The Truth About Silicone and How to Avoid It

For the last several decades, Silicone has made a name as a safer alternative than plastic, teflon, or aluminum. Unfortunately, Silicone comes with its own dangers and and toxins. I have five swaps to share with you in order to get silicone out of your house and start living a detoxed life.

First, let's define what silicone is, so we know what we're dealing with. Silicone is a man-made material, not to be confused with silica, which is a mineral found in raw materials like beach sand and quartz. Silicone is a polymer made up from siloxane. Essentially, several rubber like oils are heated up and combined to create silicone.

Silicone is not an inert material meaning that it has the potential to leech into our bodies. A study in 2006 showed that phthalates (family of chemicals) were leeching into the body from medical grade silicone tubing. Even though there is a medical grade silicone, it still does not ensure that our bodies are safe from toxic exposure.

What's even worse is that we are using silicone inside and outside of our bodies as a healthier alternative to other harsh materials. Bakeware is one of the most common uses of silicone. From muffin tins, ice cube trays, and even parchment paper - Silicone is everywhere!

Let's talk through 5 commonly used silicone products and how to make a healthier swap!

Parchment Paper

While you can buy unbleached parchment paper, it's still coated in a silicone in order to prevent sticking. During the heating and freezing process, silicone can leech into the food that you're cooking with.

It's time to ditch the parchment paper and return to a tried and true non-stick method: grease! When lining a baking sheet, rub a little coconut oil, butter, or ghee on the baking sheet to prevent sticking.

A lot of people have messaged me saying they found a silicone parchment paper, but what many don’t realize is when you email these companies what they’ve done is swap out silicone for equally questionable or toxic materials such as Quinlon. Quinlong as been known to have heavy metals in it. Not cool. So I highly suggest digging further to see what the paper you are using is potentially coated in and not just believing marketing tactics used by these companies.

2. Ice Cube Trays

Silicone ice cube trays are used for freezing myriad of things: breast milk, baby food, broths or sauces, and of course - ice cubes.

Because silicone is not an inert product, chemicals in the silicone can also leech during freezing. It's important to find a nontoxic alternative to silicone and plastic cube trays.

A tried and true favorite is my stainless steel ice cube tray from Onyx. It can be found at many retail stores.

Once you've frozen your item, you can then store it in glass! Don't be afraid to freeze things in glass, as it's very rare it would ever crack or break in the freezer.

3. Muffin Trays

Silicone muffin trays have been doted over in the baking world because of how easy it is to remove the muffin after it's baked. Sadly, it's not worth the risk of chemicals leeching into your food.

Aluminum muffin tins are not a good alternative as aluminum has toxins of its own and they're usually coated in a teflon chemical to prevent sticking.

Lodge and several other brands have cast iron muffin tin trays that are the perfect solution to baking muffins.

Simply grease your tray before adding your batter and voila!

4. Baking Sheets

Right now the market is flooded with aluminum baking sheets or silicone baking sheets, neither of which are good for our bodies.

Fortunately there are several options to choose from when purchasing nontoxic baking sheets.

Stainless Steel baking sheets are perfect to use because they aren't coated in the nonstick chemical, teflon. Stainless steel baking sheets can be found in a variety of sizes in chef stores or at Lehmans.

Another viable option to reduce the silicone toxins are using glass baking equipment. Pyrex is a great, affordable baking option.

5. Menstrual Cups

While menstrual cups are not associated with baking, they are a danger to our health. Silicone is able to leech into our bodies at room temperature and do leech into our bodies through menstrual cups.

Menstrual cups are looked at a healthier alternative than inorganic feminine products, it still needs to be ditched for lower toxic products.

Reusable Menstrual Pads from Bare and Boho

If you still want to use a menstrual cup, choose a rubber made cup from the brand, Hevea. They offer a variety of natural, rubber made products.

I personally prefer to use organic cotton reusable pads. Bare and Boho are my preferred source of reusable pads.

In Summary,

There haven't been enough long term studies to show the effects of silicone and what it can do to the body. Because of the lack of research and studies, I prefer to make alternative swaps that ensure the health and wellness of my family.

For more information regarding healthy swaps and low-tox options, follow me on Instagram @thedetoxedlife