyester that sheds microplastics? Bummer. You won’t catch me doing burpees or running in 100% organic cotton underwear and shorts, because that’s a sight no one needs. I’ll stick to my toxic Lululemon.

If you guys are interested, I’d be happy to do future newsletters doing more of a deep dive on these toxins (including diving into the scientific research, unlike many of the people on social media yelling that the sky is falling). Shoot me a text or a dm on social media, and I can get one of those rolling.

But the main takeaway I want you to get from this week is this: things probably aren’t as scary as the media makes them out to be.

Commonly, people will blow the finding of one scientific study way out of proportion on social media because it gets more views and attention, so just take it with a grain of salt when people on social media are telling you that everything is toxic and the world is ending.

Ben’s Best

If you want a podcast that has a little discussion on some of the toxic components of processed foods, here is one that I listened to this week that I thought was interesting:

Mind Pump 2624: Three Food Additives That Are Killing Your Health & More

Recipe for the week:

Air-fried apple dessert

This is one of my own creations that I made last week, so no video to go along with it. But if you have a sweet tooth, this is an awesome way to satisfy it with whole foods that are high in protein.

Ingredients:

1 apple
¾ cup (175 grams) of plain, nonfat greek yogurt
Cinnamon
20 grams of maple syrup (I do everything in grams, Google tells me that is 1 and 1/3 tablespoons. Or just do a tablespoon, it isn’t that serious)
20 grams of PB2 powdered peanut butter (again, same thing)

Directions:

1. Cut up an apple into quarters and remove the core/seeds. Skin can stay on.

2. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top of the apples and put them into the air fryer at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until desired texture

3. Mix maple syrup and powdered peanut butter in a small dish. Add water a splash at a time until it’s a sauce-y consistency

4. When apples are done, place them in a bowl and top with Greek yogurt

5. Drizzle pb2/maple syrup mixture over the top. Sprinkle with some more cinnamon if that’s your kind of thing

This recipe came out to around 400 calories (depending on the size of the apple) and 30 grams of protein. And it was absolutely amazing, so definitely try it out.