Living green
The obvious
There are many factors that contribute to good physical and mental health… eating a well balances diet, getting enough exercise and rest in addition to not smoking are the quite obvious ones but there are other factors that might be contributing to our health problems that a lot of us maybe overlooking or underestimating.
Maybe the not so obvious
Not only should we be conscious of what we put into our body in terms of what we choose to eat and drink but we also need to be more aware of the chemicals we come into contact with. Research has revealed that exposure to toxic chemicals we encounter daily may play a vital role in the increased number of serious health issues that nowadays so many people are plagued with, although saying that not all chemicals we come into contact with are harmful and out to get us.
Some toxic chemicals can be absorbed and accumulate in the human body and play havoc causing a whole host of problems.
Chemicals can disrupt and interfere with the hormonal system, cause cancer, be responsible for allergies, and respiratory and reproductive problems, surprisingly they can also lead to developmental and learning issues and even damage DNA.
What we can do.
Unfortunately the exposure to some certain chemical is out of our control and cannot be avoided, such as the chemicals in the air we breathe, the environment that surrounds us and the water we drink, but no need to freak out, there are hundreds of chemicals that we can eliminate from our day to day lives just by education ourselves and choosing safer alternative products to reduce running the risk of future health problems.
Where?
Some of these naughty chemicals are found in most conventional food, plastic, non-stick cookery ware, household cleaning products such as bleach, air freshener and washing powder. Cosmetic products and bathroom toiletries such conventional deodorants, toothpaste, make up, perfume and nail varnish.
Here are a few tips how to live a more chemical free lifestyle
- Eat unprocessed organic food when possible.
- Opening the windows of the house
- Use BPA free plastic
- Indoor house plants –
- Buy or make your own easy DIY personal healthcare products (recipes coming next month)
- Buy or make your own DIY nontoxic natural cleaning products (recipes coming next month)
- Remove your shoes at the front door
- Avoid “fragrance” products
- Swap toxic air fresheners for burning essential oils
Nobody is saying go and immediately throw all your old products away but slowly over time we can fade these potentially harmful products out of our lives and switch over to more natural safer options because who actually knows what the long term damaging effects may be, but why wait to find out?
Next month I will be sharing some handy homemade natural recipes to get you started into transiting to a healthier home.
