Well hello folks, Debbie Downer here again with a not particularly cheery subject, but one, I’m sure, you are going to find interesting (if not a tad disturbing – sorry). It’s all about your environment and the toxins that abound there – there are lots of links in this post which I would encourage you to click on (I promise you, they are not ALL depressing…).
DID YOU KNOW?
That more than 60% of deaths across the developed world are caused by lifestyle related chronic diseases.
These being:
- physical inactivity (follow this link to get inspired).
- unhealthy diet
- sugar, salt, fat, alcohol, tobacco
- environmental toxins
It’s interesting, because it’s these environmental toxins that have very little focus put upon them. In fact, the US, Germany and Canada are the only countries to monitor them.
We are not exposed to environmental toxins in isolation but in a very complex, chemical soup.
Modest estimates have suggested that we are exposed to more than 70 000 different toxic chemicals on a daily basis (I think I need to lie down…)!
They are everywhere and all of us are affected to some degree by them.
Indoor environments are often more contaminated than outdoors.
Most of us lather ourselves in a cocktail of personal care products each morning. Our carpets, couches and soft furnishings are bathed in chemical fire retardants (if you would like to know more about the latter, check out Toxic Hot Seat).
Unfortunately it’s these tiny doses of continued exposure that can cause big effects on the optimal functioning of our bodies.
Sad, but true
- It takes on average 7-10 calories of input fossil fuel to produce 1 calorie of food
- As much as 40% of energy used in the food system goes towards the production of chemical fertilisers and pesticides (that we then ingest).
Is it all bad news?
Fortunately not! These are some of the things that you can do on a regular basis to minimise your exposure to environmental toxins.
- Book in for a massage
- Have a hot bath with lovely oils
- Get in the sauna
- Give yourself an enema – ooooh Matron.
- Remove your shoes at home
- Eat organic as much as possible. I like this list
- Minimise food packaging
- Wash your hands with soap, not with those horrible hand sanitisers.
- Be mindful of what you put on your skin. Skin Deep is worth checking out.
- Get some indoor plants – they can reduce and regulate some toxins.
AND…regular detoxification (spring is here and now is the time – pop me a line if you would like more info).
Debbie…
P.S I go to a lot of conferences and I often walk out of them feeling overwhelmed and a bit down about the state of affairs of the world. I have now taken the view that I can’t avoid everything, but armed with some knowledge I can make better choices, whilst still occasionally ‘choosing’ my poisons…Overthinking and stressing about things, in my mind, is often more detrimental than the thing we are trying to avoid.
P.P.S Remember, be kind to yourself, always x