The older I get, the more I want to be healthy and stay healthy. I don’t mind getting older. The whole ‘Circle of Life’ thing is God’s plan and I’m okay with it, but why not go down swinging? Why not live the best life I can and enjoy it as long as possible? I believe God would agree this is the right idea.
My journey towards healthy living is just beginning. I’m working in the right direction and making progress, but there is so much to learn!
Normally my goal is to inform my readers. I strive with every post to bring value to your world. But this time my intent is different. Since I’m such a newbie to the concepts I want to discuss, I feel seriously unqualified and even hesitated writing this blog. As I thought about it, though, my lack of expertise is a perfect opportunity for me to learn from you, and perhaps, for all of us to learn together. Once I embraced my new objective, I got really excited!
This is going to be OUR blog!
As you share your ideas and input, please use the comment section below this blog post. This way, regardless of WHERE someone reads this post (our website, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), all of the discussion will be in one place. I have a feeling none of us are going to want to miss anything!
So let’s dig in – TOGETHER!
CLEAN EATING – So what the heck is clean eating? It’s an effort to consume food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible. There are different degrees to which people subscribe to clean eating, but in general, the idea is to avoid processed and unhealthy foods. Here are some tips:
- Embrace vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy proteins and healthy fats.
- If an ingredient list is long (5 or more ingredients), or has words you can’t pronounce, probably best to avoid the food.
- In general you want to avoid foods that are boxed or bagged. It’s for this reason that clean eaters suggest not shopping on the grocery store interior aisles as that’s where most of the processed foods are displayed. Shop on the outside edges of the store where the fresh items are kept.
- Just to confuse you, Not ALL boxed or bagged foods are bad. For instance, whole wheat pasta and spinach are great clean eats! Do your research!
- Eating organic isn’t foolproof, but these naturally grown, environmentally friendly foods reduce the chance of ingesting chemicals. To read more on organically grown foods, click here.
- When at all possible, buy produce close to home. Petrochemicals are used in transportation, so even organically grown foods can suffer a chemical impact during shipping.
Click here to read a Cleaning Eating article from a site you’ll find helpful.
GMO’s – I’m learning more and more about the harmful effects of Genetically Modified Organisms. A GMO is an organism, plant or animal, whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. YUUMMMM DELICIOUS!!!! Actually, not very appetizing is it? In a world where everyone wants everything faster and cheaper, GMO foods circumvent nature’s process, but speeding things up comes at a price. Unsafe foods bring about a host of major health risks, serious damage to our environment and a plethora of other problems.
Do your research! There are a multitude of GMO resources available, just be certain they are from reliable organizations. A good site to start with is The Non GMO Project website. They are a fabulous resource for GMO information and provide an extensive list of GMO Free products.
Here are some of my favorite eating and cooking tips:
- Cook with Coconut Oil instead of Vegetable or Canola Oil
- Use avocado in place of mayonnaise on a sandwich or in chicken salad
- Swap honey for artificial sweeteners in hot drinks and cereals
- Substitute almond or coconut milk for dairy milk
- Grab peanut or almond butter instead of cream cheese
I could go on and on, but now it’s your turn. Any clean eating tips, foods or recipes to share? GMO free brands and foods you love? Please post in the Comment Box below!
Let’s move on to other Chemical Free healthy choices. This is where I desperately need a boatload of help.
SUNSCREEN – Living in AZ this one is a biggie. We HAVE to use sunscreen or we’ll be fried to a crisp and in fear of getting skin cancer, yet we are warned that sunscreen is bad for our health. UGH! What to do?
- Choose a sunscreen which uses mineral ingredients, such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, instead of chemical ingredients.
- Even though sprays are more convenient, lotions cover and protect much better.
- Waterproof helps. A lot. But after 40 to 80 minutes (depending on your sunscreen) of water exposure, don’t forget to reapply.
- SPF’s over 50 generally don’t provide any additional protection and may offer a false sense of security.
What are your favorite, most effective, chemical free brands? Do you have a home recipe for sunscreen? We’d all love to learn from you!
MAKE-UP – Admittedly my knowledge of organic, natural make-up and face / body cleaning products is ridiculously non-existent. All I can say is HELP! PLEASE!
HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS – Do you have a chemical free brand that cleans incredibly well, or maybe some simple home recipes you love? Don’t be shy. Comment below!
We’re all in this together, so let’s help each other out and make a long term difference in our own health and in the lives of those we love and care about, especially our children and grandchildren. Chime in and offer up what you know. And if you actually make or distribute a chemical free product, now is the time for that shameless plug. You’re allowed!
It takes knowledge and effort to Declutter Chemicals but the benefits are absolutely worth it. Together, let’s get healthy and stay healthy! Blessings!
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1938 was how many years ago? I can’t do math that quickly in my head but I do know that it was a long time ago! I recently was shocked to learn that the United States has not passed a federal law to regulate the ingredients used in personal care products since 1938! WOW! Now that’s a long time. We all use how many products on our skin in the morning to get ready and at night before bed??? Think about it, add them all up, and it’s probably a lot! I thought that since so much is regulated in America that we were being kept safe when a product had a huge ‘ALL NATURAL on the label. I had no idea that companies are allowed to use known toxins—ingredients that have been linked to cancer, reproductive issues, hormone disruption—without telling us. Again, no regulation since 1938! The European Union has spent the past two decades banning or restricting more than 1,300 ingredients, the US has only banned 11 to date. 11? Yes, ONLY 11! When I learned this I was not only shocked but scared. I had spent so much time worrying about my exercise routine and what I was putting into mine and my family’s body that I completely overlooked what we were putting ONTO our bodies. Did you know that it only takes 26 seconds for the chemicals in your beauty care products to enter your bloodstream? I had no idea! At that point I was just determined to find the best products out there for my family to use. I had been aware to look for the word paraben on labels but beyond that I was clueless – enter…
BEAUTYCOUNTER. I read a blog just like this one and came across the mention of this company. I went online to check it out and was amazed at what I was learning and how they were applying the most stringent testing to the products they were making for all of us to get our hands on. I found myself visiting the site daily and searching for press. I wanted to get my hands on these products and toss out everything from our cabinets and showers. I then did just that!!! I contacted the company and signed up to help them spread their mission to get safe products into the hands of everyone. Nobody in my neck of the woods in NJ had heard about it. I feel so empowered to help spread the knowledge that can help people make informed decisions about what they use on their bodies. I am not trying to scare anyone – I just want people to know. Once you know the facts, it is hard to “un-know” them! Check out what this company is doing at http://www.taly.beautycounter.com
I’d love to chat more with anyone who wants to learn more. I have been having the most fun in stores scanning products with the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep App (downloaded on my phone). You scan a product bar code and if the product is in the database it will rank the product for safety and note the ingredients and flag anything that should be of concern. If I wasn’t in Target, Whole Foods or any drug store enough already – this is keeping me there even longer. It is fascinating and a real eye opener. I encourage you to download the FREE APP and scan a few items in your shower or medicine cabinet. Then we can chat some more about other options out there. I’m collecting a list of safer effective toothpastes and deodorants too.