Our bodies are the intersection between the environment and our health. Our skin connects directly with the air, water and our clothes. We consume food and beverages directly into our bodies. Our entire environment is made of chemicals. Our body even creates its own chemicals such as hormones and emotions. Chemicals are the building block of everything we know. There are naturally occurring chemicals and synthetic, manufactured chemicals. Chemicals have gotten a bad rap recently and that’s not completely fair. Chemical is not a bad word. We need chemicals to survive. But when chemicals are left unchecked or used for destruction that’s when our health can suffer as well as the planet and all her life. Chemicals may be perfectly safe and inert until they are combined together. Gunpowder is a mixture of harmless sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate until they are unnaturally placed together. Chemical combinations can cause many hard to diagnose complications and create a problem even though individually they are harmless.
- Today our waters are filled with our garbage, oil and oil disbursement chemicals. Wars have left oil, fuels and nuclear waste at the bottom of the ocean in sunken aircraft, ships and submarines.
- Agriculture run-off and Fukushima radiation pollute the waters. Plastic microbeads fill the stomachs of our water dwelling friends. Our air is heavy with coal soot, airplane and car exhaust fumes.
- Our land has lost most of the top soil and is saturated with pesticides, herbicide and fertilizers that are not a replacements for real soil nutrition. Our bees and Monarch butterflies especially feel the results of man’s life style choices. Bee population declined 10% this year alone after drastic population reductions in prior year.
- Our bodies have become toxic from the land, water and air. Our food is grown with toxins and our farm animals are forced to eat feeds harvested by some of the worst toxic conditions.
Just what can we do? Eldridge Clearver said “You’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.” Our world works based on finances, to be part of the solution we need to know where to spend our dollars. After reading this, I hope you will not only have a better idea of what to look for when you shop, but avenues to find foods and products you can safely use. Safe for you and safe for the environment we share with other life.
You Are What You Eat and What You Eat Ate
Let’s face it, our food system is in chaos. Large scale farming of food and animals has put profits over nutrition and safety with little regard to our health, the health of the animals or the sustainability of the plant. Today’s farming practices release more green house gasses than any other industry. If you eat out, you most certainly are ingesting poor quality and unhealthy foods. If you purchase your foods based on price you are supporting this type of business practice.
Purchase organic when available. This supports the organic farmer and encourages more organic farming. The pesticide load is less and can be washed off unlike genetically modified foods which can produce their own pesticide. Organic green kale has more nutrition than one forced to grow with synthetic fertilizers. At a minimum use the dirty dozen annual list to select those items as organic. http://www.organic.org/
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
Which is defined as genetic material that has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods. Combined genes of different species are forced together to get a beneficial. The main reason foods are genetically modified is for herbicide resistence and pesticide production. 80% of packaged foods contain GMO foods, including baby food and Pediasure of which 30% tested positive for unsafe levels of glyphosate. To avoid GMO foods look for the NON GMO project label and use the non-GMO shopping guide. Download it to your phone here.
Grass feed and pastured animals
Are the most humanely raised and provide the most nutritious content. Grass fed may not be 100% raised on grass. Winters can be hard on the animal’s food source and increased need for calories and they are fed grain during the cold months. Grass fed organic would be the best choice for hoofed animals. Fowl should be pastured and organic. Free range and cage mean nothing for the health of the bird but a good marketing ploy.
Pastured chicken eggs, fertile if possible
Provides the best nutrition. Many people are allergic to eggs but when they ate organic pastured eggs the number of those allergic dropped. When the eggs were pastured and fertile the allergy rate was almost zero. You cannot trick your body, eat the way mother nature intended for your best results. Stay away for Omega-3 enhanced eggs, this means they were fed flax seed to raise their Omega 3 levels.
Clean up your salt
Quality sea salt (all salt came from the sea) should have a non-white color (white is heavily refined). To get all the minerals and nutrients from salt, look for a brownish or sandy color. You cannot process the naturally occurring iodine (there’s more in natural salt than refined salt with added inorganic potassium iodine) without these minerals that give unrefined salt its color.
Cleaning up your essential beverage, water
Clean water is essential for your health. Humans are 60% water. We drink water and we bathe in water. There are many contaminates in our supply including added fluoride (70% of American public water systems ) and disinfection chemicals, as well as environmental pollutants such as pollutant dumping and agriculture run-off. If you wish to filter your tap water there are a myriad of filter choices and installation configuration. You can research using independent laboratory testing results of popular gravity water filters at Water Filter Labs. Plastics never are released without deliberate detox methods. Only sweating can remove toxins from plastics in our bodies.
Personal Care Products
The modern world is full of environmental toxins. It is estimated that there are over 80,000 toxic chemicals used regularly in the US. There are over 500 chemicals stored in our body and the average individual has at least seven pesticides tested in their urine. It is imperative to minimize our exposure to as many dangerous chemicals as possible in order to maintain our health. Unfortunately, many of these we are spraying, rubbing and consuming every single day. These chemicals affect our neurology, our endocrine system (hormones), our immune system and our detoxification pathways. These chemicals accumulate in our system over many years and alter our physiology and genetic expression.
