Chemical free living in 2 Hours & 45 Minutes

If you use common household products to wash yourself, dishes and clothes, clean benches, mop floors, deodorise rooms and polish windows, you are quite literally poisoning yourself. Heavy opening line, but this is one topic I will not beat around the bush about. I know what you are thinking. Supermarkets wouldn’t be allowed to sell us products if they weren’t safe. I only have one thing to say about that. Cigarettes.

Making the change to a less toxic household should be a priority for anyone seeking to improve their health. It only takes one day. I am going to teach you why and how you should eliminate all common cleaning and personal care products and switch to non-toxic alternatives.

Why you should go chemical free

Stop assuming all the products available to consumers are even close to safe. If you turn the bottle over and read the ingredients list, unless you are in industrial chemist you will have a hard time knowing what any of the chemicals are, or what they do to you. 10 minutes on Google researching some of the common ones turns up a disturbing list of side effects. Toxins build up in your body daily from pesticide residues in food, added chemicals (preservatives, colourings, flavours, thickeners) in food. If you add to this the exposure from breathing in or touching cleaning products it is definitely enough to show up on a blood screen as proven by researchers all over the world. I recently watched a UK documentary where the subjects had disturbingly high levels of parabens and other common chemicals in their blood from using normal shampoos and makeup. You don’t have to eat chemicals to get them into your bloodstream, tissues and organs. There is a reason why the factory workers handling the chemicals that go into these products are required to wear protective clothing and masks.

I personally made the switch when my son was born. I’d planned to do it as a bit of an experiment anyway, but when he started showing severe skin reactions to washing detergent and even synthetic fibers in blankets, I knew it was time to completely clear my house of nasty chemicals. I literally grabbed a garbage bag and threw out every bottle of shampoo, deodorant, floor cleaner, window cleaner, mould spray and dishwashing liquid I could find.

This may come as a shock to some people, but I also got rid of all the baby lotions and potions I was given because the list of ingredients on those was even more disturbing that what I could find in the laundry! I’m talking about trusted, traditional brands here as well as some newer “natural” ones – shampoo, wipes, nappy rash creams, the lot!

This is truly one area of your life and health you can immediately take control over. You have nothing to lose by going chemical free. I will explain in detail how to replace the products you are going to throw out. Not only will you significantly reduce your exposure to toxins, you are going to save a small fortune in expenses, and also save a lot of storage space by simplifying what you use. If you or your children have eczema or asthma you might notice your symptoms improve dramatically as you eliminate many triggers from your home.

Step 1: 15 minutes

The first step in this process is to grab a bag, box or basket and go around to every room in your home and collect every bottle and tube. Don’t think about doing it another day. Print this page out. Take this article with you, and get cracking, right now.

Examples:

Shampoo
Deoderant
Toothpaste
soap – liquid and bars
Dishwashing liquid
Laundry powder/detergent
Air freshener
Nail Polish
Makeup
Moisturiser
Baby creams
Baby wipes
Makeup remover wipes
Tanning lotions
Oven cleaner
Drain cleaner
Hair Dye
Hair spray

Step 2: 30 minutes

Lay them all out on a table or bed and start looking at the ingredients list on each bottle/tube. Below is a list of common chemicals and their side effects. If you have read this far and want to start making your home safer, if you see these chemicals on the back – throw that bottle into the bin. This is but a short list of common chemicals, I found some or all of these in everything in my house. Keep in mind you may only use the product every couple of days, but the chemical builds up in your body over time to toxic levels. Blood tests after single can show readable amounts!

If you are feeling particularly productive, and notice a chemical name popping up on most bottles that I don’t have listed here, do a quick internet search for it and take a moment to educate yourself on what the side effects of exposure are and whether it has been listed as carcinogenic or not.

