Learning so much - freaking out how i've abused my body for so long

Cardew

beingfrugal wrote: »

Last night I wanted to make 'me' healthier all round and embarked on a journey to educate myself about natural skincare - that developed very quickly into a hate for toxins/falling for advertising and annoyed for allowing myself to abuse my body while adding to the so called 'beauty' business.

Of course years ago when everything was really natural, no toxins/additives/chemicals etc they 'enjoyed' a lifespan that was about 20 years less than we 'suffer' today.;)

I can't think of anyone of my grandparent's generation who had any of their own teeth - but they didn't suffer the 'evils' of fluoride!!

Seems it is easy to jump from funding the 'beauty' business into funding another 'industry' determined to spread horror stories to line their coffers!

Kimitatsu

As has been said take it one step at a time We eat organically wherever possible just because no-one knows how all of these small but frequent doses of toxins react and the long term affect it will have. If you already have stuff at home then use it up rather than throwing it out.

There are loads of ideas on the old style board but here we only use microfibre cloths for cleaning (the no more chemicals company uses silver as its antibacterial agent), bicarb, lemons and vinegar are all excellent cleaning aids. For air freshners I use aroma streamers and essential oils (NHR organic oils are brilliant) and I also buy base shower gel, shampoo etc and add essential oils to them as my little one has sensitive skin.

We filter our water with a reverse osmosis unit (originally it was for the fish and then I tested it - :eek:) so we bypass the heavy metals that way.

I know it seems scary right now but in reality you cant eliminate the toxins entirely if only because your children will come into contact with them via school, other peoples food etc etc but if you can reduce the exposure then you are doing well.

babyshoes

Having weighed up the alternative menstural products available, the mooncup wins out for me in terms of convenience, price and, as far as I can tell, environmental factors. Ok, there are doubts about the manufacture of silicone, but I reckon it has to be better than flushing hundreds of bleached tampons and landfilling hundreds of pads each year, hasn't it?

The other options have similar good credentials, but also have the 'ick' factor - having to wash natural sponges or resueable pads just doesn't appeal! And as for composting natural tampons, well it is eco-friendly but I am not sure what the old codgers down on the allotment would make of that!

NualaBuala

babyshoes wrote: »

I am not sure what the old codgers down on the allotment would make of that!

:rotfl:
What you say is so true - I wish I'd realised sooner how bad tampons are. Better late than never though. The naturcare ones seem good but are definitely an expensive option and I'd rather go with a non-disposable option - I seem to be fine with the ick factor

Fire_Fox

beingfrugal wrote: »

I've been up since 5am reading up on toxins and now i'm left feeling so scared. finding out about bleached sanitary wear has pushed me over the edge. For 15 years every month for a week i've allowed my body to come into contact with dangerous toxins... and didn't have a clue - thought it was the norm.

I am qualified to degree level in a variety of health disciplines and have worked in a research laboratories. Although my background is pharmacy, once I became ill long term myself I became passionate about the restorative power of lifestyle modification - specifically physical activity and nutrition. HOWEVER there is an incredible amount of misinformation on the internet and - to a lesser extent - in published books.

Look for websites that reference their articles with scientific studies which have been published in respected journals. The best websites are usually government ones (e.g. NHS), newsy/ digests of journals (e.g. Nature, Medscape) and education (universities). Books wise there are certain publishers that are known for quality scientific texts (e.g. Human Kinetics, A&C Blacks).

As someone has already pointed out toxins are not a scientific concept, if a chemical is dangerous it will be labelled as a carcinogen or poison. The human body has a some very effective methods of protecting itself from the onslaught of lesser chemicals - the skin, the liver and the immune system. Medicines have to be designed specifically to cross the skin, but many cannot be administered that way as healthy skin is so efficient at keeping chemicals out.

I can recommend Ecover shower gel which I use for face, body and hands and is really gentle. If you buy the five litre size it is not expensive, sadly the brand is not as ethical as it once was but I stick with it as it does not aggravate my eczema. I have had success with moisturisers containing urea, which is an emollient naturally found in the skin.

Other than that I do use commercial/ chemical products but I stick with a very limited range and use as little as possible. For example I often use a dry shampoo which is starch-based and saves water, you can even use a natural baby powder or corn flour! For conditioner I use leave-on type which again saves water, is VERY economical and is easy to avoid applying to the scalp.

HTH.

greenbee

After a while you will probably find that this approach saves you money, as you will look at the ingredients on toiletries and cosmetics and decide not to buy them!

Rather than looking for alternative brands or products, have a think about what you can do with simple ingredients.

As has already been mentioned, much cleaning can be done using vinegar, lemon juice, bicarb and micro-fibre cloths.

My ex-OH was a cancer scientist, and there were a lot of things he preferred us not to use. Think about your priorities and their consequences (e.g. avoiding aluminium in anti-perspirants means moving to deodorants) and make changes slowly. As things run out, see whether you can get away without replacing them.

