There are so many things to think about in life. Big decisions like schools for our children, careers, homes, health. Small daily decisions like food we eat, clothes we wear, how we spend our time. Fun decisions such as where to go on vacations, what to do on your night out or what fitness class to try next. So why add ingredients, detoxing your products, and understanding branding to that never ending list?
My short answer is because it should be important to you. It is imperative to your health and the health of your family. When you are caught up with ongoing health issues, illness, or chronic symptoms you will not enjoy all life has to offer, nor will you have time for them. Listen, I know we are busy, everyone is. I don’t want this to be just something else to add to the list. We need to think of this as the missing piece to overall wellness.
Most of us think about trying to eat well – whatever that may mean to you personally. We try to be active and not intentionally make decisions we know to be harmful to our health and live our best life. There are other contributing factors to health. What you breathe in, what you put onto your skin, and what you put on the skin of your children in many cases enters the bloodstream or at least penetrates the top layers of your skin. These ingredients can affect vital organs, can disrupt hormones, and cause real health consequences. That is the harsh reality. In many cases savvy marketing, glossy branding and money trump everything else. Results at any cost is the status quo.
I want to change that. I want this to no longer be an issue we have to think about. When you learn which ingredients are known (or thought to be) harmful to humans, what you should avoid, and how to find options that are safe and effective, you can reclaim this part of your health puzzle. You no longer have to think about it. Just make a safer choice and move on. Check it off the list.
This is no different than the lead paint or tobacco issues the last generation faced. There was a time when you could smoke on planes, restaurants, in cars with children and everyone had lead paint in their house. If at that point you had said you were concerned about the safety of these things, you would have been looked at as an outsider. The propaganda showed those products to be safe and there was no reason to question it. Fast forward 30 years and everyone knows better. Science evolved, health and wellness has evolved and you know better.
Throughout the past 10 years and three children later I have gathered endless information on these topics. My passion for education, both teaching and learning, has driven me to find as much as I can about how environmental factors may be influencing our health. There is no denying we have a health crisis on our hands. According to the CDC, 60% of adult American’s have a chronic disease, with 40% having more than one.
Being unhealthy is the new norm. If you are young, hopefully this doesn’t entirely pertain to you yet. However, if you are over a “certain age” most people have some ongoing issue. Perhaps it is a digestive issue, a reoccurring rash, food sensitivities, a reliance on prescription medication, chronic pain, weight issues, skin issues, and the list goes on and on. Clearly some health concerns can not be avoided, but many can be helped with lifestyle changes and awareness. We’ve become so desensitized that these things are no longer seen as a big deal! This is not something I am willing to accept. Making healthier and safer choices for yourself and your family is not difficult once you know what to look for.
In the US, we live under the idea that ingredients in foods and cosmetics are safe and acceptable until proven otherwise. In most other first world nations it is just the opposite. They use the Precautionary Principal; unless you are sure that something is not going to harm you, don’t risk it. Seriously, think about that.
We can not live in a bubble, but there are things we can control. We have a say in the foods we eat, products we use, and quality of the environment we live in. So join me on this journey of learning, teaching and living a better life.
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