Clean your body, clean your house.

There is no doubt that we are living in an ever increasingly toxic environment that poses great challenges to our children and ourselves.

Toxicity comes from the air we breathe, water we drink, food that we eat, skin products and the ever-increasing market of over the counter pharmaceuticals.  A woman in the USA can put on her skin alone over 126 chemicals daily, through make up, shampoo, soaps and body/face creams.  This amounts in over 2kg in weight and over 15kg in dry weight annually.

However we do have choices.  We can avoid the really toxic products that cause hormonal disruption, nervous system disruption, have a negative impact on your skin and gut microbiome (good bacteria), the increase in toxic metals consumed compete with your vital minerals and in doing so lowers your immunity.  Children are more vulnerable as they absorb more toxins to body weight ratio and their detoxification pathways are compromised.  Many children today are raising their hands, expressed through behavioural disorder, skin complaints, digestive issues and heightened sensitivity, all of which are a sign that our children are not coping with their toxic load, it is time to unravel the toxic dilemma and decrease exposure.

Don’t put anything on your skin you wouldn’t eat!

Avoid mainstream consumer skin care, cosmetics and personal care products.  Toxic products destroy the skins natural microbiome, “protective shield”, worsening skin complaints and increasing toxic load.  If bathing, add a cup of Epsom salts to your bath or half cup for a child to increase detoxification.  If your skin is not sensitive then use natural brands like Dr Bronner’s, Intelligent Nutrients, “A Soap for Goodness Sake” or Ethiks.  Best skin moisturisers are edible fats, coconut oil, raw cacao butter, jojoba oil or tallow mixed with olive oil and lavender oil.  For shampoos for really sensitive children and adults, using egg yolk is the best cleanser or choose clean products by Acure or Ethiks.

For skin care, clean companies such as Skin Ceuticals or Annemarie Skin offer a great range of creams and serums.  Swap to using beautiful essential oils from Young Living.  The skin loves Cypress oil, Sacred Frankincense, Carrot seed oil, Geranium and Helichrysum.  Oils are very powerful at soothing, restoring and reviving skin.  Unfortunately the fad to scrub and peel tears away our top layer of skin leaving the new immature skin cells vulnerable to damage.

Unfortunately all products that call themselves organic can still have 30% non organic components, choosing Young Living oils to put directly onto your skin with a base oil such as Acai, Argon, coconut or Jojoba ensures 100% purity.

For make up use mineral based make up to reduce heavy metal toxicity and hormonal disruption.  To date there is still no 100% organic make up on the market!

Deodorant, the body needs to sweat!  Simply use lemon juice under arm or at least a non-aluminum natural deodorant.

Food.

The ever-increasing market of processed foods is overwhelming and with it becomes the most addictive toxin of all: SUGAR.  Processed and packaged foods come with high preservative intake, E numbers, hormone disruptors and neurotoxins.  It is quite simple, don’t eat foods made with chemicals you don’t recognise or can’t even pronounce!  Simply avoiding the middle isles in a supermarket will decrease your toxic load.  Read the ingredients labels, if the list of ingredients is too long and complex to figure out, it’s probably made more with chemicals than actual food.  It is simple buy fresh whole food, preferably organic, minimal packaging and not full of preservatives.  A diet rich in grass fed meats, wild fish, organic eggs, an abundance of fresh green vegetables, a rainbow of colours of both fruit and vegetables, essential fats from raw nuts and seeds and their oils then you are providing your body with all the necessary anti oxidants to stay healthy and aid daily detox.

Aim to avoid unnecessary over-the-counter drugs or prescriptions.

If you do need to use medication for short-term emergency use, be sure to detoxify your liver afterwards.  Milk Thistle 250mg twice daily to protect the liver, or charcoal will also aid detoxification.  The body needs to be hydrated to detoxify.  Drink clean filtered mineral water.  Most people simply don’t consume enough water to effectively remove toxins from their bodies.  If you don’t like water by itself, add sliced lemon, lime, mint or cucumber to a glass of water.  Great water filters such as EPIC now remove not only pharmaceuticals but toxic metals too, available in both jugs and water bottles.

Cleanse your body.

Cleanse your body with parsley, chlorella, spirulina, bentonite clay and activated charcoal.  All these substances can help cleanse your body and eliminate toxic substances that may be detrimental to your health.  Add a bunch of parsley to your smoothie or green juice every day.  Use activated charcoal when traveling or exposed to food that may not be the cleanest.

Home Products.

Don’t use products that give off gas/toxic chemicals in your home.

Fogging, air fresheners, perfumed candles, carpet, and glues all give off chemical and hormone disruptors.  Perfumed candles can be highly toxic, some companies are using lead wicks, instead use clean essential oils in a diffuser.  The sense of smell is very powerful, why?  This is because the olfactory route crosses the blood brain barrier so smell has an impact on brain function.  Be aware of perfumes on your body, burning candles or placing air fresheners in the house or in the car.  Having green indoor plants to bedrooms and living areas is a simple and inexpensive way to assist in cleaner air.

Don’t use non-stick Teflon cookware.

These are the worst!  Although they are very convenient to use and easy to clean they emits toxic fumes when heated.  Invest in quality stainless steel pans or cast-iron.  You can also use ceramic coated ones, from Go Green or Le Creuset.

Get the chemicals out of your laundry!  

Stop washing your clothes in toxic brand-name laundry detergents and fabric softeners or dryer sheets.  It is astounding what chemicals these can contain.  Invest in washing soap nuts or eco laundry detergents.

There is no doubt we are living in a more complex and challenging environment, from the air we breathe, products: from cleaning to cosmetic, the food and drinks we consume, but we do have choices, we can make changes.  Our children are more vulnerable and so many are affected by the impact from neuro-hormone disruption reflected in the increase in behavioural sensitivity.  Simplest is best: throw away the endless products, eat clean, homemade food, organic where possible, be outdoors, the sunshine cleanses our blood we have become too fearful of the sun and as a result Vitamin D levels are low and our immunity is compromised.  Turn off the wifi and run barefoot in the garden.  Thus making you grounded and therefore stronger and in turn better able to cope with theses everyday toxic challenges.