I posted a quote on facebook a few weeks ago ‘’if organic farming is the natural way, shouldn’t organic produce just be called ‘produce’ and make the pesticide-laden stuff take the burden of an adjective’’ – Ymber Delecto.
I liked this quote as it demonstrated to me how common the use of chemicals had become. Wait, there is a market for food and products that don’t harm you? Go figure. It’s hard and sometimes impractical to avoid chemicals altogether. But don’t fret, there are way we can reduce our exposure to ensure we are living a happy and healthy life, the way it was intended.
- Check your environment – look around your home and think about chemicals we use and come in contact with on a daily basis. It could be our shower products, cleaning products, detergents, fragrances, even poor air quality. Try what we did, and slowly introduce alternatives and just never buy the harmful stuff again. Spend the time to become educated about the potential risks to your health and to the natural environment.
- Be aware of what is touching your skin – Google chemicals in clothes and the search results are frightening. Make the switch to bamboo, hemp and if you have to buy cotton, go for organic.
- Be aware of what is going into your mouth – My body is a temple. Well, not quite, but m make sure you know what in going in. Get into organic real food. Try not to eat things from a box, they are usually loaded with nasties. Better still, roll up your sleeves and get out in the glorious sunshine and tend to your own vegetable garden. It will reward you in more ways than you think.
- Care for the environment – For a great read, I recommend Annie Leonard’s The Story of Stuff. I changed my world! Take away message – There is no ‘’away’’. When you throw out man made waste, it takes hundreds of years to break down, but it never truly goes away. Pollutants and changes in climatic trends should be feared just as much (or more) as exposure to chemicals with respect to potential risk to human life.
- Challenge your reason for using particular products. Is it really necessary or are there cleaner and greener alternatives? Like dealing with weeds in a non-toxic way. I found pouring boiling water on weeds is just as effective! Just remember, the alternative will rarely be sold as a product in a store. It will more likely come from talking to your parents or grandparents.
Luke Bell is Co-Founder of Fresh Holistic Health, an Integrative Health Centre coming soon to the Kunara Organic Marketplace Centre on Mons Road, Forest Glen.