Is the air outside my home cleaner than the air my home?
I found out the frightening news the other day: the air inside my home is more than likely toxic and could be contributing to my family’s health and behavioral issues, well-being, allergies, and much more. Think about it…the facial migraines I get from sinus inflammation could be lessened or eradicated if I just stopped using products with chemicals that are toxic. Most of the health and hygiene products my family uses to clean our counters and floors with are full of toxins and carcinogenic chemicals. Take Dawn dish liquid for instance…I’ve used this for years to clean my dishes with…it scores a 9 on the Think Dirty app (oh yeah…check out the Think Dirty app…it’s not as dirty as it sounds). My daughter loves to help me wash dishes, and I help her out by introducing her to chemicals that can cause hormonal issues and learning disabilities. It it worse than that though…
The most dastardly offender in my home is our laundry soap and dryer sheets. The glorious powders, liquids, and perfumed sheets that make our clothes smell wonderful are potentially killing me and my family. These products have chemicals that emit constantly in our drawers, closets, and laundry room. The chemical fumes sit in those places and they also go into our cold air returns and get into our HVAC filters. This permeates the entirety of our home with these harmful chemicals. Not to mention that they are sitting on our skin every day for 4-12 hours. It only takes chemicals 30 seconds to get into the pores of my skin and into my bloodstream. So I am breathing in and soaking in those amazing toxins all day, every day. Are my migraines curable? I don’t know. But I know that it is better to not put toxic chemicals into my body unnecessarily. Otherwise I have to go to the doctor to get a pill full of chemicals to alleviate my sinus issues. What might happen if I stopped willingly absorbing all the chemicals into my body and started putting helpful things into it?
How many toxins and carcinogenic chemicals do I put in my body every single day?
The average person puts on 100 to 500!
I don’t put that many chemicals in my body but there are at least a dozen that I use every day. i.e. deodorant, shampoo, chapstick, hair gel, hair Spray, etc., the basic male products. What I didn’t know until I got the Think Dirty app was that a lot of these toxic chemicals may cause learning disabilities, hormone imbalances, and even male infertility. This is disconcerting because I suffered testicular cancer and was found to be sterile. What caused my sterility? Was it all the personal care products I have used for my entire life that have had the toxic chemicals that cause male infertility? If I dwell too long on this question I can feel my frustration rising on what could have been if I had lived a more chemical-free life. But there is a more terrifying reality…What am I doing to my kids and their futures by buying products that are laced with toxic chemicals? I don’t care if they are cheaper (which isn’t always the case!). I am subsidizing their quality of life to better suit my pocket book and convenience. I don’t think so!! Break out the DIYs and let’s get started.
Did you know that you have lymph nodes in your underarm where you slather on aluminum laden deodorant? Everyday you are placing heavy metals directly into your lymphs. How long can we do this until the effects are evident? A lot of these chemicals are not even tested for long-term effects. That means we don’t know what damages they may cause. It would be nice to know and buy with confidence.
Cancer! Yes, cancer-causing chemicals in your personal-care products. I mentioned earlier that I had testicular cancer. Did a life time of usage from these products cause my cancer? Again, I don’t know, but I know that I don’t want my kids to ever have to wonder about that possibility. The cancers we face today are not all genetic. In fact, only 5-10% of all cancers are genetic. This means the rest of them are from our environment and our personal welfare. I know the FDA says that the amounts in the products are negligible, meaning not enough to cause harm, but when you have 100-500 of those negligible amounts going into your skin and body every single day it becomes cause for concern.
Are there good companies who sell products without these chemicals?
There are and one of the best is Young Living. All of Young Livings products are produced from seed to seal. They have complete control of their products from the very seeds and ground they plant in, to the distillation and bottling process. I cannot be as confident in the processes of farms of other oils companies. That is why we can only recommend Young Living. They have an open door policy in their company as well. This means that you can visit any farm, open any door, talk to any person on their farms or distills and ask any questions. Nina and I love this kind of transparency and integrity. It is how we model our own lives. We want to be open books to everyone.
-Wes Mullins