Fran Drescher’s Home Detox Tips

August 26th, 2013 • BY

After being diagnosed with—and surviving—uterine cancer, actress Fran Drescher decided it was high time to detoxify her environment. Her research on the amount of chemical toxins in our homes and diets shocked her and drove her to parlay her passion into writing a book on the subject—”Cancer Schmancer”—and launching a nonprofit educational organization by the same name. Today, Fran is an eloquent advocate for exposing environmental causes of cancer, including toxic chemicals.

Here, we check in with Fran Drescher on her cancer, the MO at Cancer Schmancer Movement, and her best tips for detoxifying your own home. If you’re keen to learn more, check out Fran’s Body & Soul Webinar with Women’s Voices for the Earth tomorrow, August 27th, at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern ($12 & $7). Attendance is limited and the webinar will offer an intimate setting where you can ask Fran your very own questions.

GreenCleaningMagazine: What about your own cancer made you so aware of the vast amount of chemical toxins in our environment?
Fran Drescher: Researching has made me aware of all the toxins in both our foods and our products that are in the environment. After I wrote “Cancer Schmancer,” I heard so many stories of people who had been through the same experience. It took me two years and eight doctors to get a proper diagnosis, so I founded the Cancer Schmancer Movement to help others not go through what I went through. And that’s how I became aware of the importance of early detection and prevention. 90% of cancers are caused by environmental factors, and the home is the most toxic place where we spend the most time. But good news—it’s where we have the most control. So you can reduce your risk exponentially if you detox your home.

GCM: Why are there so many toxins, specifically, in our own homes?
Fran Drescher: Because chemicals are used to quote-unquote “enhance” what we eat, cosmetics that we put on our skin, and products that we clean our homes and garden with. The way our system works is that chemicals go into these products first, then get tested later to see if they’re safe or not. That’s a bad system that doesn’t benefit anyone. No one is watching out for us. There are few regulations on chemicals used in products. Cleaning products don’t have to label what ingredients are in their products. Cosmetics products hide behind the term  “fragrance” and don’t have to list what the ingredients are. Pesticides are used in our food supply in efforts to yield more crops.

GCM: Should we be mad, be discouraged, and/or take action against all these toxins?
Fran Drescher: We can and should definitely take action. The companies that make household products don’t want to kill their customers. They make what we buy. That’s why we can use good, old-fashioned consumerism to send our message. That we want safe, toxin-free products. So, vote with your pocketbook. Buy products that are organic, that don’t have harmful chemicals. Read labels and educate yourself about what ingredients are most harmful.

You can also take action by letting your representatives know that you want certain, harmful chemicals taken off the market and that you want easy-to-read labels. That’s why Cancer Schmancer is behind the Cancer-Free Label Act. It’s a seal of approval so that you know what you’re buying doesn’t cause cancer. It’s revenue-neutral, so it’s a win-win for consumers, manufacturers, and the government.

GCM: Please recommend 3 simple changes our readers can make to ditch the toxins in their lives and trash cancer.

Fran Drescher:
1.  Read labels on everything you buy, and if you don’t know what an ingredient is, don’t buy it. You can also check the safety of your products using our website cancerschmancer.org/trashcancer/check. Replace unsatisfactory products one at a time with safer, non-toxic alternatives.
2.  Buy organic as much as possible. Eat more organic foods—fruits and vegetables—and less processed foods.
3.  Make your own cleaning products from things like vinegar and rubbing alcohol. We have lots of recipes at CancerSchmancer.org.

Erinn Morgan

About

After a 10-year career as an award-winning New York City-based editor launching and redesigning urban, style-driven magazines, Erinn Morgan left downtown Manhattan after September 11th, 2001, in search of a less encumbered, freelance lifestyle. A two-year-long trek around the country eventually landed her in Durango, Colo., which she now calls home.

Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Bike, Skiing, Delicious Living, American Cowboy, and on away.com.

Erinn is also the author of the eco-focused book, Picture Yourself Going Green, Step-by-Step Instruction for Living a Budget-Conscious, Earth-Friendly Lifestyle in Eight Weeks or Less.

She was previously the editor-in-chief of 20/20 magazine, a special projects editor at Playboy (overseeing the launch of a new, custom magazine), and the founding editor/editor-in-chief of SoHo Style, a much-lauded, avant-garde magazine that covered the culture and style of downtown New York and its reach around the world.

More posts from this author →