Chemical Escape...

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Are you trying to escape the chemicals? Its not as hard as it may seem. I'm on my 11th year with this lifestyle. Chemicals impact our bodies significantly. From impacting autoimmune diseases negatively to impairing our natural state of being, chemicals are everywhere. There are some chemicals that we can avoid. I personally use a Berkey water filter. On my personal Berkey, I have a special filter to remove fluoride. Why? Because as much as it is touted as prevention of cavities, it has carcinogenic properties. What is carcinogenic properties? Carcinogens are cancer causing agents. Many chemicals are carcinogenic.

How can I avoid chemicals? Drink from glass or stainless not plastics. Use glass for food storage. Can your own foods - canned foods have a lot of chemicals as do the inside of the cans. Eat unprocessed foods - shop from the edges of the store and stay away from the aisles or farmers market. Learn to cook without preprepared kits. Great cookbook for learning to cook more basic is "More for Less".

I have tried to investigate so many aspects of Green Living, but we are surrounded by chemicals and toxins every day. One of the easiest was eliminating cleaning supplies. All the toxins and expense were pretty easy. I use soap nuts for laundry detergent. I use vinegar to clean virtually everything with baking soda for scouring and lemon for bleaching/whitening.

There are products like henna hair dye - stylists hate it but a more natural way to color. Cosmetics you really have to stay on top of. Burts Bees was a great company and have started using more chemicals in the last few years.

Deodorant...I have tried so many and unfortunately have not found great alternatives. Native was among the better options that I tried. I didn't have great results with multiple alternatives. Soap. I have recently started making my own. I also use Castille which is very basic. Toothpaste. I have tried so many different ones and not a super fan of most.

What does that mean? Well, it means I am trying and I am aware. I think that we all need to be very aware of the environment around us and things we can do to reduce our chemical exposures.