The truth about your health
Have you ever had a health scare? Many of us have. It can happen at any age or when you least expect it. I’ve had a few of my own. But no need to worry – I’m on it. This just boosts my passion for learning more about restoring health and taking preventative measures.
I am no longer asleep to the fact that we are being exposed to chemicals every day. I am making a conscious effort to be more mindful of what I’m exposing myself to and what I'm putting into my body.
I am by no means perfect when it comes to nutrition and using safe products. I am continually learning.
As I learn more about prevention and health matters, I feel it’s my responsibility to pass this information on to you. My hope is that it improves your quality of life and empowers you to make choices that boost your health and well-being.
Wouldn’t you rather be on the path of knowing how to prevent disease and restore health vs. the path of treating a disease?
And don't be too hard on yourself or expect too much of yourself. Even small steps on the preventative path make a difference. It's not all or nothing - just little changes over time.
Kris Carr, cancer “thriver” and health expert found that 75–90% of the chronic illnesses are preventable. She suggested a great tool that we can use to help us navigate this area to make safer choices. It’s the EWG Healthy Living App or website.
EWG has done the homework for us and has health and safety ratings for 200,000+ food, household, and cosmetics products (for guys stuff too). This is the world’s largest personal care products safety reference tool.
EWG is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower people to live healthier lives.
As we make healthier choices this helps push policymakers to stand up for us. More demand = more supply of what we want.
EWG has found that many products we use cause respiratory issues, skin irritation and some are linked to cancer. This tool helps you choose less toxic food, cosmetics, and household products.
The EWG’s food scores rate foods on nutrition, ingredient concerns, and degree of processing. This rating gives you an overall score and all foods are rated on a 1 to 10 scale with the best foods scoring a 1.
The EWG’s skin deep scores rate thousands of cosmetics and personal care items. If you use 10 products a day, and most of us do, you expose yourself to 126+ ingredients on that day. The research is finding that even babies are being born with toxins in their bodies. What?? It's passed on from each generation.
I started scanning products in my house using the App. This is like a game for me – strange but true.
I found out that my favorite hairspray - TIGI Bed Head Maxxed-Out has a rating of 10. That means it scores poorly and is a bad choice for hair sprays. In fact, it’s the worst rating there is. Maybe it has something to do with the Amylcinnamaldehyde, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Geraniol, Lyral, Lilial, Octoxynol-40, Oxybenzone that’s in it. I now have a list of better choices and I will find a different one. Good bye Bed Head hairspray.
Then I scanned my Bio-Oil - my most favorite moisturizer - it has a rating of 8! Not good. I'll be looking for a better choice.
I was pleasantly surprised to find some recommended products.
For foundation, good choices are Mineral Fusion, L’Oreal, Maybelline, and Revlon – you’ll have to check individual products to know which ones are best for these brands. I thought I was making a wise choice by using Physicians Formula Mineral Foundation but this has a rating of 6 which is a moderate hazard and not recommended to buy. You’d think I’d be able to trust this product if it has the name “Physicians Formula" - isn't it made by doctors? Probably not, it's just convincing marketing.
However, the Physicians Formula organic wear lash boosting mascara is okay. As well as some other mascaras by L’Oreal, Maybelline, and Revlon.
So you can scan items in the store or look them up beforehand to know which ones you’d like to buy. I can just see myself spending a lot of time in the store looking for the “best” one. That happened just recently. I told you this is fascinating for me!
I found that a lot of the products I scanned did not come up on the App. So you may just want to search for a product before shopping and then choose one of the safer ones.
I'm going to keep it simple for myself and take small steps. When I run out of something, I'll find a better option to replace it with.
Please keep in mind, this information is not meant to scare you but rather to increase awareness and empower you to make safer choices. Prevention doesn’t have to be boring. It just means becoming an active participant in your own health and well-being.
I'd love to hear about any discoveries you make. Please comment below. We can be a source of inspiration for each other.
If you want to know more about products you use in your home - see more at: Healthy Home Checklist - A Toxin Reducing Guide here
If you want to know more about the “shocking truth about toxic chemicals” in the products we use and how to lessen your exposure, up your prevention, and become an educated consumer, go here
Last but not least, for even more great tips on prevention, you can find them here
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Beth Matthews is a Registered Psychologist who is driven to help people feel better about themselves. She can help you if you are struggling in your life. You can learn easy-to-use strategies to help you cope with anything that comes your way.
matthews77@shaw.ca
780-721-9157
thepsychologysite.org