I am now a convert to the mooncup (so much less hassle too!) and although there may be some further investigation to be done into the environmental impact of silicone production it is unlikely to be significant compared to the impact of disposal sanitary products.

I have used both olive oil and flax seed oil from the kitchen instead of body lotion in the past when a. I've run out or b. my skin has been particularly dry. Essential oils are great for perfume, and for adding to the bath. Salt can be used to clean teeth and as a mouthwash.

Soapnuts are great for laundry, and ecover for if you need to do hot washes. Vinegar makes a great fabric conditioner (not needed if you use soapnuts).

Faith in Nature produce some reasonably priced (especially when bought in bulk) shower gels, soap, shampoo and conditioner.

If you really can't bring yourself to use up what you've already got, then offer it to someone else. From an environmental perspective, you shouldn't be wasting the stuff, even if you don't want to use it. And as Firefox says, do your research properly, to make sure that the decisions you are making are properly informed.

alixia

ceridwen wrote: »

ALIXIA

Bit off topic here - but I see you are down as setting £15 per week for a food challenge and I would imagine you are planning on eating healthily (as in "really" healthily:D) for that. It would be interesting to have some links as to where you are posting about this to see how you manage to do this:D

Hi,
breakfast: oat
snack: fruit (free from my work:D)
lunch: homade soup or sandwich
snack: fruit (free from my work)
dinner: somethink simple and healthy (rice + fish + veg)
and tada! under £15/week (if I will not buy any chocolate:rotfl:)

bigpaws23

great thread - I hope you are feeling calmer now; it can come as a bit of a shock when you realise these things!

I tend to use products which double up as other things and I try to get behind the real 'needs' and separate them from 'wants'. I used to wash my hair every day, use mouse, gel, hairspray, hairdye, shower gel, soap, deodrant, body spray, perfume, plus cleaners, toners, moisturisers....

I got into the 'green way of life' 9 or so years ago and now my 'beaty routine' is unrecognisable from what it used to be. I figured I was stripping my hair with shampoo and products which is why I needed conditioner. My toner was stripping my skin so I needed moisturisers. My shower gel was harsh so I needed body butter. I thought I needed deodrant, body spray and perfume.

Truth is, we don't need much of this stuff! I wash my face with yogurt and oats, rinse with water and I no longer need moisturiser (oats are beautifully softening). I use either green people kids shampoo or clay on my hair. Again, no need for conditioner because they are gentle products. I don't use soap, it strips my skin, so need for moisturisers either. I use a alum stone for deodrant and essential oils for scent.

I have a new hairdresser who thinks the state of my hair is amazing and I was treated to a makeover and the make up artist would not believe my age because she said my skin looked 10 years younger. Result!

I didn't tell either of them I hardly ever wash LOL!

This probably all sounds extreme to most people, but it's come over a period of years, so it seems natural to me now. I'm sure I wouldn't have believed it if someone had told me I'd be giving up all these products 10 years ago

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

But don't tie yourself up in knots worrying about it all. It's not healthy for you to be wound up like that and your anxiety will rub off on everyone around you.

Prioritise and plan steps to take.

For example, maybe take the water in your house as the first point.

Then perhaps food.

Then maybe personal and home cleaning.

Then maybe consider clothing/furnishings/utensils/appliances.

Just take your time, months or years is fine for big changes - getting yourself in a tizzy about not being pure enough is a recipe for anxiety attacks and overly drastic actions.

Eating battery chicken nuggets once a month because you can't afford organic breast to make them by hand is OK. The contribution to animal welfare by choosing to buy organic eggs may outweigh this with a much lower cost to you (20p per family meal/£2.40 yearly rather than about £8 per meal/£160 yearly, judging by the supermarket prices yesterday)

And retain your impartiality or cynicism - it's very easy for someone to plug their products as 'eco', 'green' or 'sustainable', when the most eco, green or sustainable option is actually not to buy their gumpf if you don't actually need it in the first place!

ceridwen

Well - there is certainly a LOT of greenwashing going on - witness the huge push to get everyone to change their lightbulbs to "eco-friendly" ones (containing mercury):cool::eek:

BUT...it is indeed a huge shock to the system when the realization first dawns that the "powers that be" and firms simply don't give a darn what unhealthy rubbish you are being sold and there are one heck of a lot of lies being told to make us buy stuff that is damaging to us. One of the biggest things to deal with - in my experience - is the sheer realization that even those who should know very much better and/or be looking out for our interests either don't care/don't know the facts or even are actively working against our interests.

It's one heck of a mental "knockout job" when that realization first hits home.....and, for a long time, you sit there and think "But...surely...if I and people like me tell the Government what's what then they will start to look out for us" and then you get the second level mental "knockout job" when you realize that that doesn't work either - because they are too lazy to think things through/have been bought and paid for or whatever-other-reason stops most of them seeing sense.

So - at the end of the day - we have to be our own "expert" and learn just how few people/organisations we CAN trust to tell it like it is:(:(