You had to be there — the conference room exploded with laughter after Carol, a member of my team, made this announcement: “My spouse told me to throw out our mattress because it’s making me fat.”
I admit this statement sounds crazy at first. But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense…
Here’s what I mean: Mattresses routinely contain chemicals that are not only toxic to your body, but also can make you gain weight.
But it’s not only your mattress that’s causing trouble…
Today, many household products — yes, including your bed — contain man-made chemicals called xenoestrogens. These “alien estrogens” mimic natural estrogen in your body. I call them aliens because they are anything but natural. And as they build up inside you, they destroy your delicate balance of estrogen, testosterone and other hormones.
I’ve pointed out before where they’re most dangerous — and where they lurk: in pesticides, clothing, plastics, cosmetics, detergents, hairsprays, our food and water supply… even in bed with you.
These toxins include:
- Cancer-causing phthalates from plastics, cosmetics, cookware and more.
- Endocrine-disrupting BPAs that lead to estrogen dominance and loss of libido
- Heavy metals like arsenic and mercury.
- Flame-retardant chemicals that have been linked to cancer and an all-out assault on your immune system.
One of the flame retardants in your mattresses is a chemical called bromine. And it can wreak havoc with your thyroid, leading to hypothyroidism.1 Bromide toxicity can cause an alarming drop in iodine — crucial for thyroid function.2 When your thyroid is out of whack, you start to feel sluggish and you gain weight… fast.
Now Carol’s comment about her mattress — or “fat-tress” as she called it — is making a lot of sense.
And it’s no laughing matter.
States like California3 and Maine4 have banned the sale of many household products that contain flame retardants. But the worst part is that we buy mattresses without a second thought to what might be lurking below the surface. Because we’ve never been warned… no, that would undermine profits from manufacturers.
You wouldn’t buy food with chemicals, and yet, every night, you fall asleep breathing them in. But you can fight back.
My 3-Step Plan for Sleeping Chemical-Free
Here’s what you can do to drastically improve sleep time as well as detox during the day:
- Replace your mattress. If you want to replace your current bed, look for a mattress that is certified as “low VOC” or “VOC-free” by an independent organization like Oeko-Tex or GREENGUARD Gold. And buy organic when you can.
That’s right — mattresses, like your food, can be made with organic materials. These include wool, natural latex or cotton. Look for the GOTS certification — the Global Organic Textile Standard — which states the mattress can’t be made of toxic polyurethane foam or contain an abundance of dangerous chemicals. - Use nature’s best detox agents to fight chemical warfare. Here’s what I recommend to get rid of the toxins that are currently stored in your body:
- Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum). This is one of the best herbs I’ve found for clearing toxins from your blood. It helps detoxify the liver and restore healthy liver function.
Look for dried milk thistle extract. But make sure it has at least 80% silymarin, the active ingredient for liver cleansing. I recommend taking one 200 mg capsule twice daily. - Activated Charcoal. Activated charcoal works by grabbing toxins in its millions of tiny pores and escorting them out of your body in a process called adsorption.
Look for activated charcoal as a very fine, black powder. Take 20 grams to 30 grams of powdered activated charcoal mixed with water once a day for a week or two.
- Modified Citrus Pectin. This is made from the inner peel of citrus fruit. It’s one of the most powerful detoxifying substances I’ve ever found. USDA researchers gave modified citrus pectin to people for six days and measured the amount of toxins excreted in their urine before taking it and 24 hours after. They found it increased the amount of mercury excreted in urine by 150%.
- Sit in a sauna. Saunas open pores and flush impurities from the body. But be careful — saunas can also deplete good minerals like calcium, magnesium and zinc. Be sure to drink plenty of mineral water before, during and after the sauna session to replenish both lost fluids and minerals. If you dislodge those chemicals too fast, you could get a reaction that feels like the flu.
Start with no more than five minutes, and add about 30 seconds to a minute every day. Work yourself up to 15 or 30 minutes per session. Start with once a week and work up to a daily session if you like. The best sauna temperature range is from 102-106 degrees Fahrenheit. Afterward, gently scrub the toxins and sweat from your skin in a warm or hot shower. Finish with 30 seconds or more of cold water to close your pores.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Diamanti-Kandarakis E, et al. “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: An endocrine society scientific statement.” Endocr Rev. 2009;30(4): 293–342.
2. Cornell University. “Methyl Bromide.” http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/haloxyfop-methylparathion/methyl-bromide-ext.html. Accessed Nov. 28, 2018.
3. Betts KS. “Hand-me-down hazard: Flame retardants in discarded foam products.” Environ Health Perspect. 2015;123(3):A56-A63.
4. Betts KS. “New thinking on flame retardants.” Environ Health Perspect. 2008;116(5):A210-A213.