Go Green for Your Family’s Health

With all the talk about what we should do for the planet, we sometimes forget that everything we do to help protect and heal our environment is also helping to protect and heal us. Going green is not just about re-balancing our environment so that we and our grandchildren can continue to enjoy its bounties. It’s also about improving our health, and the health of our families, now and for generations to come.

The Major Cause of Illness and Disease

Toxic overload is the Single Greatest Factor in most health problems including allergies, autoimmune and systemic diseases, and symptoms that doctors just can’t explain…even psychological problems! The United Nations‘ World Health Organisation reports that around one quarter of disease world wide is directly linked to environmental pollution – even more in some undeveloped countries where many of the resources that western countries use so freely are actually mined or extracted.

But you don’t have to live near a toxic waste site or near factories to be seriously affected by toxins. They are everywhere: in our cities and towns, on our farms, and pollutants have even been found in the waters of Antarctica. Modern life exposes us to an unprecedented number of industrial chemicals and toxic substances.

It has been estimated that around 36 billion kilograms of toxins are released across the world each year, 18 million of them being released in just the last decade. These include styrofoam, plastics, mercury, aluminum, pesticides, smog, petrochemicals, solvents, chlorine, fluoride, smog, car exhaust, thousands of industrial toxins found in our waterways and air, agricultural toxins that leach into the soil and end up in our food, and food additives.

The modern household can also be full of toxins and toxic fumes from varnishes, carpeting, compressed board cupboards, vinyl flooring, plastics and much more. In fact, the quality of air in your home can be even more toxic than the air outside your home, as toxic fumes accumulate and become even more toxic in enclosed spaces.

Unknown to you, toxins can build up in your body until one day your body has just had enough, and can no longer cope. Then you get allergies or worse allergies; you become chronically ill; your thinking becomes fuzzy, you become more irritable, constantly fatigued; your joints and muscles ache as they accumulate more and more toxins, and communication between your trillions of cells is corrupted. Toxins can cause autoimmune diseases, cancer, psychologic disorders and a whole gamut of serious health conditions.

The truth is that we are slowly being poisoned to death by our own household waste and the waste of thousands of industries. And most alarming is recent research from Washington State University (reported in Science magazine) revealed that toxins can pass across generations. You can pass toxins in your body (and their adverse health effects) to your grandchildren!

Yes. You Can Make a Difference!!!

Getting depressed won’t change things, nor will pointing the finger at other people, industries or countries. Each of us chooses – either through action or by doing nothing – whether or not we will cherish and protect Nature’s priceless gifts and the health of future generations.

There is no doubt that serious issues urgently need to be managed on a global scale, and fortunately, we are seeing some very positive moves in that direction. But do not underestimate the importance of YOUR participation. You can, and do, make a difference. Your choices and decisions can reduce the burden on nature, and help heal nature.

Here are a few steps you can take to bring your family’s life into greater harmony with nature, and walk lightly on this marvellous earth. You’ll also help create a more healthful environment for your body. Do what you can. Every small step does count.

·         Live in a home that is no larger than you really need.

·         Plant mostly local native plants to support what wildlife exists.

·         Repair dripping taps. In only a few hours, you lose enough water from a dripping tap to fill a bath!

·         Use a plug when washing dishes, and use the same water. If you rinse your dishes after washing (some people don’t), rinse in a half-filled sink, not under running water.

·         Mulch your garden to cut evaporation loss by up to 70%, and to help prevent weeds

·         Reduce the amount of packaging you buy; reuse what you can; and recycle the rest.

·         Choose rechargeable batteries and long-life bulbs.

·         Use an all-purpose cleaner: hot water + white vinegar cleans floors and most surfaces. For more cleaning power on tiles, toilets etc., sprinkle the surface with baking soda and splash on some white vinegar. Clean while the solution is fizzing. Rinse off with water. Or use baking soda alone for a scrub.

·         Wash full loads whenever possible. When smaller loads are necessary, remember to adjust the water level accordingly.

·         Sun dry washing. It not only saves energy but sunshine also helps kill mold and bacteria, and brightens whites

·        Grow your own vegetables, or even just lettuces and greens. Also, buy locally grown food from nearby farmers markets. They are less likely to be treated for long-distance transportation and long shelf-life, save petrol, and usually taste better too.

·         Eat less red meat. The energy required to produce a kilo of red meat could sustain a family for a year.