Our Chemical World
We live in a chemical world. One of the ways we can reduce the risks to our health is by reducing the amount of chemicals in our world .The evidence is frightening and unfortunately before our children are even born they have been contaminated.
We can reduce the impact both on ourselves, our children and our environment. We can do simple things such as changing to organic food. Eating only organic will greatly reduce the number of chemicals/pesticides you are exposed to each day. Many people believe organic is more expensive and I will admit to having believed that as well. I made a commitment some time ago now to buy as much organic produce as I possibly could. I found my food bill actually went down. I believe there were a couple of reasons for this. First when you buy organic you are usually buying what is in season so I found I made a menu around what was available and so bought far less processed food. Secondly I did more of my own baking to ensure what we eat is organic.
I also saved money by not driving the 100km round trip to my nearest large supermarket and helped the environment at the same time. In my area locally grown food is usually grown without being sprayed or grown organically. Of course you can always start your own vege garden using compose from you organic scraps. A couple of chickens can provide fresh eggs just remember to feed them organically as well. You can even buy chickens these days that have been raised organically so you know they carry little chemical residue. Click here for organic produce and live chickens.
Filter your water or put in a rain water tank. This is even more important in places where they are using recycled water to top up drinking water. Our local tap water is like drinking a chemical cocktail you can taste the chlorine in it. If you can put a reverse osmosis filter on you house as chemicals such as chlorine have been shown to increase bladder cancer by 50% when absorbed through the skin. ‘This meta-analysis of the best available epidemiological evidence indicates that long term consumption of chlorinated drinking water is associated with bladder cancer, particularly in men. The observed relative risk is only moderately high, but the population attributable risk could be important as the vast majority of the population of industrialised countries is potentially exposed to chlorination by products for long time periods.’ Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2003;57:166-173
© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group
Every day before we leave the house we have put on or in our bodies up to 115 chemicals. They are in our soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, shaving creams, after shave, perfume and makeup. Change to certified organic personal care products and avoid perfumes. Natural smells are much more appealing and don’t risk you health. Read the labels on your personal care products and be cautious of claims of natural, organic or derived from. As these can lead people to believe something is safe when it is not. To learn more about labelling and organic certification click on the link below.
Organic Certification FAQ
Another area we can actively reduce our chemical exposure and even eliminate it is in what we use to clean our homes. There is no need to use harsh chemicals when cleaning the home. Vinegar and water cleans a multitude of things. Bicarbonate of soda and lemon or Borax and lemon make a great bathroom cleaner. Eucalyptus oil can be used to reduce creepy crawlies in the house. There are more and more environmentally friendly cleaning agents coming on to the market but once again read your labels very carefully before you buy. And don’t assume because it is sold in a health food shop that it is OK in my experience many of these products have labelling that is very misleading.
Linen and clothing can be a toxic nightmare if we are not careful in what we purchase; fire retardants are the most o potent neurotoxin known to man. Try and purchase clothing and linen that has not been treated with this chemical and at the least wash it well before using.
After making all these changes at home you might want to start looking at your work environment and for your children the school environment. After all most of our waking time is spent at school or work.
Remember you do have the power to change this chemical world WITHDRAW CONSENT in other words stop buying products whether it is food, clothing or cleaning products that are harming both you and the environment.
I recently attended a conference where Dr Sarah Lantz gave a presentation based on her soon to be released book Chemical Free Kids. Click here to read that presentation.
Click on these links if you would like to know more about organics.
http://oneearth.mionegroup.com/en/whatIsOrganic
http://oneearth.mionegroup.com/en/organic
http://oneearth.mionegroup.com/en/movement
Click on this link to view organic products www.oneearth.mionegroup.com
References: www.thestoryofstuff.com , The Hundred year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2003;57:166-173
© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group
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