Common Chemicals in Household/Personal Products

•Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol – Found commonly in deodorant.  PG penetrates skin and weakens protein and cellular structure. It’s strong enough to remove barnacles from boats!  The EPA considers PG so toxic that workers are required to wear protective clothing and to dispose of PG by burying it in the ground. PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against contact to prevent brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities, but there isn’t even a warning label on products such as stick deodorants, where the concentration is greater than in most industrial applications.
•Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) - Found in anything that foams up (soap, detergent, shampoo etc).  Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS. It may damage the skin’s immune system and can be transformed into a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs, and brain.
•1.4-dioxane (Also listed as xynol,’ ‘ceteareth’, and ‘oleth) Products with petrolum bases often contain this impurity which is a known carcinogen (cancer causing chemical).
•DEA (diethanolamine)
MEA (Monoethanolaniine)
TEA (triethanolamine) – Hormone-disrupting chemicals that can form cancer-causing nitrates.  Restricted in Europe due to carcinogenic effects, yet they are still used in the U.S. Americans may be exposed 10-20 times per day with shampoos, shaving creams and bubble baths. Dr. Samuel Epstein (Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois) says that repeated applications of DEA-based detergents result in major increase in liver and kidney cancer. The PDA’s John Bailey says, "The risk is significantly increased for children."
•Sodium Hydroxide - This is caustic lye found in drain cleaners, and is now found in our toothpaste!  I even found this in an all-natural shaving cream.
•Triclosan – A synthetic "antibacterial" with a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange. It is widely used in soaps, toothpastes and deodorants, has been detected in breast milk, and one recent study found that it interferes with testosterone activity in cells.  Toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion: That is only one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools!
•DMDM & Urea (Imidazolidinyl) - Two of many preservatives that often release formaldehyde, and found in baby bath soap, nail polish, eyelash adhesive and hair dyes.  They have a long list of adverse health effects, including immune-system toxicity, respiratory irritation and cancer in humans, and they can cause joint pain, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep.
•Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) - Carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that reduces the skin’s natural moisture. Increases the appearance of aging and leaves you vulnerable to bacteria. It’s also used in spray-on oven cleaners and cleansers to dissolve oil and grease.
•Parabens – (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butyl-, isobutyl-) – Parabens appear in a wide variety of toiletries.  A study found that butylparaben damaged sperm formation in the testes of mice, and a relative, sodium methylparaben, is banned in cosmetics by the E.U.  Parabens break down in the body into p-hydroxybenzoic acid, which has estrogenic activity in human breast-cancer cell cultures.
•Alcohol, Isopropyl (SD-40) – Made from a petroleum derivative, it’s found in shellac and antifreeze, as well as personal care products. A drying, irritating solvent that strips skin’s moisture and immune barrier, making you vulnerable to bacteria and viruses. Promotes brown spots and premature aging. Fatal ingested dose is one ounce or less.
•Mineral Oil - A petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic wrap, clogging the pores. It interferes with skin’s ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging.  Baby oil is 100% mineral oil!
•FD&C Color Pigments – Synthetic colors from coal tar are known human carcinogens used as active ingredients in dandruff shampoos and anti-itch creams. Coal-tar-based dyes such as FD&C Blue 1, are used in toothpastes, and FD&C Green 3, are used in mouthwash,
•Fragrances – The term "fragrance" may mask phthalates, which act as endocrine disruptors and may cause obesity and reproductive and developmental harm. Can contain up to four thousand ingredients (including animal urine), many toxic or carcinogenic. Causes headaches, dizziness, allergic rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing, vomiting, and skin irritation. Fragrances also affect the nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes.
So, in our baby’s shampoo and bubble bath, that our babies and small toddlers are soaking in while they play, are fragrances, FD&C colors, parabens, sodium hydroxide, imidazolidinyl urea, among others. 

* Natural or Organic products claiming to be green and safe still need careful consideration before purchase. Be sure to read every label, it only takes 10 seconds of your time!

Step 3: 1 hour

Purchase Alternatives

I personally avoid most commercial brands found in supermarkets because even the ones claiming to be organic and natural often still list many of the chemicals in question. For my personal care items, I shop at health food stores and also seek out online, home/handmade products that utilise essential oils and natural bases such as beeswax and almond oil.

Cleaning

I only use bicarb soda (you can make a paste with water and wipe) and/or vinegar. You can sprinkle the bicarb (ie on your stove top) then spray with vinegar and wipe/scrub as it fizzes. I use these methods for any marks around the house. I use a mix of 1 part vinegar, 1 part metho and 2 parts water to clean windows, soap scum on shower glass etc, works very well! There is a lot of detailed information out there on how to clean with bicarb and vinegar – I have 2 great books that I use for my chemical free cleaning. They are by Shannon Lush – “Spotless” and “Speed Cleaning”. Probably the two most useful books I own!