On average We use 9 personal care products daily that contain around 126 chemical ingredients, of those 1/3rd of these ingredients have been identified as causing cancer or other serious health problems.
Read labels looking for these chemicals listed below:
They are found in nail polish, perfumes, lotions, hair sprays, and other various perfumed cosmetics. These same chemicals used in many cosmetic products are also found in plastic wrap, wood furnishing, lubricants, insecticides, and detergents. Decide if you really need to use some luxury products not life sustaining.
Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetic products, including makeups, lotions, shaving products, and most skin care products. Parabens can increase the risk for cancer – particularly breast cancer. They are absorbed through the skin and have been identified in biopsy samples from breast tumors. This chemical also has a negative impact on reproductive functions in the body.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Foaming agent detergent, which is located in most household shampoos, soaps, and toothpastes, in addition to other beauty products. It may form into a carcinogen when combined with other toxic chemicals.
They are “derived from petroleum or coal tar sources.” The ingredients used to create these chemicals that produce artificial colors are considered to be toxic and carcinogenic, and they may even contribute to ADHD.
This chemical is commonly found is antibacterial soaps, toothpastes, and deodorants. Its purpose is to limit the growth of bacteria in the products. This chemical is classified as a pesticide! Not only does it contribute to heart disease and failure, but it also can negatively affect hormones – especially thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism – and may disrupt normal breast development. Widespread use of triclosan may also contribute to bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents.
There are no regulations on which chemicals are used in cleaning products and they do not have to put the ingredients on the container. No safety testing is required either. Harsh chemicals are marketing and sold by chemical companies but the safer and just as good cleaning products come from food ingredients. Vinegar and baking soda lead the way in good and safe cleaning products.
1/4 cup of vinegar to 2 gallons of warm water.
Boil citrus skins for a room freshener.
Sprinkle baking soda on your carpet before vacuuming.
Vinegar added to the rinse cycle in the washer as a softener.
Flame retardants don’t work and are toxic from the day they are made. EWB has a blog post on couches without flame retardants. Thanks to a key policy change in California fire safety standards, mainstream furniture manufacturers like Pottery Barn and Ikea now produce sofas and sectionals without flame retardant chemicals. Furniture manufacturers must label products they want to sell in the state of California, clearly indicating whether each piece contains flame retardants.
Carpet and Paint
Love VOC levels is what to look for in paint. Build it Green homes require this low VOC. Residential carpet is much higher in toxic chemicals than commercial grade.
Sources, further reading and resources:
- Chemicals in our bodies: Glyphosate detected in feeding tubes given to babies and children with cancer: http://www.naturalnews.com/048288_glyphosate_feeding_tubes_cancer_babies.html
- Salt: Your Salt is Fake! Here is What You Need to KNOW: http://livingtraditionally.com/salt-fake-need-know/
Foods and Nutrients that boost your skin’s antioxidant protection against UV radiation. http://www.drfranklipman.com/natural-sun-protection/
- 9 Natural Alternatives To Ibuprofen and NSAIDs With No Side Effect. http://livingtraditionally.com/9-natural-alternatives-ibuprofen-nsaids-side-effects/
- Five common household chemicals to avoid. http://www.naturalnews.com/048428_phthalates_parabens_sodium_lauryl_sulfate.html
- Five Couches Without Flame Retardants You Can Buy Right Now. http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2015/03/five-couches-without-flame-retardants-you-can-buy-right-now
- Guts & Glory – What’s Lurking in your Cabinets? with Lara Adler http://www.summerbock.com/guts-glory-2-lara-adler/ & http://www.laraadler.com
- You can purchase locally pasture raised animals and dairy products at Bay Area Real Foods http://www.realfoodbayarea.com/
- CSA home delivery of organic greens and fruit from Farm Fresh to You, http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/ use code LZU 1612 and my name McKeefery for $10 saving. Also Golden Gate Organics http://www.goldengateorganics.com/
- The Green PolkaDot Box: http://www.greenpolkadotbox.com/
- Thrive Market: https://thrivemarket.com/
- Grub Market: https://www.grubmarket.com/welcome
- Fremont Natural Foods: 5180 Mowry Ave, Fremont, CA 94538
- Fremont Farmers Markets: https://www.fremont.gov/BusinessDirectoryII.aspx?lngBusinessCategoryID=25
- The Environmental Working Group rates products on toxicity levels and disclosure of ingredients: http://www.ewg.org/ & http://www.ewg.org/foodscores & has a mobile app to look up products by UPC code http://www.ewg.org/skindeep
- Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: http://www.safecosmetics.org/
- Green Product Directory: http://greenpointrated.com/products