About Interior Medicine

“Non-toxic” has no definition, but a healthier home is still worth pursuing. Everything on Interior Medicine uses the closest thing to a definition in pursuit of a healthier home: a consistent, evidence-based method for products. In place of marketing hype and fear is curiosity and careful evaluation.

The deeper aim is to share the chemistry, research, and reasoning behind exposures. Deeper still, it’s about finding common ground between conventional medicine and wellness culture, where most people actually are.

Interior Medicine’s Values

Transparency

Rating scales show exactly how and why a product earns its score. Affiliate partnerships are disclosed directly under each product, not in a blanket statement buried elsewhere.

Evidence Over Ideology

Skepticism is applied equally to brand healthwashing and wellness fear-mongering. Claims are backed by research, and "we don't know yet" is treated as a legitimate answer instead of brushing off potential future importance.

Balance Over Perfection

Home toxicity is one factor in health, not the whole picture. Cost, comfort, performance, and the things you simply love are all legitimate reasons to choose something other than the “healthiest” option. An informed decision matters more than a perfectly non-toxic one.

Discernment Over Trend

Not every new claim or warning in the non-toxic space deserves equal weight. Discernment means separating evidence from noise, a skill covered in depth in the free course.

Clear Priorities

Sustainability matters, but eco-friendly and human-friendly aren't always the same thing yet. In time, I hope they will be, but “non-toxic” isn’t confused with the being the same thing as “sustainable” here. (Recycled polyester is great for removing plastic water bottles from the ocean, but not necessarily healthy for direct skin contact, as one example.)

Education Over Shopping Lists

The goal is to explain the reasoning rather than handing over a Top 10 list. Depth is available if you want it, but the recommendations stand on their own when you don't.

A Note On Language

You might notice I use the words non-toxic, chemical, toxin, and toxic, even though there’s no agreed-upon definition of non-toxic, and everything, even water, is made of chemicals, so nothing is truly chemical-free. Likewise, toxin refers to a natural substance like a plant poison or venom, while toxicant is the more accurate term for chemicals in products that harm health. And a toxic substance isn’t automatically a health risk.

I use these imprecise words anyway, for practical reasons. They’re the most culturally agreed-upon, descriptive, and accessible terms, and they help people find the information they’re looking for. “Non-toxic” is shorthand for a complicated problem. Since there’s no definition, I don’t pretend to have one. What I offer instead is a consistent method. Read my full view in the free What “Non-Toxic” Actually Means course. I’ll update my terminology as the cultural conversation around it shifts.