Do you ever stop to think about how what you do goes against what you know? why do we do that to ourselves sometimes? The research is out there and I have really resisted acting on or being vocal about some things that I've discovered in my effort to be healthy and teach my kids about the importance about being healthy.
This year (and actually last year too) I read the "Earths Children" series. It's a fictional series about cave people. I didn't think I'd like it but my husband talked me into reading them and as corny as it sounds it's changed me. It's made me think about the way we live today and just how much processing and added chemicals we are surrounded by. There have been many seemingly simple lines in the books that have just lingered in my mind. "There [is] something to be said for letting quality be it's own adornment." Though in the passage it is speaking specifically about wearing the fanciest clothing for special celebrations I feel it really applies to so many things. I want my life to be filled with quality, whether that is in my food or the products I use.
There is no doubt we've made a lot of progress scientifically just over the last 50 years but a lot has been forgotten over the last 50 years too. It's great that we have cow milk and organized farming and antibiotics and can just buy everything that we need. But the amount of chemicals we absorb and ingest is a real problem, not because any of these advancements or chemicals is bad but because of the amount we expose ourselves to without even thinking about it. We all know that taking antibiotics too much builds a resistance and requires stronger drugs in the future. The government should be regulating these things to keep us safe...but we don't want the government making decisions for us....UGH some people don't realize how contradictory they are. We need to regulate these things ourselves. I'm not saying that the government is or should stay out of these issues, there are subsidies that I personally find completely ridiculous but we'll not go into that. What I am saying is where we spend our money matters. And we need to think about it more. We need to decide how much of our money we spend in local businesses, what kind of products are acceptable to use/consume. I would never call myself a "patriot", I really don't have strong feelings about country loyalty, what I do have strong feelings about is logical economics. I can't expect there to be good jobs in my community, state, or even country if everything that I purchase is made or produced in other countries. who's safety regulations are going to be different from the USA by the way.
I stumbled across a website that listed the ingredients of beauty products and the toxicity or safety of each chemical and links to more information about the how and whys about it's connection with endocrine disruption (which includes reproductive/developmental disorders and thyroid disruption) or cancers or any number of other issues. Some things I'm entirely not concerned about like allergic reactions and that kind of stuff, it's good to know but I'm not going to stop buying products I like because there are people that have allergic reactions to using it. I do on the other had have a problem with my shampoo messing with my body's ability to regulate my hormones. Especially since I am growing a little fetus right now, anything that could cause developmental disorders is a big deal to me. So now anything with -parabean I don't use. Even fragrances is a tricky phrase because companies don't release the specifics but they can contain phthalates or other toxic/harmful chemicals. I'm not going to be getting all fragrance free products but I will be taking that into consideration when it comes to how many added fragrance products I use.
The way I see it there are plenty of other times that I am exposed to possible endocrine disrupters; in plastics in pesticides, etc that I should limit these things what I am intentionally putting on mu body whether it's in lotions, make-up, or cleaning products.
People wonder why so many more babies are born with physical or mental developmental disorders, well take a look around and think about how the world has changed. The way we use chemicals (hair, nails, make-up, food), the way we interact with each other (teaching social interaction instead of just letting our kids figure it out on their own), the way we handle problems (feel something unpleasant? we've got a medication for that). While I agree that finding cures for ailments is worthy of our time and attention, we can not neglect the cause of each ailment. Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".
There is no doubt we've made a lot of progress scientifically just over the last 50 years but a lot has been forgotten over the last 50 years too. It's great that we have cow milk and organized farming and antibiotics and can just buy everything that we need. But the amount of chemicals we absorb and ingest is a real problem, not because any of these advancements or chemicals is bad but because of the amount we expose ourselves to without even thinking about it. We all know that taking antibiotics too much builds a resistance and requires stronger drugs in the future. The government should be regulating these things to keep us safe...but we don't want the government making decisions for us....UGH some people don't realize how contradictory they are. We need to regulate these things ourselves. I'm not saying that the government is or should stay out of these issues, there are subsidies that I personally find completely ridiculous but we'll not go into that. What I am saying is where we spend our money matters. And we need to think about it more. We need to decide how much of our money we spend in local businesses, what kind of products are acceptable to use/consume. I would never call myself a "patriot", I really don't have strong feelings about country loyalty, what I do have strong feelings about is logical economics. I can't expect there to be good jobs in my community, state, or even country if everything that I purchase is made or produced in other countries. who's safety regulations are going to be different from the USA by the way.
I stumbled across a website that listed the ingredients of beauty products and the toxicity or safety of each chemical and links to more information about the how and whys about it's connection with endocrine disruption (which includes reproductive/developmental disorders and thyroid disruption) or cancers or any number of other issues. Some things I'm entirely not concerned about like allergic reactions and that kind of stuff, it's good to know but I'm not going to stop buying products I like because there are people that have allergic reactions to using it. I do on the other had have a problem with my shampoo messing with my body's ability to regulate my hormones. Especially since I am growing a little fetus right now, anything that could cause developmental disorders is a big deal to me. So now anything with -parabean I don't use. Even fragrances is a tricky phrase because companies don't release the specifics but they can contain phthalates or other toxic/harmful chemicals. I'm not going to be getting all fragrance free products but I will be taking that into consideration when it comes to how many added fragrance products I use.
The way I see it there are plenty of other times that I am exposed to possible endocrine disrupters; in plastics in pesticides, etc that I should limit these things what I am intentionally putting on mu body whether it's in lotions, make-up, or cleaning products.
People wonder why so many more babies are born with physical or mental developmental disorders, well take a look around and think about how the world has changed. The way we use chemicals (hair, nails, make-up, food), the way we interact with each other (teaching social interaction instead of just letting our kids figure it out on their own), the way we handle problems (feel something unpleasant? we've got a medication for that). While I agree that finding cures for ailments is worthy of our time and attention, we can not neglect the cause of each ailment. Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".
Sometimes we don't know where we are going until we get there.
{End Rant} :)
{End Rant} :)