Vinegar as full strength or watered down is a fantastic, effective disinfectant that I use in the toilet, kitchen etc in a spray bottle. The smell will not linger once you wipe.

Essential Oils are great for scenting rooms/toilet bowls you can wipe with a damp cloth (using a drop or two) with any scent you like. Be sure to buy good quality oils, not the $2 bottles from discount stores!

Ecostore have a range of laundry and kitchen products that have no nasty chemicals which I’ve enjoyed using for washing clothes and dishes. http://www.ecostore.co.nz/

Personal Care

Your local health food store should stock plenty of chemical free, essential oil fragranced shampoos and conditioners that are free of the nasties. Same goes for sunscreen and makeup. You can get crystal stick deodorant that stops the smell, but you will still sweat. The salts in it neutralise the bacteria that causes body odour. You do need to wet to apply ad apply a little more often than normal deodorant. I’d prefer that than putting aluminum and other nasties on my bare skin to be absorbed every day. I also feel letting your skin perform its normal function is very important!

I’ve used raw honey applied directly to wounds and nappy rash/fungal infections with success. It is also very soothing. I’ve also used it on my horse who had a large open leg wound. I filled the hole daily with honey and bandaged it. The fist sized hole sealed up in 3 weeks to a small thin line. Amazing stuff! It has anti fungal and antibacterial properties. Plain untreated honey is just as good as the expensive manuka honey I’ve found. It soaks into skin well and excess when changing dressings etc can be washed off with water easily.

I use henna hair dyes (henna is a plant powder you mix with hot water to form a paste, then apply to your hair as per normal) as I react severely to normal hair dyes.

For baby wipes I have always used bamboo re-usable baby wipe cloths that I bought from my cloth nappy supplier (http://www.babybeehinds.com.au or http://www.naturescradle.com.au)
You simply wet the cloth, wipe, then pop into the nappy bucket for your next load of nappies. If you don’t use cloth nappies yet (I will convince you that you should in a future post!) just keep a little bucket with a lid handy and every 2nd day pop them in the washing machine and hang out to dry.

Here is a short list of ideas to restock your cupboards. There are many lovely websites where people make by hand soaps, shampoos, lotions and so on using natural oil or beeswax bases. These sites also have recipes and bases to create your own products which are great for gifts too. This online store is a great example of what you can get online to make your own:

http://www.heirloombodycare.com.au

If you just want to purchase products ready made, I love these beeswax based creams, shampoos and soaps!

http://www.beeswaxnhh.com.au

There are organic, chemical free toothpastes available also, which I am trialling at the moment. Will report back on this issue later.

Shopping List

Supermarket:

Bicarb Soda (cleaning, and can be used as a washing powder)
Vinegar (disinfecting spray, cleaning)
Scrubbing brush
Plastic spray bottle
Eco Store Washing Powder (the ONLY one that my son didn’t have skin reaction to!)
Eco Store dishwashing liquid is also plant based and no nasty chemicals

Health Food Store or Online:

Honey (use raw honey on wounds, burns (even large open wounds) to heal and soothe.
Handmade natural soaps
Beeswax based beauty/moisturising products
Shea butter based lotions/creams
Essential Oils (I like lavendar for toilet bowls and kitchen!)
Crystal Stick Deodorant
Organic Shampoo/Conditioner
Makeup

Step 4: 1 hour

Cleaning the toxic air in your home

Once you have removed some of the sources of contaminants in your home the next step is to do something to improve the quality of the air in your home.

The cheapest, most effective solution to this, which is also visually appealing, is to get some houseplants!

Measurable indoor toxins include emissions from gas appliances, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), air fresheners, furniture cleaners, shampoos, paints and glues.
Even low levels of pollutants can cause problems like headaches and nausea and can lead to chronic health problems in the long term. It’s been known for many years (even NASA in 1984 did a successful study) that plants purify air.

Recently, Margaret Burchett, a plant physiologist, biochemist and toxicologist from the University of Technology Sydney tested 6 plants in a range of Sydney office environments and found that extremely high levels of pollutants were reduced to negligible amounts.
Byrchett tested six plants:

• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Petite’ and S. ‘Sensation’)
• Dracaena marginata
• Dracaena deremensis
• Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum aureum)
• Umbrella tree (Schefflera ‘Amate’).

