Sunday, August 17, 2008

Making the Change

Welcome! I thought it would be a good idea to talk about something I try to do - living natural in a toxic world. As soon as I became pregnant I immediately had higher standards on life. I researched anything & everything to make sure the environment my child would be living in would be as toxic free as possible. It's funny how we place more importance on things that affect our children. I guess it's because these tiny, little people rely on us completely.

Now I know that there are other parents out there that feel the same way. They want to rid at least some of the toxins from their lives. The toughest part about this, is that many parents don't realize how many they're exposed to every day - which makes it an even more daunting task. However, knowledge is power. When you are buying food for your family (or even personal care products), you should always read the label. I always try to make sure I read the labels & familiarize myself with the ingredients. Even my 2 year old daughter picks things up in the store and pretends she's reading them. If I don't know what something is, I look it up when I get home. A good rule to follow is if the word is long and/or hard to pronounce, chances are it's bad. Try to avoid popular food ingredients like sorbitol (sugar replacement), MSG (monosodium glutamate), yeast extract and torula yeast (last 3 ingredients are additives included in food to enhance taste). You might even find these ingredients in items that claim they are all natural like veggies burgers!

So, where do you start? Well, you can learn from the knowledge I've acquired as I will be publishing my experiences, knowledge and challenges on this blog. For more extensive information, spend a little bit of time sourcing information on the web. I would stick with sources you trust because there is a lot of information out there. If you are concerned about something, don't find information from the company you are concerned about. Look for an unbiased opinion. Need a couple of sources I trust to start with? Try these links:

www.naturalnews.com ~ this site is run by Mike Adams who has made it his mission to teach personal and personal and planetary health to the public. His website is packed with information & you can even subscribe to his newsletters.

ewg.org ~ the Environmental Working Group is a fabulous, non-profit organization with an extensive website that covers virtually every topic you can think of. They also created the website www.cosmeticdatabase.com which gives you detailed information on the toxic levels for the most popular skin care products out there.

www.toxicnation.ca ~ a Canadian source of information with useful advice and guides to help you convert your home to a greener one.