I want to share with you a talk given by Rhonda Murray at a Health Expo at Kingaroy, on two simple keys to having healthy homes and healthy families.
Environmentalist David Suzuki wrote: “What we do to nature, we do to ourselves. Preventing pollutants and toxics from entering our environment and bodies would have a profound effect on the health of ordinary [people].”
We can choose to make the home environment healthier and safer for adults and children by removing potentially harmful chemicals from the bathroom, the laundry and the cleaning cupboard.
This first simple step can alleviate many health issues by lowering the toxic load our bodies are exposed to.
Rhonda posed this question, “Do you know that poisoning is a major cause of hospitalisation for young children? While parents are being urged to be more careful with where they store household cleaners and chemicals, they are not being told that even having them in the home is a health risk.”
“Too many homes now contain cupboards full of chemicals, the result of advertising pressure to buy new products to clean ourselves and our homes.
These chemicals can get into the body through direct skin exposure (think shower gel, toothpaste, shampoo, household cleaners); or through inhalation or ingestion. They can build up in the heart, liver and brain, from skin contact, and after all isn’t that what happens with shampoos, toothpastes, shower gels?
Did you know there’s very little requirement to test new products for safety?The reports say that over 40,000 new chemicals come onto the market every year, very few of which have actually undergone testing for their safety, over the short or long-term.
Children suffer the most exposure to household chemicals, because they have more contact with the chemically-cleaned floor and carpets, and because they inhale the gases put off by products in low cupboards.” Rhonda’s message is that making two simple changes can have a huge impact on our health.”
These two simple steps are:
1. Decrease the toxins our bodies are exposed to, and
2. Increase the nutrition through good quality supplements.
Rhonda says, “Lets look at the toxins first: Doing the shopping in the 21st century can mean collecting an array of potentially harmful chemicals, carting them home, and storing them in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry! This can be damaging to the health of all family members, especially children.
Renowned toxicologists such as Dr Samuel Epstein and the ABC’s Peter Dingle, warn about ingredients such as sodium laurel sulphate and propylene glycol, phthalates and formaldehyde. Research has shown that these and many other chemical ingredients found in popular brands of shampoos, bath-gel, bubble bath, and in cleaning products, can soak through the skin and accumulate in body organs, causing a wide variety of health and skin problems.
As well as building up in our bodies, common chemicals can be damaging to our land and water-ways.
A landmark health study launched in August will examine the link between household chemicals and burgeoning childhood diseases such as ADHD and asthma.
Allergies affect 1 in 3 Australian children, Asthma 1 in 4, ADHD 1 in 10 and Autism nearly 1 in 100.
• Cancer, diabetes, obesity and depression have more than doubled over the past 2 decades.
The same chemicals affect women’s hormonal health. Toxins absorbed through the skin or breathed in can cause imbalance of the hormones, with resulting uncomfortable symptoms associated with PMS or menopause, as well as more serious health issues.
Secondly, lets look at the nutritional factors: Many health problems suffered by adults and children, often have simple environmental and nutritional solutions. When we grandparents were young, the fruit and vegetables we ate were richer in minerals and vitamins than what we buy today. Australian soils are leached of minerals, and many vitamins and trace elements essential to our health are sadly lacking in even the best foods. Farmers feed supplements to cattle, not realizing we need them too.
So the second step is to increase nutrition so that our bodies can thrive in the 21st century! This can only be fone through good quality supplements because the nturtion we need is not in our food. To replace the minerals lacking in our fruit and vegetables, we need a plant-based coloidal mineral drink, containing over 60 minerals and trace elements that our bodies require daily for health, strength and energy.
As well as improving energy, a daily dose has been shown to overcome the symptoms of many health issues, from chronic fatigue in adults to behavioural and learning difficulties in children.
• Wide-spread zinc, iodine and Omega 3 deficiencies adversely impact on IQ and immunity.
Our hearts, joints and brains need EFAs, Essential Fatty Acids, and recent research has shown that krill oil is many times more effective than fish oil for the relief of arthritis and for cardiovascular health. EFAs are essential for children for physical and mental support, and can help with learning and behavioural issues.
For our bodies to cope with environmental pollutants and chemicals, we need good quality anti-oxidants, and multi-vitamins. World-renowned toxicologist Dr Samuel Epstein, in a recent letter to Congress:
“It is now beyond dispute in the independent scientific community … that environmental and occupational exposures to carcinogens are the primary cause of non-smoking related cancers.”
He refers to the problem of exposure to carcinogens “in food, household products, and cosmetics and personal care products.”
On his website preventcancer.com you can read his findings on: “Carcinogenic and Other Toxic Ingredients in the Majority of Cosmetics & Personal Care Products”. He writes that we as consumers can protect [our]selves by voting with our shopping dollar and buying safer alternatives. In doing so, we also do our part to protect the environment.
The fact is THERE ARE SAFER ALTERNATIVES – but they are difficult to identify because we don’t have labelling laws for cleaning and personal care products like we do for food, and what labels we have are meaningless unless you have a degree in toxicology.
Two common ingredients: sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and propylene glycol. SLS is a harsh cleaning agent – car wash, engine degreaser, cement cleaner. Exposure through skin contact or inhalation can lead to hair loss, eye damage, skin irritations, and may leave residual effects in the liver, heart, brain and kidneys. I am passionate about letting mothers of young children know of the dangers of them soaking in it in bubble baths!
Propylene glycol is used in anti-freeze and brake & hydraulic fluid – = cosmetics, toothpaste and skin creams – used to irritate the skin for research, yet is used in moisturizers. We find both these ingredients in most of the personal care products on the shop shelves. The manufacturers argue that the ingredients are in such small amounts they don’t do any harm, but how many products do you use on your skin over a day?
The effects have been shown to be cumulative. As well as on the skin, it’s in the mouth, and goes into the glands under arms. Its in shower gel, shampoo, bubble bath, toothpaste, mouthwash and even deodorant.
Then, when you add all the chemicals used in cleaning products such as dishwashing liquid and laundry powder. The residue of chemicals in laundry powder stays with us 24 hours a day, on our towels, sheets and clothes. Changing to a safe laundry powder is essential for skin allegies and irritations.
A common problem as we “mature” is dry, scaly skin caused by harsh soaps and shower gels that strip off the skin’s natural oils. Skin on the face, arms and legs can be totally transformed by changing brands and using safe products made with gentle cleansing ingredients. Even skin allergies have cleared up within weeks.
So how do you know what potentially harmful ingredients you may have carried into your home in a white plastic shopping bag? Download this 15 harmful Ingredients sheet and see what damage these common chemicals may be subjecting your family to. This is only 15 of the most common of over 3,000 potentially harmful ingredients used in most brands. Ethical companies refuse to use these in their products. Ask for information on safe effective products from the person who recommended you visit this site.”
Thanks Rhonda: and to you readers, we’d love to hear your comments about this topic.
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