When you have kids, everything changes. I mean, everything. Your littles look up to you and will copy everything you do (and say!). Lead by example. Good health isn’t just about what you eat. It’s about creating a healthy environment, so you and your family can spread their wings and fly. In this blog, I’ll cover 7 tips for a healthy you and a healthy world.
- Home cleaning products – Toxic! Flammable! Warning! Labels like this make it clear that the contents aren’t safe. The smell of bleach alone can make you faint. Since kids are small, the concentration of toxic chemicals can harm them. This goes for pets, too. These chemicals are associated with many health issues including nervous system problems, immune system issues, problems with the liver or kidneys, and cancer.
The most toxic things in your home are dryer sheets, 409, and bleach. Don’t believe me? Download the Think Dirty app, which is a database of over 1 million products. Go in your cabinet and look up cleaners you have to see how they clean up on the dirty scale of 1 – 10. Ditch the 409 for Dr. Bronner’s Soap, Thieves Household Cleaner, or Seventh Generation products.
- Nail polish – Do you know what’s lurking in your nail polish? I didn’t always pay attention to my beauty care products and now that I’ve found safer options, I’ve never looked back.
If you come across the term “5-free” on a nail polish, that’s a good thing. It means the formulation does not contain the top 5 most toxic ingredients, which are formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, formaldehyde resin and camphor. Healthy polishes I love:
Piggy Paint – It’s kid-friendly.
SpaRitual – Vegan nail lacquer.
Mineral Fusion – Vegan, cruelty-free, and 5 free.
- Paint – Speaking of manicures, sometimes the kitchen walls get so dirty, they need a fresh coat of paint, too. Like bleach, the smell of a freshly opened can of paint from Home Depot can make you dizzy. Inhaling paint fumes can cause nausea, headaches, and dizziness.
Look for paint that is either Non-VOC or low VOC, which stands for volatile organic compounds. It’s another way of saying solvents are in the paint, which is not safe for humans to be exposed to. Educate yourself on safer brands.
- Diapers – Your kids need them and you need to know your options. Brands like Huggies and Pampers are easy to find and cost less. However, by law, diaper manufacturers aren’t required to reveal the ingredients. You run the risk of putting a diaper filled with yucky chemicals closest to the sensitive skin of your baby, which can cause irritated skin.
While cloth diapers aren’t for everyone, here are others to consider:
Do your research. Look at cost per diaper and how they work with your newborn. Hope that solves your diaper dilemma.
- GMO – I love that quote, “If you want to look like a million bucks, you can’t eat from the dollar menu!” -Unknown
You. Are. What. You. Eat. So, don’t be cheap. 😉 OK, enough silly jokes. Seriously, there are dangers of eating Genetically Modified Foods. One of them is infertility. Choose wild caught salmon over farm raised. Choose organic fruits and veggies whenever possible. Know your numbers. 4-digit barcodes are from conventional farms. 8-digit barcodes are genetically modified. 9-digit barcodes are from organic farms. Grow your own food.
- High fructose corn syrup – Why should you never eat high fructose corn syrup? It creates a fatty liver, which leads to heart disease, dementia, and diabetes.
Reading nutrition facts and ingredient lists is the easiest way to avoid this toxic sugar. Do yourself a favor and do a pantry detox. Look at every single label, especially condiments. If they have hfcs, dump it. It’s junk!
Better sweeteners are stevia, maple syrup, honey, and dates.
- Grass fed vs. grain fed – This one might not be so obvious. If you eat meat, the food that the cows and pigs eat will directly affect your health. In the US, conventional farms are looking for ways to cut costs. feed grains like corn and gluten to their animals, so they plump up and get fat. Most corn in America is GMO. It’s not the natural diet for animals.
Cows and pigs are grazers, they like to eat plants. This gives them healthy doses of chlorophyll, vitamins, and nutrients.
Avoid conventional meat. Always choose organic, grass fed, and pasture raised. That’s the healthiest choice you can make. The animals are raised humanely and you get the benefit of their grass fed diet.
As the Summer is almost over, think about a few changes you’d like to make. Don’t tackle too much at once. Pick one or two things to focus on. Once you master them, move onto other small shifts.