She said however that any plant will serve the same purpose – the micro-organisms in the potting mix do all the hard work – the plant serves to keep this system operating. So, get out to your local nursery and find some indoor plants you like the look of and give them a new home!

So there you have it. In 2 hours and 45 minutes you can give your home a detox and begin a more natural way of caring for your skin and hair. Grab a garbage bag and get to it!

Information you NEED for your health!

For the last two weeks my husband and I have dedicated all of our spare time to educating ourselves on health and wellbeing. This short post is to direct you, my readers to some documentaries and topics so that I regard as essential for your education and self improvement.

I encourage you to watch the following documentaries as urgently as possible. Stick it out and watch them to the end, it is well worth the effort. I’ve learned some mind blowing things that have fuelled my desire to seek out more information. I will gradually include notes here on everything I refer you to as I know everyone doesn’t have time to do what I am doing.

“The Beautiful Truth”

“Healing Cancer from Inside Out” (just as important to watch even if you are not affected by cancer)

“Raw Food for Life – The Ultimate Encyclopedia of the Raw Food Lifestyle

I am concentrating my research on raw food at the moment. Becoming vegan or even just vegetarian was not something I have ever strongly considered until I watched these documentaries. My husband and I are both converting to a vegetarian and eventually vegan diet of predominanately raw food. We feel strongly enough about what we have learnt recently that it is necessary for our current and long term health. Some of my knowledge on nutritional requirements – especially protein intake has been spun around.

If you think about it, it is 2009 and we have spent billions of dollars on health research, drugs, treatments, “health food”, supplements and the like, yet the rates of cancer, heart disease, obesity and other major concerns are rising out of control! People still die after enduring the horrible side effects of treatments and surgeries. These documentaries outline why going back to our natural diet of raw, organic fresh vegetables and fruits is the only effective way of ensuring health and wellbeing. Consider that we are a society that treats symptoms not causes. Diet is THE number one reason why people develop cancer, heart disease, diabetes and become obese. Poisoning our bodies with chemotherapy has not proven to stop cancer in it’s tracks – in fact it often causes patients to have a severe recurrance that takes their life. The treatment and surgeries often leave them a sick, crippled mess, in pain and susceptible to any bug going around. Some of these documentaries show people who have overcome terminal cancer easily via converting to raw food vegan diets and a stack of evidence from studies supporting what they are saying. It is possible to eliminate diabetes simply via diet and people are doing it every day.

I will be posting some articles over the next week or two outlining the main points from these doco’s and also some information I am gathering from further research and undertaking a better diet myself. I’m very grateful for the people who pointed me in the right direction. It feels like a light has gone off in my head. You will need to challenge a lot of what you see in advertising and media with regards to food and nutrition – remember that these industries are BUSINESSES, not volunteers who are educating you out of the goodness of their hearts. It is not in their best interest financially to find cures for cancers, or to teach you that you can easily grow everything you need to eat at home in a 4m x 12m run of garden beds! Keep an open mind, become a critical thinker and educate yourself NOW so you can start enjoying the fantastic enlightenment and buzz of health that changing your eating habits can provide. Don’t be one of the fools who assumes “it won’t happen to me” and cancer or some other serious health concern will never come knocking on your door. It isn’t just about prevention, it is about feeling alive, having motivation day in day out, about your moods being normal. You can make changes with what you eat that will change your skin, your weight, your strength, your sleep, your ability to get pregnant! As mentioned in Raw Food for Life, it is a “Win – Win” !

How to grow vegetables at home (and why everybody should)

No matter how much or how little space you have, you can enjoy the satisfaction of eating something you have grown organically. Even if you are limited to a small balcony and therefore a container garden, it is still possible to get a good little crop going as long as your space has at least 5 hours sunlight daily. If you are on my site reading these posts, I’m certain you are the type of person who is already aware of the chemicals sprayed on commercially grown crops, and the possible side effects. Washing your fruit and vegies will not completely rid them of the chemicals. If you are serious about your health, maintaining a chemical free home should be of upmost priority. In future posts I will go into reducing other chemicals in your home, which is so easy, I don’t know why everyone isn’t doing it! Growing your own is easy, cheap, and honestly quite exciting, the novelty never seems to wear off.

