Sometimes, it seems like they're everywhere.

Toxins, that is - in the air, in water, in food, even in things like cleaning products you buy to keep your home, well, non-toxic. But despite how hard it might seem to stay safe and healthy, a few small steps can go a long way.

"It's all part of taking a holistic approach to health," says Diane Waddell, a nurse with Heartland Complementary and Integrative Medicine.

Ms. Waddell, who has made a point to learn about environmental health and its role in holistic care for 30 years, offers these tips for limiting your exposure to toxins:

Food and drink

Focus on buying foods that not only are low in carbohydrates and fats and on eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, but also, whenever possible, on buying foods that are grown locally and organically. This means they are grown without exposure to agricultural waste or pesticides or, when it comes to meat, without exposure to steroids, antibiotics or growth hormones.

Buying organic is especially important when it comes to peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes, pears, spinach and potatoes, according to the Environmental Working Group - simply because these are the fruits and vegetables often most exposed to pesticides. But taking precautions against toxins shouldn't end here, Ms. Waddell says.

It's also important to filter water - reverse osmosis is best, she says - and to avoid drinks in bottles made of the kinds of plastic most likely to leach toxins. These bottles are marked on the bottom with a 3, 6 or 7, while the least toxic plastics are marked with a 1, 2, 4 or 5.

Care products

Despite common misconceptions, most of the 10,000 chemicals present in care products, such as soap and makeup, haven't been studied and proven safe, Ms. Waddell says. In addition, cosmetics manufacturers don't have to back up terms like "dermatologist-tested," "natural" and "organic."

"A lot of chemicals in our skin care products are toxic and cancer causing," she adds. "The more chemicals there are, the more they interact" - and ideally, you want as little interaction between chemicals as possible.

For this reason, the rule to follow in choosing care products is to buy those with as few ingredients as possible, which means avoiding items with fragrances, dyes or preservatives. Other ingredients that are important to avoid, according to the Environmental Working Group, are alpha and beta hydroxy acids (AHAs, BHAs, lactic acid and glycolic acid), parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben), triethanolamine, lodopropynyl butylcarbamate and triclosan (antimicrobial liquid soap).

Cleaners

They may get rid of dirt, but in a lot of cases, cleaning products leave something worse behind, Ms. Waddell says. Many contain toxic chemicals that can be breathed in and absorbed through the skin - but this doesn't mean you have to call it quits on cleaning.

Rather, common household items such as baking soda and vinegar serve as safe alternatives. Ms. Waddell's daughter, Natalie Ward, says she combines baking soda and water to make a scrubbing agent, combines baking soda and vinegar to keep drains unclogged and also uses baking soda to supplement laundry detergent, thereby reducing the amount of detergent necessary by two-thirds.

She also uses a vinegar wash to spot-clean floors and does more thorough cleanings with a steam cleaner, which uses no chemicals, only water. And instead of air fresheners, she uses incense and essential oils - all choices she says have made her allergies and asthma less severe.

"I just try to find things that won't be harmful for me or my family," she says.

Step by step

Making all these changes might seem a little intimidating, but Kelly Kibirige - a nurse and a friend of Ms. Waddell - knows small steps can go a long way.

Over the past several years, Ms. Kibirige has made changes just a couple at a time, starting by making healthier food choices and then moving on from there.

"I chose to be successful rather than set myself up for something I couldn't achieve (by trying to make many changes at once)," she says. "It's never too late to make any sort of lifestyle change - never, never never."

Lifestyles reporter Erin Wisdom can be reached at ewisdom@npgco.com.