If you are not the type who is big on vegies, it is about time you got over it and changed to a more natural diet. There are amazing colours, flavours, textures and high levels of nutritents that you are missing out on, and don’t even get me started on how much better it makes you feel and look. Integrating fresh vegies into your meals is easy, even if you start off with basic salad greens that can be just picked and popped straight onto the plate with no preparation. If you have pondered it for a while, today is the day. Do something as a first step to starting your own vegie patch, whether it is purchasing some seeds online, getting outside and looking at what space you can utilise and preparing some edging. Anyone can honestly do this, it is much easier than you think!

Apart from the wholesome feeling it gives you to know you grew the plants yourself, the health benefits are substantial. Food you buy in a supermarket often has been picked some time ago, transported to a distribution centre, re-packed, then re-distributed to your local supermarket. I heard a truck driver here in NSW, Australia say that he often picked up tomatoes from Queensland, drove them to Victoria (thousands of kilometres away!) to a large distribution centre, only to pick the same load up again in the morning and return them to a supermarket distribution centre back in Queensland so they could be then sent on to all the stores. Not only do you end up with far from fresh food, that has been sprayed with chemicals, you are eating food that cost a lot in energy to get to it’s destination.

When getting started out, I strongly recommend you take a look at the main vegetables you eat regularly, or would like to eat regularly and start with those. There is no point growing rhubarb or chives if you don’t eat them often! You will want to experiment as time goes on, but start with a basic collection first.

If you are going to grow in the ground rather than containers, 2 squares of about 1.5 x 1.5 metres will be sufficient to give you a good crop for daily use, you can always add more later if it is working out and you want to grow everything you eat. If you can only use a small rectangle of 1m x 50cm use that, you can still grow a heap of lettuce and herbs there! I’d suggest raised garden beds because they are much easier to work with and can be set up ANYWHERE – on concrete, grass, pavers, clay, rock etc. You can use bricks, UNTREATED hardwood (ie fence palings built into a box), rocks, bales of straw or hay. Be creative, the only things you should avoid are tyres and treated wood because they leach chemicals into the soil and ultimately into your food. A quick google search will bring plenty of suggestions for "No Dig" vegetable gardens. I personally filled my last one with layers of wet newspaper, horse manure, lucerne hay and compost (I bought bags as I hadn’t got my compost bin going at that stage). I only had mine set up about 20cm high off the ground as I was over existing grass.

If you need to go with containers due to lack of space, the bigger the better as they dry out slower. Use anything you can find around, and make sure you drill drainage holes in the bottom if there are none.

There are many seed suppliers online, or you can cheat and buy seedlings to get things started and start your next planting with seeds so they are ready to plant out by the time you have harvested your first round of planting. I start all my seeds inside in little trays so I can just spray with a water bottle when walking past the windowsill. As soon as they are big enough to plant out, I go find some space and pop them in the ground. A packet of seeds will only cost around $2 and that gets you a thousand or two seeds. Once your crop is going, you can also allow some plants to go to seed, then collect and store the seeds, thus creading a free seed store for yourself.

The main vegetables I grow, that I know I will use are:

• Lettuce/Rocket
• Basil
• Oregano
• Tomatoes
• Snow Peas
• Beans
• Broccoli
• Zucchini
• Cucumber
• Asian green vegies (bok choy etc)
• Silverbeet
• Spinach

These are all fast growing, easy ones to start with. The seed packets will give you the planting information on spacing, depth and so on, just follow those, experiment and little and enjoy your fresh food! There is nothing better than getting to lunch or dinner time and having a quick wander around the garden and deciding what to eat depending on what is ready to pick. If you keep planting new seedlings out or seeds out directly as you harvest, you will have a constant, varied supply of food available. If you can only plant in some containers on a balcony, it is still a fantastic way to have truly fresh greens for your salads and perhaps a couple of dwarf fruit trees going too. Container planting is also great for your herbs. If you can only get set up to have a few pots of herbs going, that alone will add some nutrition to your meals rather than using dried herbs. The flavours will keep you motivated to remember to water your plants.

It really is that simple. Go stick your head outside when the sun is out next and have a look where you could start a little garden. Take that first step now and you won’t regret it! The time involved really only hinges on getting the planting space set up, you will spend only a small amount of time per week watering, planting or harvesting once it is set up. It is worth it and so much cheaper than rushing out to the shop for a load of vegies all the time.

If this post has motivated you to give it a go, I’d love to hear from you, so get in touch and send me some photos and a quick story about your little garden.